The article will tell you about the intricacies of growing and leaving a bay bush at home.
Content
- How to plant a bay leaf with seeds?
- What land is needed for a bay leaf, which pot?
- How to transplant a laurel tree into a pot?
- How to properly care for seedlings of bay leaf?
- How to propagate a bay leaf at home with process, cuttings: Instructions
- How to feed a bay leaf in a pot?
- Why does the bay leaf dry at home, what to do?
- Video: "How to grow a laurel at home?"
How to plant a bay leaf with seeds?
The bay leaf is a well -known spice all over the world, which is customary to add to the first and second dishes, marinades, sauces and even desserts. The dried leaf of the laurel has a strong spicy aroma with a small pleasant bitterness. In addition to cooking, the sheet is actively used in folk medicine, as a diuretic, antiseptic and antimicrobial agent.
Based on the bay leaf, decoctions and infusions, baths and lotions are prepared. The bay leaf is simply added to tea and hot drinks, chew fresh leaves to get rid of unpleasant odor in the mouth or get a bactericidal effect. The laurel bush is deserves special attention, like an esoteric symbol. This plant is attributed to protective properties for humans and at home from negative influences from the environment.
As a home plant, a bay "tree" or a bush is useful in any home. The laurel will not only decorate your house, but also make the atmosphere in the home more favorable, friendly and kind. In addition, the leaves of the plant secrete special essential oils, which, as aromatherapy, favorably affect the moral and physical health of a person.
The easiest way to grow a bay bush is seeds. It is grown in a worse and only from fresh seeds, which can be quite difficult to get (they are taken only in an adult plant). After you get seeds, and you should definitely soak. This is done in ordinary and warm water.
Instead of water, you can also use a special tool "Epin"which is specially invented in order to regulate plant growth. Before placing the seeds in water, you should first carefully remove the scales from them (a shell that protects the inside). The scales will interfere with the growth of the escape and therefore its removal will accelerate germination.
Seeds are kept in the water until swelling (this is noticeably visually). Then they should be planted in a plastic cup with wet sand, cover the neck of the glass with a dietary film and left at room temperature with a sufficient amount of light. Piercing shoots can take approximately 3-4 weeks. All this time, sand should be moistened so that it does not dry out.
After the seed gives the escape, remove the film from the glass and cultivate the plant until it 2-4 small leaflets will appear. The field of this plant is planted in the ground. The soil of the laurel loves with the content of sand, the "soil for succulents" is ideal.
What land is needed for a bay leaf, which pot?
The “right” soil for the plant is the key to its health and good development. Drainage is of great importance for the laurel, so be sure to pour a drainage layer to the bottom of the pot (a special breed in the form of small pebbles, sold in flower stores).
The laurel pot is best chosen from natural material, whether it be clay or ceramics. Such material, unlike plastic, will not let the roots “suffocate”. The bottom of the pot should have a sufficient number of holes so that the water leaves well and does not stagnate, provoking the fungus, as well as rotting of the roots.
The soil for a bay bush is universal, any that you can find in a professional store. You can also prepare the mixture yourself, for this it will be useful to you:
- Part of the leaf land
- Part of the turf land
- Part of quartz sand
- Part of the humus (can be replaced with compost)
Important: all the components of the soil are taken in an equal ratio of the amount of one to one.
The soil reaction to acidity must be neutral if you need to balance the acidity (this often happens when peat is present in the ground), add a little wood ash. The size of the pot depends on how you plan to grow a laurel, the more you pick up the pot - the stronger the root system will be growing, and therefore the bush itself.
How to transplant a laurel tree into a pot?
The plant transplant should only be done when you see that the plant is not comfortable in a too small pot. Choose a new pot, which will be 1-2 cm more in diameter than the previous one. The frequency of laurel transplants is closely related to his age. For example, if the bush is young (up to 3 years), it should be transplanted every year, best in the spring. If the bush is an adult, then the transplant can occur once every 2 years.
During the transplant, attention should be paid to the root to whom, it needs to be reduced each time about a third. This is not noticeable for the plant, but good for the health of the bush. After transplanting or planting a bay bush in a pot, be sure to feed the bush with organic fertilizer. Love the earth very carefully, because the root system of the laurel is not located deep, but best - cover the upper layer of mulch.
Important: you should know that the laurel grows very slowly. When the plant becomes “adult”, it can not be transplanted at all, but only to change the upper layer of soil to fresh soil.
There are cases when a laurel bush may require an unscheduled transplant. It is very simple to determine this - you will notice that the plant loses leaves that become not so bright, glossy and elastic. This is because the soil "tired", i.e. Loses all important and nutritious qualities for the plant.
How to properly care for seedlings of bay leaf?
Lavra seedlings are young shoots naked from the seeds. Correctly caring for seedlings, you can achieve that your plant will be strong and healthy. You can grow seedlings in a greenhouse, or at home on the windowsill.
The main thing is that you need to provide seedlings - heat and humidity. Make sure that the temperature does not drop below the marks of minus 12-9 degrees, otherwise you risk “losing” the plants. Turning seeds for seedlings should be in carboard soil.
Provide seedlings with a sufficient amount of light by placing pots on window sills or installing special lighting lamps. Only the plant should be planted in the soil (garden, garden, on the site), which is already stronger with roots, no earlier than 2-3 years.
How to propagate a bay leaf at home with process, cuttings: Instructions
Division of the bush into cuttings is the easiest, most popular and effective way to propagate the plant. In addition, the trimming of an adult bush should occur regularly so that the laurel can fully develop. Cut “scraps” can be used for cuttings.
Important: for this method of reproduction of the bush, those “fat” shoots that appear from time to time on the basis of the stem are also suitable.
Each petiole that you cut for planting must have at least 2-3 kidneys. Cut the escape obliquely if there are lower leaves - they are cut off, the upper ones are simply reduced (by a third or half). To root a petiole should be in:
- Wet sand
- Sphagnum
- Cooking soil
- Perlit
- Vermiculite
Important: any specially prepared substrate for germination is suitable. Be sure to check the acidity of the soil so that it is not “sour”. In an acidic environment, the plant will develop poorly or completely perish.
It is important to plant a petiole strictly at an angle, it is good if you drunk the place of cutting of the petiole in advance with a special stimulant for the formation of the roots. In order for the petiole to give roots, you will have to wait from about 3 to 4 months. Keep the plant warm, do not allow frosts and drafts, provide regular, but multiple light. Six months later, you can safely plant petioles in pots or flowerpots.
Important: if you divide the bush, do it either in the autumn or early spring. At this time, the laurel “sleeps” and such a process will not be traumatic for him. Divide so that each twig has viable roots.
How to feed a bay leaf in a pot?
After you deepen the seedling into the soil (from seed or cuttings - it does not matter) it should not be fed throughout the first year. Full -fledged top dressing with organicism (organic fertilizers), starting from the second year of Lavra's life.
In a professional flower store, you should purchase a universal mineral fertilizer, which is introduced into the soil, based on instructions and proportions on the packaging, once a month. If you do not regularly fertilize the soil of a bay bush, the plant will survive it quite normal.
It is much worse for the laurel - regularly "feel" an excess of moisture in the ground. Do not worry if the bush grows slowly - this is quite normal for the laurel. Every year after the transplant, listen to the instructions for the care of the plant and you will notice its development.
Why does the bay leaf dry at home, what to do?
If the laurel bush began to dry and yellow leaves began to appear, which also lose their luster, the plant may have a number of reasons for this state:
- Wolly soil, which as a result leads to decay of the roots.
- “Tired” soil that does not give the plant an important amount of nutrients.
- There are pests in the root system or plant
- The temperature regime is not observed: too cold, the abundance of drafts.
- The plant is tormented by direct sunlight
- The plant needs a transplant or in a larger pot