Bay Tree Bonsai Progression (2016 – Now)

This is my bay tree (Laurus nobilis) that I bought as a small plant from a garden centre in 2016 and have been developing into a bonsai ever since.

If you want to watch it in video format, you can watch the YouTube playlist below. The videos show the progression every month throughout the year, sort of like a time lapse.

Just be aware some of my earlier videos are not the best quality, but just like my trees, the quality slowly improves over time, so stick with them and they both get a little better towards the end.

Bay is a common kitchen herb and it is not commonly used for bonsai. It can be used and you can get some good results. You can read more about their suitability – Are Bay Trees Good For Bonsai?

2016

In 2016 I seen a small bay tree for sale in a shop for only a few pound, so I bought it.

I am not exactly sure when this was, but I did repot the tree into some good soil and bigger pot …but this was done in July, which is kind of crazy, even more so when you realise I pruned the roots as well.

However, it somehow survived and  it was  left alone for the rest of the year to recover from what I imagine was a very stressful repot.

2017

I am not quite sure what work I did in 2017. I think I just left it alone and did nothing to it. I was growing it inside, so it just sat on the windowsill of my kitchen.

2018

Again in 2018 I am not too sure exactly what I did with the tree, but I think I left it alone again for the year.

2019

I started 2019 by trimming the back. I was moving house in early spring I wanted the size of the tree to be a bit smaller so it would be easier to ship.

It had also been living inside until this point and in spring 2019 it was put outside, which will be much better for it.

It initially got pretty scorched by the sun, so I trimmed back all the burnt bits as they were basically dead.

I also removed a long branch that was growing from the base… it was coming out of the soil, so I couldn’t tell exactly where it was coming from. I wanted to leave it to help thicken the trunk, but I thought it was originating from a root, so I removed it so it would not make this root any thicker. 

By the summer it was covered in new buds so it had finally settled in to being outside and recovered from the sun burn.

It was then was just left for the rest of the year to grow.

2020

2020 started with a light prune to balance everything out before the spring growth.

In spring when the buds started to swell I repotted it.

I put it into a bigger pot. I was not fully sure when the last repot was, it may have been in 2017 or 2018, but I have a feeling it was when I first potted up in 2016.

However, the roots where pretty good and I pruned them back to help develop them. They are coming along nicely and I’m pretty happy with them since they have not had much work since Ive owned it.

This time I potted the tree into a bigger pot.

A few weeks later It had a little sun burn again. There were probably not enough roots to cope with the warm weather so soon after the repot.

Luckily over the summer it had greened back up and was looking very healthy.

After the repot I didn’t do any more work on the tree. It was just left alone for the rest of the year.

2021

In 2021 the tree was pretty much left alone. Although it had been left alone most of the previous year, the tree was growing very slowly. It really took its time to recover from the repot.

This meant I nothing in early 2021. It did not need pruned back and it did not repotted.

I then did nothing else throughout the year. It just left alone and grew very slowly again.  

2022

In 2022 it did look a bit bushier compared to a year ago, but the shoots where all about equal size and nothing looked too out of control, so I just left it and did no pruning.

I also did not repot again. I am guessing it is getting busy in there, but it is also growing very slowly, so I think I can leave it for another year.

Interestingly it actually flowered in spring, which was very cool and I’ve never seen this before. The flowers are very small and they did not last long.  

The tree was left alone for the rest of the year, and it grew slowly.

2023

2023 started with a light pruning just before spring. It was mostly just some longer tips, but this small pruning will still help its development.

After this, it was left alone. I also didn’t repot the tree. It’s been a while, but it’s slow growing and I don’t think the pot will be filled with.

2024

And that is where we are up to with this tree.

The plan going forward is probably going to be very similar. It probably will need a repot, but we will see.

If you have a bay and are unsure what to do, you can read my Bay Tree Bonsai Care Guide