Standard Bay trunk bark splitting

Hi,
I wonder if anyone could advise on what the correct course of action is for this issue?
I rescued this Standard Bay from the discount section in our local Dobbies about five years after its predecessor croaked after I left a cap of snow sit on top of it over a particularly cold winter. It has always been very happy in the corner of the patio and apart from a trim and the occasional blast with Provento is very low maintenance.
Last year the lower trunk started to split and blister and a casual dig into the affected area, reveals layers of dead material but there is live material under this. This has a root, like look to it, but I’ll not probe into it again until I know a bit more.
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Hi

It’s raises its ugly head every so often .

no1 it’s because its growing in a pot needs to be kept out of winds especially during the winter.
No2 it’s irregular watering and feeding (the plant is stressed)
No3 harsh winter (stress)

But all not a lost cause but don’t be trying to peel the bark off just leave alone, you need a shrub fertiliser , and regular watering at least one a week and a full watering can , come June July august September twice a week.

try and raise the pot off the floor over winter as this will help with drainage and the pot and the bay need a fleece wrap or something similar but not plastic it will may make the leaves rot ( fleece will keep it more protected )

I notice you have slate chips on the top during the summer they can overheat and burn the roots close to the surface

hope that helps

Spruce

 

In 2022 some shrub and trees had split bark because of the draught in the summer. We've had a very dry few weeks.

I agree with what @Spruce has said and I also agree about the slate. Compost or wood chips or bark would be better.

 

Perhaps a bigger pot with fresh soil based compost would also help. As it is close to the fence, your plant is likely to be in a rain shadow and will rely on you for regular watering. My standard Bay in the ground developed the same split bark after the drought mentioned above but has continued to grow quite happily with the occasional foliar application of seaweed extract.

 

Hi thanks for the input, I have to say in defence of the slate clippings they are very good for suppressing weed growth and the base of this particular plant only spends a couple of hours in the early afternoon in direct sunlight because the fence blocks mid to late sun. It gets watered daily but I don’t feed it very frequently, I tend to give it a bucket of water when I clean the fish tank. But perhaps a handful of Toprose or similar might help. And seaweed sounds great, my dad used to have bags of the stuff rotting down behind the shed, when I was a lad.
I had considered applying fleece to it in winter, and will pencil this in for later in the year.
But I’m still not convinced that this has got to Bottom of the splitting and layers of material underneath, which is slightly reminiscent of a old horror film I once saw where someone’s skin was bulging and split, was it Q?

 

Poor effort , it was V I suspect