{"product_id":"bay-tree-laurus-miles-choice","title":"Bay Tree - Laurus Miles Choice","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn a temperate Australian garden, bay clips into a hedge you cannot see through: dark, leathery, aromatic leaves packed tight on the trimmed face, on a plant that keeps doing that for decades. Miles Choice is a named selection of Laurus nobilis, picked out for thicker, more uniform growth than bay raised from seed, and that matters more in a hedge than anywhere else. Seedling bay varies from plant to plant in vigour, leaf size and density, which shows up as lumps and thin patches along a row. A run of one selection fills in more evenly and takes the shears at the same rate along its whole length. Every trim also hands you leaves for the kitchen, which is more than a photinia or a lilly pilly hedge can offer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eA slow hedge that lasts\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBay is slow to moderate in growth, so a hedge planted from small plants takes several years to close up and reach screening height. That is the honest trade against the faster screening plants. If privacy is needed soon, start with the larger, well branched sizes and expect the hedge to thicken more than it climbs in the first few seasons. For a dense hedge, plant about 60 to 90 centimetres apart, closer for a low one; wider spacing simply takes longer to knit. The guide \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/how-many-plants-for-a-hedge\"\u003eHow many plants do I need for a hedge?\u003c\/a\u003e works through the numbers for a given length of fence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce it has filled out, it clips happily anywhere from waist height to well over head height, and it takes hard renovation, breaking new shoots from old wood when an overgrown hedge is cut back in spring. Keep the base slightly wider than the top so light reaches the lower leaves. Bay also sends up suckers from the base, which in a hedge is useful because they thicken the bottom. Shear two or three times between spring and early autumn. Hedge trimmers slice through some of the large leaves and leave brown edges for a few weeks, which new growth soon covers; on a formal shape near the house, secateurs give a cleaner finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhere it holds up, and where it does not\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBay suits temperate gardens from Sydney through the Southern Highlands to Melbourne and inland Victoria, in full sun or part shade, though any stretch of the hedge that sits in heavy shade grows thinner and more open than the rest. A row is only as good as its wettest metre. Planted along a boggy fence line, or in clay that holds water through winter, bay yellows and fails plant by plant, so improve drainage along the whole trench rather than under each plant. Once its roots are down it copes with dry summers on low to moderate water, and light frost does little harm to established plants. On an exposed coastal frontage, direct salt wind burns the windward face of the hedge, though a row sheltered behind houses or other planting is fine. Scale is the pest to watch on a long row. Black sooty mould on the lower leaves means it has been missed; turn over leaves on a few plants each month through the warm season and use horticultural oil while numbers are low.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhich bay, and which laurel\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly Laurus nobilis is the kitchen bay. Cherry laurel and Portuguese laurel, often sold for hedging under the same loose name, are Prunus species with poisonous leaves, so check the label before cooking from a hedge you did not plant. Even true bay is best kept away from dogs, cats and horses that browse foliage, since large amounts can upset their stomachs. For a lower edge or a pair of clipped pots, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/laurus-nobilis-baby-bay\"\u003eLaurus nobilis Baby Bay\u003c\/a\u003e has smaller leaves and a naturally tighter habit, while the straight species \u003ca href=\"\/products\/laurus-nobilis\"\u003eLaurus nobilis\u003c\/a\u003e suits a single large shrub or small tree where uniformity matters less. Feed the hedge in spring with a slow release fertiliser and mulch the root zone. For other options at the same job, see the full \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/hedges\"\u003eHedging Plants\u003c\/a\u003e range.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 5 sizes, from 300mm up to 75L, priced from $139.00 to $769.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/fast-growing-privacy-screen-plants-australia\"\u003efast growing screening plants\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67670209397105,"sku":null,"price":139.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":67670209462641,"sku":null,"price":359.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500mm","offer_id":67670209495409,"sku":null,"price":669.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25L","offer_id":67670209528177,"sku":null,"price":199.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75L","offer_id":67670209560945,"sku":null,"price":769.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/bay-tree-laurus-miles-choice.jpg?v=1791513218","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/bay-tree-laurus-miles-choice","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}