ASK DIARMUID

Q I have a lollipop shaped bay tree in a pot and a lot of the leaves have turned brown. Should I throw it out or could I still rescue it? And if so, how? Cris

A I can see from your photo that some of the older leaves have brown tips. This is often a response to environmental conditions such as too much rain. As it is a Mediterranean species it naturally prefers drier conditions. Sudden drops in temperature or very cold winds can also cause this.

But not to worry – I can see the tips of plenty of fresh spring leaves about to burst so just remove any of the unsightly brown leaves and it will start to look better as spring progresses.

If it’s in a small pot, it will probably benefit from a re-pot in fresh compost to a larger pot as well.