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This potted bay leaf sits on my deck and doesn't look too good. I'm not even sure what's going on- I know we got a lot of rain in San Francisco the past 10 months... Too much or too little sun? Maybe the wind? Is the plant sitting too proud in the pot?

How might I save it? Fingers crossed. Thank you!

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Becky
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  • I see small white flecks towards the base of a couple of leaves in your second picture, not sure if they're insects, fungal related or crystalline deposits - is there anything odd under the leaves? Its not dying by the way, there are some fat and healthy buds showing where new growth will start, but it certainly looks as if its suffered lack of sun and too much wind at the very least - they''re not keen on windy conditions in winter. – Bamboo Mar 30 '17 at 21:46

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Becky, were you the one who planted this guy in this pot? One problem is this plant is way too small for this large pot. Size of plant equals size of roots equals water sucking up to avoid root rot. If there is gravel or rocks or packing peanuts at the bottom of the soil that would really cause very poor drainage, saturated soil and a very unhealthy unhappy plant. Looks like you used potting soil which is great!

A weakened plant is susceptible to insects...such as spider mite which from your picture of the leaves... kind of looks like...gotta look under the leaves as well. This must be on the north side of your home. How much sun does this deck receive?

Too large of a pot and soil for this size plant number one. Looks like way too little sunlight. Using a magnifying glass look under those leaves for crawling insects. This is not wind. This is a struggling plant that needs to be repotted in a pot no larger than 6" of diameter, fresh potting soil, no rocks beneath that soil above the drainage hole, the bottom of the pot needs to be elevated off the surface below to enhance drainage. This guy needs sunlight, possibly treatment of spidermite (neem) and LESS WATERING.

stormy
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