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There are a handful of common problems that can affect bays, especially trees in pots, which always need extra care.
Spotting and fixing the problems promptly will give your bay a new lease of life.
They are resilient trees that respond well to pruning and replanting.<\/p>
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Our guide to troubleshooting the six most frequently encountered bay issues<\/h2>
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When your bays look bad, inspect the leaves, and inspect the soil moisture.
The most common causes of these problems are:<\/p>
<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Yellow leaves on bay trees are usually caused by overwatering<\/strong>, or by nutrient deficiency<\/strong>, both of which are more likely with potted trees.<\/p> <\/p> Yellow leaves caused by constantly wet soil around the roots<\/strong> often happens to bays in pots that can’t drain<\/strong>, and trees that are irrigated unnecessarily<\/strong> by sprinklers, road run off, etc.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Yellow leaves could also be nutrient deficiency,<\/strong> lack of N-P-K. <\/p>\n
\n Pot Grown Bays<\/strong><\/td>\n Bays Growing in the Ground<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Poor drainage is keeping the roots wet too long<\/td>\n Overwatering, often unintentional by lawn sprinklers, road run-off, etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Underwatering, sometimes the potting soil mix is not absorbent & the core stays dry<\/td>\n Location is too wet.
Bay likes heavy clay on uphill places that dry in Winter, but not winter waterlogging.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n Lack of nutrients<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure> ![\"Lollipop](\"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bay-trees.jpg\")
<\/figure>Bay Tree Leaves Turning Yellow<\/h3>
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Again, it’s typically an issue with pot grown trees<\/strong>, which cannot access soil nutrients<\/strong>.<\/p>
![\"Yellow](\"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/yellow.jpg\")
<\/figure>![\"Brown](\"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/brown-bay-leaves.jpg\")
<\/figure>