Among the spicy, essential and medicinal plants of indoor format, laurel noble is the easiest to grow. Laurels can become a real decoration of the interior if you provide them with simple regular maintenance. And the fragrant, elegant, evergreen leaves of this plant can be harvested and dried as a homemade spice. But for this you have to sacrifice splendor. Laurel has many other advantages. For the beauty of the silhouette and the nobility of textures, few can compete with it. And the relative unpretentiousness of the legendary plant in the rooms can be a pleasant surprise.
Noble room laurel – beautiful, unpretentious and useful
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Legendary laurel in room format
One of the oldest medicinal, sacred, mythological plants introduced into culture, with wreaths from which the heads of Roman emperors were crowned, is appreciated not only for its aroma that improves the taste of soups, meat dishes and fish. The phytoncidal capabilities of laurel make it a favorite of any landscaping. And the noble appearance has long become an example of classical beauty.
Lavr the Noble (Laurus nobilis) Is a legendary type, most often found in interiors. Indoor shrubs and trees are several times more compact than natural laurels. Their height, depending on the formation and cutting, is usually limited to 1-2 meters. But all the other features, even in indoor laurels, do not fade at all.
Brown smooth bark, naturally austere or dense cone-shaped crown is a “visiting card” of laurels. As well as whole or slightly wavy, lanceolate, large, hard-skinned, 8 to 15 cm long, grayish green above and light below, very fragrant leaves.
The flowering of laurels indoors is considered a rarity – these are decorative deciduous indoor plants. Small greenish flowers bloom in axillary inflorescences. Laurel has very beautiful fruits – dark blue, juicy and fragrant drupes.
Laurel noble (Laurus nobilis). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com kdc-bikin
Growing conditions for indoor laurels
Despite the fact that the laurel has become a symbol primarily of the Mediterranean landscapes, it is grown everywhere in the mild subtropical climate. The plant adapts well to the indoor format and requires only modest imitation of natural conditions, perfectly putting up with the lack of lighting and not even requiring the obligatory cold wintering.
Lighting and placement
Indoor laurels can be ranked as light-loving plants only conditionally. The greatest decorativeness of greenery and growth rate can be achieved in diffused bright lighting. Plants, which are brought to fresh air in summer, can grow in the sunniest places; in rooms on a hot southern windowsill, the bushes can suffer under the midday sun and dry out.
A place near the east and west windows is considered ideal. Laurel is often touted as a shade-tolerant culture. He really can withstand the shade, but almost does not grow, does not branch at all and loses resistance to both pests and improper care.
For the winter, the lighting for the laurel does not have to be made as bright as possible, any bright place in the house is enough for it, but even partial shade will be uncomfortable.
All changes in lighting for laurel should be soft, gradual.
Read also our article Rosemary in the garden and at home – a fragrant spice without too much hassle.
Temperature control and ventilation
Laurels during active growing season feel great at any temperature from 21 degrees Celsius. They are not afraid of heat, provided they have access to fresh air and regular watering.
Wintering laurels is not the easiest moment in growing them. It is desirable to keep the plant in temperatures from 12 to 15 degrees Celsius. The laurel is not afraid of colder temperatures, it can endure even short frosts up to -5 degrees, but it is better not to bring it to extremes. If there is no way to create cool conditions for the winter, you need to monitor the humidity of the soil and air, restoring the plant by pruning in the spring.
Laurels successfully combine gardening and indoor careers. They can be used to decorate not only balconies, but also terraces or open areas. You can be one of the first to take out indoor laurels into the garden. They are not afraid of precipitation, but it is worth thinking about the stability of containers and protection from gusts of wind.
You can be one of the first to take out indoor laurels into the garden.
Laurel care at home
It is no coincidence that laurels are considered the easiest to grow tubular and large “useful” shrubs. They are relatively undemanding to care, can forgive some mistakes and are content with simple care without much frills.
Watering and air humidity
It is enough to never let the earthen person dry out completely and not bring it to stagnation of water and acidification of the soil. In winter, laurels are watered moderately. They do not allow the soil to dry out in the lower layers, but dry well in the middle and upper layers. But in the summer, watering is carried out abundantly and often. Drain the water from the trays after 5-10 minutes and only slightly dry the top of the substrate. If the laurel is in the heat, you will have to water it daily or more often.
Laurels do not need high humidity, but they do not like dry air either. In hot weather, as the main preventive measure against the spread of pests and to maintain a fresh, intense color of greens, it is better to include spraying in the care program. You can also replace them by installing a pallet with wet pebbles or moss.
Indoor-size laurels love showering, and this is the best way to clean leaves from dust.
Top dressing and composition of fertilizers
For laurels, modest dressings are enough during the growth period. Young plants can be fed every 2 weeks. But adult plants are content with 1 feeding per month from March to October. Any complex fertilizer containing not only macro-, but also microelements is suitable for a plant.
Pruning and shaping laurel
It is very difficult to grow indoor laurels without pruning. Laurel is one of the best candidates for the role of indoor topiary. It is easy to form cones, pyramids and spheres, standard trees and bonsai from plants. For formation, you can use both the method of strong pruning of shoots, and pinching.
The main pruning is usually carried out not in early spring, but after the growth has stopped – from the end of summer (not earlier than the third decade of August) and until October. When pruning shoots, it is important to leave at least 2 pairs of leaves. In the spring, on the bushes cut off in autumn, shoots are re-pinched to thicken the crown, especially if the laurels are formed in rounded silhouettes.
Sanitary pruning and cleaning of dry leaves can be done at any time.
It is very difficult to grow indoor laurels without pruning.
Transplant, containers and substrate
For laurels, there is no need to carry out annual transplants. Plants are transferred only when the roots are completely filled with the substrate, and the plant has nowhere to develop further, increasing the diameter of the container by 3-5 cm.When the maximum size of the tub is reached, instead of transshipment, they begin to frequently, once every 1 months, replace the topsoil.
For laurel noble in room culture, it is worth choosing large and deep containers. It is no coincidence that even in rooms it is considered a tub plant. Natural materials are preferred.
Laurels are content with a standard substrate, provided they are well nourished and drained. Usually, complex-component universal mixtures based on sod soil with the addition of peat, sand and leafy soil are chosen for it (proportion 4: 1: 1: 2).
Diseases, pests and growing problems
Indoor laurels often suffer from aphids, spider mites and scale insects. Preventing problems by spraying and spraying is easier than coping with lesions, because even the use of insecticides is not always effective – the pests love this evergreen plant so much.
Laurels, when the soil is swamped, kept at too high humidity in cold temperatures, can suffer from rot and from soot fungi. It is necessary to fight diseases with an emergency transplant, pruning of the affected parts and treatment with fungicides (preventive treatments continue for 2-3 years).
Reproduction of laurels is not an easy task. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Learn To Grow
Reproduction of the noble laurel
Despite its status as a popular plant, laurel propagation is not an easy task. Cuttings of the plant can only be cut in mid-spring (April) and the first half of summer (June-July). They are rooted under a hood, maintaining a light moisture content of the substrate and a temperature of about 25 degrees. Young plants require cool wintering and perfect care.
Indoor laurels are also grown from seeds. The result will have to wait for several years, but there is nothing complicated in sowing and the plants develop quickly. Sowing laurel seeds is carried out in the spring, to a depth of 1-2 cm, in a mixture of substrate and sand in equal parts. Crops should be kept warm at temperatures ranging from 18 to 23 degrees.
Seedlings dive after the appearance of the second true leaf. Usually two picks are used, seedlings are transferred to individual containers only for the next year. The most important thing in maintenance is to maintain an average air humidity and a constant light soil moisture. At the beginning of plant development, it is better to keep it cool; wintering in low temperatures for seedlings is mandatory.
