Considered to be a large shrub or tree, the redbay or Persea borbonia has a variety of uses. The wood is highly prized for cabinetry and lumber. The leaves are spicy in flavor and can be used in soups.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Persea borbonia or redbay is a small, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to the southeastern United States. It belongs to the genus Persea, a group of evergreen trees including bays and the avocado. Persea borbonia has several common names including tisswood, scrubbay, shorebay, and swampbay.
Persea borbonia can be present as either a small tree or a large shrub. It has evergreen leaves that are about 3 to 6 inches long with a lance shape. The leaves are arranged alternately and emit a spicy smell when crushed. The leaves vary in color from bright green to dark green. These trees are capable of producing fruit that is a small, blue or black drupe. Redbay is a perennial, with a non-herbaceous stem that is lignified.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Redbay enjoys full sun with, at most, a small amount of partial shade. Because of this, it can be a houseplant if placed near to a sunny window. But if Avocado is (Persea americana) grown indoors, it may not produce edible fruits.
Living in shadow without sufficient sunlight, the growth of redbay will be impaired, and the leaves may not be the vibrant green color loved by gardeners. It is thought that the more sun Redbay (Persea borbonia) has, the better flavor its leaves will provide.
Temperature
Native to subtropical and tropical areas, the redbay is a hardy plant that flourishes in warmer areas. This tree will thrive at a temperature of 16 to 29 ℃ as long as it has access to the sunlight. It can withstand temperatures as low as -2 ℃, though it is better to move it indoors.
As an adaptable tree, the redbay will adjust its bloom period from late winter to early spring according to the conditions. It is this adaptability that makes this an excellent plant for either outdoors in the garden or as a well-pruned house tree. As long as the redbay is not overwatered and has good soil, it will remain healthy and happy.
Watering
Redbay doesn’t need much care as well as frequent watering. As a general rule, check the soil once a week to see if it is dry, and only water a moderate amount when the soil is dry. Overwatering can damage its shallow roots and the plant itself. Reduce watering especially after raining, and adjust your watering frequency depending on the weather condition.
If redbay is planted in a container, it may require more watering than ones planted in your garden. If your redbay is a household plant, then a good tip is to lightly mist its leaves twice a month to ensure it does not dry out.
Soil
The optimum soil for redbay is light soil which is well-draining with a pH value of 5.1-7.5 (so somewhat acidic). Because it needs soil which will not become water-logged, heavy clay soils are not suitable. Instead, a soil such as loam with an added mulch top layer would be preferable. The mulch layer can improve the quality of the soil where your redbay will thrive, though it can survive under nutrient-poor conditions.
Fertilizing
As redbay is slow-growing, it does not necessarily require much fertilizer. Ensure that your soil is nutrient-rich, and then fertilizer can be sparingly used to encourage growth. For example, sprinkling a slow-release fertilizer that is nitrogen-rich on top of the soil once in spring and again in summer if you feel it is required.
You can also use some fruit and vegetable fertilizer when it’s matured enough to fruit. Always it takes at least three years to bear fruit. A nutrient-balanced or slightly phosphorus-rich fertilizer will be good. When your redbay is blooming, it’s better to use liquid fertilizer since it works faster.
Planting Instructions
It is recommended to plant your redbay at the beginning of spring when the days are beginning to be sunny, and ensure that it can fully settle before winter. If planting it in the garden, make sure to leave ample space around the tree. It can grow very large and requires lots of sunlight thus avoiding nearby trees casting shade onto it. As the redbay has shallow roots, there is no need for a very deep hole, but the width of the hole should be twice as large as the root ball.
Redbay can happily grow in containers as well, but this will reduce the lifespan from 50 to around 20 years. It may require additional pruning if planted in a container to keep them at a healthy height and spread. Ensure the base is large enough to balance the weight of the foliage and be sure to re-pot your tree every three years into a larger container. After planting, remember to water redbay regularly, such as twice a week, for the first month as the plant settles.
Pruning
Regularly trim it back to keep the plant looking healthy and tidy. Although slow-growing, the redbay can reach 15 m in height and 9 m in width if not regularly pruned. Plus, the branches will start to droop as they age.
It is advised to prune little and often since a heavy prune can negatively affect the growth of the tree in the coming year. For example, you should prune your redbay from the beginning of spring until early summer. To prune, simply cut stems above a leaf node to maintain the shape of the tree. A good tip is never to prune the redbay after it has been raining as it can weaken the tree.
While the redbay is blooming with small flowers, you will not need to prune these flower branches as they do not impact on the growth of your tree.
Propagation
In recent years people have been keen to grow avocados in an interesting way. What you need is to clean all the fruit from the seed without damaging the brown skin. Use toothpicks piercing the seed to place it submerged into a glass of clean water. Notice that the flat end is the bottom and only half of the seed is in water. Place it under sunlight and change the water regularly (once or twice a week is recommended) until it sprouts. This may take 2-4 weeks.
If you decide to propagate red bay from seed and grow it as a potted plant, use a small pot with nutrient-rich, well-draining soil. Ensure that your pot is kept in a warm environment without any draughts and is well-watered until you start to see the seedling. Since the propagation of the Persea is generally a slow process, many choose to buy seedlings instead.
When your seedling is about 15 cm tall, you can move it into a 25 cm pot with rich humus soil. The top half of the seed should not be buried. And from then on you can wait for your seedling to grow and move it to a bigger container or your garden when it becomes a sapling.
Overwintering
Although the redbay is a hardy tree, a large amount of wet snow or ice can bend and break branches off the plant. In winter, check on your redbay in case there are large amounts of wet snow on the branches and remove the snow if you think your plant cannot cope.
If your redbay is a young plant planted into a container, consider bringing it indoors for winter, especially if it is very wet and rainy outside. The young plant maybe not yet resistant to the freezing weather, and the container may have a problem to drain excess water, which can cause damage to the redbay.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
Persea borbonia is cultivated as an ornamental tree for gardens and parks.
- Wildlife uses
Deer and bears also eat the leaves and fruits of redbay. Birds, including turkey, eat the plant’s bitter fruit.
- Other uses
The plant is not widely used now for medicinal purposes, however members of the Seminole tribe formerly used it as an emetic to induce vomiting. The dried-up leaves can be used as a condiment.
The wood is hard and strong and can be used to build boats, cabinets and for lining the interior of structures. The wood is not traded on a large scale so it is confined to the regions where P. borbonia grows.
IV. Harvesting and Storage
In Persea genus, Avocado (Persea americana) and Red Bay (Persea borbonia) are the two well-known edible species. Commonly, Avocado fruits are for eating raw whereas leaves of the Redbay are used as tea or flavorings in soups or curries.
The fruit of Avocado can be harvested from early summer till winter, depending on the cultivar and planting region. The tree starts to produce fruit from about 4 years old. As the fruit will not get soft on the tree, you are recommended to harvest right before eating. Harvest fruits can be stored under a low temperature of about 10 ℃.
As for Red Bay leaves using. These can be fresh or dried leaves. These leaves can be harvested throughout the year but are recommended to harvest in spring for the best flavor. To dry the leaves, simply hang them in a warm, dry area for three weeks. These should then be kept in an airtight container and used within six months.
The Persea tree does bloom in spring, but the flowers are considered insignificant and therefore not harvested. You may also notice small fruits on the Persea tree other than Avocado as well, but these are not suitable for human consumption.
