Hi John
It’s hard to loose and old friend. To bad that it wasn’t in a large container so you could have controlled the growth. Regardless of whether the roots will cause damage, if the tree is too close to the building it has the potential of becoming a liability. Is it possible to dig it up and move it to another location?
You can take cuttings and start a new plant but be aware that they are difficult and slow to root.
To root bay laurel take a 4 inch cutting of new growth and strip away all but the top 2 leaves, dip in rooting hormone and plant in a 1/2 sand 1/2 peat mix. Cover with plastic to help keep the soil moist and maintain humidity. Place cuttings in a warm spot with filtered light. Heal cuttings (part of main stem attached) also work . Cuttings can be taken 8 weeks after new spring growth and rooting can take up to 6 weeks. Late summer/early fall cuttings are slower to root and will take several months. Bay laurel can also propagated by layering in spring.
Good luck with propagating your bay laurel.

HI Glennie
The perforated spots are probably from outdoor insects feeding on the plant. It possible to to get leaf miner. They are flat larvae that live between leaf layers. If you can see some pick off the leaves. Check your plants while they are indoors to make sure no other visitors ( scale, spider mites, mealy bugs) have hitchhicked in the soil.

HI Audrey
You can carefully separate both stems and plant each one in individual pots. I would wet the soil and knock out the bay out of its pot and then separate the roots instead of cutting them. Replant and place in a shaded area for a week or so.

Hi Abigail
It may be both. When transplanted a plant is in its weakened state and can become suceptible to disease. It may be shedding some of its leaves to accommodate the “damaged” root system. As for the spots on the leaves-it may be a leaf spot of some type perhaps Anthracnose. Hopefully, your bay tree will recover. If new growth also has leaf spot then take a sample to your local extension office to find out what it is.

Hi
Sound like your bay tree may have scale-an insect that favors bay. Our article on scale has other suggestions for treatment.

Hi Danielle
In addition to transplant shock, the extra moisture from the rain may have stressed the roots more. It may be that your bay laurel was too wet and the roots started to rot. You don’t mention wether the pot drains from the bottom. Bay leaf likes well drained, loose soil. Put it in a dry, semi shade area so that it can recup and grow more roots to maintain the leaves. You can also prune it back by 1/3. It’s not too late to send out new growth from the nodes.

Hi Tandra
There are many factors that can cause browning leaf tips: overwatering, underwatering, low humidity, too high, too low temperatures and drastic temperature change. The damaged leaves will eventually fall off and new growth will replace and fill in.

After more research I found that tan margins on bay leaves can be caused by soluble salt damage to the roots. An accumulation of soil salts (mineral deposits) from fertilizers and or dry soil. This happens when you don’t water properly. Kncok the plant out of the pot and check the roots. You should have creamy white roots, if not then there is root damage due to soluble salt accumulation. To correct this problem, leach out the excess soil salts by watering your plant thoroughly to get all the roots wet. Water until it flows out of the bottom of the pot and then repeat once more. Excess salts will wash out with the draining water.
To avoid this problem- each time you water be sure it drains from the bottom and re-water when the top 2 inches feel dry. The time span between watering should be longer in winter as plants are not actively growing. See above picture

Bay Laurel is hardy in zone 7-10. Might find some on the internet or even your local nursery.