About bay trees..

[goodlife]

I have bay tree that is...umm...about 20 yrs old and it has never ever produced even a single flower!? I wondering why not?
I just walked by one of the neighbour's bay trees and it is full of flower buds!?..and that tree is less than half of the age of mine!
Does anybody know if there is variety that may not flower? Surely even male trees will produce some sort of bud to produce pollen?
Or is lack of flowering/budding just cultural thing? My is growing slightly challenging place, but even then, it is healthy, doesn't suffer with frost bites or any other extremes...maybe it is too happy and needs more challenging...? 
Not that I need my bay to flower...just feeling curious and slightly like I'm missing something...
Any ideas?

[goodlife]

[ACE]

I don't think there is any rhyme or reason for it. We had a cemetery hedge that must have been 2 miles in length all round that we maintained with the parks and gardens dept. I cannot remember it flowering anywhere, but I never visited it unless we were cutting it in the autumn. If I remember right I can picture black berries on one part of it, so that strip of hedge must have flowered. I bet it is like holly, male and female.

[Digeroo]

I have one and it is quite old possibly more than 20 years.  It was a cutting from my mothers one.  A couple a years ago everything died down to the ground in the cold but it eventually came back from the root.  Suddenly this year for the first time ever it is covered in flowers.  I

[Jayb]

The one I've got is likely coming up for 20 year old and has been flowering and fruiting for quite some years, nothing I do it just seems happy where it is. I've no idea where the male tree might be, I don't think it can be very close but so far berries have set each year.

[Duke Ellington]

Mine is 15 years old and for the first time it's flowering.

[Silverleaf]

I bet it is like holly, male and female.

You're right, bay is dioecious, meaning it has male and female flowers on different plants.

[Borlotti]

My bay tree has got a birds nest in it.  Will look tomorrow.