Bay Laurel Plants
Bay Laurel, also known as Sweet Bay is a culinary herb plant that makes a great addition to the kitchen garden and can easily be grown on a patio or deck.
Bay plants are very attractive with their waxy-looking olive green leaves, branches that can be trained to suit your taste, and flavorful leaves that will serve a valuable function as a versatile kitchen spice.
Container Grown Bay Laurel Plants
In its native Mediterranean climate Bay Laurel is an evergreen tree reaching heights of over forty feet. In Northern climates Sweet Bay will grow like a shrub or small plant and is normally maintained at about six feet in height. If your growing region experiences cold, freezing temperatures Bay plants should be grown in containers and moved indoors during the winter.
Visitors to the garden are often intrigued by the ornamental looking Sweet Bay herb plants that I grow in containers on the patio. They recognize the familiar look and shape of the plant’s leaves but often can’t quite place the glossy leaves growing on the plant rather than standing in the common McCormick spice jars.
To grow your own Bay Laurel purchase a six or eight inch tall starter plant from your local greenhouse or nursery in early spring. The plants are more expensive than the typical herb plant, but your investment will be returned in the form of loads of fresh Bay leaves from a plant that will survive over many seasons if properly maintained.
Caring for Sweet Bay Herb Plants
Plant your Bay Laurel herb in a twelve-inch wide container that has good drainage but is slow to dry out in hot weather. I like to grow Bay plants in glazed ceramic containers rather than clay pots for better moisture control. Sweet Bay is a slow grower and tolerates being slightly pot bound so you won’t need to transplant it to a larger container for at least several years.
Use a good quality potting soil and place a piece of screen or shards in the bottom of the container to allow the pot to drain easily. Sweet Bay plants don’t require much attention other than providing sufficient water, especially during hot weather. Also, don’t forget to feed the plant with an occasional dose of a balanced organic fertilizer.
Bay Laurel lends itself to pruning, training, growing as an espaliered plant, or even as a bonsai style herb plant. The plants will sometimes send up multiple shoots from the roots but I try to maintain a single main stem and prune the side shoots to encourage branching and bushier growth.
Growing Bay Laurel Plants Indoors
Sweet Bay can withstand the heat of summer and will grow best when allowed to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Delay bringing your Bay Laurel inside until late fall but don’t subject the plants to any freezing weather conditions.
Once the plants are moved indoors stop applying fertilizer and cut back on the amount of water that you provide over the winter, but don’t let the container completely dry out. Place the Bay Laurel in a relatively cool, well lit area, or use a grow light bulb to supplement the amount of light that the herb plant receives.
In early spring gradually allow the Bay Laurel plants to acclimate to the outdoors in the same manner that you would harden off vegetable transplants. The hardening off process can be completed in a shorter timeframe than for vegetable seedlings, but the Bay plants will need sufficient time to adjust to the harsher outdoor growing conditions before they resume their life outdoors.
Harvesting and Cooking with Bay Leaves
To harvest leaves from your Sweet Bay plant cut the older leaves from the stem with a pair of scissors, or if you’re careful you can simply pull the leaves off of the stem by hand. The large, older Bay leaves are preferred for cooking because they will contain more of the plant’s essential oil and impart more flavor to your favorite recipes.
A single Bay Laurel plant can supply the family chef with more than enough fresh leaves to season meals for the entire year. Harvest the Bay leaves from the plant as they are needed in the kitchen or remove and dry the leaves for future uses.
Fresh Bay leaves will be stronger than the dried herb and if you keep a live Bay plant around there’s really no need to preserve the leaves or purchase the spice from your grocer. Bay Laurel leaves are commonly used to season and add flavor to soups, stews, pot roasts, and other slow cooking kitchen recipes. Remove the leaves before serving because the leaves are tough and may have sharp edges.
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- Window Box Veggies
- Gardening Secrets Newsletter 11-15-07
- Garden Log 4-28-08: Off to a Great Beginning
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August 23rd, 2006 at 9:34 pm
I have a question about harvesting the leaves on my now-two-year-old bay laurel plants. I see that you say to harvest the oldest, biggest leaves… if you do, will they grow back? Or if I’m growing the plants for aesthetics as well as culinary use should I assume that there will be a bare spot wherever I take a leaf? Any suggestions?
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:43 pm
A friend of mine planted one of these in her old house and loved it. It’s been on my mental list but somehow I’ve never bought one yet. Thanks for the nudge.
August 23rd, 2006 at 11:07 pm
Hi Kim, unfortunately the harvested Bay leaves will not regrow so harvesting the herb for use in the kitchen will affect the plant’s appearance. But you can harvest from the lower portions of the stems or from fuller areas within the center of the Bay Laurel plant where it won’t be as noticeable. Or just pick a Bay leaf from a different area of the plant each time you decide to harvest. Another suggestion is to use the herb leaves from the sections of growth that are trimmed off to shape the Sweet Bay plant, or from the limbs that are pruned back to encourage the plant to branch and develop side shoots. Don’t worry if you wind up using the younger and smaller Bay leaves in your recipes, just use more of them.
August 24th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Thank you very much for the thorough response, Kenny! I know I sound picky for someone who’s growing edibles, but I have a tiny lot and small house so I try to make my edibles perform double duty as ornamentals, too. I appreciate the help.
August 27th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
In Ovid’s Metamorhoses, the nymph, Daphne was transformed into a bay laurel tree, to save her from Apollo’s unwelcome advances.
September 9th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
There are some plants near our home that are definitively laurel, more bush-like than tree-like but the same shape as a bay leaf. Thery are also fragrant with a mild anisette smell. I am tempted to try cooking with them, but, first I thought I would ask if anyone knows if I may poison myself. Any knowledgable responses out there?
September 12th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Yes, you can poison yourself or become seriously ill by consuming wild plants that you’re not sure about. To be safe send a sample of the plant that you believe is Bay Laurel to your local Cooperative Extension Office for a positive identification. Or contact the Master Gardener Program to locate an experienced gardener who is familiar with the edible wild plants in your region. Whether it’s bay leaf or any other wild plant or edible weed, it’s important to exercise caution before eating and cooking plants until you are absolutely certain about the identification.
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:52 am
I would like to purchase bay laurel plant can’t locate a source my area. Could provide an on line
vendor?
Thanks
February 4th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
There are tons of online herb plant suppliers such as the Thyme Garden Herb Company that offer Bay Laurel plants and other culinary and medicinal herbs. You may have trouble obtaining herb plants during the winter though as most only ship plants from spring through the summer seasons. Your best chance of obtaining a Bay tree during the winter is to locate a local nursery or garden center that still has Bay plants available in their greenhouse.
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:07 am
Can you please tell me how deep the roots can penetrate the ground as I am in desperate need to know for I have a serious problem with erosion in my land and I was advised to plant bay plants because “they are deep rooted”
It has to be bushes and not trees to be planted for my purposes otherwise I will lose the view of my house.
Thank you very much in advance
Malamo
February 25th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Hi Malamo, I’m not sure how deep down the roots of Bay Laurel plants will penetrate as all of mine have been container grown. But the root systems do seem to be extensive, which should help to control your erosion problem. Bay Plants are easy to prune and maintain as a shrub so you won’t have to worry about disrupting your view. You didn’t mention where you live, so take into consideration that bay plants will not survive the winter outdoors in cold winter climates.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Our bay plant is on its third winter indoors. Although we water it weekly, the leaves have dried out the past two winters. The first winter it took quite a while, but this winter it happened earlier. The plant is not dead and the leaves have not fallen off, but they are curled up. The plant has started growing new leaves at the soil line that are vigorous and healthy. What do you suggest? Prune it back? Discard dried leaves?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Hi Deb, spending the winter indoors can be pretty tough on perennial herbs like Rosemary and Bay Laurel. I would remove any dead leaves, check for scale or aphid infestations, do a little pruning, continue watering, and get the Sweet Bay plant back outdoors as soon as the weather permits.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Thanks for this article and all the comments. Just today I picked up another Bay Laurel. Though I had a potted shrub that did well for several years, it just up-and-died last year. From my previous unsuscessful attempts I found that in my zone 8, very wet garden that staying outdoors through winter was OK as long as I put it on the side of the house protected from wind and wrapped a grass mat around it in the couldest part of winter. From reading your article I will, again pot it for the time being but provide better drainage. And feed it !! sometimes.
Thanks
July 1st, 2007 at 12:45 pm
This is a great resource…thanks! I have a bay laurel tree that has only been indoors since I bought it from a reliable local greenhouse about 8 months ago. It was probably 2 or 3 years old at the time I bought it (3 ft tall). What Deb was describing about her plant was occuring with mine as well, so I repotted the tree, with fertile potting soil and organic bone meal. In addition, I placed some stones and pot shards in the bottom of the pot. Now, it is outside, getting sun, getting watered at reasonable intervals, and it is still drying out and just looking rough. Could you suggest any other strategies for me to prevent my beloved tree from dying? Is there a course the tree may take after it is repotted that can cause it to look worse before it gets better? Thanks so much!
July 1st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Thanks Andreas! Some of my bay laurel plant’s leaves started to become dry and brittle over the winter but once the plant went back outside it recovered nicely and began producing a large flush of new, bushy, light-green leaf growth all over as if the plant was celebrating the arrival of spring. Transplanting and relocating the Bay plant outdoors can cause some stress. Don’t move it from indoors to a full sun setting, find a shady spot, keep it well watered, and gradually move it over a period of weeks until it can stand full sun. Good luck with your Sweet Bay tree.
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:55 am
One more thing…I discovered what look like little orange “blisters” underneath the leaves of my bay laurel. They are particularly heavy on the sick-looking leaves and they primarily seem to follow the line the stem makes through the leaf. Is this a mold, or other parasite? What should I do about that? Thanks again!
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:55 am
I noticed something similar on my Bay tree, it looks like some type of scale, and was located mainly on the tops of the bay leaves. The majority of the scale cleared up on its own once the Bay Laurel plant was moved outdoors. I guess I have beneficial predators that have been feeding on the scale. You can remove the bay leaves that are heavily infested and apply an insecticidal soap spray or a summer weight dormant oil spray.
September 13th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Would Bay Laurel form a good ‘barrier’ along a 25 meter long boundary between a house & its garden and a shopping centre next door. We are looking for something which would grow to about 10 meters, and provide shelter from the prevailing wind in Winter. They are available to buy at up to 3 meters tall - at this size would they survive Irish winters which sometimes reach minus 6 to minus 7 for a couple of days ?
September 13th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Tom, I doubt that the Bay Laurel will survive your winters outdoors, or make a good windscreen in the situation that you described. You’ll probably be better off selecting some type of evergreen shrub to use as a barrier and windbreak.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Hi Kenny:
I love my Bay Laurel. I am growing it in a pot, in my kitchen. At first, it was doing really well, but now, the leaves are no longer glossy and they are dry rusty looking. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
September 17th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Deb,
We have 2 four or five foot bay trees that we move indoors and out depending on the season. I’ve seen the dry rusty look in 2 situations. 1, if they are ’sunburned’, or toward the end of the winter when they’ve been in the dry house all season. We have a wood stove and the room they’re in is terribly dry. I would try and insectical soap (just in case) first, and then if that doesn’t remedy the situation, try mistin them every few days.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Deb, what are the lighting, temperature, and humidity conditions in your home? Bay Laurel plants don’t grow very well over the long term in the typical home environment. Like Irene, I keep my plants outdoors as much as possible and use supplemental lighting when this herb is growing inside. After spending a few months indoors over the winter the bay plants usually look a bit ragged and can’t wait to get back outside. It doesn’t take much time after gradually easing them back outdoors for the sweet bay to perk up and begin to look like itself again. I’ve seen even dry looking leaves revive themselves, but if they are discolored or look diseased I would remove them from the plant. You can also try misting or set the plant on a shallow humidity tray containing water and stones to elevate the bay plant’s container above the water level.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
My 5 year old Laurel Bay Bush was doing fine until recently. I live in the desert and the leaves are covered with a shiny sticky substance. What is it and can the leaves be used? Is this some kind of disease or pest that can be treated?
October 17th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Marilyn, it could be aphids or some type of scale attacking your Bay Laurel. Is there any sight of the pest on the plant? Are the plants growing outdoors where they are exposed to a natural growing environment and access to beneficial insects? If the plant is indoors start by moving it outdoors for a while. If necessary you could later apply an insecticidal soap spray, if that doesn’t help try a light application of a summer dormant oil spray but be careful due to your desert climate.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Kenny, I ordered and received two bay plants from a vendor on the internet this summer. The plants have been very happy on my front porch, where they get morning sun. Both plants have a center stalk that is approximately 3 feet tall and three or four small shoots that have come out near the base of the plant. I would like to encourage the plants to have a bushy appearance, rather than having the one tall stalk that continues to grow upward but not outward. I would appreciate suggestions on to prune or not to prune and (if so) how to prune. Thanks for your help.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Hi Freda, it sounds like your bay plants are growing very well. You can remove about a third of the central stem above a bud to encourage the plant to branch and grow bushier. You can also cut back or remove the side shoots depending on the form that you want to establish with the bay laurel plant. Just don’t remove too much of the plant’s leaves at one time. Good luck.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I live in Portland, Oregon, and bought a 6″ plant many years ago that I “knew” might not make it over winter. It is now about 20 feet tall, with three trunks, and suckers at the bottom, and it is threatening to take over the world.
We get snow and freezes, but it does not seem to phase my tree, which is between the garage and the house by the driveway.
One year two friends harvested a ton of branches for wreaths, and it didn’t phase the tree.
As I write this, it has buds on the upper branches. The buds are very tasty and round so they are not sharp. I like to eat them. The flowers smell good. It flowers in the spring as well usually.
Since I bought my tree I have discovered many others around town, some larger and older than mine. They can take intense pruning. Mine is pruned about 7 feet up from the ground so I can walk under it to get to the back yard.
My take is that they will survive a great deal more cold than one might think. There are microclimates around many an urban yard. I had an avocado that survived outside for several years as well.
Cheers! Anyone who lives nearby is welcome to take a look at mine. All my neighbors know they can gather leaves whenever they wish. I am always giving them away.
Mary Saunders
February 18th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I just bought a bay laurel from our local nursery and have no clue how to clean the leaves. They look like they have water rings on them. Is that normal? What should I use to clean the leaves.
Thanks,
Connie
February 19th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Connie, I’ve never bothered with cleaning the leaves of a Bay Laurel plant and I wouldn’t think that it was anything more than harmless water spots. If you wanted to you could carefully wipe the bay leaves off with a damp cloth.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
My Bay tree was doing great up to 4-6 weeks ago. Most of the leaves have started to shrivel, some show dark patches and more importantly they are kind of sticky to the touch… The tree was outside until October and it has been inside since then. Any suggestion?
Thanks, Gio
March 30th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Hi Gio, sounds like you weren’t watering the bay plant enough during the winter months that it spent inside. The sticky stuff may be from scale on the plant. My bay laurel tree had the same thing happen while it was indoors one year, but it cleared up on its own after the tree went back outside in the spring. I would just water your bay plant a little more frequently to see if it will recover and get it back outside as soon as the weather will permit.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
I second that taking it outside will expose it to sufficient predators to deal with insect issues. My bay is outside all the time, but I take my citrus in and out. When they have had scale, something outside takes care of it.
I also second that this is a very thirsty tree. It is dry under my outside tree nearly all the time, even though this is Oregon and it rains a lot. It does make it through summer without irrigation. This is a hint that the roots may go deep.
The flowers smell really good to me, sort of like incense.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:40 am
Thank you both for response. The tree has been moved outside immediately!!! I will let you know how it goes!
April 16th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I have a small Bay that I bought about 2 years ago. The first year it was fine and I took leaves off not knowing that they would not return. It started not doing well so I repotted it and it perked up. We just moved and I repotted it again but in a much begger pot. It has shots coming up from the bottom but has never flowered. At what age do they flower? Do I need to plant it in the ground? I live in Texas and never taken it inside. I have covered it when the tempeture went down below 40? What can I do to help it flower?
April 16th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I have never done anything special to mine to make it flower. It has been encased in ice some winters. It certainly froze many times this winter here. The buds just seem to go dormant if it is cold, and then they wake up when it gets warm enough. I have found it to be far hardier than nursery owners seem to know about. I cannot remember how old it was before it flowered. I don’t think it was that old, maybe three? Anyone else have input on this?
April 17th, 2008 at 12:56 am
My Bay Laurel Plants have never flowered even though they continue to mature and grow larger. My oldest plant is about four years old and at least five feet tall but has shown no sign of producing any flowers. I don’t know if it is just related to the climate where the bay plant is grown.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:18 am
[...] In its native Mediterranean climate Bay Laurel is an evergreen tree reaching heights of over forty feet. In Northern climates Sweet Bay will grow like a shrub or small plant and is normally maintained at about six feet in height. If your growing region experiences cold, freezing temperatures Bay plants should be grown in containers and moved indoors during the winter. 2 [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I think I have three bay laurels, in a boarder along my wall. When we bought the house four years ago they were very small and the owner told me to keep trimming it back so it would eventually fill out to cover the wall behind it. Four years have past and despite my ‘hacking’ away at them with shears twice a year, never feeding them and them being exposed to freezing temperatures every winter they have flourished.
I have a couple of problems with them though, first being that one of the bay laurel bushes has always had mottled leaves and I never thought anything of it until I read this thread. It’s not scale or mould just a yellow spotted discolouration of the leaf, and this bush is the only one that has started to flower for the very first time this year. I think it’s pretty healthy, could this be a slightly different kind of laurel?
The other two have lovely shiny green leaves but no flowers. The end bush though doesn’t get as much sunlight as the others and doesn’t seem to be ‘filling out’ as well, does anyone have any suggestions for helping it?
May 30th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I bought a bay laurel last year, live in Northern Virginia and left it out all winter. We barely had a winter but the leaves are spotted. Is that disease? I was just going to prune back and see what happens. Good idea or not? Thanks.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Hi Maria, the spots on your bay laurel plants could be the sign of some sort of disease but I wouldn’t worry about it too much unless it really starts to spread or cause physical damage to the bay plant. Yes, I would prune the affected areas and keep an eye on the plant. You could also take a sample of the spotted leaves to an agriculture extension office to see if they can identify the problem for you, but again I wouldn’t apply any chemicals to the bay laurel and just give the plant a chance to recover from its winter break. My bay plant is pushing out all kinds of new growth and I need to prune it to reduce the height a little and encourage a little more fullness to the plant.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Does anyone know the lowest temperature a bay laurel could/should survive? I was intrigued by the post from Mary Saunders from Oregon and her experience. I live in the Lexington, Kentucky area. We have mild winters but a few times a year it can get very cold. Would covering the plant when a freeze is expected be sufficient? Thanks
Carol
June 26th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Once establishes, the trees seem to survive quite cold weather. Mine has been completely coated in ice for some days, but I know that ice insulates.
It has been subjected to dry cold also, but I don’t know the exact temperature.
My tree is next to a building and concrete, which also mediate temperature. Then there is the possibility that your location may get warmer from global warming.
If you plant one of these, it may thrive, so you should be prepared for 40 feet of tree unless you prune mercilessly. You should also be prepared that it soaks water down efficiently. It is likely nothing will grow in its shadow for some distance out, unless you water constantly during dry periods.
If it succumbs, at least the corpse is wonderfully fragrant. My guess is there may be somebody in Kentucky with a successful tree. After all, they make the victory wreaths out of it at the derby, last I heard.
June 30th, 2008 at 10:24 am
can the bay leaf tree be grown in my area, south florida. thanks Rich
June 30th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Sure it can, the bay laurel will probably grow better for you in South Florida than it does here in Central PA, and you won’t have to deal with the issues of moving and growing in indoors during the winter months.