Bay laurel
Laurus nobilis
Glossy evergreen of the stockpot — its scent is said to deter weevils and moths.
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 4 ft 11 in
- In-row spacing
- 4 ft 11 in
- Between rows
- 6 ft 7 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Calendar (from your frost dates)
- Plant out
- at the last spring frost
- First harvest
- 90 days after the last spring frost
- Harvest ends
- 14 days after the first fall frost
Growing
- Type
- Herb · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Watering
- Low
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained
- Feeding
- A slow-release feed in spring, and a monthly liquid feed for pots.
- USDA zones
- 8a–10b
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- June
- Pruning
- Shape it with pruners in midsummer — it takes to topiary well.
- Overwintering
- Shelter it from severe frost, and wrap containers through winter.
Through the year
- Mar–Mar Spring Growth
- Mar–Jun Harvest
- Jun–Oct Flowering
- Oct–Dec Growing
- Jan–Mar Growing
Harvest
- When
- As a slow-growing evergreen, bay can be picked in any month of the year; the leaves are most aromatic in mid–late summer when that season's growth has matured. There is no urgency to time of day, though dry foliage is preferable for storing.
- What to look for
- Choose fully mature leaves — deep glossy green, leathery, and stiff — rather than the paler, soft new growth, which is less aromatic and wilts limply. A mature leaf snapped in half releases a strong balsamic scent.
- How to harvest
- Pluck individual leaves by hand or snip small sprigs with secateurs, spreading your picking around the shrub so no branch is stripped bare. Harvesting doubles as light pruning; on a young plant take only a few leaves at a time until it is well established.
- How often
- Pick as needed year-round — the demand of a household kitchen is trivial to even a modest bush. Heavier cutting for shaping is best done in late spring and gives a bonus bulk harvest for drying.
- Storing the crop
- Fresh leaves keep for weeks in the fridge, but bay is the rare herb that is genuinely better dried: press leaves flat between boards or trays in a warm airy place for 1–2 weeks until brittle but still green. Dried leaves keep their flavor in an airtight jar for about a year — far longer than the shop-bought dust suggests.
Companions
Rosemary, Thyme, Sage
Pests & problems
- Psyllids Bay sucker
- Scale insects Immobile brown or white bumps fixed to stems and leaf undersides, sucking sap and weakening growth. Wipe off with a damp cloth or dab with horticultural soap; watch for the sooty mold that follows.
- Leaf spot Brown or black spots that spread and merge in wet weather, sometimes with yellow halos. Pick off affected leaves, clear fallen ones, and water at the base.
- Frost damage Soft new growth and open flowers blackened by late frosts. Fleece on cold nights, avoid planting in frost pockets, and resist cutting damage away until frosts pass.
Garden allies
Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant
- Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.
- Hoverfly SyrphidaeHunts Scale insects
Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.
Did you know?
Victors in ancient Greece and Rome were crowned with wreaths of bay laurel.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com