Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis)

The bay tree is a versatile evergreen shrub or small tree with dark green, aromatic leaves. (Laurus nobilis) originates from the Mediterranean and is widely grown in the ground, or in containers, clipped into attractive shapes. A slow-growing and easy-to-care-for plant, the bay tree is extremely popular. The aromatic leaves are widely used in all types of cookery, fresh from the garden or dried. Here’s everything you need to know about growing bay trees.

I. Appearance and Characteristics 

Laurus nobilis is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking. Its common names include bay tree (esp. United Kingdom), bay laurel, sweet bay, true laurel, Grecian laurel, or simply laurel. Laurus nobilis figures prominently in classical Greco-Roman culture.

Worldwide, many other kinds of plants in diverse families are also called “bay” or “laurel”, generally due to similarity of foliage or aroma to Laurus nobilis.

The laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree, variable in size and sometimes reaching 7–18 m (23–59 ft) tall. The genus Laurus includes three accepted species, whose diagnostic key characters often overlap.

The bay laurel is dioecious (unisexual), with male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm (3⁄8 in) diameter, and they are borne in pairs beside a leaf. The leaves are glabrous, 6–12 cm (2–5 in) long and 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+5⁄8 in) broad, with an entire (untoothed) margin. On some leaves the margin undulates. The fruit is a small, shiny black drupe-like berry about 1 cm (3⁄8 in) long that contains one seed.

II. How to Grow and Care

Sunlight

Keep your indoor bay laurel tree near a sunny window in winter. Avoid exposure to drafts and heat from appliances and air ducts. Outdoor plants prefer partial shade but will tolerate full sun. In areas with hot, dry summers, some afternoon shade is ideal.

The plant produces the best-flavored leaves if it receives full sun for at least a portion of the year.

Temperature and Humidity

In USDA growing zones below 8, bring your bay laurel indoors for the winter and give it relatively cool but bright conditions.

If the tree begins dropping leaves, it lacks sufficient humidity. Use the leaves in cooking, and consider installing a room humidifier to increase humidity levels in your home.

Watering

Water bay laurel plant regularly to keep the soil moist but not overly wet. Bay laurel roots are shallow and frequent watering could cause root rot to occur. Allow the soil to dry somewhat between waterings but do not let it dry out completely

Soil

Plant outdoor bay laurel trees in average garden soil that drains well. The ideal pH range is 6 to 7 but laurel bay is very versatile and will tolerate a range from 4.5 to 8.3. as well as loamy, sandy, and even clay soils.

Bay laurels grown in containers can be planted in an ordinary commercial potting mix.

Fertilizing

Feed a container-grown bay laurel plant in the spring using a balanced organic fertilizer, such as fish emulsion or kelp. Because bay laurel is slow-growing, it doesn’t require a great deal of food when grown outdoors in the landscape.

Bay laurel plants grown in containers, however, need supplemental fertilizer. It also helps to refresh the top few inches of soil each spring, being careful not to damage the shallow roots.

Pruning

Pruning a bay laurel is straightforward and done to control the size and shape of your plant. New dense growth will emerge from wherever you snip off the branches. Pruning is best done when the tree is not actively growing, from late winter to early spring before new growth emerges. You can prune as much or as little as you like to keep the tree small or to create a topiary artwork.

Propagation

Bay laurel is relatively easy to propagate by rooting softwood cuttings. This is a slow-growing plant, so be patient. You’ll need a small hand pruner, small pots, coarse sand, rooting hormone, and plastic coverings. Then follow these steps.

• In summer, use sterile pruners to take 6-inch cuttings from green, pliable branches.
• Fill small pots with coarse, moist sand, then dip the tip of each cutting into rooting hormone, and plant it in its container.
• Cover containers loosely with plastic, securing it with rubber bands.
• Place containers in a warm location with bright indirect light.
• Within a month or two roots should develop. Tug gently on the cutting and if you feel resistance roots have formed. Remove plastic covering and continue growing the cuttings until they are large enough for a permanent pot or an outdoor garden location.

Potting and Repotting 

Bay laurel makes a popular container plant that can live for decades. To keep its size in check, use a relatively small container but one with a broad enough base to prevent the tree from toppling over in the wind. A 24-inch pot will accommodate a 5- to 6-foot tree. Grow the plant in ordinary commercial potting mix.

Bay laurel grows best when it’s a little cramped in its pot, even to the point of roots starting to poke out the bottom. You shouldn’t need to repot more than once every five years.

Overwintering

Potted plants moved outdoors for summer should be brought indoors as temperatures begin to dip below 50°F. A plant that grows fine in a partial shade outdoor location will want more sunlight in the winter—give it a sunny window or patio door.

In warm-weather zones where your bay laurel is growing in the landscape, no winter protection is needed, though fall and winter are good times to do any pruning.

Pests and Diseases

Common Pests 

For the most part, bay laurel is pest-free. In fact, the plant and its leaves are often used to deter pests from other plants and in kitchen pantries.

Sweet Bay, Laurus nobilis. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.

Scale can be a problem and moths sometimes lay eggs between two leaves and fuse them with a cottony fluff. If you see two leaves that appear to be stuck together, gently peel them apart and remove the eggs or larva. Any number of other pests common to indoor houseplants can also affect bay laurel plants, especially mealybugs and spider mites, both of which are best treated with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap.

These plants have some susceptibility to fungal diseases:

• Anthracnose causes the tips of the leaves to turn brown or black, then gradually die. Remove affected leaves with sterilized pruners, and treat the soil with a fungicide (anthracnose is an internal infection). Severely infected plants will need to be destroyed.
• Powdery mildew creates a whitish residue on the leaves of the plant. Treat the plant with neem oil or another horticultural oil. Improving air circulation and keeping soil surfaces clean often prevent the disease.
• Phytophthora root rot is a known problem for bay laurel plants. It is a fungus-like organism that can cause the slow, gradual collapse of the plant. Early symptoms include the appearance of dark, gummy streaks on the bark, usually low on the stems. Fungicides may help control the disease, along with regular replacement of the top few inches of potting soil.

Common Problems 

While this is a fairly trouble-free plant, both as an indoor plant and outdoor specimen, some common problems may occur.

Winter Dieback

Winter dieback can happen with both garden grown and potted bay laurels that are left outdoors too long as winter approaches.8 If your bay laurel is hit by a light frost, the leaves will probably turn brown and dry. Often the tree will recover on its own the following spring.

If your tree does show signs of die-back in the spring, prune the stems down to below the damage. In extreme cases, cut the entire plant down to about 6 inches and allow new shoots to form from the base.

Leaf Drop

It is normal for a bay laurel plant to drop some leaves shortly after it is moved indoors from an outdoor location. Don’t worry if this happens. If the leaf drop is also accompanied by spotting on the leaves, the plant might have a foliar fungus that needs treating with fungicide.6

Cracked or Peeling Bark

Most common with landscape specimens but also possible with potted plants, a bay laurel that shows cracking or peeling bark might be suffering from rapid changes in moisture levels or temperatures. These plants like fairly steady temperatures and constant moisture levels. This problem is rarely fatal.

Yellow or Brown Leaves

Yellow leaves usually occur because a bay laurel is receiving too much moisture; brown leaves happen because it’s not getting enough water. Less commonly, insufficient feeding might cause yellowing leaves.

III. Uses and Benefits 

• Ornamental uses

Laurus nobilis is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in regions with Mediterranean or oceanic climates, and as a house plant or greenhouse plant in colder regions. It is used in topiary to create single erect stems with ball-shaped, box-shaped or twisted crowns; also for low hedges. However it is slow-growing and may take several years to reach the desired height. Together with a gold form, L. nobilis ‘Aurea’ and a willow-leaved form L. nobilis f. angustifolia, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

One of the most important pests affecting ornamental laurels is caused by the jumping plant louse Trioza alacris, which induces the curling and thickening of the edge of the leaves for the development of the insect’s nymphs, eventually creating a necrosed gall. The species is also affected by the scale insect Coccus hesperidum.

• Medicinal uses

In herbal medicine, aqueous extracts of bay laurel have been used as an astringent and salve for open wounds. It is also used in massage therapy and aromatherapy. A folk remedy for rashes caused by poison ivy, poison oak, and stinging nettle is a poultice soaked in boiled bay leaves. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder listed a variety of conditions which laurel oil was supposed to treat: paralysis, spasms, sciatica, bruises, headaches, catarrhs, ear infections, and rheumatism.

• Culinary uses

The plant is the source of several popular herbs and one spice used in a wide variety of recipes, particularly among Mediterranean cuisines. Most commonly, the aromatic leaves are added whole to Italian pasta sauces. They are typically removed from dishes before serving, unless used as a simple garnish. Whole bay leaves have a long shelf life of about one year, under normal temperature and humidity. Whole bay leaves are used almost exclusively as flavor agents during the food preparation stage.

Ground bay leaves, however, can be ingested safely and are often used in soups and stocks, as well as being a common addition to a Bloody Mary. Dried laurel berries and pressed leaf oil can both be used as robust spices, and the wood can be burnt for strong smoke flavoring.

• Other uses

Laurel oil is a secondary ingredient, and the distinguishing fragrant characteristic of Aleppo soap.