Bay Laurel

Bay laurel is usually established from purchased transplants set out from fall through spring, since raising it from seed is difficult with poor germination, and cuttings can take months to root. It grows in full sun to partial shade in a range of well-drained soils and tolerates poor soil, developing slowly whether planted in the ground or kept in a container.

Container-grown plants should be watered moderately, as over-watering damages the roots, while established in-ground plants need only a deep watering every two to three weeks in summer. Feed container plants with a controlled-release fertiliser or a liquid feed every two weeks from mid-spring to late summer, and repot every two years in spring, teasing out a third of the roots and renewing the top layer of compost.

Prune while the plant is dormant, before spring growth resumes, to keep it vigorous, and it takes readily to shaping into a hedge or clipped topiary. Bay can withstand temperatures down to around -5°C (23°F) in a sheltered spot, but in regions colder than zone 8b it needs to come indoors for winter, where it can be kept under bright window light or supplemental lighting.

Scale insects and psyllids are the pests most often reported on bay laurel, sometimes alongside thrips or sooty mould, and scale can be troublesome enough on indoor plants that hosing down the foliage is used to control it. The plant is also susceptible to laurel wilt, phytophthora and root rot, though it generally resists deer browsing and copes with poor soil despite these risks.

Leaves can be picked at any time of year, with older, larger leaves giving the strongest flavour, and many growers time their main harvest to midsummer to capture peak flavour. Leaves are used either fresh or dried, though fresh leaves have a stronger flavour while drying concentrates their aromatic oils, making dried bay useful for long-cooked dishes as well as potpourri and other craft uses. Fallen fruit can litter patios, decks or walkways if a female tree is planted too close by.

Culinary: The aromatic leaves are the plant's principal use, added fresh or dried to soups, stews, sauces, meats, fish, pickles and marinades, and used to infuse vermouths, liqueurs and gins.

Ornamental: Its evergreen, leathery foliage and tolerance of clipping make it a common choice for hedges, screens, topiary and specimen planting in formal or cottage gardens, and its slow growth suits it to long-term container culture as a patio or houseplant.

Historical: In ancient Greece and Rome, bay laurel was woven into wreaths worn by athletes, poets and emperors as a symbol of victory and used in garlands for the Saturnalia festival, and it was consulted by the Oracle of Delphi and held sacred to Apollo and Aesclepius. Later, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was an ingredient in a salve called "soldier's ointment," and across this history its leaves and bark were used in traditional remedies for digestive complaints, rheumatism, nerves and skin ailments, and its oil was used in massage.

Bay laurel is native to the Mediterranean Basin, where it still grows in rocky, well-drained ground as a relict of the old laurel forests that once covered much of the region during a more humid period; most of these forests retreated roughly ten thousand years ago as the Mediterranean climate dried. Early evidence of its use has been found at Ashkelon in modern Israel, dating to the 7th century BC, among the earliest records of the plant in human use.