Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis) – Evergreen Culinary Herb (3L Pot)

Bay is a hardy evergreen with glossy, aromatic leaves that are picked fresh or dried for the kitchen all year.

This one is supplied at roughly 60 to 70cm tall in a 3L pot, well established and ready to grow on. It is rated H4, hardy through most of Britain, and gives year round structure on a patio, a balcony or a porch, or planted into a border. In a container it is easily held at one to three metres; in open ground it will reach far more. Small nectar rich yellow green flowers open in spring.

Full sun suits it best but it is just as happy in partial shade, and it stands coastal wind and salt. Water freely in dry spells with good drainage at all times, feed through spring and summer, and clip in late spring if you want a ball, cone, pyramid or lollipop standard. Move a potted plant to shelter in a hard winter, as the leaves scorch brown in a cold drying wind.

You can choose a plain nursery pot or one of the planters when you order. The planter is a pot for the tree to stand in and makes no difference to how the plant grows.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Bay, bay laurel or sweet bay
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: Up to 7 to 12 metres in open ground, easily maintained at 1 to 3 metres in a container
• Growth Habit: Upright, dense evergreen, kept to size by clipping
• Perfect For: Patios, doorsteps, balconies, herb gardens, topiary and a low evergreen hedge
• Foliage: Dark green, glossy, aromatic oval leaves, picked fresh or dried for the kitchen
• Flowering Time: Spring, small nectar rich yellow green flowers
• Planting Position: Full sun or partial shade. Stands coastal wind and salt, and grows well in a container
• Soil Type: Free draining, in the ground or in a good potting compost
• Hardiness: Hardy in most of Britain and normally left outdoors all year, though the leaves scorch brown in a cold drying wind and a plant in a pot is best moved to shelter in a hard winter
• Maintenance: Low. Water freely in dry spells, feed through spring and summer, clip in late spring to keep its shape and repot every two or three years
• Seasonal Interest: All year round, spring, summer, autumn and winter
• Type: Hardy evergreen shrub or small tree, grown as a culinary herb