Evergreen shrub
How to grow a bay tree
Laurus nobilis
Plant a pot-grown bay in April or May in a sunny, sheltered spot with free-draining soil, or in a 40 to 60 cm pot of loam-based compost with added grit. Two things decide success: shelter from cold, drying wind, and roots that never sit wet in winter. Clip to shape in summer, pick leaves all year, and feed only if the plant lives in a pot.
- Hardiness
- Frost-hardy to about −5°C; shelter in cold spells
- Position
- Full sun to light shade, sheltered
- Soil
- Free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Low to moderate; pots must not dry out in summer or sit wet in winter
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting a bay tree
WhenPlant Apr to May; harvest year-round; clip to shape Jun to Aug
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Apr to May, never in autumn in cold districts. Semi-ripe cuttings 10 to 15 cm long in Aug to Sep root slowly, taking 3 to 6 months with bottom heat at 20°C and a success rate near half. Low branches can be layered in spring and detached the following year. Seed is slow and seldom offered.
Spacing and planting
A single specimen can reach 7.5 m or more unchecked but is easily kept at 1 to 2 m by clipping; set 60 to 90 cm apart for a hedge. Dig a hole twice the width of the root ball, no deeper. Excellent in a 40 to 60 cm pot of loam-based compost with grit.
Varieties worth growing
- Laurus nobilis (the species)
- The culinary bay. Sold as bushes, pyramids and lollipop standards; the plant is the same, you are paying for the years of training.
- Laurus nobilis 'Aurea'
- Golden-yellow young leaves, brightest in winter and spring. Usable in the kitchen but more prone to wind and frost scorch, so give it the most sheltered spot.
- Laurus nobilis f. angustifolia (willow-leaf bay)
- Narrow, wavy-edged leaves and a lighter, more open habit. The same flavour, and a good choice where the ordinary bay looks too solid.
A bay tree month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Check pots are not standing in water. Fleece the top if a hard frost is forecast.
- February
Nothing to do. Leave frost-browned leaves on for now; they protect what is underneath.
- March
Repot or top-dress container plants with fresh loam-based compost. Layer a low branch.
- April
Plant pot-grown bay. Give container plants their one dry feed of the year.
- May
Finish planting. Cut out frost damage once new growth shows where the live wood starts.
- June
First clip of trained shapes, with secateurs rather than shears so leaves are not cut in half. Watch for bay sucker.
- July
Water pots regularly. Pick off curled, yellow-edged leaves.
- August
Final clip so regrowth hardens before winter. Take semi-ripe cuttings.
- September
Cuttings can still be taken early in the month. Treat pots for vine weevil.
- October
Move pots to a sheltered wall and raise them on feet.
- November
Wrap pots in bubble wrap or hessian in cold districts. Keep picking leaves.
- December
Nothing to do beyond picking leaves for the kitchen.
Feeding a bay tree
A slow grower that needs no feeding in open ground. A bay in a pot wants one light dry feed in April and little else; the cause of most yellow leaves is wet roots, not hunger.
Low, a slow grower; just a light spring feed if it's in a container.
Feeding plan
In the ground, every year
No feed
Nothing. A 5 cm mulch of garden compost in spring on poor, sandy soil is all it will ever use.
Planting, April to May
5 g per litre of root ball, dusted onto the roots: 15 g for a plant from a 3 litre pot. Once only. Optional, most use on poor soil.
Potting or repotting
5 g per litre of compost, the bottom of the label range, mixed through: 150 g for a 40 cm pot holding about 30 litres.
April, established pots
2 g per litre of compost, the low end of the label top-dress rate, scattered on the surface and watered in: 60 g for a 30 litre pot. Once a year is enough.
May to August, pots that look tired
1 g per litre of water as a drench, once a month. The label allows every 2 to 3 weeks; bay does not need it that often.
Cherry laurel is linked because it is often confused with bay: it is poisonous and must not be used in cooking.
Signs to watch
Yellow leaves dropping from a pot plant
Waterlogged roots or nitrogen short after years in the same compost
Check drainage first, then a balanced slow-release feed in Apr
Brown leaf edges and tips
Wind or frost scorch, not hunger
Shelter
Older leaves yellow between green veins
Magnesium short in a pot
Epsom salts
Pests, diseases and problems
Leaf edges thickened, yellow and curled under, later turning brown; white fluffy insects inside the curl
Bay sucker, a sap-feeding insect active from May to October
Pick off and bin the curled leaves as soon as you see them, and clip out badly affected shoots in summer. The damage is cosmetic and a healthy plant grows through it.
Brown or whitish scales on stems and leaf undersides, leaves sticky and coated in black mould
Soft scale or horse chestnut scale; the black coating is sooty mould growing on their honeydew
Wipe scales off small plants with a damp cloth, wash the mould off with water and a little plant soap, and encourage ladybirds and parasitic wasps by not spraying anything else.
Leaves brown and papery at the tips and edges, or whole shoots brown after winter
Frost and cold, drying wind
Wait until new growth shows in late April or May, then cut back to live green wood. Bay reshoots well, even from old stems. Move pots against a house wall and fleece the top in hard spells.
Leaves yellow and drop, small dark spots on the leaves, plant in a pot
Waterlogged or exhausted compost, usually after a wet winter
Raise the pot on feet, clear the drainage holes, and repot in fresh loam-based compost with grit in March or April.
Bark cracking and peeling on the lower main stem
Thought to be winter cold and fluctuating moisture
If the growth above is healthy, do nothing; the plant usually recovers. If the growth above is dead, cut back below the damage to healthy wood in late spring.
Pot plant wilts and stops growing, notched leaf edges
Vine weevil: adults notch the leaves, the grubs eat the roots
Water nematodes into the pot in late August or September and again in April, when the compost is above 5 °C.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Pick mature, dark leaves year-round, leaving a young plant two seasons to establish before taking many. A 1 m plant gives hundreds of leaves a year. Dried bay is milder and less bitter than fresh: lay leaves flat between sheets of paper for two weeks until brittle, then jar for 12 months. Fresh leaves keep a week in the fridge.
Rotation and companions
No rotation needed. Group it with rosemary and sage in pots, as all three share a free-draining, sunny, sheltered regime and come inside together in a hard winter. Place it on the north side of the herb bed so it does not shade low thyme and marjoram, and keep it out of wet, exposed corners.
Good to knowExcellent in a pot; shelter it from cold drying winds and hard frost while young.
Growing a bay tree in pots
Bay is one of the best shrubs for a pot and most UK bays are grown this way. Use a 40 to 60 cm pot with large drainage holes, filled with loam-based compost (John Innes No. 3 type) and about a fifth grit by volume; the weight also stops a standard blowing over. Water regularly from May to September, and keep the compost only just moist in winter with the pot raised on feet. Repot every two or three years in March or April, or scrape off the top 5 cm of compost and replace it. The roots are less hardy than the top: below about minus 5 °C wrap the pot and move it against a wall.
A bay tree: common questions
Why are the leaves on my bay tree turning brown?
Brown tips and edges are usually frost or cold wind scorch, and the plant recovers. Wait until late April or May, cut back to live wood and move pots somewhere more sheltered. Brown, curled leaf edges in summer are bay sucker: pick the leaves off.
When should I prune a bay tree?
Clip bay in summer, from June to August. Use secateurs and cut just above a leaf, because shears slice leaves in half and the cut edges turn brown. An overgrown bay can be cut back hard in late spring, spread over two or three years.
Can a bay tree stay outside in winter in the UK?
Yes in most of England, in a sheltered spot, as bay is hardy to about minus 5 °C. Plants in pots are the ones at risk because the roots freeze: wrap the pot, raise it on feet and stand it against a house wall. In cold, exposed gardens move it into an unheated greenhouse or porch.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.