Laurus nobilis
This glossy evergreen shrub has survived all that the Yorkshire winters can throw at it! You'll find a beautiful specimen located on our dry Mediterranean border.
Vital statistics
- Common name
- Bay tree
- Family
- Lauraceae
- Height & spread
- Up to 12m (40ft) high and 10m (30ft) wide
- Form
- Evergreen shrub or tree
- Soil
- Fertile, moist well-drained soil
- Aspect
- Full sun or partial shade
- Hardiness
- Frost hardy but may be damaged by strong, cold winds, snow or extreme cold
Laurus
This is a genus of two species of evergreen shrubs and trees from woodland and rocky places around the Mediterranean, Azores and Canary Islands. They are prized for their aromatic leaves that are used in cooking. They are dioecious, meaning the plants are either male or female, and small yellow flowers on the female plants are followed by black berries.
Laurus nobilis
This is a conical evergreen tree that can grow up to 12m tall, with aromatic, glossy, leathery leaves up to 10cm long that are useful in cooking. In spring they produce clusters of small, pale yellow flowers and the oval fruit are glossy black when ripe.
Bay trees, also known as bay laurel or sweet bay, are suitable for container-growing, and can be used for topiary.
The cultivar ‘Aurea’ has golden yellow foliage.
Laurus is the Latin name for laurel. The laurel crown was made from bay leaves, and it is from this that the word ‘laureate’ is derived.
Cultivation
Propagation
- Sow seed in containers in a cold frame in autumn.
- Take semi-hardwood cuttings in summer.
AGM
The RHS Woody Plant Committee awarded Laurus nobilis an Award of Garden Merit and described it as a:
'Large, erect evergreen shrub with aromatic, narrowly ovate, leathery leaves useful in cooking. Flowers small, pale yellow, in dense clusters; fruit oval, glossy black when ripe.'