RHS Growing Guides
How to grow bay
Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Bay.
Getting Started
With evergreen leaves and pale yellow flowers, bay is an attractive and useful culinary herb
Bay (Laurus nobilis) – also known as sweet bay or bay laurel – has dark green, glossy, evergreen leaves. These can be added to soups, stews and many other slow-cooked dishes. They don't soften much when cooked, so should be removed before serving. Bay is the key ingredient of bouquet garni. Its leaves impart a warm background flavour, either used fresh for more pungency or dried for subtler tones.
Bay grows well in a container or in free-draining soil, in a warm, sheltered, sunny or partly shaded spot. Keep it out of strong winds and avoid planting in damp ground.
As well as being used as a herb, bay is often grown as topiary for ornamental appeal – usually clipped into a pyramid, cone, ball, or standard (lollipop-shaped small tree). Bay topiary looks great in pots on either side of a doorway or as a focal point in a herb garden. Provided it's not trimmed too often, bay will produce clusters of pale yellow flowers in spring, which are excellent for attracting pollinators. When planted in the ground, bay can eventually become large – reaching at least 10m (33ft) tall – but can easily be kept at a manageable size by pruning.
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Choosing
Most bay plants sold in the UK are Laurus nobilis, with dark green, pointed leaves. Two other forms, both with aromatic leaves that can be used in cooking, are often available from specialist herb or shrub nurseries:
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Laurus nobilis ‘Aurea’ – golden bay, with yellow leaves that are especially vibrant in winter and spring
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Laurus nobilis f. angustifolia – willow-leaved bay, with narrow, wavy-edged, green leaves
When choosing a bay, look for one with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in trials. See our list of AGM ornamental plants (975kB pdf) under Laurus, and our Recommended Varieties below. You’ll also find a wide range of herbs, including bay, in the RHS gardens, so do visit to compare varieties and different aromas, and pick up growing tips and inspiration.
What and where to buy
Bay is available in a variety of sizes, ranging from small bushy plants to large standards
Recommended Varieties
L. nobilis is the classic culinary bay, with glossy dark green leaves that are richly aromatic.
L. nobilis 'Aurea' has yellow-tinged, aromatic leaves, at their brightest in winter and spring.
L. nobilis f. angustifolia has narrow, wavy-edged, pale green, aromatic leaves.
Planting
Bay can be planted in the ground or in a container, ideally in a warm, sheltered location, in full sun or light shade.
Planting in the ground
If planting a bay trained as a large standard into the ground, it will benefit from being staked for at least the first year.
Planting in containers
Plant Care
Bay is generally low maintenance, though it may need winter protection in colder regions. It can be clipped annually to maintain a neat, compact shape or pruned more heavily to reshape or reduce its size. Bay is often grown in containers, in which case it needs regular watering and feeding too.
Watering
Water newly planted bay in dry spells during the first year. Once established in the ground, bay shouldn’t need watering. When growing in a container, check the moisture levels regularly, especially during summer, and water if needed. Make sure the compost doesn’t become waterlogged, especially in winter, otherwise the roots may rot.
Feeding
Bay growing in the ground shouldn't need any additional feeding. However, you can add some nutrients to the soil by mulching with well-rotted organic matter, such as garden compost, in late winter or early spring. Mulching will also improve soil structure, help to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Plants in containers will benefit from an organic-based, general purpose liquid fertiliser applied every two or three weeks from mid-spring to late summer.
If plants in containers or in the ground aren't thriving and their leaves begin to discolour, check our page on nutrient deficiencies to determine whether a nutrient is lacking. Then apply the recommended feed, following the instructions on the packet.
Winter protection
Bay is hardy, but it’s best to move potted plants to a sheltered spot in cold spells
Plants in containers are particularly vulnerable to winter cold and damp. Prolonged low temperatures can lead to the compost and roots freezing in the pot. Prevent this happening by grouping pots together, wrapping old blankets or reused bubble wrap around the pot, or move them to a warmer, more sheltered spot—such as a greenhouse, porch, or the lee of a wall.
Repotting
Bay growing in a container benefits from being repotted every two or three years. Use a slightly larger container and fresh peat-free soil-based compost. If your bay is in a large container and it's not feasible to go up a container size, you can prune the roots, refresh the compost and pot it back into the same container. See our guides below for more details.
Propagating
Bay can be propagated in three ways:
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Cuttings – take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer or softwood cuttings in early summer. This is the simplest and fastest way to make new plants
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Layering – select a suitably low-growing branch and peg it down into the soil. Autumn is a good time to layer branches. Layering is usually successful but can take up to a year to produce a new plant
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Seeds – bay can be slow and tricky to grow from seed, but if you have a mature female bay, you may get self-sown seedlings
Pruning and Training
Trim back long shoots in summer to keep bay well shaped and within bounds
If growing bay as a free-form shrub, simply shorten new growth where necessary in spring or summer. Bay generally responds well to hard pruning, which is best done in mid- to late-spring. If any shoots are damaged by frost over winter, cut out the affected areas in spring.
Harvesting
Bay is evergreen, so it keeps its leaves all year round and they can be harvested whenever required. They can be used fresh or dried – fresh leaves have a stronger, slightly bitter flavour, so leaves are more often dried to soften and enhance the flavour. Bay leaves add subtle warm tones to slow-cooked stews, soups, stocks and sauces. Remove them before serving.
To dry bay leaves, you can simply place sprigs or individual leaves in a warm room. To flatten leaves (making them more compact and easier to store whole), dry them between the pages of an old paperback with a weight on top. Once fully dry, place the leaves in an airtight jar or similar container and use within a few months, before the flavour starts to fade. Growing your own bay means you can easily dry a sprig or two regularly, so you always have plenty of aromatic leaves to hand. Alternatively, freeze them to keep the flavour for longer.
Problems
Bay is susceptible to winter cold and wet, so grow it in a warm, sheltered spot and cover with hessian, biodegradable fleece or an old bed sheet if a harsh frost is forecast. Damp soil or compost, especially in winter, can rot the roots.
Spotted or yellowing leaves may indicate that the roots are too damp or that a containerised plant needs to be repotted.
Also look out for bay suckers and scale insects – see Common problems, below.
Get involved
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