Bay laurel is most commonly cultivated as a tree that can attain staggering heights of up to 50 feet; however, it also works extremely well as a container plant that can be moved between your indoor and outdoor spaces, or it can be kept indoors year-round. Bay laurel can reach heights of up to 50 feet.
Leaves of the plants have a medium size, a glossy green color, and a high level of scent. These leaves are frequently utilized in culinary applications. When it comes to growing this plant, bay laurel has a few requirements that must be met.
Growing Requirements
The first thing you'll need is a huge planter that has sufficient drainage holes. Because the plants will need to be moved every few years, you shouldn't feel as though you have to start out with the largest planter that you can find. Take a close look at the root system of your plant and try to locate a container that is big enough to provide adequate support for it both now and in the not too distant future.
After you have the planter, you will need to use soil that drains effectively for the herb. It is essential to do this in order to prevent disease problems, which can have a severe influence on this plant. Last but not least, you will need some illumination. The bay laurel is a plant that prefers full sun.
Therefore, in the event that you do not have a method to offer the plant with 8 hours of sunlight each day, you will need to provide it with supplemental illumination in the form of a grow lamp or another type of LED lighting.
How To Grow Bay Leaf Indoors
Even though bay laurel is not officially recognized as an invasive species, certain varieties are notorious for having aggressive root systems that can slowly but surely expand beyond the boundaries in which they were originally planted. If the soil is average and has good drainage, bay laurel can be grown either as a garden shrub that has to be clipped or as a full-sized landscape tree that can have a single or multiple stems.
It is cultivated in containers with an all-purpose potting mix the vast majority of the time (and always in colder climes). It is common practice to transport bay laurel plants that are grown in containers from one site to another, depending on the prevailing weather conditions.
Although bay laurel plants make lovely houseplants, throughout the summer months they do best when given some additional heat and light from the outdoors. Even though they are spending the summer outside, potted plants should still have some degree of shade protection from the direct sunlight.
Care & Maintenance
Light
If you are growing your bay tree indoors, place it near a window where it may get plenty of sunlight over the winter. Stay away from areas where you could be exposed to heat or drafts coming from appliances or ducts for heating and air conditioning. Plants that are grown outside like some shade, but they may survive in full sun. Some midday shade is preferable in locations that experience hot and dry summers.
If you intend to cultivate this tree in order to harvest its leaves and use them as a flavoring agent in your cooking, the plant will yield leaves with the most robust flavor if it is exposed to direct sunlight for at least some of the year.
Soil
This tree does best in garden soil that is average in texture (loamy, sandy, or even clay), and it is imperative that the soil be free of compaction. It will thrive in both acidic and alkaline soils with equal success. Normal, commercial potting mix can be used to successfully cultivate plants in containers.
Due to the fact that bay laurel roots are relatively shallow, it is possible that the plant will require frequent watering during periods of dry weather. This plant should be watered on a regular basis to maintain a moist soil, but the soil should not be allowed to become extremely wet as this could lead to rot. Between waterings, you should give the soil time to dry out a little bit, but you shouldn't allow it become completely dry.
Temperature & Relative Humidity
Zones 8 through 10 are suitable for growing bay laurel. In regions with a cooler climate, you should move it indoors for the winter and provide it with settings that are somewhat chilly but bright. In spite of this, you may have problems preventing the soil around your indoor bay tree from drying out due to the low humidity in your home.
When it starts to show signs of distress, such as shedding a few leaves, start using the leaves in your cooking and start routinely watering the tree. If you want to enhance the amount of humidity in your home, you should think about getting a room humidifier.
Fertilizer & Nutrition
When cultivated outside in the landscape, bay laurel doesn't require a significant amount of food because it has a modest growth rate and doesn't need much. However, extra fertilizer is required for plants that are cultivated in containers.
A bay plant that has been cultivated in a container should be fertilized once in the spring and once again in the middle of the summer using a balanced natural fertilizers such as fish oil and kelp. It is also beneficial to give the top 2-3 inches of soil a little amendment of compost or manure each spring, taking care not to damage the plant's thin roots.
Harvesting Bay Leaves
This is the most significant distinction that can be made between a bay plant and other "common" herbs: the leaf harvesting process must be delayed until the plant is at at least two years old. Then, remove the desired amount of foliage by cutting it with sharp scissors or shears.
After you have harvested the leaves, spread them out in a single layer on a tray that has been coated in parchment paper, and then place the tray in a warm, dry location in your house to allow the leaves to dry for a several weeks. The dried bay leaves should be placed in a container that will keep air out, or they should be ground up and stored for later use.
Common Pests & Diseases
The bay laurel does not typically attract any kind of pests. In point of fact, the plant and its leaves are frequently utilized to keep pests away from other plants as well as from food storage areas. One thing to be wary of is a variety of fungal diseases such as anthracnose.