Bay laurel

Light and exposure

Bay laurel likes the sun, with a good tolerance for partial shade. In open ground, choose the most sheltered and warmest corner of the garden, ideally at the foot of a south-facing wall that stores the day’s heat and breaks the winter wind. The more light it gets, the denser and more fragrant the foliage.

In a pot, you gain the freedom to move it: full sun on the terrace from April to October, then a bright shelter for winter. Avoid dark, confined corners, where it grows spindly and attracts scale insects and diseases. A little afternoon shade does not bother it, especially during dry summers.

Watering

Bay laurel likes neither prolonged drought nor wet feet. In open ground, an established specimen more or less manages on its own once rooted, except during the long dry spells of summer when a generous watering every eight to ten days helps it hold on. Water at the base, in the morning.

In a pot it is more demanding: the substrate dries out quickly and needs water regularly in summer, sometimes twice a week in strong heat. Let the top few centimetres dry out between waterings and always empty the saucer. In winter, under cover, cut back sharply: the pot must stay barely moist, never waterlogged, otherwise the roots rot.

Soil and repotting

Bay laurel above all requires a free-draining soil. It grows in almost any garden soil provided the water does not stagnate: a heavy soil waterlogged all winter is its worst enemy. Lighten it at planting with coarse sand or gravel if your soil is clayey, and plant preferably on a small mound.

In a pot, mix a good potting soil with a third of sand or perlite to guarantee drainage, and put a layer of clay pebbles at the bottom. Repotting is done in spring, every two or three years, into a container barely larger: the laurel does not like too generous a volume all at once. Plant or repot from April to May, when recovery is strong.

Temperature and humidity

This is the sensitive point in Belgium. Bay laurel is semi-hardy: a well-established specimen, in a sheltered spot, withstands frosts of the order of -10 to -12 degrees, foliage a little scorched but recovering in spring. Below that, or during a long, damp winter, it suffers badly and may lose all its leaves, even die back to the roots.

Young plants are far more fragile and will not get through a real winter outside on their own without protection. In zone 8a around Herve, two strategies: either the pot, which you bring in from November into a cold, bright, frost-free shelter (bright garage, unheated veranda, cold greenhouse) at 2 to 8 degrees; or open ground in a very sheltered spot, base mulched and crown wrapped in horticultural fleece during announced cold snaps. Stagnant moisture in winter weakens it as much as dry cold.

Pruning and upkeep

Bay laurel takes pruning very well and withstands severe cuts, which makes it a classic for topiary in balls, cones or standards. Shaping pruning is done in spring, in April-May, once the frosts have passed, and touched up lightly at the end of summer. Cut just above a leaf, with clean secateurs. Its growth is slow, count on patience rather than on the shears.

Routine care stays light. Remove the dead wood and the branches scorched by the cold in spring, when you see what is really regrowing: do not cut too early, the laurel buds late and a branch that seems dead can green up again in May. An addition of mature compost or organic fertiliser in spring supports growth, especially in a pot where the substrate becomes exhausted.

Pests and diseases

Bay laurel is fairly robust as regards diseases, but two pests lie in wait for it here. Scale insect is the most common, especially on potted specimens or in a confined, poorly aired spot: little brown or white cottony clusters along the stems and under the leaves. It excretes a sticky honeydew on which sooty mould settles, that black soot that dirties all the foliage. Treat early with black soap or oil, and above all air the plant.

The other regular is the bay sucker, a small insect that stings the young leaves in spring: they roll up, thicken and yellow at the edges. Cut and destroy the rolled leaves as soon as you spot them to break the cycle. As for diseases, excess moisture in the soil in winter remains the real danger: it causes root rot, often fatal, far more than any foliage fungus.

Propagation

Bay laurel multiplies slowly, worth knowing before you start. The most common method is the semi-woody cutting, at the end of summer, from August to September: take stems of the year of ten to fifteen centimetres, half-ripened, remove the bottom leaves, and plant in a sandy mix kept just moist, under cover and warm. Rooting is long and capricious, several months, with a modest success rate, so put several cuttings in at the same time.

Layering is more reliable for the patient gardener: in spring, bend down a low, supple branch, bury part of it holding it with a hook, and let it happen. It will form its own roots over one or two years before being separated from the mother plant. Sowing also exists but stays reserved for enthusiasts, the seeds germinating slowly and irregularly.

Month-by-month care calendar

Green Hub tips

• Only one laurel is edible, Laurus nobilis. The cherry laurel and the oleander in the garden are toxic: never pick a leaf without being sure of the species.
• In Belgium, the large pot brought in for winter is the best life insurance. A young plant left outside will not get through a real winter without protection.
• Do not prune too early in spring. The laurel buds late: a branch that looks dead in April can green up again in May.
• Air the plant well and avoid confined corners. Scale insect and its sticky black sooty mould settle mainly on cramped, poorly ventilated specimens.