About Bay (Laurus nobilis)
The important herb "bay leaf" is the leaf of an evergreen tree of the laurel family. While
a mature bay tree planted in the ground in a hospitable environment (which we do not have,
as they can't take cold winters) can reach 40 or even 50 feet in height, the plant famously
accepts container growth well.
Bay is normally purchased as a young tree, 1 to (if you're lucky) as much as 2 feet high.
Cultivars
Named cultivars of bay laurel do exist, including "Aurea" (yellowish young foliage);
"Angustifolia", also called "Willow-Leaf bay" (narrow lance-shaped leaves); and "Undulata"
(wavy leaf margins). The descriptions do not imply any culinary differences, nor even any
real growth differences. At least one seed house (Nichols) does offer by name a Willow
Bay, presumably Laurus nobilis Angustifolia, which they say is especially
suitable for container growing and which is what we would recommend (they're reputable herb
specialists).
Above all else, when buying a "bay tree" be sure that what you are buying is true Laurus
nobilis, not the so-called "California Bay", a completely (and culinarily useless)
different thing.
Planting
Bay prefers a moisture-retentive, well-drained fertile soil. Your initial bay will likely
be pretty small, but give it a generous pot.
Growing
Watering advice is variable: a northern-State university says "Water when dry. Bay laurel
thrives with frequent watering." Yet others caution one to water sparingly. We suspect
that it wants more moisture when young than when old, and more in the summer than the
winter.
In the winter, its location should not be particularly warm, though it does still need some
sun. Older trees may like a springtime mulching of leafmold, and pot-grown trees should get
occasional fertilizing with "complete" fertilizers (those that contain the so-called "minor"
nutrients).
The bay is slow-growing. Over the years, it can be pruned to a shape to fit your taste and
available space, though untrained trees (bushes, really, when in a pot) are fine; pruning is
best done in high summer. Bay trees tolerate fairly heavy pruning without harm, but are
slow to grow back. No source we saw seems to discuss this much, but we guess that the size
a container-grown bay tree will reach is in part set by the pot itself; several sources
refer to pruning their bays to balls about 3 to 4 feet in diameter, which would call for a
pretty good-size container (it is a tree, after all).
Harvest leaves as needed for cooking throughout the growing season. In the late-spring to
early-summer period, when the tree is most vigorous, you can take larger quantities for
drying; unlike most herb leaves, bay leaf dries to an effective spice good for a few months
(not indefinitely). Drying should be done with gentle heat and not in
sunlight. (Remember that fresh bay leaves are more pungent than the dried ones, and adjust
your cooking use accordingly.)
A flowering bay tree produces not only leaves but a fruit, which is less-known and less-used
as a flavoring, but interesting. It has what one source calls a "robust" taste, best used
in strongly flavored dishes (it reportedly combines well with juniper berries), though some
apparently like it for itself (as on potatoes, for instance).
Bay trees are notably susceptible to "scale", of which the typical first symptom is a sticky
substance on the leaves. That substance washes off easily with a damp cloth, but it's a
sign of scale insects in the ribs of the leaves and on the stems. They come off easily
enough with your finger nail or, for the squeamish, something like.
Relevant Links
Besides any links presented above on this page, the following ought to be especially helpful.
Return to the top of this page.
--Site Directory--
Search this site, or the web
-
Background Information
about the purposes and design of this site
-
Recommended Crops for a home garden, by variety
-
Gardening information and aids
-
Miscellaneous Information of interest to the home
gardener
-
Books on "Vegetables" and vegetable gardening,
both new and used
In reality, we have six bookshops, one for each of the six national divisions of Amazon books; the links farther below are to the U.S.-based shop, but you can
visit any of the six:
In our U.S.A. Bookshop:
(What do you know about OmniKnow?)
Since you're growing your own vegetables and fruits, shouldn't you be cooking them in the best way possible?
Visit The Induction Site to find out what that best way is!
|
|
This site is one of The Owlcroft Company family of web sites. Please click on the link (or the owl)
to see a menu of our other diverse user-friendly, helpful sites.
|
|
Like all our sites, this one is hosted at the highly regarded Pair
Networks,
whom we strongly recommend. We invite you to click on the Pair link (or their logo) for more information on getting your site or sites hosted on a first-class
service.
|
Click here to send us email.
And why not look in at Is it a blog yet?
So that you need not be a victim of the "Browser Wars," we have taken the trouble to assure that
this web page is 100% compliant with the World Wide Web Consortium's
XHTML Protocol v1.0 (Transitional).
You can click on the logo below to test this page!
Not every browser renders proper HTML correctly (Internet Explorer famously does not);
so, if your browser experiences any difficulties with this page (or, really, even if it doesn't),
(It's free!)
You loaded this page on
Tuesday, 8 July 2008, at 23:50 EDT.;
it was last modified on Saturday, 24 February 2007, at 04:57 EST.
All content copyright ©1999 - 2008 by
The Owlcroft Company
