Bay Leaf

The Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis) has been earning its keep for a few thousand years: the same leaves that flavour your slow cooking grow on a handsome, dense evergreen that clips into hedges, standards and topiary as crisply as any plant alive. Left to itself it slowly builds to about 6m, but almost everyone keeps it at 2m to 3m with an annual trim. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and salt tough, it is as close to permanent as garden structure gets.

Why you'll love it

• The kitchen never runs out. Fresh bay leaves on demand, stronger and brighter than anything in a jar, from a plant that doubles as architecture.
• Structure you can shape. Dense fine foliage takes clipping beautifully: formal hedges, cones, balls and the classic standard by the front door.
• Slow is a feature. Measured growth means a clipped shape holds for a full year on one trim.
• Tough everywhere that matters. Frost hardy, drought tolerant once established, wind and coastal salt tolerant, happy from Hobart to Brisbane.
• Decades of service. Bay trees routinely outlive the gardeners who plant them.

Where it works best

Clipped hedging. Plant 1m apart for a formal evergreen hedge that holds a crisp face on one or two trims a year.

Pots and standards. A matched pair of potted bays flanking an entry is the oldest trick in formal gardening because it always works.

Screening and feature planting. Left fuller it makes a dense 3m to 4m screen, or a glossy backdrop to lower planting.

Kitchen gardens. One tree supplies the street; plant it where picking is easy.

Growing a Bay Tree in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade. It suits Mediterranean, warm temperate, cool temperate and subtropical climates, shrugging off frost once established.

Soil. Any free draining soil. In pots use a premium mix and a container at least 40cm wide; bays live happily potbound for years.

Water and feed. Water deeply weekly through the first summer, then it is drought tolerant. Potted bays want a weekly drink in summer. Feed lightly with a controlled release fertiliser in spring.

Pruning. Clip in late spring, and again in late summer for sharp formal shapes. Every trimming is a harvest; dry the best leaves in a paper bag for the pantry.

What to expect when it arrives

Bays ship from $16.95 tubes and hedge packs (140mm by 10, 200mm by 6, 250mm by 3) through single 300mm to 500mm trees, up to advanced 100L specimens that arrive as finished formal features. Slow growth cuts both ways: buy close to the size you want to live with, because a tube is a five year project and a 500mm plant is instant structure. Delivery is Australia wide, from $29.95, and advanced stock is freighted at cost. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• More plants for topiary and shaping
• Browse edible plants
• Plants proven in pots

Common questions

Are the leaves the same as the ones I buy?

Identical, just fresher. Pick mature dark leaves any time of year, use them fresh, or dry them for a fortnight for the classic mellow flavour.

How slow is slow?

Expect roughly 20cm to 30cm a year in the ground, less in a pot. That patience is why clipped bays hold their shape so well.

Can I keep it small forever?

Yes. A bay in a 50cm pot clipped once a year will sit at 1.5m indefinitely, and garden trees hold 2m to 3m just as easily.

Is it safe around pets?

No. Bay leaves contain oils that are toxic to cats and dogs if chewed, so pot it out of reach or plant where pets do not graze. The dried leaf in your casserole is removed before serving for the same reason it is potent: treat the plant as a kitchen tool, not a pet snack.