How to Plant a Bay Laurel Tree

Bay leaves are expensive at the market.

Anyone who enjoys cooking knows the culinary value of the aromatic foliage of the bay laurel tree (Laurus nobilis L.). The leaves are dried and sold next to the spices at the supermarket. Cooks use them to flavor soups, stews and other dishes. Bay laurel is a tree, native to the Mediterranean, that thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 8b to 11.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Compost
• Sand
• Pitchfork or gardening fork
• Mulch

Instructions

1. Choose a sunny to partly shady location in which to plant the bay laurel. The soil in the area needs to be well-drained.

2. Dig a hole that is the same depth as the pot in which the bay laurel tree is growing, and twice the diameter. Use a pitchfork or gardening fork to scrape the inside walls of the hole to loosen them.

3. Place the bay laurel's rootball into the hole and cover them with soil. Fill the hole with water, allow it to drain and then fill with soil. Use your feet to lightly tamp the soil at the base of the tree.

4. Water the bay laurel until the water puddles at the base. Keep the soil moist at all times while the tree becomes established.

5. Spread a 3-inch layer of mulch over the soil, 6 inches from the tree's trunk, in a 1-foot radius around it.

References

• University of Wisconsin Extension: Herb of the Year 2009
• Herb Society of America: Bay
• "Landscape Management: Planting and Maintenance of Trees, Shrubs and Turfgrass"; James R. Feucht and Jack D. Butler; 1988

Resources

• United States Department of Agriculture: Tree Planting