Illustration
Bay Laurel
Laurus nobilis
Also called bay tree, true laurel, grecian laurel and bay leaf tree
Bay Laurel blooms from March through May.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Bay Laurel
Plant it in part sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 8–10. Expect it to reach about 16 ft tall and 15 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (a house reading).
Is Bay Laurel toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Bay Laurel
Plant Bay Laurel in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 9, the middle of its hardy zones 8 to 10, spring means January to March and fall means October or November. Once settled, it blooms from March to May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in January. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Bay Laurel get?
16 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult15 ftwideSee Bay Laurel in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Bay Laurel
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Bay Laurel about 15 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Bay Laurel to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Bay Laurel's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 8 published sources on October 5, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color, trait tags, diseases, pests and toxicity
- apps.cals.arizona.eduThe University of Arizona Campus Arboretumheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color, pests and toxicity
- Plant Addictsthe queue's storeheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and soil
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color, trait tags and soil
- University of Illinois ExtensionHerb Gardeninghardiness zones, sun, water, trait tags and diseases
- University of Florida IFASUF/IFAS Extension Gardening Solutionsheight and toxicity
- ASPCAAnimal Poison Controltoxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.