I had a bay plant in a pot for about 3 years. I beleive I bought it on a trip down south, but am not sure. You could probably find one in a high end nursery in your area or try an on-line herb nursery. It was actually quite easy to grow. I think I only lost it due to putting it to close to a heat source in the winter and forgetting to water (DOH!).
Before that I put it outside in the summer and brought it in for winter and it looked lovely with just watering and misting. Like most plants brought in, lack of humidity in the house is always a problem. It only grew about an two or three inches a year. It would put out new leaves in the spring. I would love to try one again. It was great having fresh bay leaves.

Mine is probably 5 year old now. It doesn't grow much, if at all, during the winter. But when I take it out in the spring, it leaps out of the pot. When I brought it in last fall, I think it was about 3 1/2' tall.

I thought I had lost it this spring. My mother kept it on her above-freezing porch all winter, and a week after I brought it back to my apartment all the leaves became stiff and dead. I thought it was a goner, so I went ahead and put it on the back porch. I cut off all the tall branches, as the leaves were turning brown.

But a month or so later it's sprung back and is looking very full . I would imagine if you can carry citrus thru the winter you'll be fine with the bay.

Just keep an eye out for mites and scale. Seems like humidity takes care of those; mine always lives in the kitchen during the winter and I've never had any problem with either.

I have two - one about five years old and the other three years old.

1) They've survived in pots quite well. One is in a 14" pot, 3' tall and the other in an 8" pot, about 2' tall (but needs a bigger one as soon as I get around to it). As Alison mentioned, scale is a problem (at least for me).
2) I purchased one at our local nursery and one I got as part of a "collection" from Park Seed. They are both doing well, so I don't notice any difference between "local" vs. "mail order".
3) All the ones around here for sale are rooted cuttings and are about 6" tall. Yeah, they seem expensive (here about $8 for a small plant) but bay takes a long time to root from cuttings. I can root cuttings of just about anything but I haven't had any success with bay yet.
4) Mine grow about 8-12" during each summer (outside). I do prune them - both to shape them and to make sure they will fit back through the door come October ;-)

I think bay laurels are lovely plants and you just can't beat the flavor of FRESH bay leaves in corned beef and cabbage!

I'm sold! I called some local nurseries and found one that has bay laurels in 4" pots, so I'll go and look at them in person at the first possible opportunity. Thanks everyone for all the good advice!

Isn't the fresh flavor great? The resin-y, camphor-y taste seems much more pronounced, and that's the element I really like.

I haven't made it myself, but a friend has made ice cream with fresh bay. More like a sorbet, I guess. It's an incredibly refreshing taste.

I'd love to try bay sorbet! My favorite use of fresh bay leaves is to put them under the skin of whole turkey or chicken before roasting. The whole bird is permeated with that lovely taste and aroma...

I'll just add that the growth of a potted bay speeds up quite a bit after the first year or two. Do not omit to fertilize! Once when mine was doing little if any growth, I fertilized it and it just took off. It really responds to the sun come springtime, as well.

I ordered a 1-3 gallon bay tree online this week and cannot wait to get it in my hands.

Alison and Christie, I love those ideas. Alison, can you get the recipe for bay ice cream/sorbet? Christie, do you chop the leaves or place them in whole, and do you remove them before carving and serving the bird?

I got my tree! It's almost 4 feet tall but very skinny-- very few lateral branches, and the ones that it does have are short. Still, it looks sturdy, and I'm looking forward to seeing what it will do.

i expect from the testimonials i'v heard that bay needs a winter dormancy, like juniper. if juniper doesnt get its dormancy then it dies

Ha! If a plant needs winter dormancy, Massachusetts ought to be able to accommodate it.

A followup question-- does anyone have advice on a watering and fertilizing regimen for bay laurel? I've been net-surfing a bit and can only find rather vague recommendations like "water regularly but not too much".

Bay trees laurus nobilis grow wild in south Texas. The hardiness zones are 9 to 11. We are subtropical and seldom get freezes, and winters are very hard on the bay trees, so don't worry about winter dormancy.

The laurus nobilis, should not be confused with the California Bay or California laurel umbellularia californica which is similar but not a true laurel.

A few of the older leaves on my bay have yellowed, but the plant looks otherwise fine. Does anyone know whether yellowing of old leaves is:

1) indicative of insufficient nutrient
2) indicative of insufficient light
3) indicative of overwatering
4) indicative of underwatering
5) indicative of something else entirely
6) completely normal?

Thanks!

If it's just a few, that's pretty normal - especially if they are the lower leaves attached to the main stem. In my (limited) experience, anywhere I pick a leaf to use in the kitchen, I get a new branch. You should see a new branch starting where the old leaf fell off.

Bay trees don't need much "babying". Water when the top one or two inches feel dry, and fertilize when they are actively growing.

Hope you're enjoying yours!

During the winter, I keep mine in an unheated bedroom (usually 55-60 degrees), water sparingly and don't fertilize. I treat my bays very much like my citrus.

I've had my Bay Laurels outside in zone 7 and they have survived each year--last year was the first year they died back almost to the ground, but they are back and growing like weeds. I imagine I have a pretty good microclimate!

Last night I repotted my bay into a mix of coconut husk chips, GrowCoco, Osmocote, and a pinch of garden iron. The bay was fine, actually, but I was repotting some citrus trees and had leftover mix. CHC mix has many fans on the citrus forum, and its primary benefit to me is that it greatly reduces the chances of overwatering. It does drain much better than potting mix and is less messy. I also like the fact that the components are all dry, which means that I can make up as much as I need and not worry about whether anything is growing mold or weeds in storage.

I bought bay laurel and planted it in the herb garden outside. I'd like to bring it inside for the winter. What's the best way?

If you grow bay as a houseplant, they like a well-drained mix (most herbs are like this). Also, remember that they really want to be TREES so if you want them to grow, put them in bigger containers than your other herbs. In the past, I couldn't figure out why my bay would not grow (pot didn't look particullary small), but when I transplanted to a bigger container, it took off. As a houseplant, overwinter in a very COOL postion. If you have a bright, unheated (but frostfree) garage or porch, they'll do fine. Reduce watering in winter and let dry. Let them go dormant in winter. Put them outside from spring till the first real frost threatens (they can handle light frost). Give as much sun as you have (all year). I grow mine outside in the ground (near the house). So, yes, my experience has been that they will overwinter in a zone 7 (especially within the microclimate of being next to a house). In this circumstance, they are evergreen, and only winter burn slightly. My guess is that they would survive a 6B winter with some protection. Though they might suffer some dieback, they would recuperate in the spring. Good luck!

I received one as a housewarming gift 3 years ago. It's in a very large container and has rosemary trailing from the pot. The first year it got scale but since then it's been fine. It has grown quite a bit and it's probably time to prune it. No need to bring it in as I live in CA but I did move it to a partial shade location in my patio to keep it from scorching in summer and it seems to be happy.

i recently spoke with an individual about his bay laurel tree.i have seen the tree every year for the past 8 years and it looks very healthy.He overwinters it in frost free
unheated garage with no light. He rarely waters it in winter. He brings it out in the spring. Is his treatment possible? I can't question him to greater detail because he speaks very little English. He also has an Oleander tree that he treats the same way.both trees are approx 6 feet tall and are planted in very large pots.

Sounds like he's sending the plant into dormancy. What he's doing wouldn't work in a heated garage; the plant wouldn't go dormant, and it would need light.

This is my second Bay Leaf- not growing. The first one didn't do any better and died after spraying it for scale. I have had this one over 4 years and it does not grow, but it does put out new leaves - I take it out in the summer, but it must need something. If some of you are fertilizing your potted Bay Leaves and have success please let me know what you use and how much.

Ninam, how big is the container for the bay? Unlike most of our other herbs, this one wants to be a TREE. I have one in a container, the others are in the ground and being trained as a hedge. My containerized ones never grew either until I increased the size of their pots, then they took off! I believe they are acid-loving so I feed with my same thing I use on azaleas and camellias. Good luck!

In a container a baytree will need feeding but as far as I am aware they are not particularly acid loving. Around here they grow in limey soil and right up against limestone walls. Any balanced shrub food would do for them.

Here is a link that might be useful: bay trees