Explore Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Tuesday - May 04, 2010
From: Elyria, OH
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Growing non-native bay leaf plant from Elyria OH
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I was wondering if the bay leaf plant is native and how hard it is to grow? I am so tired of buying expensive bay leaf in the store and want to do it myself.ANSWER:
The culinary bay leaf is Laurus nobilis, which is native to the Mediterranean area, as are many of the culinary herbs you purchase at the grocery store. From Old Fashioned Living Growing and Using Bay Leaf we learned that it can be grown as an evergreen shrub in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11. Since Lorain County is in Zones 5b to 6, you will have to treat it as an indoor pot plant. Please be sure to read the cautions about toxicity in certain situations and making absolutely sure you are growing the right plant, as other members of the same family can be poisonous. Some plants are even called "bay" but are not.
More Seed and Plant Sources Questions
Where to buy native grass seeds for Blanco County Texas
April 07, 2010 - Can you recommend what kind and where to buy native grass seeds to sow on land in Blanco County which has just been cleared of cedar and burned?
view the full question and answer
Fruit on Jasmines
March 13, 2013 - My jasmines have grown some small purple fruits and she is about to get her full bloom soon. Should I cut them off to help the plants out? What are they?
view the full question and answer
Where to find non-native Thymus praecox coccineus
July 02, 2009 - Do you know where in Lansing, MI I could buy the Walk On Me plants?
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on garden weddings
November 19, 2004 - What native perennial plants should reliably be in bloom March 5? I am an avid gardener and having a garden wedding next year (March 5, 2005). For table center pieces, I am hoping to buy flats of ...
view the full question and answer
Learning to identify wild plants in Michigan
May 23, 2006 - I am trying to learn more about Michigan wildplants by taking one sample home each time I take my dog on a walk. We walk in fields, woods and wetlands in Ann Arbor. Today I found several Jack-in-the-P...
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |
