Bay laurel
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called bay, Bay Leaf Tree, Bay Tree, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, Laurel Tree, poet's laurel, Roman laurel, royal bay, Sweet Bag, sweet bay, Tree Laurel, true laurel and victor's laurel.
Bay laurel is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Eugenol, and other essential oils. Clinical signs: Vomiting and diarrhea, Large ingestion of whole leaves can cause obstruction. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Eugenol, and other essential oils. Clinical signs: Vomiting and diarrhea, Large ingestion of whole leaves can cause obstruction. ASPCA
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H4 — -10 to -5°C -10 to -5 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No harm is recorded, only a note: the fruit is ornamental and should not be eaten. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Brown tips on the newest leaves first
Leaves on the side of the bay laurel nearest a heater or vent brown at the edges while those on the far side stay clean.
Penn State Extension cites ASHRAE's recommended indoor range of 30% to 60% relative humidity; a heated room in winter drops below it. Air that dry pulls water from the leaf faster than the roots replace it, and the margins are furthest from the supply. That applies while it is grown indoors; its RHS rating of H4 describes a plant that also grows outside, where the air is seldom that dry.
Telling it apart: Whether the damage advances. Dry air marks a leaf and stops; rot keeps going.
Penn State ExtensionBay laurel brown leaf tips and edges: causes- The canopy deflates, and lifts again within hours of a soak
The plant droops as a whole rather than losing particular leaves, and the soil surface has gone pale and hard.
Water held in the cells keeps a leaf rigid. With the compost dry beyond what its source describes as well-drained, that water is used and not replaced.
Telling it apart: Water it and look the same evening. A thirsty plant firms up fast; one that does not has a root problem instead.
RHSDiagnose drooping on this Bay laurel- Washed-out patches that do not spread to the shaded side
Affected tissue goes pale and then papery, and the boundary follows where the light falls rather than the shape of the leaf.
Its source names full sun, partial shade, yet a leaf grown in lower light has thinner tissue than one grown in sun, and it scorches if moved into strong light in one step.
Telling it apart: Which side. Damage confined to the lit side is light; damage spread evenly is not.
RHSBay laurel spots on leaves: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Bay laurel.
Routine care
- Propagation
- Increase from seed, by layering, or from semi-hardwood cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- It can be trained into a topiary and suits formal English, winter or cottage gardens.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by yellow poplar weevil. Diseases: laurel wilt.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Can be troubled by tortrix moth, soft scale, horse chestnut scale and bay sucker. Diseases: a leaf spot, powdery mildews and, rarely, honey fungus.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Laurus nobilis is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Muer, Jahn, & Sauerbier, the stem can be 1 metre in diameter and the tree can be as high as 20 metres. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking. Its common names include bay tree, bay laurel, sweet bay, true laurel, Grecian laurel, or simply laurel. Laurus nobilis figures prominently in classical Greco-Roman culture.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Medit.World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026MediterraneanNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026MediterraneanRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Herb, Perennial, Shrub, Tree; habit conical, dense, oval, pyramidalNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 96–144 in; width 96–360 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 8-12 metres; spread wider than 8 metres after 20–50 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, green, white; blooms in springNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers green in spring; yellow in springRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
Used in herbal medicine and massage therapy. The leaves flavor food during cooking but should not be eaten, for several reasons including that their sharp edges can cause choking and cuts in the mouth and digestive tract.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Bay laurel
More of the Lauraceae family
Plants with similar care
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.