Hello, I just purchased a Bay Laurel plant for half price. Will it do well planted in the ground in the Houston area? Does it need protection in the winter? I'm planning on keeping it in the pot and protected until early Spring. I'm very excited to have finally found one.
Bay Laurel Bush
I have a Bay laurel here in zone 8 planted in the ground for over 20 years and it does fine in average winters.
Last winter it got too cold for a long time and it died back a little, but it is still growing and doing fine.
You should have no problem in zone 9, but you should keep it protected in the pot until you get it in the ground.
I love my bay laurel and use the leaves very often in soups and stews.
Josephine.
Thank you Josephine. I have it in my sunny garage and will protect it. Is yours planted in full sun?
Mine is in part shade against the back fence.
Yeah, I was thinking that hot hot sun in the summer might burn the leaves.
In Texas, they grow best as an understory tree or at least protected from the hot afternoon sun.
What do you mean by "understory"?
Understory trees are trees that grow in the shade of taller trees
Thank you.
I had one planted so that it had some protection from the afternoon western sun. I really loved it. However, as time passed it got more and more shade. This caused it to get really bad scale. We treated it, but when last winter's hard freezes killed it, I didn't replace it. While it got enough sun, it was great (I even used it's leaves for cooking). It became enormous . . . . at least 15 to 20 feet in height so be prepared.
Leslie
I'm glad I ran across this thread I had one several years ago that was a young one in a pot but it didn't make it I think it was sick when I got it but now I am going to go after finding another one and try it again
So I guess morning sun sounds like a good place to put it. I have already dried a bunch of leaves and used them in some beef stew. Delicious..