How to Grow Bay Laurel

Place a 2- to 3-inch layer of gravel inside a 12-inch diameter container. Fill the container halfway with bagged potting soil. Add an equal amount of peat moss to the container and mix with your hands.

Dig into the middle of the soil-filled container with your fingers to create a hole big enough to house the bay laurel seedling. Pop in the plant and cover its roots with soil to the same depth as it was in its original nursery pot.

Water the bay laurel seedling to moisten the potting mix. Place the container outdoors where it can receive full sunlight each day. Give the bay laurel deep watering as soon as the soil looks dry.

Prune the bay laurel to maintain an ornamental shape and to gather fresh bay leaves with pruning shears. Begin light pruning in early spring when the plant has reached 1 foot in height.

Mix a slow-release, balanced fertilizer with water in a large watering can according to instructions on the bottle or can. Feed the bay laurel plant this balanced fertilizer in early spring, as new growth begins. Give the bay plant a second feeding during the middle of summer using the same mixing and application steps as you did for the first feeding.

Harvest bay leaves in the early morning, using the pruning shears. Rinse the leaves with clean water before using for culinary purposes.