not sure if this goes here or herb gardening sorry. I love to cook especially with fresh herbs. I live in montreal and was thinking of having a bay leaf tree in a pot that I can move indoors in the winter or have permanently indoors. So i can cook with the fresh leafs. I have seen bay leaf trees as ornamental which were nice. I was also thinking the same for a rosemary bush. Only question is can it be done and is there a specific species that is better for this? thanks for the help
I have rosemary that I bring into my "cool" space in the breezeway every winter. (Temperature ranges from 40-60F during our 'dark days' and lots of natural light. Its a room with little to no heat.) The rosemary is in a 18 inch pot and have had to keep it pruned so it will fit on the self by the large window. It is now 7 years old and doing fine. My rosemary has never had 'pest' problems like some plants that come in for the winter. I have thought of getting a bay tree like you mentioned. I am sure it would do fine also. The only problem I would see with bringing them inside would be lack of enough sunlight. If you have the window space go for it
Bay {Laurus nobilis} also known as Sweet Bay can be grown indoors during the winter or year round. In a sunny spot or under grow lights. I have heard that harvesting the leaves for cooking should wait until the plant is 2 years old but don't know for sure about that. But the oldest leaves have the most oils and flavor. Outside it will become a 40 foot tall tree if the conditions are right but inside you can maintain it to an easier to handle size.
Thanks Guys as always great advice. Might check with my local garden center see if they can get me one. I'm lucky in that my house has huge windows at the front so for winter I can park lots of plants up their for sunlight
hey there. i got some seeds from greece last year. it was a huge bush with black berries and collected some. i had lots of seedlings that i gave away to friends and only kept maybe 3-4. not sure. one is in my apartment - on the balcony. unheated. i am sure this plant can grow in cold winters but maybe not really freezing temperatures. on my balcony it probably gets to a few + degrees C but not really freezing. two of them are still outside, at my parents' house in the country. they still look fine. next spring i am really thinking about planting one in the garden somewhere, and leave it.
Thanks calin, did it take long to grow? i'm struggling to find plants near me might have to go for seeds
well, since i planted the seeds last year in september (when i got back from Greece) the little trees are about 40 cm tall. this is in pots. they don't grow very fast. cause i didn't have lots of sun for them. i realized out in the sun they grow much faster. nurseries around my town DO sell bigger trees about 1-1,5 m tall. and not really expensive. around 10-15 EUR or let's say 20 USD. which is ok for the size, given the fact they need time to grow that big. they should also be available in your area. calin
HI Danjensen, I have a Bay Laurel plant that I've had in a pot for over 15 years. Each Fall, I harvest the leaves so it stays about 3 feet high. I take it outside in the summer, but during the rest of the year it sits on a window ledge that has south east exposure. I don't water it very much in the winter. I got mine from a nursery that had just one cutting for sale. They are apparently quite difficult to root from a cutting and I can attest to that having tried it several times without success. Try Googling it and see if you can find a source in Canada for it. Good luck, I think the hardest part will be finding a plant.
