Herb · Lauraceae
When to plant bay
An evergreen tree grown as a clipped shrub or container plant, picked in every month of the year. Slow, and worth the wait.
First worthwhile crop
Year 2
After planting, not after sowing.
Hardy in USDA zones
8a to 10a
Winter cold sets the limit here, not the calendar.
Frost tolerance
Half hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Nothing about a standing crop is sown to a calendar. Once planted, bay stay in the ground for years, so the question is not when to sow but whether your winter is survivable and your planting window is open. Both answers come from your frost dates.
- Expect a first worthwhile crop in year 2 after planting.
- Hardy in USDA zones 8a–10a.
Getting the timing right
Plant out after the last frost. In containers it needs winter shelter in cold regions - not heat, just protection from freezing wind, which scorches the foliage badly.
Frost tolerance
Established plants take around -10C. Young plants and container specimens are considerably more tender, and cold drying wind does more visible damage than still cold at the same temperature.
Classified as half-hardy, with damage expected below -10°C (14°F)14°F (-10°C).