Grecian sweet bay

[plantmanky]

Grecian sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) is another one for some to try if your in it's growing area or have a greenhouse. This is the common cooking Bay leaf so you get more than one way to enjoy it. Just think, you can save those trimmings rather than throw them away! lol. A nice evergreen tree that has yellow flower clusters in the early spring.

Laurus_nobilis_0210_sm.jpg (88.92 KiB) Viewed 1314 times

[BillsBayou]

Thanks for the cooking tip. I've never thought of this as bonsai material. I certainly use enough bay leaves in my cooking, though.

[MatsuBonsai]

There's a fellow member of the Cinci Advanced Study Group in the Lexington, KY area with a Bay tree. He brought it to study group several months ago. I'm afraid I didn't get any pictures, but I'll see if he brings it this weekend to the Cinci meeting, and/or suggest that he does the next time.

[plantmanky]

It's one of those plants that doesn't leaf reduce all that well so you have to make a larger tree out of them but because of it's dual use its a nice addition to my collection. They do however back bud like a champ. I have often cut this one back hard a few times and have given away pounds of leaves to my friends. It's better than the bay that you get in most stores which is actually california bay (Umbellularia californica) which has a diffenrent taste when you cook with it then the real stuff.