Crestwood Bay Laurel

If you are lucky enough to have your baccalaureate, then in ancient times you would have been crowned with a wreath made of this tree. But don’t rest on your laurels, because you can also use the leaves in the kitchen – they are the familiar ‘bay leaves’ every cook will use in a sauce or wherever their distinctive warm flavor is called for.

Unfortunately, the name ‘laurel’ has been given to many plants that have tough evergreen leaves, but there is only one Bay Laurel, a noble shrub or small tree, appropriately called by botanist Laurus nobilis. Don’t confuse it with the entirely different, and more common, Cherry Laurel, as they really are ‘entirely different’.

The Crestwood Bay Laurel is a selected form of this tree. It is a little smaller than a wild tree would be, the leaves are distinctly more rounded, and it also flowers much more reliably, with clusters of fragrant pale yellow flowers all along the stems in spring – best not to prune much if you want to enjoy them.

Often seen pruned into a tight column, or various ‘poodle’ or spiral shapes, it is also very popular for hedges, where it can be pruned into one of the densest large hedges possible. There is, though, an alternative approach. Don’t prune it at all and you will be surprised and impressed by the handsome, arching natural form it takes after a few years, developing multiple trunks and an irregular crown that is perfect in today’s more relaxed garden styles. And yes, you can still harvest all the leaves you want, to use fresh, or to dry in the shade in summer, to store for a year or more.

Growing the Crestwood Bay Laurel

Size and Appearance

The Crestwood Bay Laurel is an upright, somewhat slender large shrub or small tree, growing up to 12 inches a year when young, but mostly about 6 inches a year, into a plant that will perhaps be 12 feet tall in 10 to 15 years, and will grow indefinitely, with trees as much as 60 feet tall reported – very old trees, obviously. Always narrower than it is tall, you might reckon on it being 8 feet wide In 10 years, adding a couple of feet or more each decade after that.

This all sounds a bit vague because pruning obviously will keep it much smaller, and most trees are pruned, so the size is very much in your hands – unless you give your tree a free rein – try it and see how surprisingly handsome the result will be. Exposed bark is relatively smooth, and a very handsome light gray color.

The leaves are evergreen, with a tough, leathery feel and a very distinctive and pleasant aroma, released even without crushing them. They can be used fresh or dried, and the older leaves have the strongest and best flavor. They are typically 3 to 4 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, more rounded in this variety than is seen in the wild tree. The color is mid to dark green, and the edges of the leaves are smooth, but with a wave-like undulation.

In spring, especially on unpruned trees, clusters of small, pale yellow flowers are produced all along the stems. These release a beautiful fragrance and attract many insects. Individually small, they are abundant, and in this variety much more common than in the common bay tree. Flowers can be rare when grown in cooler zones, or pruned regularly. Fruits are rarely if ever produced.

Using the Crestwood Bay Laurel in Your Garden

A wonderful evergreen, the Crestwood Bay Laurel is usually seen as a smallish clipped shrub or hedge, used in formal-looking gardens, or growing outside the kitchen door. It also makes one of the best evergreen hedges possible. Space plants 3 feet apart for a hedge 8 feet tall or more, and 2 feet apart for a smaller hedge.

As well, though, it makes a lovely specimen or background large shrub or small tree if left unpruned. Put aside the shears and let nature take its course. If all that pruning and trimming you see so often puts you off this tree, then simply don’t trim it. There, now you have one of the lowest-maintenance evergreens available.

Hardiness

The Crestwood Bay Laurel is hardy in zone 7, but may show a little winter scorching on the leaves. In warmer zones it is completely winter-resistant. If you live in a colder zone, grow it in a pot and keep it in a bright but cool place through winter. Notice that in pots trees are only hardy year-round outdoors from zone 9, due to the sensitivity of the roots to cold. In zones 7 and 8, bury the plant, in the pot or slid out of it, in the garden and it will be just fine.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Crestwood Bay Laurel grows happily in full sun in all zones, and also in partial shade. It will also grow in light full shade under deciduous trees in hot zones, but the densest growth is in full sun.

It grows in pretty much any well-drained soil without difficulty, benefiting from some compost when planting and also used as mulch – keep it off the trunk and lower branches and cover the root zone right out past the width of the tree. In a lawn keep a tree circle free of grass and covered in mulch for the first 5 years. After that you can let the grass grow right to the tree, but always be careful using string trimmers, which can seriously damage the delicate bark.

Maintenance and Pruning

If you are going to trim your tree, give it a year or even two to grow untrimmed, while it becomes established. Trim after the spring new growth has darkened in color and the stems have hardened. Trim at any time after that, stopping in fall at least a month, and preferably 2 months, before the first hard frost is likely – young leaves may be damaged by the cold.

Unlike many other ‘laurel’ trees, the bay laurel is very repellent to deer and they almost never even take a nibble, so it’s a great choice if you have deer problems. Other significant pests or diseases are almost unknown

History and Origin of the Crestwood Bay Laurel

The bay tree, or bay laurel, Laurus nobilis, is native to the Mediterranean area, and relatively recently there were natural, untouched forests of this tree along the coast of Croatia. It was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for wreaths, often given to the winners of Greek Olympics, battles, and other great events. It has been grown in Britain since at least the 16th century, and also in France, where it has been widely used in the kitchen for centuries.

Presumably it was brought over by different groups of colonists to America, where it has been grown as an ornamental, for hedges and for its leaves since the colonial period. The variety called ‘Crestwood’ differs from the wild tree because the leaves are almost circular, and it is much more free in flowering. It was developed by Blooming Nurseries, in the Tualatin Valley, a very mild region west of Portland, Oregon. It was first released under their Blooming Advantage™ label.

Buying the Crestwood Bay Laurel at the Tree Center

Enjoy all the benefits of a bay tree, plus the extra large leaves (great in the kitchen) and abundant spring flowers by choosing the Crestwood Bay Laurel instead of some ordinary, every-day variety. We only have a few trees, so don’t wait to order, or you won’t graduate with this laurel wreath around your brow.