Bay Laurel (Laurus Nobilis) August 27, 2012
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DENTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION Herbal Branch Presentation--Bay Laurel (Laurus Nobilis) August 27, 2012 Overview: Evergreen tree or large shrub (sometimes reaching to 33-59 feet tall) with green, glossy leaves is native to the Mediterranean region. Also known as: Sweet Bay Bay Tree (especially United Kingdom) True Laurel Grecian Laurel Laurel Tree Laurel Worldwide, many other kind of plants in diverse families are called “bay” or “laurel” generally due to similarity of foliage or aroma to Laurus nobilis. The California bay laurel is Umbellularia, also in the family Lauraceae. It is important to use only Laurus Nobilis if planning to use leaves for cooking. Other plants that have the same common name may not be edible. Additional varieties of Laurus nobilis include: Laurus nobilis Angustifolia (has narrow leaves, also known as willow-leaf laurel) Laurus nobilis Aurea (new foliage is yellow) Laurus nobilis Undulate (edges of leaves are rippled or wavy) Whether these varieties season as well as Laurus nobilis is a matter of taste. The bay laurel is dioecious (unisexual) with male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower is pale yellow-green about 1cm in diameter, and they appear in pairs beside a leaf. Leaves are 6-12cm long and 2-4cm broad with characteristic finely- serrated and wrinkled margin. The fruit is a small, shiny black berry about 1cm long. The bay laurel was honored by the International Herb Association as Herb of the Year in 2009. Growing Tips and Maintenance • Full sun or partial shade • Hardiness zones 8-10 • Not too particular about soil. Can tolerate PH from 4.5 to 8.3 • Good drainage is important • Plant at the same depth as it was planted in the original pot • Bay is a good plant for containers. Bring it indoors during the winter and place under lights. Grows best when it’s a bit cramped in its container • Might dry out in low humidity found indoors. When leaves drop, save them for cooking and begin misting the tree • Roots are shallow and frequent watering is necessary during dry spells. Allow soil to dry out between waterings but don’t let it sit too long without water • Slow growing plant doesn’t require a great deal of food. Feed container grown bay in the spring and mid-summer with balanced organic fertilizer. Feed plant in the ground once in the spring if the soil has organic matter • Bay tree in the ground can tolerate a light freeze. Leaves might turn brown and dry, but tree will usually recover on its own the following spring. If the tree has more extensive freeze damage, prune stem to below the damage and new growth will fill in. In extreme cases prune to 6” and allow new shoots to form at the roots • Pruning (usually in the spring) is biggest part of maintenance either to keep the size in check or create a more ornamental tree. Prune as little or as much as you like to keep the tree small or to create a topiary • Bay trees are strongly resistant to all insect pests and plant diseases. Scale can occasionally be a problem and there are some moths that will lay their eggs between 2 leaves and sort of fuse them together with a cottony fluff. If you see leaves that are stuck together, pull them apart and remove the eggs or larva Propagation Seeds--Sow seeds in spring ideally in moist, but definitely not water saturated, compost seed beds. Place seeds on the surface of the soil and lightly cover with dry compost. Seed bed must ideally be placed in the dark at a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit for germination to occur. It is difficult to predict a successful germination which can take as long as 3 months. Challenge is that seeds can rot before germination occurs. Stem Cuttings--Cuttings can be taken in late summer or early fall. It’s considered to be difficult to propagate bay trees from cuttings. To get the best cuttings, cut ripe shoots 4 to 6 inches using a knife and be sure to include part of the main stem--the heel. Trim so that only 3-4 leaves remain on the shoot. Plant in a small pot filled with potting compost. Label and place in a site without direct sunlight. A cold frame is the best solution. A heated propagating frame may also give a chance of success as hight humidity in the ambient air is essential for the proper growth of the plant. Cuttings give out roots within the span of a year or a little longer. Layering--To correctly layer the growing plant, bend each stem down to the ground and use a penknife to make a small cut in the stem at the spot touching the soil. The cut region of the bent stem can be covered with soil and secured using stones or it can be held in place with wire. The cut region of the stem will give off shoots in 6-12 months. Bay laurel plants are ideally layered during the spring. Symbolism • Bay leaves were used to fashion the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, a symbol of highest status. Served as a symbol of peace and victory for the Greeks • Given as the prize at the Pythian games because the games were in honor of Apollo (god of light), and the laurel was a symbol of Apollo • Ovid tells the story that the laurel tree was first formed when the nymph Daphne was changed into a laurel tree because of Apollo’s pursuit of her. Daphne is the Greek name for tree • Romans held the laurel as a symbol of victory, and it is the source of the words baccalaureate and poet laureate as well as the expressions “assume the laurel” and “resting on one’s laurels” • Ancient Romans believed that the sudden withering of a bay laurel tree would bode disaster for the household in whose garden the tree grew • The laurel is often an emblem of prosperity and fame in the Bible. In Christian tradition, it symbolizes the resurrection of Christ • In Chinese folklore, there is a great laurel tree on the moon. There is a story of Wu Gang, a man who aspired to immortality and neglected his work. When the deities discovered this, they sentenced him to fell the laurel tree, whereupon he could join the ranks of the deities. However, since the laurel regenerated immediately when cut, it could never be felled. The Chinese phrase “Wu Gang chops the tree” is sometimes used to refer to endless toil, similar to the legend of Sisyphus in Greek mythology who is doomed to always push a huge boulder up a steep hill Medicinal Uses • Used to make a potent anti-dandruff rinse for the hair. Mix 3 level teaspoons of crumpled bay leaves and steep in a quart of boiled water for about 25 minutes. Wash hair with shampoo and water and rinse all shampoo out of hair. Then apply bay leaf tea to the head and massage the scalp. Leave on hair for up to an hour and then rinse with plain water • Can use a poultice made from boiled bay leaves to treat bronchitis and a hacking cough or other related chest complaints. Rub poultice into chest and cover with a cloth • Use oil of bay leaf daily to relieve swelling in the tendons or to soothe arthritic aches and pains or muscle sprains. Oil can be prepared by heating a small amount of olive oil using very low heat and adding bay leaves for about 20 minutes. Strain and cool before using. Oil can also be used for backache and varicose veins • Use bay leaf plaster to bring relief to wasp and bee stings • Altitude sickness • Tooth decay Cosmetic Uses • The soap making industry uses an essential oil obtained from the fruit of the bay laurel in the manufacture of some types of soaps • Bay is used for fragrant colognes especially when combined with other botanical ingredients • Bay is a natural insect repellent and may even protect the plants growing near it from common pests and plant diseases Culinary Uses--Both fresh and dried bay leaves are used in many cooking traditions to flavor soups, stews and sauces. Whole leaves are removed from the dish when cooking is completed as they are a bit prickly. Dried leaves can be crumbled and left in the dish. Recipes can be found online for using bay leaves to flavor a bloody mary and for several desserts. The online site for the culinary magazine “Cooks Illustrated” provides information about using bay leaves based on various experiments performed in their test kitchen. Topics are: Turkish vs California Bay Leaves--Test cooks made bechamel sauce using dried Turkish leaves in one batch and dried California leaves in another. Their tasters found the California batch to be medicinal and potent like something you’d find in a cough drop. The flavor of the sauce made with Turkish leaves was described as mild, green and slightly clove-like and far superior in nuance and flavor. Proper Storage--Cooks ran tests using a freshly opened package of dried bay leaves, a package opened for 3 months and leaves stored in their original container in the freezer for 3 months. They added 2 leaves of each to 2 cups of canned chicken broth and simmered the broth. They found significant loss of flavor in the leaves that had been opened for 3 months and left on the pantry shelf. The newly opened package had the most flavor and the frozen leaves had almost as much flavor.