I always thought bay leaves used for cooking were those from the sweetbay magnolia that is widespread in swamps in the SE US. Apparently that's a different plant altogether.

[QUOTE=Stvrob;567491]I always thought bay leaves used for cooking were those from the sweetbay magnolia that is widespread in swamps in the SE US. Apparently that's a different plant altogether.[/QUOTE]


I just read a little bit about the so called Laurel forest and the habitat of the Bay trees.
Very interesting.
Worth

I had no idea that I live in a laurel forest!

[QUOTE=Tracydr;567706]I had no idea that I live in a laurel forest![/QUOTE]

I was hoping you would see that.:D

Worth

I brought mine inside last fall and it survived until I put it outside too early in the spring. Picked up a new one from Terra Greenhouses because we like using the bay leaves in cooking. A day or two on the counter is recommended before using.

Anybody successful in propagating cuttings? I pot up some small branches, dipped in rooting hormones first, then covered the pot with plastic. I also had a few bare brances that i dipped one end with rooting hormones then wrapped up the entire thing in layers of wet newspaper, then sealed in plastic bags.... It's been a week, we'll see if any would take. The wet newspaper way is very effective in propagating roses, it takes three weeks for roots to emerge.

"then wrapped up the entire thing in layers of wet newspaper, then sealed in plastic bags."

How or where do you keep these wrapped stems?

I just leave them on a shelf, so room temperature, there are many layers of newspapers and three additional plastic bags, so no light gets in. I only used stems, no leaves at all, and the root side also get some bark removed to get more exposure.
I just opened the packages up to check for progress and applied a bit more water to the newspaper. Now at 10 days, all rose stems have swelling, as well as blueberries, likely they will be ready for potting in a week. This is a very simple and effective way of propagation after several years of me trying other ways. I learned this from a youtube post from a professional nursery guy.
The bay stems showed no change, but stay green. I think they will root this way but slower than other stems.
Sorry for off topic a bit.

Rose stems roots emerging.