When to harvest Bay in the UK
Bay is planted rather than sown from seed, so the dates below are harvest dates.
Harvest dates by region
Bay is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Harvest |
|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early January to late December |
| South Coast and Channel | early January to late December |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early January to late December |
| South East and Home Counties | early January to late December |
| East Anglia | early January to late December |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early January to late December |
| Wales and West Coast | early January to late December |
| Northern England | early January to late December |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early January to late December |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early January to late December |
| Northern Ireland | early January to late December |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early January to late December |
Growing notes
Bay is an evergreen shrub or small tree bought as a plant, not sown annually, and picked all year round; give it a warm sheltered spot and plant early enough in the season to establish before winter. Container plants are the most vulnerable to winter cold and wet - wrap or move them, and cut out frost-damaged shoots and do any hard pruning in mid- to late spring.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 100 cm between plants
- Row spacing
- 100 cm
- Plants per m²
- 1
- Yield per plant
- 0.1 kg
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 45 litres or more
- Minimum soil depth
- 40 cm
- Balcony rating
- 4 out of 5
How long until it crops
Expect the first worthwhile pick about 1 year after planting.
What usually goes wrong
- bay sucker
- scale insects
- frost damage
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for bay.