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When to Plant Bay Laurel in California

California spans USDA hardiness 5b to 11a (zones 5b to 11a on this page). Plant bay laurel by your local frost date, not the calendar — pick your zone below for exact start-indoors, transplant, and harvest dates.

Jump to: Zone 5b · Zone 6a · Zone 6b · Zone 7a · Zone 7b · Zone 8a · Zone 8b · Zone 9a · Zone 9b · Zone 10a · Zone 10b · Zone 11a

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 5b

Average last spring frost

April 30

Average first fall frost

October 5

🌿

Direct sow

Apr 30

🌾

Projected first harvest

Jun 29

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 5b (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 5 guide (both 5a and 5b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 6a

Average last spring frost

April 25

Average first fall frost

October 10

🌿

Direct sow

Apr 25

🌾

Projected first harvest

Jun 24

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 6a (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 6 guide (both 6a and 6b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 6b

Average last spring frost

April 20

Average first fall frost

October 15

🌿

Direct sow

Apr 20

🌾

Projected first harvest

Jun 19

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 6b (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 6 guide (both 6a and 6b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 7a

Average last spring frost

April 15

Average first fall frost

October 20

🌿

Direct sow

Apr 15

🌾

Projected first harvest

Jun 14

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 7a (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 7 guide (both 7a and 7b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 7b

Average last spring frost

April 10

Average first fall frost

October 30

🌿

Direct sow

Apr 10

🌾

Projected first harvest

Jun 9

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 7b (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 7 guide (both 7a and 7b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 8a

Average last spring frost

April 1

Average first fall frost

November 10

🌿

Direct sow

Apr 1

🌾

Projected first harvest

May 31

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 8a (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 8 guide (both 8a and 8b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 8b

Average last spring frost

March 20

Average first fall frost

November 20

🌿

Direct sow

Mar 20

🌾

Projected first harvest

May 19

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 8b (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 8 guide (both 8a and 8b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 9a

Average last spring frost

March 1

Average first fall frost

December 1

🌿

Direct sow

Mar 1

🌾

Projected first harvest

Apr 30

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 9a (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 9 guide (both 9a and 9b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 9b

Average last spring frost

February 15

Average first fall frost

December 15

🌿

Direct sow

Feb 15

🌾

Projected first harvest

Apr 16

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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 9b (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 9 guide (both 9a and 9b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 10a

Average last spring frost

January 30

Average first fall frost

December 30

🌿

Direct sow

Jan 30

🌾

Projected first harvest

Mar 31

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F
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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 10a (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 10 guide (both 10a and 10b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 10b

Average last spring frost

January 30

Average first fall frost

December 30

🌿

Direct sow

Jan 30

🌾

Projected first harvest

Mar 31

J
F
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A
M
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J
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O
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🌱 Start indoors🌿 Growing outside🌾 HarvestTodayZone 10b (approximate)

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days. Full zone 10 guide (both 10a and 10b) →

Bay Laurel planting calendar for California, Zone 11a

Zone 11a doesn't get a seasonal frost — bay laurel plants on a warm/cool-season calendar instead of frost dates.

🗓️

Best planting window

Year-round

🌴 Your zone never frosts, so planting is timed to the cooler vs. warmer seasons rather than a frost date.

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🌿 Planting windowTodayZone 11a: frost-free; timed to seasons, not frost

Bay Laurel is ready to harvest in about 60 days.

Not sure which half-zone you're in? Set your ZIP in HomeSown for dates tuned to your exact location.

Varieties to grow

1 variety of bay laurel in the HomeSown library. Tap any for its full grow guide.

🌱 Grow bay laurel with a calendar built for your exact yard

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