Can bay leaves (Laurus nobilis) be grown from seeds in Thailand? At Discovery Garden in Pattaya we have succeeded in doing so, but the germination rate is very low. It is much easier to buy a small plant at our Discovery Garden outlets in Pattaya or Nong Khai, if you want to grow your own bay leaves in Thailand or Laos.

My bay leave tree in Nong Khai where the bridge to Laos is located

I managed to grow bay leaves or Laurus nobilis in my Nong Khai location from seedlings I could acquire and they grew to 3 or 4 meter high trees. Even though they come from the Mediterranean they can thrive in a tropical climate, just make sure they get enough water. All my trials of marcotting (duplicate) plants have failed.

The germination rate of bay leave seeds is very low in Thaialand

Growing bay leaves in Thailand or Laos from seeds is very difficult for three reasons: You cannot get any seeds from local plants due to the lack of European seasons. And finding fresh seeds on the internet or other places is almost impossible. When we at Discovery Garden in Pattaya finally could get some fresh seeds from the South of France, the germination rate was very low, only 6 %.

Our bay leave plants for Thailand and Laos are about 25 cm high