[kokopuffs]

.......... I think you need to be specific to ask for a "Laurus Nobilis" and not a "Umbellularia" which we've heard is more common in CA but not as desirable for some chefs.

GREAT point. The bay trees that grow in the SF bay area all produce "bay" leaves that have the aroma of menthol and therefore are not meant for cooking. But when I lived there I would always stuff handfuls of those leaves underneath my bed sheets for an aromatic night drifting in the clouds!

 

[kokopuffs]

Not even water (other than whatever water it can find on its own). I live in NoHo, which is pretty darn hot. I never water my bay leaf tree, there are no sprinklers anywhere near it, and it's thriving.

...perhaps 'cuz of all the water that the southlanders have been stealing from the Owens Valley for almost a hundred years.