Hmmm - I know I saw a couple different kinds of Bay at Baker's last week. If you take a look in our FAQ's the phone number should be listed.

Good luck!

Umbellularia californica, or California bay, is used as a substitute for Bay Leaves. The true Mediterranean plant is Laurus nobilis, as you noted above. CA bay is more pungent in taste. I bought my Bay plant at Baker Nursery. You will see small ones in the herb section, but look around, or ask the help. They have larger plants that are very reasonable. Laurus nobilis does very well in our climate.

I bought mine from summerwinds. Make sure you buy 5gal and not one gal if you want to use the leaves in cooking right a way. It is extremely slow growing.

I got mine from Moon Valley Nursery. Usha's right, it's slow growing. Mine is about 6' tall (in pot) but grew from only about 4.5' over 7 years ago. Quite a bit fuller now though. Perhaps having it in a large pot is also constraining its growth. I find that mine does not like direct sun all day or its leaves burn.