Conditional — Some Areas
bay laurel (zones 8-10) reaches only part of Arkansas (6b-8b): zone 8 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Bay Laurel in Arkansas — the short answer
Bay Laurel in Arkansas: hardy in zones 8–10, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 8-10
- Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 8b–10b
- Arkansas zones
- 6b-8b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Mar 2 - Mar 20 – Nov 15 - Nov 23
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 226 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- To first harvest
- ~1 year
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Arkansas spans zones 6b-8b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score bay laurel against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Arkansas is not one climate
Arkansas’s winter-low ladder runs across 75 counties, from zone 7 in Benton County to zone 8.5 in Union County. That is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between bay laurel overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 75 counties runs 7.5–8 zones, with a median of 8 zones — a 1.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 75 Arkansas counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where in Arkansas Fits Best
Bay Laurel is rated for zones 8–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at 10 to 20°F. Against Arkansas’s 75 counties that band holds in 53 of them, and the line runs at Calhoun County (zone 8a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 8–10
53 counties
- Clark County · zone 8a
- Cleburne County · zone 8a
- Cleveland County · zone 8a
3 of 53 shown
Below the zone 8 floor
22 counties
- Benton County · zone 7a
- Carroll County · zone 7a
- Fulton County · zone 7a
3 of 22 shown
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.
Even within Arkansas's zones 6b-8b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for bay laurel (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Bay Laurel Needs
- USDA Zones: 8-10
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 30 ft tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Picking window: ~365 days of harvestWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Drought tolerance: MediumWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Arkansas Has
- USDA Zones: 6b-8b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 2 - Mar 20
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 15 - Nov 23
- Annual Rainfall: 44-56 inches
- Common Soils: Silt loam, Sandy loam, Red clay
Plant Zone Range (zones 8-10)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Bay Laurel in Arkansas
The frost window
Across Arkansas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 240-day window you can count on — up to 266 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
Winter standing
Bay Laurel overwinters from USDA zone 8 and warmer (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox), and Arkansas runs as cold as zone 6, so it does not survive winter in the ground here. It is a woody plant rather than a crop you resow each spring, so neither a fall establishment date nor a harvest countdown describes it in Arkansas — which is why this page gives neither. What it needs here is a way through winter, not a planting date.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says bay laurel survives winter in part of Arkansas, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Growing degree days
Bay Laurel needs ~2000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~4819 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Arkansas's typical season clears that easily.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Bay Laurel tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-8.2) — 3.7 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Arkansas. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Arkansas soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Arkansas site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost. Drainage need: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Arkansas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant bay laurel for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before bay laurel goes in. What follows is Arkansas’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across Arkansas — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Arkansas — 12,957 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 88 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Arkansas carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Arkansas
Severity Distribution
across Arkansas
Highest-Severity Sites
Know Before You Grow
- •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
- •TRI facilities report what they release. Check the wind — downwind beds catch more of it.
- •Mine waste leaches heavy metals. Test for lead, arsenic and cadmium before growing food here.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Bay Laurel in Arkansas
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Arkansas growers also need to think about:
Hot, humid summers drive fungal and bacterial diseases
Heavy clay soils in parts of the Ozarks
Severe spring storms and hail risk
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Arkansas grower, not just bay laurel — is covered on the Arkansas growing guide.
Where in Arkansas Bay Laurel Is Zone-Hardy
Bay Laurel is rated for USDA zones 8–10. 53 of Arkansas’s 75 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Calhoun County at zone 8a. 22 counties sit below the plant’s zone 8 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in Arkansas decides this one.
Across those 75 counties Arkansas’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 7a in Benton County to zone 8b in Union County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.
The planting window moves with it. Carroll County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Mar 26, while Chicot County is clear by Feb 19 — 35 days apart. Set bay laurel out on your county’s date, not the state’s.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Bay Laurel’s zone 8–10 band: Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 8b–10b. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Bay Laurel draws honeybees (low value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, bay laurel can only work that bloom inside Arkansas's frost window — roughly 254 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 2 - Mar 20) and closing at the first (Nov 15 - Nov 23), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Arkansas Cooperative Extension
For Arkansas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for bay laurel, the canonical source is University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Bay Laurel in Arkansas
When can I plant Bay Laurel in Arkansas?
Arkansas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Bay Laurel overwinters only from USDA zone 8 and warmer, and Arkansas runs as cold as zone 6, so it does not survive winter in the ground here — the question for Arkansas growers is how to carry it through winter under cover, not which week to plant it.
What hardiness zone is Bay Laurel grown in across Arkansas?
Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Bay Laurel carries a range of zones 8-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Arkansas site have?
A typical Arkansas site sees ~254 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Bay Laurel needs 120+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
How should I amend the soil for Bay Laurel in Arkansas?
Bay Laurel tolerates pH 4.5-8.2 and well (dry spells) drainage. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. That is a 3.7-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Arkansas site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Bay Laurel actually grow on my specific land in Arkansas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores bay laurel against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Arkansas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores bay laurel against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Arkansas bay laurel averages can't show:
We read public map data around Arkansas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Arkansas bay laurel average
Explore More
Growing guides for bay laurel
Explore Arkansas county by county
Arkansas carries 75 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for bay laurel there:
Where else bay laurel grows
Bay Laurel's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Arkansas in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Arkansas
Arkansas has a growing page for 1,012 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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