10 Steps to Grow Curry Leaves Plant
1- Open the package as soon as it arrives. This will allow the plant to take a deep breath after its long journey through extreme climatic conditions to reach you, the new owner.
2- Treat the new baby curry leaf plant as a new infant life around you with love and care.
3- The plants are delicate and tender. Remove the packaging and wrapping materials gently with extreme care.
4- Keep the curry leaves plant in the same pot/cup for a few days, continue to water the plant once a day as needed. Do NOT transplant immediately. Your curry leaf plant just travelled 100s of miles and need time to recover from the shock.
5- Prepare a 1 gallon pot with potting mix and/or seed starting mix. The pot should have good drainage. The curry leaves plants prefer well drained soil for growth.
6- After about 2 weeks of care, it’s time to transplant your curry leaf plant to the 1 gallon pot you have prepared.
7- Remove the nursery bag, napkins, wrapping plastic and any other packaging materials that the curry leaf plant arrived with. Transplant the curry leaf plant to the new 1 gallon container. Water the plant thoroughly.
8- Do not add plant food to the curry leaf plants for the first 4 weeks after transplanting. The potting mix/seeding soil will have the required nutrients for the curry leaf plant.
9- The curry leaf plants does not like cold winters. Do not expose them to temperatures below 50 degree Fahrenheit.
10- After 4 weeks, add plant food to the curry leaf plant as directed on the plant food package. Continue to show your TLC to the new plant addition!
About Curry Leaf Plants
Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii) is a small, aromatic evergreen tree or originally cultivated in India. It is highly valued for its distinct and pungent flavor, which is an essential component in many South Asian dishes. Besides its culinary uses, Curry Leaf also has been for centuries in Ayurveda medicine for its antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
This versatile and flavorful plant can be grown both indoors and outdoors, making it a delightful addition to any windowsill, herb garden or kitchen. The most widely known part of the curry tree is its aromatic, spicy foliage, comprised of many leaflets.
Transplanting Curry Leaf Plants
Curry leaf plants are best positioned to thrive when they are planted or transplanted during spring season with temperatures above 50°F. Being native to humid jungles of South East Asia, Curry leaf plant likes warm, humid weather. Curry Leaf plant will not survive below freezing temperature. If you live in an area where the temperature goes around or below freezing during winter, you should consider planting your Curry leaf plant in a pot or container which you can bring inside your house or move to a sheltered space.
When to Transplant
Early spring is the best time to transplant a curry leaf plant into a new container. If for some reason the middle of the year transplant is required, make sure to do it on a cloudy day during morning hours. The Curry Leaf Plant doesn’t like its roots disturbed too frequently. Every time the plant is transplanted, it will go through a shock period, when it will stop growing for a while. For this reason, it is best to transplant a curry leaf plant only when needed.
Preparing the potting mix
The Curry Leaf Plant likes slightly acidic (Soil PH between 5.6 to 6.0), loose, and well-drained soil. After watering, the access water should run away from the drainage hole below the pot to prevent roots from rotting.
Any kind of potting mix available in the big box stores will work for the curry leaf plant. We recommend Cactus Potting Mix or Citrus Potting Mix. Make sure to buy the ‘Potting Mix,’ not the ‘Potting Soil.’ Add 1/2 amount of compost or cow manure to the potting mix for the best growth. Mix the potting mix and cow manure well before planting the curry leaf plant.
We do not recommend using garden soil in the container. The garden soil has many bacteria, parasites, and insects that can infect or harm the growth of your Curry leaf plant. Additionally, when you bring the container indoors during colder months, you do not want to bring garden pests in that can infect other indoor plants.
How to Transplant
Any ceramic, resin or terracotta plastic container would work for Curry leaf plant. However, since most likely you’ll have to move the plant back and forth inside and outside the house seasonally, lightweight resin container is the best. Whatever the material you choose for the container, make sure it has an adequate amount of drainage hole in the bottom of the container. Picking the right size container for the curry leaf plant is essential. You do not want a huge container for a small plant.
The newly transplanted Curry leaf plant can stay in this container for one to two years. In the spring after the transplant, you should consider whether the plan requires a new pot. As a general rule of thumb, if the plant topples over in the windy conditions, the pot is too small for the plant. It’s time for a bigger pot.
Step 1: Fill the container halfway with potting soil.
Step 2: Take out the Curry leaf plant from the current container. Gently ruffle the roots, if the roots are growing in the circular direction. Place the plant in the new container.
Step 3: Fill the container with the rest of the potting mix and compost mixture up to 1.5” to 2” inch below the edge of the container.
Step 4: Gently press around the base of the plant to take out any air bubbles trapped under the Soil.
Step 5: Sprinkle fertilizer like Blood Meal on the top later. Mix the top soil well.
Step 6: Pour water gently around the base of the plant until you see the water running out from the drainage hole of the pot. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes and then water again.
Step 7: Put the container in a warm, sunny spot. Make sure the plant receives 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight every day.
Watering the Curry Leaf Plants
The Curry Leaf Plant does not like to be over-watered. If the plant gets too much water, the roots will start rotting. It is best to water the curry leaf plant infrequently but deeply. Water the plant when you see the topsoil is dry to touch.
Water near the base of the plant until you see water running out from the bottom. Wait for a few minutes, and then water again. Leaving the plant thirsty for an extra day makes the root grow longer. Over-watering does not help, but under-watering does!
Growth Habit
Curry Leaf plant has an upright and open growth habit, which means that the branches have a somewhat “loose” appearance. As an indoor plant in temperate areas, Curry Leaf grows and flowers from spring through fall. In the north, it can experience a resting period during the winter months when the days are short. Sometimes, leaves will drop. Don’t worry. This is normal.
Ideal Temperature
For best results, grow in full sun and keep temperatures above 40°F. If grown in warm conditions with high light intensity, Curry Leaf will experience less of a winter resting period. Curry Leaf can experience interveinal yellowing (chlorosis) on its leaves during the wintertime. Cool temperatures seem to be the major factor for this leaf problem. It often indicates that the plant may be getting ready to go into dormancy. If you increase the temperatures, you can slow or prevent dormancy or loss of leaves. If your Curry Leaf plant loses its leaves and only has a bare stem, cut back on watering and wait for winter to end. Your plant is fine. It’s simply resting. The leaves will re-grow in spring.
Pest & Diseases
Curry Leaf typically doesn’t get many pests. It can get foliar or citrus mealy bug. To organically treat mealy bug, we recommend using neem oil, which smothers the bugs. Also, concurrently you must use high-pressure water to dislodge the cottony mass, which is where the adults, crawlers and eggs of the mealy bugs hide. Repeated applications of neem oil are needed.