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 Insulin Plants

The “insulin plant,” scientifically named costus igneus, is related to plants in the ginger family. It grows to be 2-3 feet tall with attractive flowers and 4–6-inch leaves arranged in a spiral pattern. The flowers are orange in color. This arrangement has led to some of its common names, including Step ladder and Spiral flag. The leaves are spirally arranged around the stem, forming attractive, arching clumps arising from underground rootstocks.

Its leaves are also used as a dietary supplement to treat diabetes, and this is how it began to be called the insulin plant. The insulin plant’s leaves are rich in protein, iron, and antioxidants. It also contains Phyto-compounds that simulate the metabolic action of insulin in the body when ingested.

Its leaves are also used as a dietary supplement to treat diabetes, and this is how it began to be called the insulin plant. The insulin plant’s leaves are rich in protein, iron, and antioxidants. It also contains Phyto-compounds that simulate the metabolic action of insulin in the body when ingested.

           Benefits of Insulin Plants

The main interest surrounding the insulin plant is centered on the treatment and management of diabetes. However, additional studies have investigated the antioxidant and other potential therapeutic properties of the insulin plant.

• Anti-Diabetic Properties

Multiple studies have been conducted to evaluate the claimed anti-diabetic effects of the insulin plant.  One of the most notable was a cross-sectional human study performed in India and published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. It was possible to determine this treatment’s positive and negative effects on diabetic patients’ blood sugar levels using insulin plant leaves.

In this study, diabetic patients consumed either one fresh insulin plant leaf or one teaspoon of shade-dried leaf powder per day for at least one month in conjunction with other treatment modalities. This study concluded that type 2 diabetics who regularly consumed insulin plant leaves (while using other essential treatments) proved that it could provide glycemic control. Oral hypoglycemic drugs and non-allopathic therapies were successful in controlling blood sugar levels which were previously uncontrollable. Consuming insulin plant leaves did not result in diabetic complications or adverse side effects. From day fifteen, glucose levels were in control.

Further, the patients in the study continue insulin plant leaf powder supplementation since it is beneficial for glycemic control and appears to protect them against diabetic complications.

While the study authors noted that a controlled trial with a larger sample size is desired, the results of this study showed promising results in the use of ingested insulin plant leaves as a method of treatment and management of diabetes and alleviating symptoms of other conditions.

The anti-diabetic effect of insulin plant leaves continues to be tested in diabetic patients. Additional studies continue to reveal the role of the insulin plant in treating and alleviating various other diseases, which opens up new areas of clinical research. Further, this paves the way to explore further the compounds responsible for the therapeutic effects, which will help to understand better their mechanisms of action, some of which are described below.

• Antioxidant

Studies of the insulin plant have been performed to investigate its antioxidant properties. An in vitro study of alcoholic extract from the insulin plant’s leaves showed moderate antioxidant activity. Another study showed that various leaf extracts could be effective in reducing oxidative stress and free radical-mediated diseases. This study proposed that the antioxidant properties of the insulin plant may be due to the presence of phenolic substances.  Another study concluded that various leaf extracts might possess antioxidant activity against oxidative protein damage in the body.

In a study with diabetic animal subjects, oral administration of an insulin plant leaf extract for 30 days induced a significant antioxidant effect. This effect was sufficient to reverse oxidative stress in the diabetic animal subject’s liver, pancreas, and kidney.

Bioactive compounds exhibited antioxidant activity sufficient to reverse oxidative stress in rats’ liver, pancreas, and kidney and stimulate glycolytic enzymes and control gluconeogenesis in diabetic animals.

These studies demonstrate that compounds within the insulin plant have antioxidant properties that can destroy free radicals and toxins, protect bodily cells, and improve the immune system.

• Anti-Cancer

In addition to the insulin plant’s antioxidant properties that can destroy free radicals and toxins in the body’s cells, as described above, ethanolic extract of insulin plant leaves was found to have anti-proliferative and anti-cancer potential. 

All extracts of insulin plant bark showed potent anti-cancer properties against specific types of cancer cells.

• Anti-Microbial and Anti-Bacterial Properties

Additional studies have concentrated on the potential anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties of the insulin plant.  Methanolic extract from the leaves showed high levels of anti-bacterial activity, protecting the body from both gram-positive and gram-negative types of bacteria.

Other extracts of the stem and flower exhibited maximum inhibitory activity on the growth of a range of tested microbes.

• Additional Therapeutic Properties

In addition to the health properties described in the sections above, the results of other preliminary studies have suggested that the insulin plant may have additional therapeutic properties that can improve digestion, liver, and bladder function, alleviate sore throat, and reduce high blood pressure and asthma symptoms. 

                      Transplanting Insulin Plants

Insulin 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, Insulin leaf plant likes warm, humid weather.  Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin plant only when needed.

                     Preparing the potting mix

The Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin plant is essential. You do not want a huge container for a small plant.                                 

The newly transplanted Insulin 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 Insulin 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 Insulin Plants

The Insulin 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 Insulin 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

Insulin 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, Insulin 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, Insulin will experience less of a winter resting period. Insulin 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 Insulin 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

Insulin 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.

                     Propagation & Pruning

The easiest way to propagate Insulin is by rhizome. It takes a week or two to get the seedlings established. We ship seedlings but take great care in pinching them (pruning the growing tips) when they are young so they will make a multi-branched specimen giving you more leaves to harvest. Plants that are older and have an open shape can be pruned early in the season just as growth starts and they will still flower later in the year.