What is a curry leaf tree?

Originating in South India and Sri Lanka, the curry leaf tree goes by many names: Murraya / Bergera Koenigii, Kadi Patta. In south east asia, it’s leaves are used in cooking. Not to be confused with the curry plant “Helichrysum italicum” which is a total different species.

Curry leaf trees don’t have a special appearance. They are relatively small trees, with small green leaves and small white flowers. However, there is a spectacular fragrance and flavor in the trees, which actually give the distinctive flavor to the real South Asian curries. This is where they get their name from! In Asian cuisine, the fresh leafs usually are fried in the oil, a process which let the leaves immediately release it’s aroma and flavor.

Where to buy a curry leaves plant in Europe?

Unfortunately, in Europe, fresh leaves are very hard to get by. The main reason is because the EU forbid the import of fresh leaves or live plants. This is because of the infectious citrus greening disease (HLB) which they want to keep outside of EU *source*. Import of dried leaves is allowed, and these can be found in shops. But there’s reason that they never use the dried version of the leaves in Asia: as this is an aromatic herb, the difference in taste between dried and fresh leaves is huge. Fresh curry leaves are giving meals an unmistakable richer, robust flavor.

Growing your own curry leaves is a very good option. It’s also a fun way of growing which can eventually produce enough fresh leaves for you the whole year round. Instead of growing fruit for example, you’ll only be able to harvest fruit once a year. But since it’s not about harvesting the fruit, but the leaves, you can harvest the whole year round.

The leaves

The curry leaf tree is mainly recognizable by the smell of the leaves which is released when cooking or rubbing the leaves. The warm, aromatic scent cannot be compared to the yellow curry powder from the supermarket, which is a blend of different spices.

The dark green lancet shaped leaves of a curry leaf tree are quite small, around two centimeters long. The leaves have a lancet shape with a clear vein in the center. In tropical conditions, the tree often loses it’s leaves once a year. When kept indoors, this can be more or less often. The leaves regrow quickly after falling.

The flowers, fruits and seeds

When the tree is a couple of years old, the tree will start the produce flowers once a year. They are white in color. In it’s normal habitat this happened in late spring. When kept indoors, it may not bloom or in another period.

The fruits of the curry leaf tree are 1.5 centimeter berries. They turn from green to pinkish red, to black when they are ripe. The fruit is edible and has a nice sweet taste. The seed inside of the fruit is poisonous and thus should not be eaten. The harvested seeds are only viable for a couple of weeks. Unlike many other seeds, dried old seeds will not germinate.

Is the curry leaf plant easy to look after? How to pot, which soil, fertilizer and sun/shade and moisture, when prune?

The curry leaf tree originates from a sub tropical climate. That means the tree likes warm and humid conditions, which is ideal for a good leaf production. Those are the 2 most important factors for successfully growing a curry leaf tree.

Don’t worry! even if you don’t have green fingers, a greenhouse, shovel or even a garden: growing your own fresh curry leaves is easy and can even bring you a lot of joy! Here is everything you need to know to get started.

Humidity

Soil & fertilizer

This plant naturally grows in many parts of Asia, in different sub climates and soil conditions. You will find that many different potting mixes are being used with success. So there’s not really one specific kind of soil that we recommend, except from the fact that it should be a good quality well-drained potting mix. This allows moisture not only to reach the roots, but also evaporate and increase humidity around the plant.

Curry leaf trees need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to grow. Use a fertilizer which has these 3 components. Studies show that (1) the growth of the leaves can be increased with fertilization. NPK fertilizer, or citrus fertilizer since it’s from the citrus family.

These plants flourish in the wild without additional fertilization. So it’s not necessary to fertilize, but research has shown that it does increase growth and leaf production. Fertilisation should be done directly after pruning and during the growing season. When kept indoors in winter, don’t fertilize because the plant doesn’t really grow. If the curry leaves dropped in the winter season, don’t fertilize until leaves have grown back.