How to grow curry plant
Advice on growing and caring for curry plant, in our Grow Guide.
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Curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) is is an evergreen perennial with a strong, curry-like smell that it exudes without being touched. While it is edible – its leaves can be used for flavouring dishes and making herb tea – it's not related to the plant used for curry leaves in Indian dishes. Helichrysum italicum is an ornamental plant, with silvery leaves and bright yellow summer flowers. It's hardy in UK gardens down to around -10֯C.
What is a curry plant?
The name curry plant relates to its smell rather than its use. Although the leaves are edible, their curry taste is much milder that that of the curry leaf plant, Bergera koenigii. The curry leaf plant is a subtropical tree and can be grown indoors in the UK only.
Where to grow curry plant
The curry plant is drought-tolerant and therefore is excellent in Mediterranean-style gardens. Growing to around 45-60cm high and wide, curry plant is ideal for border edges, raised beds and informal small hedges. Space plants 60cm apart.
How to sow curry plant seeds
Sow in spring indoors on to the surface of moist, peat-free seed compost. Cover with vermiculite, as light is needed for germination. If using a heated propagator, set the temperature to 22°C. Germination takes 7-10 days.
Once seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant them to individual small pots and grow on in cooler conditions.
How to plant curry plant
Grow curry plant in free-draining soil in full sun. If you've grown the plants from seed, harden them off (acclimatise them to outdoor growing conditions) for around two weeks before planting out after all risk of frost has passed.
How to care for curry plant
Once established, curry plant care is minimal: only twice-yearly pruning is needed (see below). Avoid feeding, which would encourage lax, floppy growth. Deadhead as part of the annual pruning for curry plant. In cold areas, spread a dry straw-based mulch over the root area to help protect plants from frost. Alternatively, lift the plants in autumn and overwinter in pots undercover, and plant out again from mid-spring.
How to prune curry plant
It's important to know when to prune curry plant in the UK, as this helps maintain a neat shape and stops the plants becoming leggy and woody at the base. Curry plant pruning should be done lightly in mid-spring, just taking off the top few centimetres of all shoots. Then, after flowering, cut back the whole plant by around a third, to deadhead and remove the shoot tops at the same time.
Pests and diseases
Curry plant has good natural resistance to pests and diseases.
Harvesting curry leaves
Curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) is not the same plants as the curry leaf plant (Bergera koenigii), the leaves of which are used in many recipes. However, finely chopped curry plant leaves make good additions to salads, soups, and stews. Harvest by cutting the top sections of young, non-flowering shoots. Strip the leaves from the stems before chopping.
Storing curry leaves
Both leafy stems and flowers of curry plant dry well. Cut before the flowers are fully open, tie into small bunches, and hang upside down in a cool airy place away from direct sunlight.
Advice on buying curry plant
- Curry plant us available to grow from seed or as young plants. It's easier to grow from young plants
- Look for curry plant in the herb section of nurseries and garden centres, as well as under ornamental plants
- Always check plants for signs of damage or disease before planting
Where to buy curry plant online
Curry plant varieties to grow
Helichrysum italicum – a bushy subshrub with aromatic, silver-grey leaves and dark yellow flowerheads. Height x Spread: 60cm x 90cm
- Buy Helichrysum italicum from Beth Chatto
Helichrysum italicum 'Dartington' – a dwarf and more compact form of the species. H x S: 50cm x 60cm
- Buy Helichrysum italicum 'Dartington' fromBeth Chatto
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