Curry Leaf Plant - Regular and Gamthi Variety (Limited stock)

This is the true curry leaf plant used in Indian and also Sri Lankan cooking often referred locally in India as Sweet Neem Leaves, Kadi Patta, Mitho Limdo or Curry Veppila (also known as Murraya koenigii and Bergera koenigii). This is not the usual variety of curry leaves available in the shops, these seedlings known as Gamthi variety are the most fragrant, flavorful and tasty. Seedlings grown using only organic compost without any pesticides.

The curry leaves are a flavouring agent in many Indian curries including lentil dishes, chutneys, and soups. The curry leaves have a pungent taste and are used fresh or dried. The curry leaves do not keep well when off the plant and even in the fridge they have a very short shelf life, so why not grow your own and pick your own leaves fresh?

Collection is also available from DE22 3XT. Contact us to arrange the collection.

Note: Leaves shown on the picture is from our 36 months old plant. All seedlings range from height of 5cm - 20cm with minimum 4-12 sets of leaves. Note: Gamthi grows slower compared to regular types but will have the biggest and much flavourful leaves comparatively. Curry Leaf plant is actually a shrub (small tree) that grows slowly. Therefore, the Curry leaf plant is not a fast grower in the initial stage. It takes a couple of years for the young curry leaf plant to establish roots and adjust to the new environment before it starts to grow in height.

3-4 months seedlings: 5cm - 10cm height (depending on Gamthi/Regular)

6-8 months seedlings: 8cm - 20cm height (depending on Gamthi/Regular). Due to well developed roots on this stage, we highly recommend the 6-9 month seedlings to our international buyers with higher transit times.

Curry leaves are also used in Ayurvedic medicine and are believed to have various health benefits. For example, curry leaves are rich in antioxidants and vitamins A, B, and C. They also contain compounds that may help lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. In addition, curry leaves are said to boost digestive health and promote weight loss. While more research is needed to confirm these claims, there is no doubt that curry leaves are a healthy addition to Indian cuisine.

Growing information:

Curry leaf plants are not the easiest of plants to grow here in UK because of course they originate in much hotter climates so they do need a little bit of extra care when growing here. You should not re-pot between September and March. Once you receive the delivery, ensure not to repot for atleast a week to get adjusted to the new conditions. Repot during Spring/ Summer (April/May/June/July/August) in a deep container using rich compost mixed with grit and perlite. We also add coir (fibre from the outer husk of the coconut) when we repot, which absolutely enhances faster and thicker root growth. We also leave an earthworm to help with aerating the roots. We fertilise in the growing season using egg shells, used ground coffee powder and used tea blended with some organic compost. Alternatively, you can use Citrus feed, as a close family of citrus, the curry plant does very well with the same feed. Once a month, we squeeze a lime/lemon to the water before watering our plants. Allow the plant to almost dry out between each watering and NEVER let it stand in water. We usually take the plants out in summer for few hours/day to get used to the winds for strengthening the branches.

Looking after them is easy but tricky, we treat them just like Citrus, in fact they are a very close relative of Citrus. They should always been grown as a houseplant in the UK and will do best in bright, warm room away from any radiators or draughts. They are particularly sensitive to daylight length and can struggle a bit in our short dark winter days. To combat this make sure they are in as bright a spot as possible and cut right back on the watering in the winter.

In the winter, they don't usually grow at all. We don't recommend watering much from December to the end of February and even then we are cautious about overwatering until they have put on some good new season growth in June. Allow them to almost completely dry out between watering.

Insects seem to find these plants as tasty as we do, so watch out for aphids, scale and mealy bug, particularly on the young growth. Message us if you notice any insects in them and we can instruct you the remedy to solve the problem. I spray the plant with a DIY natural pesticide made with neem oil to protect it from scale, spider mites, and fungus gnat attacks while indoors. The ‘Azadirachtin’ found in neem oil has been known to kill Spider mites, Aphids, Whiteflies, Cabbage worms, Mealybugs, Fungus Gnats, Moths, Nematodes, Scales, Flea Beetles, Squash bugs, Stink Bugs, and Caterpillars. It is also helpful in controlling Japanese beetles, Mosquitoes, Grubs, Slugs, Snails, and Crickets. It’s believed that more than 400 bug species don’t like neem oil. So if you have an insect problem in your garden that isn’t on the list above, it won’t hurt to try the neem oil spray on them to find out!

We grow our curry leaf plants from seed in our organic soil mix. We are new to Etsy but we’ve been selling these plants for over 2.5 years. We always have exceptional demand for these plants and the waiting list will restart after this batch.