Last edited on November 30, 2025. View history
Curry Leaf
Curry Leaf
How to sow curry leaf: Stem cuttings, suckers, or ripe, fresh seeds
Sun requirement for curry leaf: Plant in Full Sun
Curry Trees are small, deciduous bushes or trees grown for their leaves, which are used fresh in South Indian and other cuisines and Ayurveda. They are native to India and Sri Lanka and are a member of the Rutaceae family along with citrus. Curry trees do best in tropical and sub-tropical zones with warm weather and dry climates. Their aromatic leaves have a faint citrus and anise flavor and are best when used fresh. They lose their flavor quickly when dried. Dried leaves are sometimes an ingredient in curry powder. There are three different varieties: 1) Regular, which grow tall and fast, 2) Dwarf, which are shorter and have lighter, longer leaves, and 3) Gamthi, which grow the slowest and produce the thickest, most fragrant leaves.
Curry trees produce small white flowers that attract birds and self-pollinate. The small, shiny black berries can be used in desserts, but the seeds are poisonous. Curry trees are frost-tender and require temperatures above 4°C. They can be grown indoors in containers, but the container size must be gradually increased as the plant grows.
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Curry leaf facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
600cm × 240cmCrop cycle
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For curry leaf, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 8°C and a shortest growing cycle of 150 days at its best temperature, about 3900 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your curry leaf will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
How members grow curry leaves
Sunniness
Planted from
Photos
Photos
Curry leaf crops
Video
Where curry leaves grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about curry leaves
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Who's planted curry leaves
- lauravalentine potted randoms
- dunia garden bugs · Sydney
Curry leaf harvests
Nobody has harvested this crop yet.
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 150 to 300 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Rosidae Sapindales Rutaceae |
|---|---|
| Life form | shrub, tree |
| Life span | perennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, light |
| Optimal soil fertility | low |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
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