Table of Contents
Curry Leaf Plant Care
Curry leaf plant is being used almost in every home in the subcontinent. It is added as a flavoring agent in dishes. Besides this, it has other medicinal properties too. It is an outdoor plant and proliferates.
The Curry leaf plant belongs to the citrus family. Interestingly, its first name was Murraya ko nagi, but it has been changed into Burgera ko nagi.
Regions Where It Can Grow:
This plant grows well in tropical to subtropical regions and is resistant to frosty environments. However, it needs extra care while growing in the temperate area because of its cold sensitivity.
Curry Leaf Plant Care:
Growing and caring for Curry leaf plants are not much complex and laborious. But before planting a tree, it is wise and better to know its growing conditions and caring tips. Curry leaf plant needs some special care to grow healthy and rapidly. Therefore, you should take some points and recommendations for its healthy growth.
Location :
Curry leaf plant requires full to partial sunlight. Place it where partial to full sunlight is available. However, the needed duration may be reduced on hot summer days because of extreme heat. Try to Provide optimum temperature conditions for its healthy growth.
Wheater:
This plant is wheater sensitive. It does not tolerate extreme wheater conditions, either extreme cold or hot conditions. Choose a place where conditions are optimum or nearly optimum and manageable.
Soil:
Curry leaf plants favor sandy garden soil with cow dung manure. Soil should have thriving drainage properties. If you are growing it in pots, there should be a well-drained hole in it.
Water:
You should keep a little bit extra care regarding its water requirements. Curry leaf plant does not need much amount of water. However, don’t overwater it. Overwatering can cause severe damage.
Fertilizers:
It does not require much amount of Fertilizers. Don’t fertilize it, especially at a very young age, i.e., of its first 8 to 10 months. If necessary, just give it a Sea Weed foliar spray. When you see active growth, which is often considered after one year, you can start and apply fertilizers. Epsom Salt or magnesium sulfate spray can also be used.
Pest Infestation:
Minibus, spiders, bugs, aphids, spider mice, and scales are some insects that attack the curry leaf plant. They harm the plant by sucking plant leaves juice. As a result, the plant becomes weak, and leaves appear yellow. So, pest infestation is a severe cause of concern and should be fixed immediately.
Ants Attack:
Besides, these ants attack plants. Ant attacks indicate that pest attacks occurred too. Because ants carry pests’ eggs and suck the juice, neem leaves extract or neem for this use. Garlic extract spray can be used. It will fix this problem.
Curry Leaf Plants Pests
Aphids, fungus not, scales, spider mites, whiteflies, etc., can infest this plant. When spot these pests, plan to remove or control them immediately. These pests may harm your plant quickly, as once they attack the plant, their growth occurs rapidly.
The standard method used for controlling pests in Curry leaf:
Although pests damage curry leaf plant leaves quickly but is very easy to maintain. You can get rid of some pests by spraying a mild soap water solution. Soap water spray should be done for 14 days after 3 days interval. It works well and does not harm the plant. Keep in mind that the soapy water solution should be mild. Besides this, neem oil spray can be used too.
Why Are My Curry Leaf Plant Leaves Turning Yellow?
The yellow or pale color appears mainly due to 3 reasons.
- It might be because of winter dormancy. When temperatures become low, Curry leaf plant leaves start turning yellow.
- Another reason may be micronutrient deficiency like iron, manganese, nitrogen, and zinc. Micronutrient deficiency may occur due to poor soil conditions like high pH.
- The other possible reason for the yellow color appearance might be the under-watered condition. In this condition, leaves turned yellow, bent, and withered.
In some curry plants, their stem turned brown. It is a dangerous condition. Fix this problem immediately before the branch turns brown ( no leaf remains). Once it appears, it will be tough to save the affected plant.
How To Fix The Yellow Color Leaves Problem?
Yellow color leaves become less tasty and may fall from the stem. To overcome this problem, follow the below steps.
Make soil high in pH. It will fix the iron deficiency problem, and plant leaves will appear better in a greenish look. Iron deficiency occurs due to low pH. You can apply iron fertilizer to the soil or plant foliage.
Add some composted manure to the soil. By applying compost manure, It will reduce nitrogen deficiency. Using the Coffee ground to the earth can aid too to overcome nitrogen deficiency.
Provide a warm environment in winter. It needs full sunshine and goes into dormancy in winter due to shallow temperatures. As a result, Its leaves turn yellow.
How To make Curry Leaf Plant Bushy?
Many curry Leaf Plant growers complain that it goes taller, but leaves appear less. However, as curry plant leaves are being used in dishes, their leaves are the main thing. To solve this issue, experts recommend pruning. Pruning is necessary to grow curry leaves faster and make them bushy. In addition, it helps create multiple branches; as a result, more leaves for harvesting.
Best Time For Pruning:
The best time for pruning is the early days of spring. Start pruning when the curry leaf plant reaches up to 6 months old. It is advised to prune 1/3 of its branches. It will boost the new growth and will make it bushy.
After 21 days, new branches will turn out with many fresh leaves. Apply mustered cake fertilizers after 15 days of pruning for the best growth. After 60 days, your plant will become bushy.
