Turmeric Plant (Curcuma longa)

About the Turmeric Plant (Curcuma longa)

Grow your own turmeric and you will discover how bright and aromatic the fresh rhizome is compared with dried powder. The plant forms a lush clump of broad, glossy leaves, and in the rainy season it often sends up pale green and white flower spikes tinged with pink. Underground it builds a cluster of fingers with vivid orange flesh, ready to dig about eight to ten months after planting, when the leaves turn yellow. Use it fresh in curries, rice, teas and golden milk, and save a few pieces to replant. Available as a rhizome, a potted young plant or a flowering-size clump.

How to Care for It

To plant a rhizome, lay it horizontally 5 cm deep in loose, compost-rich, well-drained soil with the buds facing up, water once and keep it barely moist until shoots appear; too much water before then can rot it. Plant at the start of the rains in partial shade with regular water. Harvest when the leaves die back by lifting the whole clump. Feed monthly while growing and mulch to keep the roots cool and moist.

Sculptural flowers, fragrant blooms and edible rhizomes. Our tropical gingers include beehive ginger (awapuhi) in golden, red, pink and chocolate, shampoo ginger, red and pink torch ginger, red ginger, shell and butterfly ginger, plus culinary ginger and turmeric. Sold as rhizomes, potted plants or flowering clumps.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Curcuma longa

Family

Zingiberaceae

Native to

South Asia (India)

Mature height

0.6–1 m

Plant spacing

0.4 m

Time to first flowers

0.7–0.8 years

Harvest

Rhizomes ready 8–10 months after planting, when leaves yellow

Light

Sun to part shade

Water

Moderate

Cold tolerance

down to 10 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics, Dry tropics, Subtropical

Grows in a pot

Yes

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas