Curcuma longa
turmeric
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Spacing
- 30 cm, rows 35 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Planting
- Feb–Mar
- Harvest
- Nov–Dec
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 7 °C
- Water need
- High
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Turmeric is a tropical relative of ginger whose bright orange rhizome is used to color and flavor curries and rice dishes. In our region it thrives as a heat-loving pot plant. Over the summer it produces large, glossy leaves and develops valuable rhizomes beneath.
Care instructions
Place a rhizome piece flat in moist, humus-rich soil from February and keep the pot in a very warm spot around 25 °C. Keep the substrate consistently moist but not waterlogged, and from June onward move the pot to a warm, bright location without harsh midday sun. Fertilise regularly and harvest the rhizomes in November or December when the foliage begins to die back.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
PlantingFeb–Mar
HarvestNov–Dec
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich, loamy
Turmeric needs deep, loose, humus-rich soil that drains water reliably. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Loamy, humus-rich soil with a sandy share for drainage is ideal; loosen heavy clay soils well before planting and work in plenty of mature compost.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Apr–Sep
When planting in spring, work mature compost and horn shavings shallowly into the soil. Throughout the growing season from May to September, feed regularly with organic fertiliser, for example compost or diluted fermented plant liquid. Potassium-rich organic sources are beneficial, because potassium supports rhizome formation. Stop feeding from September so that the rhizomes can ripen.
Overwintering
Turmeric is not hardy and must overwinter frost-free. Outdoors, you dig up the rhizomes as soon as nights stay below 10 °C, cut off the wilting shoots and store the rhizomes dry in sand in a dark, cool place; in a container, you bring the pot in before the first frost, cut back the wilted parts and water only very sparingly over winter.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
You propagate turmeric exclusively by dividing the rhizomes. Seeds are barely fertile in cultivated plants (the cultivated form is largely sterile), and the natural pollinators are missing in our latitudes. The best time is spring, from mid to late March, straight after overwintering: take a healthy, firm rhizome and divide it into pieces about 5 cm long, each with at least one or two visible buds (eyes). Let the cut surfaces dry in the air for two to three days so that no rot sets in. Then plant the pieces with the eyes facing up, about 5 cm deep, in nutrient-rich, well-drained soil in a pot at least 30 cm across. Put the pot somewhere warm and bright, but out of the full midday sun. Turmeric likes a partly shaded spot at preferably above 20 °C. The first shoots appear after three to four weeks. In the Central European climate, turmeric always remains a container or houseplant: as soon as temperatures fall below 12 °C, bring the plant into the warm. The new rhizomes are harvested in autumn, when the foliage turns yellow and dies back. You propagate the plant again the following spring from these harvested rhizomes.
For your garden
Grow turmeric yourself
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