Curry tree - Murraya koenigii

Curry tree - Murraya koenigii: Curry tree - Wikipedia

I've just got my hands on a baby curry tree (Murraya koenigii). Any hints or tips for me?

 

It's tropical so will need to be in a conservatory or similar at least through the winter months.

 

This link might help

Grow your own indian curry leaves

 

Considering I put everything into the composter I get just about everything growing out of it including: butternuts, date palms and epazote.

 

My Curry tree is looking decidedly ill. When it arrived by post in the summer I potted it up with a special citrus soil mix I bought from a local shop that I also use for my kaffir lime trees. Through the summer I kept it well watered and the plant grew a few more leaves but never really looked in good form - kind of yellowish green to pea green. I always had the impression that it was struggling a little. When the outside temperature started to drop below 10°C at night I brought it inside in a south facing kitchen window (as little central heating and as much sun light as I can manage). The growth stopped immediately and since then, little by little, the plant has lost all its leaves. What remains is a green stick in a pot. I find it hard to believe that it could grow back from what is left, that and what is left has to survive the next few months in the same place before it can go back outside again. I checked for spider mite and scale insect but I can't see any.

 

Hello @Marley Farley and thanks for the response. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to get detailed information on this subject. The info you've given about when you bring the plant in and where you put it in the garden are very useful, so if you don't mind I'll pick your brains a little more.

You say you bring yours in at the end of September. Here in Brittany the climate is like that of Cornwall but just a little warmer. So end of Sept into beginning of Oct sounds good to me. When you bring your plant into the house where do you put it? What conditions does it have? Mine went on the kitchen table in a south facing window. We don't use the radiator in the kitchen so it can be quite cool in the night but I didn't want to put the plant in a room with central heating (our bedroom also south facing) or in our front room where we light the stove in the evening (gets quite toasty). How about you?

Next, when do you put your plant back out in the garden again? What temperature do you wait for? It's interesting to note that you use a shady part of the garden, and I trust you in that based on my experience with kaffir limes tees, as I've read in many places that you should give the curry tree as much light as possible it being a tropical plant. I would think that putting such a plant in direct sun after a winter in the house is not a good idea at all. What's more, protection from the wind at this time is also vital. For my lime trees, a relatively shady and humid corner with as little breeze as possible is best when they first go back into the garden, so I imagine that it's the same for a curry tree.

Thanks for any thoughts on the subject.