Herb of the Week – Curry Dwarf

You’ve heard me talk about my trip to the Merrifield Garden CenterВ a few months ago with my friends Lee Ann and Alicia. Well, the curry dwarf plant was one of the reasons why I thought it was so awesome. I had never heard of this plant before, and we found it among the more common herbs — basil, thyme, etc.

It’s really a neat plant, with grayish green leaves, it almost looks like its in the evergreen family (it’s not though). The curry dwarf actually smells like curry. Of course, if you are any type of food connoisseur, you know that real curry is just a mix of different spices, it does not come from a plant. It’s still pretty neat, and it can be used to flavor dishes. However, it is not really recommended for culinary purposes, because although the aroma is strong, the flavor is not, and once any heat is applied, the curry flavor becomes completely non-existent.

This plant also attracts butterflies, and within an hour of putting it outside I did catch one on it (of course, by the time I got my camera, it was gone!). I couldn’t wait to get it planted in the garden to attract more, but then a couple weeks went by before I actually got to it, and now I am having second thoughts. Apparently, those butterflies also like to lay eggs on it, and it was covered (seriously, COVERED) with little black caterpillars, about 1/3 inches big and tents that they hatched in. Super gross. I did not touch it. Then, a couple days later they grew into big caterpillars. Grosser.

As of yesterday, the plant is now caterpillar free, but it looks like they might have done a bit of damage and the leaves are looking a little weak. I’ll see if it recovers, but the curry plant may not be all its cracked up to be! I still might plant it in the ground and hope for the best.

 

June 15, 2012 В· Sheryl В· No Comments
Tags: ,  В· Posted in: Great Outdoors, Herbs

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