Topic: Anybody grwing Indina bay leaf?

[Ader1]

I'd like to get my hands on one of these plants if it's possible to grow it in the UK.  Anybody know of a supplier or had any experience of growing this essential plant for Indian cuisine?  Thanks.

[Nick D]

Hi

I tried to grow the Indian bay leaves Cinnamomum zeylanicum 3 years ago from seeds purchased from B&T world seeds.
Had to wait over a year for fresh seeds to become available, very tricky to germinate and not sure how easy to grow in this country.
Were not cheap about  ?1 a seed I got about 15. Gave them out to various green fingered relatives in hope would get 1 to grow but had zero luck.
Would be very interested to hear if any one else has had any success.

Regards,

Nick.

[DalPuri]

Hi Nick,
I think it would be nigh on impossible to grow in the UK, unless you have your own tropical arboretum.
Here's a few links you might find useful.

http://www.tropecol.com/pdf/open/PDF_50_1/19Sharma.pdf

http://www.ayujournal.org/article.asp?issn=0974-8520;year=2013;volume=34;issue=2;spage=193;epage=199;aulast=Sunil

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=3617.0




Cheers, Frank. 

p.s. The majority of Indian bay thats used in Indian restaurants would be either Cinnamomum Malabathrum or Cinnamomum Tamala

[hunnepap]

I'm looking for something to read for a long time.

[livo]

Dr Zeuss

[Emma Santiago]

I have tried growing Indina bay leaf but got zero percent lucky. it is impossible to grow in the atmosphere like UK...

[Invisible Mike]

I've got some tej patta seeds. Currently waiting for them to germinate which can take up to 6 months apparently.

[Lancer7860]

I've taken the easy route, bought two 6ft tall Indian bay leaf trees during my visit back in February to Bangladesh, wrapped them well and managed to bring them over to the UK. I potted them both in two separate  pots. One started the dying process from top to bottom the moment it was exposed to British climate (which is awful). The other just stood there as though it was frozen in time and it remained like that for three months. Then magically from the beginning of June new shoots started sprouting producing fresh shiny leaves. We are now in july and the tree has now produced little bulbs at the tip of the sprouts and I guess these bulbs will flower and produce seeds. All in all it seems to be a success, so far at least.

[Nickywelsh]

Do I admit this to the group?!?!

I've been cooking curry for nearly 15 years, but until I joined this group I did not know that the bay leaf I've been using is specifically European and that Indian is so different. I obviously vigorously beat myself with a stick upon this realisation, and ran straight out to buy the genuine article. The difference is more noticeable than I'd imagined. Like, I just wouldn't bother using any if all I had was European.

What amazed me though, was in all my years living in London and frequenting Indian grocers/stores, I don't recall ever once seeing anything on offer other than the European leaf. I live in NZ now and have found a source whom I will treasure!