Cardamom Plants Make the Perfect Lush, Leafy Addition to Your Indoor Jungle
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Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is a hardy plant that produces pods with inner seeds that can be ground into a spice with a distinctive piney-fruity flavor. “It’s a member of the ginger family and grows in wet, tropical conditions,” says Byron Martin, co-owner of Logee’s Plants for Home and Garden and co-author of Edible Houseplants. “It’s one of the most valuable spices in the world.”
Native to India, Burma, and Sri Lanka, cardamom has been used for centuries to flavor both sweet and savory dishes including beverages, curries, and baked goods. Because the crop must be hand-picked, it’s especially labor-intensive to harvest. Guatemala and India are the largest producers of cardamom worldwide.
Cardamom grows well in pots and can be enjoyed as a houseplant. As a tropical plant, it can spend the summer outdoors and then be brought inside to overwinter before temperatures drop into the 60s. In USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11, these plants can be grown outdoors year-round (find your zone here).
The plant has rhizomes, much like an iris, that grow horizontally with lance-like evergreen foliage. From late winter to spring, flower stems emerge from the bottom of the cardamom plant to form white to yellowish flowers with purplish centers. However, cardamom plants typically don’t fruit well when grown outside their usual habitat. At best, you may be able to harvest a handful of the pods if the plant is given the right conditions, says Martin.
But even if your harvest is tiny, cardamom is a tough, fast-growing plant, so it may be worth experimenting with if you’re looking for a unique plant to add to your houseplant collection. Just make sure to purchase from a reliable nursery because many “cardamom” plants that are sold online are identified inaccurately, says Martin.
Here's everything you need to know about how to grow and care for a cardamom plant.
Cardamom Basics
How to Care for Cardamom
Cardamom is not a difficult plant to grow, though it requires constant moisture and humidity levels higher than 50 percent. You also must ensure you have ample space for it because it will quickly reach six feet tall, says Martin.
Light
Cardamom needs bright, indirect light indoors, near an east- or west-facing window. If you don’t have a bright window in your home, use an LED grow light. Because it is an understory plant in the forest, it needs part sun or dappled shade if grown outdoors, though some morning sun is OK.
Temperature and Humidity
Because cardamom grows in tropical rainforests, it prefers temperatures between 65 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity levels (around 75 percent). The high humidity level can be difficult to achieve indoors, but you can try running a small humidifier near the plant to compensate.
Soil
Cardamom grows in any well-draining potting medium. Just ensure the container has drainage holes and is at least 10 inches deep because this plant is a fast grower.
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist, says Martin. Because this plant is native to tropical monsoon forests, it prefers rainforest-like conditions.
Fertilizer
Use any well-balanced, water-soluble fertilizer two to three times a month, or add a slow-release granular type every few months.
Pruning
You don’t need to prune your plant unless you want to control its size. If this is the case, simply trim it all around. You can snip off dead leaves and old flower stems at any time.
How to Propagate Cardamom Plants
Cardamom plants tend to fill out a pot quickly with their root system, and when they become root-bound, they often stop blooming. Once you notice the roots start pushing up out of the pot, you can propagate the plant.
Cut back the stems to about half, then dig up and divide the rhizomes, placing a few in a new pot with fresh potting medium, says Martin. It may take new plants a few years before they produce blooms.
Common Pests and Problems
Cardamom isn't prone to having pest or disease issues. The plant does best where environmental conditions are stable year-round without sudden changes in temperature and moisture. Thus, the biggest challenge with growing this plant is to provide indoor conditions that are similar to its native habitat, especially high humidity levels. It also tends to be not very productive when grown outside of its native range, says Martin.
Are Cardamom Plants Toxic to Pets?
Cardamom is not considered to be toxic to pets, according to Tina Wismer, DVM, senior director of the ASPCA Poison Control Center. However, any plant can cause gastrointestinal upset in animals if eaten in large enough quantities, so call your vet ASAP if you suspect your pet has ingested any of this plant.
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