Fresh Turmeric Live Plant Organic Roots Cu Nghe Herb roots Nghệ 쿠르쿠마 롱가 Curcuma longa 薑黃 Turmeric roots Turmeric herb plant roots spices

urmeric is a tropical plant. Its rhizomes have traditionally been used both in food preparation and as a medicine. It is a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) and, like ginger, is considered a spice. Another feature it shares with ginger is a showy flower (although the showy part is actually a bract, not the true flower), which means an additional use for the plant is as an ornamental. The canna-like leaves make it an attractive foliage plant even when flowers are absent.

Botanical Name Curcuma longa

Common Name Turmeric, common turmeric, turmeric root

Plant Type Herbaceous perennial

Mature Size 3 to 4 feet tall and wide

Sun Exposure Full sun in the far North, partial sun elsewhere

Soil Type Rich, well-drained, and consistently moist 

Soil pH Slightly acidic to slightly alkaline

Bloom Time July to August

Flower (Bract) Color Burgundy, green, pink, white, yellow, or bicolored

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 11

Native Area India and Malaysia

How to Grow Turmeric

It is fairly easy to grow turmeric. This is not a plant that you prune. Your main jobs are to keep it well watered and to shelter the rhizome from cold temperatures. To grow a turmeric plant in a climate colder than zone 8, you have three options:

Treat it as an annual.

Grow it in the garden during the summer, then dig the rhizomes up in autumn to store them away for the winter indoors. In this case, you would cut off the top growth, then store them in a cool, dry location. Gardeners typically use peat moss, sawdust, or vermiculite as a storage medium. Keep the storage medium slightly moist throughout winter by occasionally misting it.

You will receive three roots about 2-3" inches, you can grow them in pot once arrived. Grow it in a pot that can be placed outdoors during the summer then moved indoors in fall, until warm weather returns.

Assuming you choose to grow turmeric in a pot, here is how you would proceed. Select a suitable container (or containers) for the plant or plants to grow in. Since turmeric is a fairly large plant, choose large pots (roughly 18 inches across and at least 12 inches deep).