Curry plant
Helichrysum italicum
Also called Helichrysum, Italian everlasting and Immortelle
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitIt SMELLS of curry and does not taste of it — a leaf in a stew adds a faint savoury note and a whole sprig makes the dish bitter, so it is a plant to brush past rather than to cook with. Wet feet in winter is the only thing that kills it.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 13 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Not needed
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Hardy — an average winter RHS H4, to -10°C
- Size
- 0.5 m tall · 0.7 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- The Mediterranean
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Helichrysum. That is an absence and not a clean bill — and this is not a culinary herb whatever it smells of, so nothing here says it may be eaten.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Silver shoots going black and soft at the base after a wet mild spell, usually on the side facing away from the sun. It takes frost far better than it takes damp — grit, and no mulch over the crown.Winter wet · disease
- The bush splays and goes bare in the centre by its third year. Trim it lightly every spring from the start; it will not break from bare wood once it has gone.Opening out in the middle · disorder