Turmeric
Curcuma longa
Also called Curcuma, Indian saffron and Haldi
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitPlant a supermarket rhizome in spring, keep it warm and wet all summer, then STOP WATERING in autumn and let it die back — the crop is under the compost and it only forms during that dormancy. Dig it in winter. It needs a conservatory in Britain.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Hard
- Water
- Every 4 daysKeep it moist — water at the first hint of dryness — don't wait for a dry pot.
- Light
- Bright indirect, sheltered from direct sun
- Feed
- Every 21 days
- Humidity
- High
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out in high summer RHS H1B, to 10°C
- Size
- 1 m tall · 0.6 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- South Asia
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 Curcuma. That is an absence and not a clean bill.
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
- Rhizomes gone soft and smelling sour when dug in winter. The die-back in autumn is when the crop actually forms — stop watering when the leaves yellow and leave the pot dry until spring.Watered through the dormancy · disease
- A pot that stays bare into June. It needs real warmth to start — around 20°C — and a cool windowsill in March simply rots the rhizome instead.Nothing comes up · disorder