SAFLAX - Garden in the Bag - Cardamom - 20 seeds - With substrate in a fitting stand up bag - Elettaria cardamomum

Worth knowing:

Cardamom is mainly known as a spice in Christmas cookies, even though it is also a rather carefree and neat house plant with fragrant leaves that produce, when touched, an aromatic cinnamon scent of Cardamom with a slight lemon-like note. The high stalks are made of intertwined leaves, while the long peduncle sprouts sideways from the lower stalk. At the end of the sprouts, the plant develops long panicles and later the fruit husks that contain the actual spice in the form of reddish-brown coloured seed kernels. As a tub plant, the Cardamom can grow up to one meter tall.

Natural Location:

Its only natural habitat has the Elettaria cardamomum in Sri Lanka, while in southwestern India and the Indian subcontinent some congeneric species are native.

Cultivation:

Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. Place the seeds initially in a bowl with lukewarm water for priming overnight. Spread the seeds onto moist potting compost, put just a little compost earth on top and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20° C and 25° Celsius and keep the earth – preferably with a water sprayer – moist, but not wet. Depending on the propagation temperature, the first seedlings will come up after two to three weeks. Later on, you can also multiply the plant in spring through rhizome cuttings.

Place:

Cardamom is best be kept in a warm and half-shaded or sunny place, so it can grow quickly and lush. Just keep it out of the strong sun to prevent the leaves from getting burned. Standard room temperatures are sufficient, and regularly spraying the plant will meet its needs for humidity.

Care:

Water the plant regularly after the upper layer of the earth has dried out, and avoid waterlogging. From April until September, you may provide the Cardamom with a rather weak dosage of fluid fertilizer every two weeks. If the soil is covered by sprouts, you should split the plant or shift it to a bigger pot with standard potting earth.

During the winter:

Cardamom hibernates ideally in a bright and warm place with temperatures above 16° Celsius. You might want to spray the leaves more often during winter, to counter the dry air of the heater. Water the plant only modest, just so the earth doesn’t dry out completely.

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