Curry leaf · Fes, Fes-Meknes, Morocco
When to plant curry leaves in Fes
Main outdoor window
17 Feb - 17 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
3 February
In Fes, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jan - 31 Dec
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Fes
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant out
17 Feb - 17 Mar
After the last frost, once the soil has warmed. This crop is never fully dormant, so it cannot be planted bare-root in winter.
Harvest
1 Jan - 31 Dec
Curry leaves through the year
Against the frost risk in Fes
Why these dates
Damaged below about -1C and killed by a real frost. Container plants must come inside before the first one.
Curry leaves are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. Nor is there a dormant season to plant into: this crop keeps its leaves and keeps growing through the winter, which is exactly why cold damages it. The window on this page therefore waits until the last frost in Fes has passed and the soil has begun to warm, giving the roots the longest possible run before the cold returns.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Fes is zone 10a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 2, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Growing curry leaves in Fes
When should I plant curry leaves in Fes?
Aim for 17 Feb - 17 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 7 Mar - 4 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will curry leaves be ready to harvest in Fes?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jan - 31 Dec, based on 150 to 180 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will curry leaves tolerate?
Damaged below about -1C and killed by a real frost. Container plants must come inside before the first one.