Pandan plant care is a simple and rewarding experience for those who enjoy Southeast Asian cuisine. This tropical plant, native to Malaysia, is easy to grow indoors and is known for its fragrant leaves. To grow a Pandan plant, follow these steps:
- Choose the right soil, inspecting moisture levels to avoid problems.
- Ensure the plant receives the right amount of light, as too much or too little can stress it.
- Consider the location of the plant, propagating it, and caring for it.
- Choose a high-quality soil, soilless growing media, or potting mix that is free from contaminants and gravels.
- Take a Pandan cutting and ensure the soil is relatively fertile, has good drainage, and is not too heavy.
- Plant the pandan in a container with a high-quality potting mix when living in a cooler climate.
Pandan plants need sunlight, but partial shade is best for scorching hot days. They require 0.8 cups of water every 9 days when not getting direct sunlight and are best grown in a protected, part-shade position.
During summer, keep the soil moist but not too wet, not leaving the roots standing in water. Plant the pandan in a free-draining soil and keep it damp.
Finally, ensure the plant gets the right amount of light, as too much or too little can stress it. Pandan plants thrive in less than 4 hours of direct sunlight or 6-8 hours of indirect sunlight, and prefer pots with loamy soil at least 10cm deep.
📹 PANDANUS | How I care for Pandanus | Pandanus Care Tips
Pandanus plants are hardy perennials that are easy growing and easy to care for. They are known for their sharp edges and are …
Do pandan plants like sun or shade?
Pandan plants, native to tropical regions, prefer bright but not direct sunlight, preferring dappled afternoon shade to avoid sunburn. They can handle some direct sunlight, but when the sun rises, they start to sweat. They prefer partial shade, like a beach umbrella, to avoid sunburn. Pandan plants can show signs of getting too much sun, such as yellowing leaves and dry, crispy tips. If their leaves are more brown than green, it’s time to reconsider their sunbathing habits. Pandan plants thrive in warm, humid conditions, but direct sunlight can cause them to sweat. Partial shade is essential for their health and well-being.
Why is my Pandan dying?
Pandan plants can experience distress due to various signs, including wilting leaves, yellowing leaves, and overwatering. Wilting leaves are a red flag, suggesting overwatering and causing the plant to become soggy. To address this, check the soil and move the Pandan to a spot with better drainage. Yellowing leaves can indicate various issues, such as natural aging or moisture mayhem. If the yellowing is widespread and accompanied by wilting, adjust the watering routine to prevent waterlogged roots.
Pandan plants can bounce back from yellowing with the right care. Over-watering can lead to wilted ambitions and yellowed leaves, as the roots succumb to rot in their waterlogged prison. Striking the balance between watering and avoiding over-watering is crucial for a healthy Pandan plant.
Is Pandan plant indoor or outdoor?
Pandanus, a tropical plant with vibrant green leaves and sword-shaped leaves, is a versatile addition to any landscape. It’s suitable for indoor and outdoor settings and adds a bold element to any garden. To ensure health, check plants before watering and ensure topsoil is dry to touch. Place plants on window sills with bright indirect light, near natural light sources. Pandanus doesn’t cause harm to pets, but consuming them may not be beneficial for their health.
What are the disadvantages of pandan leaves?
Panda leaves, when taken in moderate doses, generally do not cause side effects. However, those with kidney problems should avoid them due to potential nausea and indigestion. Panda leaves contain dietary fiber that aids digestion by promoting regular bowel movements and preventing constipation. This fiber also supports a healthy gut microbiome, contributing to overall digestive well-being. Panda leaves are also beneficial for weight management, as their fiber content promotes a feeling of fullness and is low in calories, making them a nutritious addition to a balanced diet.
Why do my pandan leaves turn yellow?
Pandan leaf yellowing disease is caused by a deficiency of essential nutrients, including nitrogen, magnesium, and iron. It can result from overwatering and underwatering, which disrupt the optimal nutrient balance for pandan leaf growth.
How often should I water a pandan plant?
To facilitate optimal plant growth, it is essential to provide thorough and even irrigation, ensuring that the soil is well-draining and capable of rapid drainage. It is recommended that the plant be watered at least once a week, particularly during periods of elevated temperatures. The plant exhibits optimal growth when cultivated in a well-draining, sandy soil substrate. To promote continued growth and development, it is recommended to fertilize the plant with an organic fertilizer, following the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
Can a yellowing leaf turn green again?
Yellow leaves are typically a sign of dying, as they lose their chlorophyll, which gives them their green color. Once the leaf loses its chlorophyll, the plant absorbs the remaining nutrients, making it difficult to turn it back green again. However, in cases of nutrient deficiencies, yellow leaf color can sometimes return with treatment. Variegated leaves, which are healthy yellow leaves, are produced by many plant species and may appear brighter when exposed to higher light levels. While a few yellow leaves aren’t a cause for concern, they should be heeded as a caution light, indicating potential issues or natural shedding.
How long does Pandan last?
Fresh pandan leaves can be stored in the fridge or frozen. To store them in the fridge, sprinkle water in a plastic bag and wrap them in the fruit or vegetable drawer. They stay fresh for about 5 days. To freeze them, separate them into layers using baking sheets or parchment paper, wrap them in plastic bags, and place them on a flat shelf in the freezer. Frozen pandan leaves can last up to 6 months, but may slightly diminish their smell and flavor when used to cook.
How do you revive Pandan?
To revive a dead pandan plant, salvage its roots, remove dead leaves and stems, provide less sun than average, and water it lightly for up to four weeks. Remove branches that are not producing new leaves. Pandan plants, known as the “vanilla of the East”, are found in South-East Asian cuisine and are a fragrant perennial evergreen. When grown as an outdoor plant, they grow into a shrub, and harvesting the leaves prevents them from forming a tree, making them ideal for indoor planting. The pandan plant is a popular choice in Asian cuisine and can be found in various parts of the world.
What do you feed Pandan plants?
Pandan plants are known for their culinary and aromatic qualities, but their blooming is their secret show. To encourage flowering, use phosphorus as a backstage pass for blooms. Apply a balanced fertilizer with a slightly higher middle number, like a 10-20-10 NPK ratio, during the growing season, typically spring through early summer. Remember, less is more, as overfeeding can lead to a lush plant with zero flowers. Stick to a monthly application and always water your Pandan before fertilizer to prevent root burn.
If your Pandan doesn’t flower, ensure it’s not just wanting more light, as too little light may cause it to sulk without blooming. Consider your plant’s age, as young plants are not yet ready to show off their flowers.
How do you keep Pandan alive?
To facilitate optimal growth of the Pandan plant, it is essential to maintain adequate air circulation around the leaves and base of the plant. In the event that the plant is cultivated in a pot, it is vital to ensure that the drainage hole is sufficiently sized to prevent the accumulation of excess water.
📹 Pandanus amaryllifolius Houseplant Care — 285 of 365
There is a request out to my viewers on your culinary secrets and recipes behind this unusual houseplant—Pandanus …
Soil: they prefer well draining soil. If it’s water logged, they can get root rot although not common. They tend to get top rot compared to root rot if debris and water get in between the leaves. Light: they prefer partial shade. No bright direct light as it may discolour the leaves. Fertiliser: I use organic compost since I use them in my cooking. They’re doing well with organic compost. Fertilising every 4-6 weeks. Propagation: by division of their little pups. By cutting when they’re taller and have more aerial root. Just cut them below the roots, put the cutting in water until more fine roots develop before transferring to soil. Uses: Air freshener: – I just cut a few leaves and tie them into a knot and put them in the kitchen or living room for the fragrant Pandan smell. Discard them once they turn brown. – Cut them into small strips horizontally and add rose water and flower petals that we use as potpourri. Discard them once they turn brown. Cooking: – tie the leaves into knots and put them together into a pot of rice. The cooked rice would have a wonderful Pandan fragrance. – blend them with a little water and use the Pandan juice to colour and flavour cooking. – seep the leaves in hot water and add rock sugar and ice for a refreshing Pandan flavoured water. *food and drinks wouldn’t last as long with Pandan leaves/juices added into them. Don’t make huge batches of Pandan rice or water as it can turn bad faster than usual.
I miss owning one! In the Philippines we use it with our freshly cooked rice or wrap our bbq chicken with it. Love the tea version too. OK Miss Summer a Rayne Oakes. For tea: Just clip a leaf or two. Boil it in water (probably be cups). Wait until the water becomes yellow green. Then add honey. Can be served hot or cold. For Rice: Clip again maybe 2 or 4 leaves and cook it together with the rice. For Chicken. Get some marinated chicken breast (soy sauce, bit of salt and pepper ) wrap it with the leaves (use some tooth pick to hold it togetger) then grill.
Hi Summer, My mom used pandanus leaves to add fragrance in the coconut milk sauce, steamed cake, and some coconut milk based home cooking. She knotted the 🍃 and put it in to the boiled coconut milk, or into the steamed cake dough. And in my community in Indonesia 🇮🇩the 🍃 used when we visit the grave, the 🍃 chopped and mixed with rose petals, and jasmine flowerflower and then we pour it on the grave. It is like put a flower bouquet on the grave but we did it bit different.
Yum! Pandan flavour is delicious! If you ever get banh mi sandwiches, sometimes the shops will have little soft glutinous rice cakes that are pandan flavoured, they are lightly sweet and sort of squishy and sometimes have different interesting sweet fillings as well, I love them. (if they have different coloured ones, pandan would probably be green.)
It’s used similarly to vanilla. So instead of the vanilla bean, you substitute with that. That’s a common plant uses to flavor rice. Drop it in the rice cooker or in a pot. Also, used in desserts. You can use it in gelatins buy boiling in the water then dropping in the gelatin. Boil milk mixed with coconut water with a leaf. When it cools, cut the gelatin into a cubes. Add scraped coconut strips and sweet corn kernels and place in the fridge.
we use it to flavor syrup or any liquid desserts in Indonesia. I buy mine frozen from the Vietnamese or Filipino markets .I have been wanting to grow an actual plant but I have a hard time finding life plant in Southern California . I may have to search the Asian Nurseries or order one from etsy or amazon.
I’ve grown 3 different species of Pandanus. My favorite kind is Pandanus utilis which has red teeth along the leaf margins. Pandanus also have a row of teeth along the midrib on the underside of the leaf. My other varieties are P. tectorius veitchii which has green & white variegated leaves and P. baptistii which has blue-green & yellow variegated leaves. All Pandanus get the stilt roots which help hold up the plants as they get bigger. They are native to islands from Madagascar thru the East Indies, the South Pacific and Hawaii. They often grow on the beach along with coconut palms. They will get suckers that grow along the stems and from between the leaves. You can remove these and propagate them. Sometimes they will even have roots already while still attached. Almost like starting spider plant babies. If you leave the suckers attached they will become branches on the plant. Utilis doesn’t form any suckers or branches until it gets 3 or 4 feet tall. It will eventually grow into a 30 foot or so tall tree. Pandanus have separate male & female plants. The females get a large round fruit that kind of resembles a pineapple. They are very easy to grow as houseplants. Bright indirect light is fine. Water thoroughly when the top of the soil feels dry. They do get spider mites if the air is too dry. In the summer I take my plants outside every couple weeks, lie them down and hose them down with a hard spray of water making sure to hit the undersides of the leaves. This seems to control the mites really well without having to use any soaps or chemicals.
The Hawaiian name for Pandanus is Hala. In the Polynesian islands, the trunks were used for building. Pandanus leaves were used to thatch their houses. Pandanus leaves are so tough that a roof could last 12-15 years! Also the leaves were woven to make floor mats & shades for the sides of the homes. Finer fibers were woven to make exquisite mats & articles of clothing which were passed down from generation to generation. A pretty useful plant…
Great to see this covered as house plant on your list! From pandan rice to flavourful desserts… there are so many uses. In India we use it for example for biryani. There – as you guessed quite well – one can see it growing right next to waterbodies, becoming quite big. One of my favourite cakes in the Netherlands is spekkoek: a cake with many layers flavoured with pandan!
I live in Indonesia but I’m so struggle grow this plant cause it’s a lil bit tricky to get huge leaves which is used the leaves as an aromatic for a lot of kind dessert. Although, this plant one of the most important to plant in my house but we have to struggle to grow this plant cause there’s a lot of leeches and snails which is the biggest problem for it. For propagating actually we can divide the baby plants or cut the plants if it has a lot of hanging root (I don’t know the name) just cut below the hanging root and plant in another planter and don’t forget to cut the leaves too. So, thank you for making this article!
The “pandan” is used as aromatics in cooking. In older traditions one or two leaves are put it in the rice cooker while making rice. Depending on the species, some are used to flavor desserts like gelatin or drinks. These grew wild long ago, when I was a kid in my grandparent’s home; they were the first house in the entire lot. Now it is in the middle of a city, only a few remains of the rice-paddies and what was once a floodplain of the river scattered around unused lots.
Wow! Your pandanus plant is beautiful. Sadly it would not last in my house. We use it in a lot of delicious deserts. The aroma it gives is very lovely fragrant in rice flour deserts. The Asian market sell just the leaves for anyone to use in savory and sweet dishes. Luv, luv this plant. Where did you get your plant from?
This is now my favorite Houseplant, easy to care for, pretty, and useful. Found this plant a half a year ago in a local plant store, didn’t know what it is. And if I don’t know the name of a Plant, it must be rare, so I bought it. Later I found out that this plant is used for cooking too. Curious as I am, I tried it out, used the leaves in the kitchen. I am in love with the flavour! This Plant requires Night temperatures above 15 Degrees Celsius, so here in Central Europe, it must be permanently kept as a Houseplant.
Hi Summer, because of you I now have 25 indoor plants, and counting. Every paycheck I buy at least one. I am from Milwaukee, but was born in raised in the Philippines. We use Pandanas to add aroma to our steamed rice it also good as a house plant as it acts like a cockroach repellent I am not sure about this but as they say it will be good in the kitchen.
I’m perusal this article specifically because I want this plant for culinary purposes. I want to grow a Thai vegetable and herb garden in my home. I would like to grow this along with a few other plants like Galangal, Thai mint, holy basil, a rare small Thai eggplant, Thai chilies, Thai beans and a few others. I will be using my pandan leaves for everything from soups & Curry’s two cakes and drinks.
In Thai cooking, the Pandan leaves are used for green color & aroma. It can be used in making desserts or drinks. Thai name is ‘เตย’…add the word leaf to it then it’s ‘ใบเตย.’ You can find many YouTube recipes using Pandan leaves. Start with longan drink ‘นำ้ลำไย’, which uses Pandan to add aroma, then move up to dessert like custard paste ‘สังขยาใบเตย’.
This plants truly useful in Indonesia…. You could put this on the desert you make like we make Pandan Cake ( Put leaves extract and mix it and bake it and pandan could give you fresh green colour cake with good smell odour and authentic Indonesian food), put some leaves when you cook rice it would give you good smells rice, put some of leaves on the coconut milk, lil bit sugar and salt and boil 5 Minutes you can make good dressing for your desert 😊
Try looking up Pandan chiffon cake or red bean soup recipes and u will see it being put in use. But do note that it’s not eaten as a stir fried veggie dish as the leaves are rather stiff. When u start harvesting the leaves from the bottom, it will starts to grow new shoots and new roots. Do water and fertilise it often as it needs lots of nutrients n also lots of sun. That’s the case for mine in tropical Singapore 🙂
In indonesia we use pandan for a lot of things, from cooking to decorating katil (something that we use to bring dead people to their grave). Smelling pandan at night can get me scared since there is a superstition that the smell of certain things (pandan, grilled cassava, jasmine, etc.) at night means there is presence of certain ghosts.
OMG, i just bought my first pandan plant this afternoon today at asian market. It grows like weed in asian. But it is sooooo expensive here LOL 😂. Pandan in my country (Vietnam), they grow on the edge water and land like river, creek, lake. they are really like wet feet. And Yes, we use pandan leaves for cooking, specially making food color and their unique fragrant. you put leaves in blender, blend with water until it’s extract all the juice out, then you mix with whichever desert you like such as Jelly, sticky rice, agar, buns, pastry, etc.
I found this plant growing in my Xmas Cactus plant and used Google lens to identify it. I want to learn as much as I can before repotting this week. I shall call her Pandora. In Greek mythology Pandora means “all gifts.” I name and talk to all my plants. Plants may not be sentient beings but after reading a fascination book “The Secret Life Of Plants” by Peter Tompkin and Christopher Bird; “I love not Man the less but, Nature more.” Lord Byron
You may use it for cooking in various meals, drinks, pudding, ect. In daily south asian, we use it in rice, jelly drink, hot tea, beer pletok, curry, traditional and modern cake, and potpourri in many occasions. When Pandan leaves becoming bigger, we can also use it as packaging of Ayam Goreng (fried chicken), Bubur sumsum (rice porridge), and traditional carpet (tikar). It smells so good… Pandan loves water. So you may put it on your bathroom…. 💓 🙏😍🌱🌱🌱🌸💮🌼🌺🌸🌈🌈🌈🌈🌏
Haha it grows like a weed. But its believed to attract snakes to the house O.o You can make pandan syrup Take a bunch of the leaves (about 5) Put into a cooking pot on a stove with 3 cups of water and add 2 cups of sugar and a little food colouring (red is the usuall colour) Boil until it has reduces to 2 cups anf store in a bottle. Just add a small amount in cold water (depending in how sweet you want it) and enjoy. 😊
We have a lot of that! Enough for all our neighbors. They grow under fruit bearing trees in our vacant lot. Basically we use whenever we cook rice. Just put like 4 pcs tied in a knot then you’ll good smelling rice. Also for delicacies extract the flavor by boiling it and it to dessert like buco pandan. We use it in many ways. Very useful plant!