Written from the home-garden experience of Shami, who has grown plants for 8+ years in Malappuram, Kerala. All photos are our own.
Pandanus is one of the easiest plants to fit into a garden. You can grow it indoors or outdoors, as a border for the garden, or in between the lawn. It also grows well in pots, in a bushy form, and that looks beautiful too.
No, it's not a spider plant
You'll often hear pandanus described as a variety of spider plant, but that's wrong. It looks similar, but it actually belongs to the Pandanaceae family, the screw pine family. There's an easy way to tell them apart. Spider plant sends out long stems with little plants on them, and pandanus doesn't.
Another feature is at the base of the plant. You'll see some root-like structures there, which are stilt roots (also called prop roots). When the plant grows big, it needs stability, and that's what these roots are for.
Two kinds: green and variegated
There are 2 colour varieties.
The green-leaved one has full green leaves, and it's the one used in food. The leaf has a special smell, which is why it's used in biriyani and curries. Here it's called rampa (you'll also see rampe or pandan). Botanically it's usually Pandanus amaryllifolius.
The variegated one has a yellow centre on each leaf, with green on both sides. It's a very good-looking plant, but it isn't used in any food, and I don't cook with it.
Sunlight changes the colour
This is about the variegated variety. The plant grows in partial sunlight, in full sunlight, indoors, or semi-indoors, but the colour of the leaves changes with the light. When direct sunlight hits it, the yellow increases and the green decreases. With less sunlight, the yellow decreases and the green increases. So I always keep it in sunlight, because that makes the plant more beautiful. The green variety doesn't change like this.
Water: very little
This plant doesn't need much water. I water mine once in 8 days, and the plant stays completely healthy. If the weather is very hot, I water it every 3 to 4 days. Make sure the soil is almost dry before you water. It's drought tolerant and can live for a long time without water. It grows in every season.
In our experience it tolerates heat up to about 35 °C. If it gets hotter than that, the tips of the leaves get burnt.
Soil
The mix is garden soil and compost, with cocopeat in a smaller amount. If you don't have compost, you can use cow dung powder instead. You can also grow it in cocopeat alone, but then you have to be very careful with water. This plant will grow anywhere that water doesn't stay like a pool.
Feeding
It doesn't need many fertilizers. Once a month, give a nitrogen-rich feed, such as cow dung mixed in water or compost mixed in water. All of this should be diluted, so don't pour it in thick form. In the cooler months (roughly December to February here) I don't give fertilizer, because it's not a growing stage for the plant. I always try to feed it after that season.
What goes wrong
- Burnt leaf tips: this is from heat or over-temperature. Move the plant to a place with less heat.
- Leaves turning very yellow: this is mainly from over-watering.
- Insects: some insects attack this plant. They go around the leaves, it shows up as a burn on the leaves, and they suck the nutrients out of them. To prevent this, I mix a spoon of neem oil and 2 to 3 drops of dishwash liquid in a glass of water, dilute that into 1 litre of water, and spray it on the plant every 2 weeks.
I also always try to remove the bad or dead leaves from the plant.
Making new plants
You'll see many small plants at the side of the parent plant. You can repot them to make new plants. Always cut at the very bottom, so that you get roots. Keep the new plant in shade, and after a week the roots will be established. Then you can plant it from the pot into the ground, or anywhere else you like. It can also be kept in water indoors, since it doesn't need much watering or care.
Everyone can try this one, and for beginners who don't know anything about growing plants, it's a must-try.