Have You Tried Growing Laksa Plant (Vietnamese Mint) In Your Organic Garden?
What a gorgeous plant. Yes, I mean both to look at and the flavour… it’s divine! It’s a recent discovery of mine. I don’t know why I had never heard of it until recently, but I’m so glad that it’s part of my organic garden now. Perhaps I should say part of my collection of herbs, rather than organic garden, because it actually lives in a pot, in my poly tunnel. It loves the warmth and humidity that the tunnel provides.
It is quite an easy plant to grow and propagate. It loves warm, humid conditions – so you’ll need to keep the water up to it. If you were to grow it outside, look for a damp and shady spot.
It propagates very easily, even producing arial roots which can be cut off with a 10cm section of the plant and put into a good potting mix, with a small amount of organic fertilizer and kept moist.
Use the leaves in your asian cooking for a flavour similar to coriander, with a spicy difference. A great addition to curries, rice and hot soups.
Give it a go – it’s so easy to grow. You’ll be so glad you did. 
Happy Organic Gardening, Healthy Living…
P.S. If you’re not sure how to get started organic gardening, take a look at my e-manual - Organic Food Gardening Beginner’s Manual to get you headed in the right direction!
Filed under: Herbs, Uncategorized on August 15th, 2008
Where did you find laksa to grow? I’ve been unable to locate it here in the US. Thanks for any help!
Laksa plants come with a lot of common names, so you try asking your nursery for:
vietnamese mint
vietnamese knotwood
vietnamese coriander
laksa plant
laksa leaf
spicy mint
hot mint
Just check with the nursery that the plant they are selling you has the botanic name Polygonum odoratum. Hope this helps…
warmly,
Julie