Growing Betel Leaf Plant is not difficult, but you need to be aware of its requirements. Here’s a detailed guide to grow it easily in containers anywhere!
Betel leaf plant (piper betel) belongs to the pepper family. Its waxy green, heart-shaped leaves look great as a potted plant and are used for medicinal and culinary purposes. If you want to add a different specimen to your collection, then Growing Betel Leaf Plant makes perfect sense!
Learn how to grow betel nut tree here
Betel Leaf Plant Information
When crushed, the leaves of the Betel Leaf plant exude a cool peppery scent. It’s used in making a famous dessert called ‘Paan,’ which is chewed with betel nut as a mouth freshener in India. This mildly stimulant herb is popular in whole South Asia (Indian subcontinent), Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
USDA Zones: 9 to 11, *can be grown Indoors, or Outdoors as an annual in colder zones
Difficulty: Moderate
Planting Season: Spring and summers in a cold climate. But anytime in a warm, tropical climate.
Other Names: Wild pepper, kadok, bai cha plu, daun kaduk, betel pepper, la lot, paan, piper betle, pan, paan patta
Propagating Betel Leaf Plant
Take a 4-6 inches long cutting from a healthy plant. Make 45 degrees cut using a sharp knife just below the leaf node. Remove all leaves from the cutting except the top 2 ones.
Dip the end in a rooting hormone and plant the cutting in a well-draining potting medium. Water well, and keep the pot where it gets bright, indirect light.
You can also propagate the plant in water, but it’s not that effective—Put the cutting in a glass of fresh water and place it on the spot like a windowsill in indirect sunlight. Keep changing the water every 3-4 days. Once several roots appear, transplant the cutting into a pot with a well-draining potting mix.
A Tip: It’d be a good idea to buy a healthy plant from a nursery to save time.
Requirements for Growing Betel Leaf PlantÂ
Location
The plant does best in filtered sunlight, so keeping it at a dappled or shaded location would be best—also, avoid keeping it in a totally dark spot. Never expose the plant to the harsh afternoon sun for long, as it will burn the foliage.
Soil
It prefers slightly acidic, sandy-loamy, and lightly damp soil but it should not promote waterlogging. Use a well-drained potting mix rich in organic matter like aged manure, you can also mix coarse sand to improve drainage.
Watering
Take care of watering the plant in a way where the soil remains slightly moist. Avoid overwatering and stagnant water around the plant as it will cause fungal issues. The best method to follow is to let the topsoil a wee bit dry between watering while maintaining the regular moisture.
Quick Tips on Betel Leaf Care
- Prune regularly for harvesting after it reaches a height of 3-4 feet. Plucking of leaves encourages new growth and sweet and tender leaves.
- Occasional feeding every couple of months in the growing season of the plant with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer is recommended. Alternatively, you can side dress the plant with aged manure or compost 2-3 times a year.
- In cold climates, keep it indoors in winters when the temperature starts to fall below 41 F (5 C) in a warm and cozy room under grow light.
- Overwatering can cause root rot, so avoid it at all costs.
- Be careful of red mites—if noticed, they can be treated with insecticidal soap.
- Leaf blight is another problem that affects the betel plants. Simply snip away the infected leaf or stem.
Growing Betel Leaf Indoors
You can also grow betel leaf plant indoors to enjoy the look of its large and lush foliage while getting a fresh supply for the amazing Indian staple “Paan!” Just ensure that you keep it near any window that filters indirect light on the plant.
Go with a small 6-8 inches pot, water the plant so that the growing medium stays a little moist always—however, avoid too much moisture.
Harvesting Betel Leaf
Within four to six months after planting, it’ll be ready for harvest. You can pick off the fresh aromatic leaves for various uses, like making the tremendous South Asian mouth freshener paan. Do make sure that you are not harvesting more than 1/4 plant at a time. Use a clean pair of scissors to take the leaves off.
Betel Leaf Plant Medicinal Uses
Betel leaf is a rare herb except in Asia, though it has many medicinal benefits. The leaves are especially helpful for clearing the bronchial passages, cough, and cold and for the female reproductive system.
Very good I m planning to plant this in coming monsoon.
Hello,
Please help me to know what seeds do you sow to start a plant? I do not get any vines here in Canada. Where can you buy this plant in Toronto?
i want to farming betel leave pls guide me
if u interested contact me
hi there i live in houston tx and would like to grow my own betal leaf plant not sure where to get the seeds.
Check with Local nursery which keeps south asian plants (i.e. Doan’s nursery in Irving (Dallas) Texas, etc.). They would have small plants for sale (or check if Doan’s nursery ships from Dallas to Houston; they have these plants.
Hello, For some time I am looking for the betel leaves plant but cannot find it. I live in Amsterdam. Maybe you can help me with where I could get a plant or seeds would be perfect too.
Thank you so much. Richard
Please help me.
I would like to plant Betel (Paan) such as Meetha paan,Banarasi,Maghai etc.Can you please help me getting this plants
You can get it on amazon
Where do I get the betel plant in Brampton. Please let me know the address
I want to bye betel leaves for farming where can you buy this plants seeds or roots.
I have lot of betal leaves in tamilnadu villupuram phone 7200655514
This plants only cutting no seeds no roots sir
Very good site. I love planting , have a green house and indoor plants . Trying very hard to save them from the cold snowy weather .
im interested in betal leaf or betal leaf juice export in other countries.please guidance and more information? thanks
Thanks for your tips. My new plant in a pot is just two months old and shooting up quite well. Growing betel plants is the easiest way for planting lovers.
hi i would like to know about your betel pant, how its grown now. do you know where i could get one. in toronto, on. thank you
Try Facebook marketplace if you haven’t found it yet. I just got mine a couple of weeks ago from Scarborough
May be more convenient if a complete guide for farming in PDF format.
I wants to start betel leaf farming in North Gujarat So give me guidance and full information about its.
My plant is full of white nodes. Can anybody tell me what to do?
Use neem oil (1 table spoon)+ detergent (1 table spoon)+ water (1 litre) spay.
If you mean roots by white nodes, do nothing. Paan has roots at each node and they are white. that is how they climb.
Hi there, I am visiting this website daily,
this website is genuinely nice and the users are genuinely sharing nice thoughts.
How to recover from fungal diseases ?
Hi,
Can you send me information how do I get plant, I mean what seeds I need to get to get the plants. I greatly appreciate response.
Thanks
Shan
Plant is growing bit weak and leaves are too small …what should be done for growing big leaves…pls help me
I can betel plant growing in Pakistan?
Yes it can. Especially in the coastal Sindh and wherever the whether is hot and humid.
Plant is growing bit weak and leaves are too small …what should be done for growing big leaves…pls help me. What are the best mannure for best growing.
Use gromor fertizer. Mix 1 table spoon fertiliser in a bucket of water and give the mixture to the plant every 6 months.
My plant has holes in the leaves and new leaves are curling
What can I do?
i farming a betel leaves now but no knowledge how to gro betel leaves. pl give me guidence,
Sir I am interested in purchasing betel leaf plants,please suggest me suppliers name and address.
Willing to grow Kolkata paan at home need cuttings of it pl help me
Quite informative article but without giving the source from where the plant can be procured.i think that information js must with this article. I am interested to have this plant.
Hi. Anybody from Malaysia willing to share your knowledge about bettel leave? Thanks
How do I promote growth of leaves in beetle plant as all leaves of my plant has fallen.
Hi, I live in Moore. I would like to have some to have some seeds also. Thank you
Very nice and accurate information
I have Piper Sarmentosum. If you are interested, go to my store on Etsy.com
My name on Etsy is: SpecialtyThings or you can just search for Piper Betel
I have small, medium, and large plants that are up to 24 inches tall
I also sell the largest Poper Betel on Ebay.
My ebay user name is Sweet_Titan
Can you sell to me.
Vishnu.My indoor betel plant is not growing. All leaves are become as some diseases. What is remedy
What fertiliser use for betel leaf to grow big in Malaysia.? Please advice tq
Betal leaves can be home grown in pots. However, commercial production of the crop is done specially constructed climate controlled house to get optimum production and maintain profitability. There are more than 90 varieties of betel vine in the world, of which about 45 are found in India. Betel leaf is grown in tropics and subtropics for its evergreen leaves that are used in religious events and as a chewing stimulant.
New plantation is always done by stem cuttings.
Below are the tips to grow betel plants better.
Dried cow manure – Use only one or two big table spoons per plant for every 4 weeks.
Neem Oil Extract :- Mix Three drops of Neem oil with 1 liter of fresh water and spay for any disease like fungal infections etc.. or healthy grow.
i hv space at roof & wish to grow betel leave plant. hv water/sun light/shadow spare etc. how i get seed for this job? how i grow it etc
I am verry interest to betal plan formaing how to make plz help
I want kplkatty metal plants ..
Plz guide me
Anybody has Betal plants in Calgary, Canada? I am interested to buy some.
If someone can refer me to a nursery for Betel Plant in GTA Toronto Area, kindly let me know.
Where can I buy the seeds of betel leaf in Gauteng, South Africa.
For Betel leaf plant , text at (805)7585969
Hi, the viralcreek.com link for medicinal purposes no longer works, the domain is no longer active.
I tried growing but leaves curl inwards and plant is not growing
How long does it take for the roots to come out from the cuttings
Gracias x la información, nos sera muy util.
I want to get some betel leaf plants . I live in Tavares, Florida. [email protected]
so, I have a betel leaf plant that was doing well until about a month ago. Now most of the leaves have fallen off, and these leaves appeared healthy. what am I doing wrong?