How to Grow Cinnamon

Cinnamon trees are evergreens that grow up to 50 feet tall, and the bark is used as a spice of the same name. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka but was grown in China more than 4,000 years ago. Today, it is also grown commercially in Brazil, Java, Madagascar, Vietnam, the West Indies and Zanzibar. Here's how to grow cinnamon.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Provide sun to partial shade for cinnamon trees. Water moderately throughout the year but do not over water.

2. Protect the tree from hard freezes and prolonged cool weather. A cinnamon tree can survive short mild freezes.

3. Cultivate Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum for the highest quality of cinnamon. These trees are grown for three years and then pruned every other year. The roots will send up a dozen or so shoots called tillering that should be allowed to grow for one year.

4. Cut the shoots and remove the leaves and twigs. Strip the shoots of their bark during the rainy season when it is easiest to work with. Beat the shoots to soften the inner bark. Remove the inner 0.5 mm of bark in a complete strip from the outer woody portion.

5. Allow the inner bark to dry so it will curl into long rolls called quills. The quills can then be cut into 5 to 10 cm strips for sale. Cinnamon is one of the few spices that does not require extraction.

Resources

• Learn more about cinnamon at The Epicentre.