Can You Grow Malunggay / Moringa in a Pot? Yes You Can!

In the Philippines, malunggay are staple greens that we often use for cooking. When we lived in Alabang, we had a huge tree beside the house where it's very convenient to cut stalks upon stalks without worrying about running out of leaves.

It was a very different story when we moved to Southern California almost three years ago. When we wanted to cook Tinola, a few stalks of malunggay at the Filipino supermarket would cost the same as, or even more than, two pounds (about a kilo) of chicken. I'm serious! So we'd resort to buying spinach instead because they're cheaper. 

In late November 2017, my mother-in-law bought us a malunggay seedling for $5.00 at a swap meet where some fellow Pinoys were selling plants. By winter, the leaves were all gone and we were left with just a stick in a pot. Because I could still see some green parts on the main stem, I diligently watered the pot every two days. 

Come spring, I was rewarded with tiny buds that eventually grew into branches with leaves. By August 2018 (see topmost photo), we were able to harvest a batch which we happily added to home-cooked Chicken Tinola.    

Fast-forward to my family's move from my sister-in-law's townhouse to our own apartment in November 2018 where we brought the big pot of malunggay with us. Again, it hibernated during the winter but bloomed once more come spring and summer and we were able to harvest two or three times before it stopped growing new leaves in the fall.

It's 2020 now and I'm happy to report that our malunggay tree is still healthy and thriving. We actually had the first harvest recently and the main trunk is slowly recovering to bring out more leaves. Someday, when we finally get to buy a house of our own, I pray that this tree, the very first plant I took care of here in the U.S. would have its own spot in a nice garden and finally planted on the ground :)