Gamthi curry plant is used in curries while the regular Helichrysum italicum is not edible. As to the tall and short aspect, if you live in an area of frost you will automatically have dwarf. If in tropical area then it will reach 20 feet or more.

Thanks for the reply, and sorry for the delayed response. From what we could find on growing them from seed, the germination rate was not good. So we bought a few extra seeds! They may grow well in Florida, but not in Maryland. Other than looking a bit sick, they are still growing. I want to start fertilizing with fish fertilizer, but the hydrolyzed type I've found so far is 2-4-1, and I hope to find something with a bit more Nitrogen. We have been using the type that is not hydrolyzed in the garden, but it would be a bit much for our laundry room which is the current nursery. Thanks again for your reply.

Wow - different strokes for different folks!! One of the things I love the most about Thai food is the cilantro!! And what's really strange is I used to HATE it when I first tasted it!! I don't know what it was but all of a sudden I started liking it, and now, I absolutely love it! It seems most of my favorites have loads of fresh cilantro - that and the Thai basil they use!! I'm always using the regular, Italian, basil, but after having grown both I can say that I like the Thai better! And I'm Italian!! That's sacrilege lol!! Thanks for the link gellchom - I'm not really looking for tons of recipes either - it's learning about the ingredients, culture, and techniques that make up ethnic cuisines that fascinates me! Exactly what I want is to learn about what makes up the various curry pastes, why they use different flavors, etc. Thanks! And thanks to Lars as well - It was a different thread, but you linked me to a site that has info on Thai ingredients and currys. The one recipe I have down pat is Pad Thai - I'm making it this weekend for BIL's birthday! Lisa

It's something new I found and I have so many hot peppers to do something with. It's thin, and fairly aggressively flavored with other things, onion, garlic, vinegar, carrots, etc, supposed to be a Sriracha type sauce. I hate to waste the last of my vine ripe tomatoes on a sauce where I could get away with a canned product. The can lists the only ingredient as Tomatoes, so I would think that I could thin it down and have it be OK. I may just experiment with it and see what I can come up with. If it's any good, I'll post a recipe. Thanks for the advice! Steve