Specialty Gardening: HAVE: Tamarind seeds, 1 by evr

evr wrote:
well Tamarind leaves kinda look like mimosa leaves. They usually have long brown pods and their meats are used for dishes in SE asia and India. They sprout within 3-10 days, if given warmth, sunlight and a bit of moisture. You don't have to do cold/hot treatment, use primers etc etc. to break their dormancy. They don't do well with frost, so if you're making this into a bonsai specimen, overwinter them inside.

They don't require as much attention as orchids really, as I've written before to another DG memeber,

"As for the tamarind seeds, yes they're easy to grow. When I was living in Asia, tamarind candies were popular with children and then we would just leave them there. I'm so amused by plants/seedlings sprouting everytime I get these candies I just plant them in whatever pots I could find..within a couple of days you have tamarind seedlings! They also grew in between cracks of cement, as they are pretty hardy at that climate zone. They also grow here during the summer months in Canada. One seed got planted for some reason and they're just happy where ever you put them. I've been trying to bonsai them (I've seen them done bonsaid about 3-4 feet tall) since 2 years ago but my dogs keep eating them/knocking them down.

So just plant it in a pot/container, don't need any special procedures unlike maples (don't need to stratify, scarify, no cold/hot treatment etc.) and just make sure they have sun and keep the soil moist. These seeds are not from candies btw, they're heirloom from my aunt's garden/farm (she has lots of trees/plants back home).

If you're planning to plant them out, just plant them in a bigger pot, then when they get big enough, plant them outside (you've got to be careful though, they develop tap roots pretty quickly). I'll show you mine when mine has sprouted.

Another method you can try is putting the seeds in a plastic container with a damp/moist paper towel. Put the seeds in the container and cover with plastic wrap and let them sit out in the sun. I usually do this method for jackfruits, mangoes, limes....the not so easy ones for me to germinate due to weather limitations....Here's a picture of my "mock greenhouse" with jackfruit seeds in them (see pic at the bottom).

If these methods do not work for you, I'll gladly send you some more seeds. Don't hesitate to ask any questions ok? I'll try my best to help you out"

same too, if you want to try these seeds out, I'll send them out to you =D. As for your zoning, it's okay to have the plant potted in a container and leave it outside for summer (btw, you can start these seeds indoors with bright, indirect light...I just put them by my window sill usually). But don't leave it out for the winter. We have almost the same zone (mine's 6a CAD zone, which roughly is similar to your 5 US zone I think). In the winter, they need bright light, or you can put them under indirect light, just like most tropical plants (afircan violets, anthuriums etc.). Wouldn't recommend you grow these plants outside like magnolia trees, evergreeens etc. They'll die quickly. I just use them for bonsai. =)

and certainly we can trade. Let me know if you find something else interesting on my tradelist and I'll send them with the tamarind seeds.


This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 8:31 AM