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Tree growing guide
Kadamba (kadam) is a fast-growing tree of Indian river valleys with round, fragrant orange flower heads. Its seed is as fine as dust, so success depends on surface sowing in a shaded tray, very gentle watering and pricking out the seedlings while they are still small.
Kadamba seed is extremely small: about 23,000-25,000 seeds per gram, so a tenth of a gram holds roughly 2,500 seeds. Mix it with dry, sterilised fine sand before sowing so you can spread it thinly. Store dry seed in an airtight container; IFGTB advises storage for up to 9 months, and in Indonesian trials some seedlots kept good germination for 5 years.
Not needed. The seed has no hard coat that blocks water.
Not needed. Kadamba is a tropical tree with no cold requirement; warmth and moisture are what matter.
Not needed; IFGTB lists no pre-sowing treatment. Soaking such fine seed also makes it clump and hard to sow evenly.
Sow in warm weather. In Tamil Nadu, IFGTB recommends sowing in February and notes that winter sowing fails; ICRAF reports germination in the rainy season. In cooler climates, sow indoors in a warm, bright place.
Do not bury the seed. Wet the tray thoroughly first, scatter the seed-and-sand mix on the surface (about 0.2 g of seed per square metre of bed) and pat it down gently by hand.
A tray or shallow bed of fine river sand mixed with soil, ideally treated against damping-off fungi before sowing.
Water frequently but lightly with a fine-rose can or mister. Seedlings are sensitive both to drying out and to waterlogging.
Keep the tray shaded until germination; open beds in direct sun and rain make germination difficult. Remove the shade once the seedlings are up.
About 10-14 days in the rainy season (ICRAF) to about 3 weeks in nursery trays (IFGTB), with 60-90% germination.
Prick seedlings out into polybags when they are about 5 cm (2 in) tall, then shade them again for a few days. ICRAF notes seedlings about 2 months old are moved to nursery beds or bags. Letting them grow too large in the tray causes curled and malformed taproots.
Seedlings reach a plantable 30 cm (12 in) in 4-5 months. Plant 35-50 cm (14-20 in) plants with the root ball intact at the start of the monsoon, about 5 x 5 m (16 x 16 ft) apart.
Keep young plants weeded, as they are very sensitive to weed competition, and protect saplings from hot sun, frost, drought, waterlogging and grazing animals.
Kadamba grows best on deep, moist, well-drained alluvial soils, such as riverbanks, in warm climates; it does poorly on leached or badly aerated soils and is frost-sensitive.
Growth is usually fast for the first 6-8 years, and trees can start flowering at about 4 years old.
Once established, kadamba needs full sun to grow well; give it an open position rather than a shaded corner.
Pick ripe orange fruit heads (September-December in South India), let them rot for 3-4 days, wash out the pulp and dry the seed that settles, or dry and crush the heads and sieve out the seed.
Grow kadamba from seed for a fast, fragrant-flowering tree for warm, moist sites.
No. The seed is dust-fine and should be pressed onto the surface of a pre-wetted tray, not covered. Keep the tray shaded and mist it gently.
About 10 days to 3 weeks in warm weather. Winter sowings tend to fail.
After 4-5 months in the nursery, when they are about 30-50 cm tall, at the start of the monsoon.
