Seed preparation
Each fruit contains one hard stone with four to six seeds inside, so the stone is sown whole. If you clean fresh fruit, remove all pulp and wear gloves: the fruit is poisonous. Fresh seed germinates best.
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Tree growing guide
Persian lilac, also called bakain or chinaberry, is a fast, drought-tolerant shade tree with fragrant lilac flowers. Its hard stones germinate in three weeks after a simple pre-treatment, but the fruit is poisonous and the tree spreads readily.
Each fruit contains one hard stone with four to six seeds inside, so the stone is sown whole. If you clean fresh fruit, remove all pulp and wear gloves: the fruit is poisonous. Fresh seed germinates best.
Rubbing the stone on sandpaper until the hard shell is just thinned gave the best germination (80%) in a nursery trial. Do not cut into the seeds inside.
Not needed. Melia azedarach has no cold requirement.
Pour hot water over the stones and let them soak as it cools; this raised germination to 69% in the trial and is the easiest method. Plain cold water soaking did not significantly improve germination there, though some foresters use up to three days in cold water to speed it.
Sow when the weather is warm: in India from the end of winter through the hot season before the monsoon, or in a warm greenhouse elsewhere.
Cover the stone with about 2-3 cm (3/4-1 1/4 in) of soil or mix.
Any well-drained nursery mix or bed soil; the tree tolerates sand, clay, acid and saline soils but not waterlogging.
Keep the bed or pots evenly moist, never soggy, until seedlings emerge.
Full sun or bright light once seedlings are up.
Seedlings appear from about 8-11 days, with most up by 20-23 days. Several seedlings may come from one stone.
Prick out the seedlings that come up from each stone into individual pots while small, or sow one stone per pot and keep only the strongest seedling.
Plant out in full sun in well-drained soil. Allow space for a tree about 9-12 m (30-40 ft) tall and 5-8 m (15-25 ft) wide.
Growth is very fast: young trees can add 1.5-3 m (5-10 ft) in each of the first two years. Water until established; after that the tree is drought tolerant.
The berries are poisonous to people, livestock and poultry. Do not plant where children play or animals graze, and clear up fallen fruit.
Persian lilac is native to India and tropical Asia, but it is invasive in North Florida and has become a weedy nuisance elsewhere because birds spread its many seeds. Check local rules outside India.
It grows in almost any well-drained soil and survives drought once established; no regular feeding is needed.
The crown is open and irregular. Light pruning of young trees in the dormant season gives a better-shaped shade tree; growth slows once trees reach about 4.5-6 m (15-20 ft).
Pre-treat the hard stones and sow them in warm weather for a fast-growing shade tree.
No. The seeds are hard to separate, so the whole stone is sown. Nicking it with sandpaper or a hot-water soak is enough.
Seedlings start appearing after about 8-11 days and most are up within about three weeks.
Yes. The fruit is poisonous to people and livestock. Wear gloves when cleaning fruit and keep it away from children and animals.
No. Melia dubia is a separate timber species with its own seed handling; this guide covers Melia azedarach.
