El tropical almond It is a tree that if you live in an area with a mild climate you will surely have seen it at some time. It is a very beautiful, fast-growing plant that gives very good shade thanks to its 35 meters high and its large leaves.
Would you like to know more about this incredible Fruit tree? If you have a spacious place where you can grow it and the temperatures are mild, it will surely grow wonderfully.
Origin and characteristics of the tropical almond tree
Image - Wikimedia / Alejandro Bayer Tamayo from Armenia, Colombia
La Terminalia catappa, which is how scientists know it, it is a deciduous tree (it loses its leaves in the dry season) that can measure up to 35 meters in height. The branches grow horizontally, upwards, but as it ages, its crown becomes more flattened. The flowers are monoecious, that is, there are male flowers and female flowers which are both on the same tree. The fruit is a drupe about 5-7cm long, and 3 to 5,5cm wide; They are first green, turning yellow or red as they finish ripening. These almonds, as they are called, have a slightly sour taste.
Its origin is not yet clear, but what is known is that it comes from a tropical region, perhaps from New Guinea, perhaps from Malaysia or perhaps from India. Even so, knowing that it grows in climates where there is no frost, its cultivation is restricted to those regions, where the minimum temperature is 4ºC.
Growing and caring for the Terminalia catappa
And speaking of cultivation, if you want to have a specimen, you can enjoy your tropical almond tree by giving it these cares:
Location
Place your Indian almond tree in a bright area, where it can receive direct sunlight throughout the day. In the event that you want to keep it indoors, place it in a room that has good clarity, and away from both cold and warm drafts.
Irrigation
Irrigation must be frecuente. Generally, it will be watered 2-3 times a week in summer, and every 4-5 days the rest of the year. Also, you should know that it is not a good idea to spray / spray the leaves as they could appear stains caused by fungi.
If you have it as an indoor plant and in your house the humidity is very low, the ideal is that you buy a humidifier, or that you put glasses with water around the pot.
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It's advisable fertilize in growing season (that is, in the rainy season if it is a tropical climate, or from spring to summer in temperate climates), with an organic fertilizer such as guano or cow manure.
If you have it in a pot, use liquid fertilizers so that the water can still be drained easily. The dose and frequency will be specified on the package.
Transplant
Whether you want to move it to a larger pot or to the garden, you have to do it as soon as the dry season ends, before its leaves sprout again. If the weather is mild, do it early spring.
How to plant a tropical almond tree in the garden?
The step by step to follow is the following:
- First, make a planting hole of about 50 x 50 centimeters (although it is better if it is 1 x 1 meter).
- Then add a couple of buckets of water to it. This will help you to see if the soil has good drainage (something that you will know true if the earth begins to absorb the water at a good rate from the first moment) or if on the contrary you have to improve it (something that is done by digging a deeper hole and adding a layer of about 40-50 centimeters of expanded clay or gravel).
- Next, fill the hole a bit with universal substrate or mulch mixed with 20-30% perlite.
- Then, remove the tree from the pot, and insert it into the hole. If it is high or low, remove or add dirt.
- Finally, finish filling and, if you want, you can water to moisten the new soil that you have added.
How to change it pot?
If you see the roots coming out of the drainage holes, or if it has been more than 3-4 years since the last change and the tree has taken up the entire pot, it will be a good time to change it. It is done like this:
- First, a pot with holes in its base is chosen that measures about 5 centimeters in diameter and depth than the previous one.
- Afterwards, a layer of about 3 centimeters of expanded clay is added.
- Then it is filled to a little less than half with a mixture of mulch or universal substrate mixed with 20-30% perlite or similar.
- Afterwards, it is extracted to the Terminalia catappa from its 'old' pot, and into the new one. If it is too high, remove dirt; and if on the contrary it remains low, add more substrate.
- Finally, finish filling, and give it a generous watering.
Multiplication
Image - Wikimedia / Alejandro Bayer Tamayo from Armenia, Colombia
It multiplies by seeds and cuttings in spring.
Seeds
The seeds are to be sown in pots or seedling trays with mulch, putting a maximum of two in each one. Then, they are placed in semi-shade, near a heat source, and the substrate is kept moist.
In a period of about two months they will begin to germinate.
Cuttings
To multiply the tropical almond tree by cuttings you have to cut a branch about 30 centimeters long, impregnate its base with rooting hormones and plant it in a pot with substrate such as vermiculite.
If the substrate is kept moist, it will root in about a month.
Rusticity
Resists up to 5 degrees Celsius, and salinity.
What uses is it given?
La Terminalia catappa has several uses:
Ornamental
It is a very decorative plant, ideal to have as an isolated specimen or in alignments. It is also a nice tree to grow in pots, although not forever due to the large size it can reach.
When the weather in winter is not good, it is used as a houseplant. In fact, in Spain it is common for it to be sold as such, since it could only be grown abroad in the Costa Tropical (Andalusia region, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula), in some parts of Malaga (also in Andalusia), as well. in low altitude points of the Canary Islands.
Culinary
The fruits are edible, being able to consume fresh or in desserts. Its flavor is somewhat acidic.
Medicinal
The leaves are used in Suriname (South America) to make tea infusions, which is said to help curb diarrhea and relieve dysentery.
Wood
The wood is used for make canoes. It is red and solid, and also resistant to water.
Where to buy Indian almond?
Image - Wikimedia / H. Zell
You can buy seeds from here.
What did you think of this tree?
HELLO I WANT JERMINAR INDIAN ALMOND I HAVE THE SEEDS YOU HAVE TO LET THEM DRY AND HOW IT IS DONE AND WHEN THEY ARE PLANTED I AM FROM ARGENTINA THANK YOU
Hi Osvaldo.
To germinate the seeds of this tree you can sow them in a transparent plastic bag with a hermetic seal filled with substrate or with vermiculite.
Another option is to plant them directly in a pot.
If they are very fresh, that is, you have been able to pick a fruit and eat it, you have to clean the seeds well and put them in the sun for a couple of days to dry.
The time to sow them is in spring.
A greeting.
Good morning, I want to transplant the tree into a larger pot, what procedure should I take into account?
Thank you very much.
Hello Ariel.
You just have to be careful not to manipulate the roots too much. But otherwise, you will have no problem 🙂.
A greeting.
I planted the tree's seeds in March in a plastic vat and made it a greenhouse. In October they already sprouted. I keep keeping them covered. If I pot it, will they live?
Hi Livia.
If you root them, it is likely that you do 🙂
But water them for a season with water mixed with a little rooting hormone powder. This will help them to move on. You can also use the homemade rooting agents that we mention in this post.
Greetings.
I want to know if there is any method so that the almond tree does not bear fruit, I only need it for shade
Hello Nestor.
I'm not sorry. All plants produce fruit, as it is the most reliable way for the species to continue to exist.
A greeting.
Hello, we have some of these almond trees very close to the sea planted about 5 years ago.
Is there any special care that has to be given to it? Since lately we notice that the leaves are falling a lot and the trees have not grown much and in the same way it looks very yellow.
We have some other trees closer to the house and some others near the palapas, closer to the sea that are greener, larger and more lush.
Hi Guillermo.
I suspect that their roots have already touched the sand and it may not have done them too well. They can live close to the sea, but not too close.
If you can, the ideal would be to remove them and plant them in another area, with garden soil. Otherwise, I recommend you fertilize them with organic fertilizers, such as mulch or compost.
Regards!
I have two of these trees and I want to know what pure use to have with their fruit, could you give me information on the subject?
Hello Jorge.
The tropical almond tree is a tree with which I have no experience, since here where I live it is too cold for it.
I can tell you that the fruit is edible, and the leaves are medicinal (they are taken as an infusion to treat various diseases, such as kidney diseases).
A greeting.
Can the roots of this tree present problems with raising floors and house structures?
Hi Millie.
In principle I would say no, but just in case it is not good to plant it very close to pipes. Better to leave a distance of at least 5m.
Sorry I can not help you anymore. I have no experience with these trees (where I live the climate is cold for them).
A greeting.
Hola!
I have tropical almond fruits and I want to plant them. What would the procedure be? Do you have to plant them green like this? Wait for them to dry? Open them and sow the seed! I need help! Thanks!'
Hello Marcela.
You have to wait for them to turn brown. Then you can remove the peel, and plant them in pots with growing medium for plants.
A greeting.
Hola!
Excuse me, I have a doubt in my country there are many trees of these, but almost nobody uses the fruit. Do you happen to know if you can eat the red part? and how do you open the seed? In other words, there is a tool to open this type of almond. I have seen videos where they open other types of almonds with stones or hammers, I have tried both but my hands hurt horrible after doing it 🙁
And with the hammer they are still very hard to open ... or the hammer is stained red xD, do you let them dry before opening them? Thank you! I would like to take advantage of this fruit, but I have no idea how.
Hi Judit.
I'm really sorry to tell you this, but I have no idea 🙁
In Spain these trees cannot thrive -except in some areas of the Canary Islands-.
I have not had a chance to see them in person, nor do I know how they open.
See if a follower who has one can help you.
A greeting.
I have a growing almond tree but the leaves are staining (mushroom type). Is there something I can put on it?
Hello Damian.
You can treat it with a fungicide spray. This will eliminate the fungi.
A greeting.
Hello, your article is very interesting, I tell you I just bought one of these trees, I will have with me about a month and a half, I plant it in a pot and it is growing very well luckily, I wanted to know when it is good time to spend it in the garden, yes I wait for it to grow more ?, to a special season (early winter, late summer)? When is it a good time? I would like to send you a photo so you can see how it goes.
regards
Hi carlos.
If you have recently had it, I would recommend keeping it in a pot for at least a year, and then planting it in the garden in spring.
You can send a photo to our Facebook profile.
A greeting.
I would like to plant an almond tree, but where I live there are low temperatures, reaching -4 degrees, there would be a possibility that the tree could prosper, even if it did not bear fruit, I am only interested as an ornamental and its leaves due to its properties.
Hello Mauricio.
No, Terminalia catappa does not withstand frost.
El Almond (Mediterranean almond tree) Yes it can withstand the cold, and it is also very beautiful.
A greeting.
Hello, I have a beautiful tree of these in my garden, I am in the north of the country of Mexico, I brought a seed from Chiapas and I put it in the ground in a small pot and it began to sprout now it measures almost 3 meters, my question is how can I Protect it from the cold since here in winter if there are frosts and last year it was a little and I lose it, it would be a pity that in this year at that height it will not withstand the low temperatures.
Hello Gina.
You can drive a few -3 or 4- stakes into the ground around the tree and protect the trunk with anti-frost mesh for example, or with greenhouse plastic.
A greeting.
HELLO. I HAVE PLANTED AN INDIAN ALMOND, LASTLY THE LEAVES CHANGED COLOR, FROM GREEN THEY ARE CHANGING TO A PURPLE OR BROWN COLOR, IS IT NORMAL? I AM CONCERNED THAT THE TREE IS DRYING ... GREETINGS
Hi Feliciano.
It is very sensitive to cold, it may be that.
If not, how often do you water it? Have you paid for it?
A greeting.
Hello, I currently live in a semi-tropical place, I barely met the tree and was fascinated, I collected some seeds and germinated them.My plan is to take them to my place of origin in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico, there the temperatures in winter drop to 14 below zero for one or two weeks it even snows the rest of the year the temperature is much warmer from 30 to 35 degrees I am determined to plant one of these in my garden in Chihuahua and I want to know if there are methods or tools to protect it from frost although it would only be as long as the winter since afterwards the weather becomes hot
Hi Gilberto.
Sure, you can build a home greenhouse, or protect it with anti-frost fabric : )
A greeting.
How to prune it is 2 years old?
Hi Nelly.
If it is only two years old, it is better not to prune it. The only thing you can do is remove the newest leaves to get it to remove low branches, but until the trunk is thicker until it reaches at least 2-3cm it is not advisable to prune it. And even so, it only has to be done if it is really necessary, that is, if a branch can bother or fall.
Greetings and happy new year.
Hi, I'm Germán from Argentina. I consult you, I have an almond tree. At this time of April some of its leaves turn yellow. I have it indoors and water every other day.
You would know if there is any specific cause.
Thank you very much.
I have problems with a pest, can you help me to solve it
Hi Brian.
What pests does it have? Greetings.
Hello, how are you? Sorry for the inconvenience. I wanted to know where I can get seeds and if someone sells them in large quantities.
Hello Heriberto.
Have you looked to see if they have in any online store? Sometimes, if they are not found in nurseries in the area, it is preferable to search the internet.
A greeting.