Form: Tree.

Lifespan: 4-40 years, depending on cultivar.

Leaf retention: Cold deciduous.

Growth rate: Rapid, usually 10' (3m) a year. This tree can grow 20' (6m) a year in favorable conditions.

Mature Size: 32-40' (9.75-12m) high.

Flowers: Small, yellow-white, sweetly fragrant, clustered. The flowers and buds are edible, but act as a diuretic in large amounts.

Bloom: Twice a year or more in non-freezing regions: late fall to early winter and late spring to early summer.

Self-fruitful: Yes.

Years before fruiting: This tree fruits in its first year. Flowers appear 8 months after planting.

Fruit: A very long, slender, ribbed pod containing round, edible seeds. The dried mature seeds are dark brown, round, with 3 white wings and are composed of 38-40% oil. For some cultivars, the fruit is bitter and inedible in later years, causing the plant to be grown as an annual.

Months for fruit to ripen: 2-4, depending on cultivar.

Storage after harvest: Store mature pods in a dry space.

Leaves: The green, oval leaflets are edible. The tree provides light to light-medium shade.

Stems: No thorns. New stems are slender and brittle, but become stronger in succeeding years. The trunk, with whitish-gray, corky bark, becomes more cold hardy with age.

Roots: The tree grows a large taproot. The thick roots are edible and are a substitute for horseradish. They are prone to root rot in waterlogged soil.

Wildlife: The flowers attract bees and butterflies. The seeds attract mammals.

Toxic / Danger: The bark is mildly poisonous to humans. Eating more than two dried seeds can induce a laxative effect.

Origin: Southern foothills of the Himalayas in northwest India. The plant has been in use more than 4000 years.

USDA hardiness zones: 9-10. Protect from freezes. The plant will regrow from its roots if well mulched. It may lose leaves below 40°F (4.44°C).

Chill hours: None.

Heat tolerant: Moringa needs extra water or afternoon shade above 90°F (32°C).

Drought tolerant: Yes.

Sun: Full sun.

Planting: Dig a hole 1-2' (0.3-0.6m) deep and as wide, where the mature Moringa tree should grow. Make sure it is well draining. Refill the hole with dirt and plant unsprouted seeds in the center, no deeper than 1/2" (1.3cm). Seed germination rate decreases with age and you may want to plant two or three seeds per hole.
Plant as soon as possible after the last frost in late winter or early spring so the roots will have time to become well established before the next winter freeze.
Young seedlings do not transplant well because their roots are fragile. If more than one seed sprouts in the same hole, cut the weaker ones off at ground level. Pulling a seedling out will damage the roots of the one remaining.
Seeds watered daily will often sprout in one week. Seedlings should be watered moderately, every day until the trunk becomes woody. The soil should be dry the next morning to prevent root rot. Yellow leaves on seedlings are a sign of insufficient water.
The young seedlings must be protected by 18" (46cm) high fencing so they will not be eaten by rabbits.
Moringa trees grown for food can be spaced 6' (1.8m) apart. As an ornamental screen they are spaced 12' (3.7m) apart.
The tree can be grown in a large pot and moved inside in the winter.

Soil: This tree is very tolerant of any well draining soil, but does better in sandy soil with moderate organic content. A soil pH of 6.3-7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral) is ideal, however, the tree can tolerate pH 5.6-8.5 (acidic to alkaline), but will experience nutrient deficiencies. If the soil is alkaline, the nutrient deficiencies will include iron, manganese, and boron.

Fertilize: Unnecessary because of rapid growth.

Water after becoming established: Deep water once or twice a month depending on temperature. This is a low water plant.

Mulch: Apply organic mulch, inside the drip line and 8" (21cm) away from the trunk, in late fall to protect roots from freezes.

First Year Care: To encourage the tree to grow rapidly, remove all fruit when very small in the first year. Growing fruit takes energy away from developing the trunk and branches.
When growing as an edible leaf source, pinch off the top leader branch when the sapling is 2' (60cm) tall. This will encourage side branching and produce more leaves within reach.
As an edible seedpod source, the tree is often pulled up at the end of the year and new seeds planted in the spring.

Prune: When used as an edible leaf source, cut the main trunk to a 3' (1m) stump every spring to keep the tree height under control for leaf harvesting. When used as an ornamental, do not prune until the first winter, then cut off all branches above head height to encourage branching and a wider tree form. After the last freeze in spring, cut off any dead wood.

Litter: Leaf and seedpod drop in fall.

Propagation: Seed, or rooted cuttings at least 3' (1m) long and 1.5" (3.8cm) in diameter. Refrigerating or freezing a seed will kill it.

Uses: A shade tree or food source. As a shade tree, it will attain a 40' (12m) height within four years with a trunk up to 1.5' (0.46m) in diameter.
Many parts of the plant are edible, especially the highly nutritious leaves. Used raw in salads, they taste similar to watercress or radicchio. Lightly cooked and added to chili, omelets, stew or soup, they taste like a nutty flavored spinach. While they contain oxalates, the oxalates are non-soluble, cannot contribute to kidney stones, and provide flavor without impairing health.
The leaves have seven times the Vitamin C of oranges, four times the vitamin A of carrots, three times the potassium of bananas, at least twice the calcium of milk and two times the protein of yogurt. Teas made from the flowers or leaves have medicinal uses.
In commercial cultivation, the trees are used to produce either leaves or seedpods, but not both.
Young small seedpods can be used raw in salads or cooked like green beans. Older green pods, with the outer stringy coat scraped off, need longer cooking and have an asparagus taste.
Pressing the seeds produces a non-drying, clear, odorless oil called Ben Oil, used for cooking and as a machine lubricant. The inedible seed cake remaining after oil extraction is used as a plant fertilizer.
Cuttings and branches are used as livestock feed.
The wood is too weak for construction but is good firewood. A blue dye can be made from the sap.

Other names are Miracle Tree, Horseradish Tree and Drumstick Tree.
Some cultivars are grown for their leaves, others for their oily seeds. Check the characteristics of the plant you will be purchasing.

---

Do you have additional information or a different experience for these plants that you would like to share? Email info@GardenOracle.com. All contributions are welcome and appreciated.