Chinaberry {Melia azedarach} Sacred Tree | Fast Growing 85% Germination | Showy Blooms | Heat & Drought Resist | Medicinal | 10 Seeds Free US Shipping!

A fast-growing tree, with a rounded crown that reaches about 50 ft tall 

with a 20 ft spread. In spring and early summer, Chinaberry produces 

masses of lavender, very fragrant, star shaped flowers, each about 3/4" 

in diameter, that arch or droop in 8" panicles. They are followed by 

clusters of spherical, yellow fruits that are about 3/4". Chinaberry is 

planted widely in warm climates as an ornamental and shade tree. Grows 

well in partial shade to full sun and can tolerate drought. Grows in 

USDA zones 7-10 and can handle light frost. All parts of Chinaberry 

tree are poisonous so just be careful.

Seed - it has a short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe. 

The seedcoat is hard and acts as a barrier to the uptake of moisture 

carefully making a nick in this seedcoat, being careful not to damage 

the seed, can speed up the germination process. The seed usually germinates 

well, 85% germination may be expected in 2 months. When they are large 

enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow 

them on until large enough to plant out. Root cuttings.

The shiny, hard seeds are used as beads and for rosaries. Extracts from 

the bark and fruit have pharmacological properties and are used in China 

to kill parasitic roundworms.

GERMINATION  RECOMMENDATIONS

GERMINATION 85%                       

These seeds may need a further period of stratification to break their 

dormancy. Soak for 24 hours then place them in a sealed freezer bag in 

the fridge keeping them moist for a week or two. The seeds can then be 

sown and should germinate normally in a safe, bright, cold place outdoors, 

but can take up to 6 months or even longer so do not discard the seed pot. 

Alternatively sow the seed in a moist seed tray and leave outside over the 

winter to allow for natural stratification to occur.

Melia azederach is a fast-growing, deciduous tree that can reach a height of 

around 45 meters in closed, moist forests, though it is much smaller in the 

cooler and drier regions in which it is sometimes grown and where is much 

more likely to be just 10 - 15 meters tall. The straight, cylindrical bole 

can be free of branches for up to 20 meters, with no buttresses. The tree is 

generally deciduous, but some forms in the humid tropics are evergreen.

A very important tree for local people, providing a wide range of medicinal 

applications; an insecticide and repellent; a useful timber and many other 

commodities. It is often cultivated in many parts of the tropics for these 

many useful qualities It is planted for re-reforestation in its native areas, 

where it is a fast growing though short-lived species. It is often planted as 

a street tree and ornamental.

Melia azadarach is a tree of the subtropical climatic zone, though it is a 

highly adaptable plant that can tolerate a wide range of conditions from warm 

temperate with some frost, right through to the humid tropics. It is grown at 

elevations up to 1,800 meters in the tropics. It can tolerate a mean maximum 

temperature in the hottest month of 39°c, with temperatures sometimes falling 

below freezing for short periods in the cool season. In general, trees will be 

killed by temperatures falling lower than about -5°c. It can succeed with an 

annual rainfall as low as 600mm, competing best in areas that receive less than 

900mm. Prefers a well-drained soil in a sunny or partially shaded position. 

Succeeds in most well-drained soils and in hot dry conditions. 

Likes sandy soils. Tolerant of quite poor growing conditions, including shallow 

soils, saline and strongly alkaline soils, poor, marginal, sloping, and stony 

land, even in crevices in sheer rock. It does not like very acid soils. Grows well 

in mild coastal areas. Established plants are very drought tolerant.

Trees can commence flowering when only 5 - 6 years old from seed. In the warmer, 

non-seasonal areas it can flower and fruit all year round.

Trees are fast-growing, but can be quite short-lived, often dying by the time 

they are 20 years old.

The flowers are produced on the current years wood and have a delicate sweet perfume

The trees do not normally require pruning

The seeds have a strong scent of musk and the wood is also musk-scented

Trees are very susceptible to forest fire, though they sprout back readily from the roots

Plants do not coppice well from large stumps, but excellent coppice is obtained from trees 

up to a girth of 0.9 m. The tree resprouts after cutting and regrows after pollarding, 

making it suitable for pole production.

Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.