My 3 yr old from seed just bloomed as well. Really cool flowers. Like tiny orchids. How old is your plant? I brought the seeds back from Thailand.

How beautiful! My Tamarind is also in bloom, but it blooms inside the canopy, nearer the trunk, not on the branch tips like yours. I love the flowers and foliage, and am hoping for pods this year. My tree is about 12' tall. The sweet Tamarind pods make a terrific, cooling drink. Just peel the pod and drop in a gallon of water. Refrigerate, and enjoy!
Yummy!

Lisa

Yeah I was quite surprise by the blooms too Jay. They are very orchid looking. The plant is about 3-4 years old I think. What kind of fruits were they? Sweet/Sour? They sell those boxed up dried fruits in the stores and the seeds are viable.

12'ft Lisa! Nice. I've never tried that drink before. I will give it a try. Thanks for the recipe. I also like that the leaves are sour!

My best Tamarind tree

Nice tree Maureen! I noticed it has multiple trunks, is this normal with tamarind?

Eggo
That's quite normal.

I haven´t also seen a multitrunked tamarind ever!!!!!. That´s quite singular. Looks like a pomegranate.

I remember many years ago my granny´s 12m tall tamarind fruit (tasteless fruit by the way) tree was torn down because a tropical hurricane and it never sent any suckers (it was laying on the ground and still growing, slower though); it was chopped until recently (12 years later) and not a single bud it grew from that low.

Eggo
Look closely at the pic you'll see the tamarind pods on the tree. My Tamarind has been producing very sweet tamarinds

At what age/size do Tamarinds begin to produce pods? Mine has flowered twice, but no pods. I've been forced to buy them(G).

I looked on EDIS, but didn't find any mention of age of production.

Lisa

Lisa

Most Tamarind trees start to produce pods at about 6 yrs

thanks Maureen. Still a bit hard for me to see the pods though. =)
My tree bloom at about 3-4 yrs. I think Jay is at 3yrs. It looks like a few my blooms may be holding a fruitlet now.

Hello, everyone. I have a baby tamarind tree (6 months old, about a foot tall) and I'm horridly jealous that you all can plant your trees outside!

So, this question I guess is mainly for Ohiojay, who I'm assuming has an indoor tree (is that true?). I wanted to know whether it likes tight roots or lots of room, and how much light it would like. I know you can approximate India better than I can, with your humidity, and I've been keeping it misted.

Also, can anyone tell me when we might expect this little guy to branch? Its quite sturdy, but is intent on getting straight up.

Any hints you all can pass on about indoor growing would be great. We started two of these trees, and they sprouted the same week our Indian friends' baby was born. When we were sure they'd live we gave our friends a tamarind (which grows in their home province) that's the same age as their baby. So, I want to be able to help them keep theirs alive indoors too.

Thanks so much!

Congrats on the seedlings. As you've noticed by now, the tamarind is a very beautiful plant. I brought just 3 seeds back from Thailand in the spring of 2004 and all three germinated. I gave one away and kept two. They were among the many other plants I had going in a spare bedroom with a large metal halide grow light. They did fine and grew well and up! I would prune now and again to keep them manageable. I later passed on a second tree keeping only one. It now has a trunk diameter of over two inches and bloomed this spring. During the winter months while in the house, they would drop a LOT of leaves making quite a mess in the room. This would be followed by new growth. But they were always droping leaves. Once outside in the spring, they filled back in. It was very hot in the room and also quite dry and this probably contributed to the leaf drop.

On the flip side of things. The tree in the picture below is from the coworker who took my first seedling three years ago. He too would bring the plant in during the winter but did not have the grow lights. He also kept the plant in a smaller container and I imagine the plant is quite root-bound by now. I'm not sure if he went with my suggestion to root prune the plant so he could keep it in the smaller container. The plant is at most two feet in height but has a nice looking canopy. It is staying a nice size for someone needing to drag the plant in and out each year.
{{gwi:1316927}}

I've tried to talk him into contacting a bonsai specialist and having the specialist work on his plant. If you do a Google search on "bonsai +tamarind", you'll see tons of sites come up with these trees as bonsai. They make beautiful specimens. There's some pics out there that will knock yer socks off! The pic below is one of my favorite pics of a tamarind bonsai. Looks like a mini forest.

{{gwi:1316928}}

Wow, Ohiojay, those pictures are great. Thank you so much for all the information; I will be reading up on root pruning, now. Also, I'm sure someone around here can talk to me about bonsai, if we decide to go that route.

We were really not expecting to get sprouts, and now when anyone of an Indian persuasion comes over, they enjoy telling us how enormous the tree is capable of getting, and how many holes will need to be cut in the ceiling! So we'd been getting a little anxious about its eventual needs.

Again, I'm very appreciative of your help.

Best, Lara

New to these forums.. Actually new to growing anything.. My mom planted a tamarind seedling we got from vacationing in the Philippines and I feel in love with it. Its about a foot tall.. soft wood tamarind. Since fall season gets pretty cold in the desert I take it inside every night by a cracked window.
I recently re-potted it in a deeper pot because it was growing in a small plastic container, but with citrus gardening soil? I noticed this morning that it said not for potting? Will this kill my tamarind? It seems to be doing a lot better in its new home though. Also.. Do I need any root aide for it since I re-potted it?

Hopefully I can get some pictures of it soon to show you all..

HI everyone! I am hoping someone can help me out..I have a 2 year old Tamarind- well actually 2 as I planted them together by accident- and the leaves on one have started to turn a bit yellow. I am worried this means something bad and I cannot find any info online. PLease help!

Nicole

my failed bonsai tamarind is now 5 years old, but no blooms. what could be the reason?

Nicole:

Not sure where you are growing, but my tamarind tends to lose its leaves, after yellowing, during the dry period leading up to our winter here in South Florida. I am not sure if it is a hydration issue, a temperature issue or both.....but it occurs every year around November or December.

Harry

Nicole...I agree with Harry. When I was growing mine in a container, if I got behind on the watering, leaves would quickly turn yellow and drop. Very unforgiving in this. So if you are growing in a container, keep the plant well watered. The roots will get very dense and it will be difficult for water to penetrate.

Not sure on the blooming issue. Blooming at 3 yrs is not a given. The plant may need some stressing.

growing up close to a tamarind tree in india, i know that they shed lot of leaves during cold months.

Eggo how did you grow your tamarind? I tried to grow some from the fruits you get in a box at the Asian grocery market but every time I plant the seeds it rotted on me. My soil was not wet jut moist and I put it in a sunny window.

can this plant fruit in a indoor enviroment

Hello!
I have a tamarind that is about 6 months now. I’m just wondering how often I should be watering. It’s growing like crazy, but every once in a while the leaves will Yellow and fall off.
Also, in the winter all of it’s leaves dried and fell off overnight, not coming back until early spring. Is this normal?

Looks perfect. They are not evergreen. They like a dormant period.

Tamarinds are normally evergreen but under stress from dry conditions they will lose some leaves. If under moist conditions yours is losing all its leaves it must be getting too cold. You also need to make sure it has good drainage and isn't over watered. Generally though, they're fairly easy to grow.