How to Grow African Locust Beans USA

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa)
  2. Quick Facts
  3. Soil & Growing Conditions
  4. Harvest & Storage
  5. African locust bean through the season
  6. Plan your African Locust Beans planting
  7. What the research guides add
  8. African locust bean in the USA: climate data
  9. Growing African Locust Bean in another region
  10. Sources
  11. Frequently Asked Questions

African locust beans (Parkia biglobosa) — Long-lived savanna tree.

African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa)

A bowl heaped with fermented African locust bean seeds. Photo: Imoini22, CC BY-SA 4.0

2 sources cited

Quick Facts

A crimson African locust bean flower head against the sky — “Atakora-Parkia biglobosa (5)” by Ji-Elle is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Atakora-Parkia biglobosa (5)” by Ji-Elle is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil pH 4.5 - 5.5
Soil texture Deep, well-drained fertile soils; also shallow lateritic soils, stony slopes and rocky hills
Drainage Well-drained
Lifecycle Long-lived savanna tree; first flowering at five to seven years.

Soil & Growing Conditions

African locust bean trees standing in open savanna farmland — “Atakora-Parkia biglobosa” by Ji-Elle is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Atakora-Parkia biglobosa” by Ji-Elle is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Water: Low; 500-800 mm in the Sahel, tolerating far higher, with a 5-7 month dry season

Soil pH range

4.5 5.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Harvest & Storage

An African locust bean tree carrying long pods — “Atakora-Parkia biglobosa (2)” by Ji-Elle is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Atakora-Parkia biglobosa (2)” by Ji-Elle is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: A savanna tree that starts flowering at 5-7 years while still comparatively small. Pods are 12-35 cm with 5-23 seeds; the seed is fermented into the condiment known as dawadawa, iru or soumbala.

Plan your African Locust Beans planting

When to sow and plant African Locust Beans depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

What the research guides add

An African locust bean tree (néré) in savanna in Burkina Faso
An African locust bean tree (néré) in savanna in Burkina Faso. Photo: “Parkia biglobosa Burkina” by Vitellaria, CC BY-SA 2.0 de.

This is a savanna tree, not a garden bean, and the World Agroforestry profile lists the limits it grows within.

  • It occurs from tropical forests with high rainfall to arid zones where mean annual rainfall may be under 400 mm. Biophysical limits are altitude 0 to 300 m, rainfall 400 to 700 mm and mean annual temperature 24 to 28°C. (World Agroforestry (ICRAF))
  • It prefers well-drained, deep, cultivated soils but is also found on shallow, skeletal soils and thick laterites; it is a fire-resistant heliophyte (a sun-loving plant). (World Agroforestry (ICRAF))
  • Pods are about 45 cm long and may hold up to 30 seeds. The seeds are fermented to make dawadawa, a strong-smelling, high-protein food. (World Agroforestry (ICRAF))

African locust bean in the USA: climate data

City USDA zone Last spring freeze (32°F) First fall freeze (32°F) Freeze-free days
Bismarck, ND 4a 14 May 27 Sep 136
Madison, WI 5b 1 May 10 Oct 160
Milwaukee, WI 6a 19 Apr 29 Oct 192
Atlanta, GA 8a 15 Mar 20 Nov 252
Orlando, FL 10a 25 Jan winter freezes only 355
San Diego, CA 11a none in a median year none in a median year 365

Dates are the median 32°F freeze dates and freeze-free days from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; zones come from the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map (ZIP code of each city centre).

Sources for this section

Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.

Last verified 2026-10-25

Growing African Locust Bean in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA), Useful Tropical Plants (tropical.theferns.info)) is in the references of our UK guide to african locust beans; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What soil pH do african locust beans need?

A pH of about 4.5–5.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

Plan next season before the problems start

Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.

Get the USA Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for US growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides USA

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