How to Grow Tamarinds
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Tamarinds (Tamarindus indica) — Long-lived evergreen tree, bearing fruit from seven to ten years old.
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
2 sources cited
Quick Facts
Soil & Growing Conditions
Harvest & Storage
Tamarind through the season
Plan your Tamarinds planting
Timing for Tamarinds follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
What the research guides add
Tamarind is a large tropical tree. All three sources below agree that the frost is the limit, and they disagree about whether a pot is a sensible answer.
- A frost-tender, tropical, evergreen tree that can reach 65 feet with a spread of 50 feet, though it is often seen smaller. (UF/IFAS, Missouri Botanical Garden)
- Missouri Botanical Garden says it is winter hardy only in USDA zones 10 to 11, best grown in acidic, fertile, sandy, moist, well-drained soil in full sun; established trees have good drought tolerance. (Missouri Botanical Garden)
- California Rare Fruit Growers says young trees are very susceptible to frost, while mature trees withstand brief periods of 28°F without serious injury. (California Rare Fruit Growers)
- UF/IFAS notes tamarind has low salt tolerance, so it should not be planted close to the beach. (UF/IFAS)
- California Rare Fruit Growers also says the tree is too large to be grown in a container for any length of time, and that a tree in cool coastal San Diego County flowers but rarely sets fruit. (California Rare Fruit Growers)
Sources for this section
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Tamarindus indica: Tamarind (ENH776/ST618)
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Tamarindus indica (Plant Finder)
- California Rare Fruit Growers: Tamarind (Fruit Facts)
Section researched and checked on 24 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.
Last verified 2026-10-24
Growing Tamarind in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
These source is specific to this region. The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (University of Florida IFAS Extension, Useful Tropical Plants (tropical.theferns.info)) is in the references of our UK guide to tamarinds; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What soil pH do tamarinds need?
A pH of about 5.5–6.5. 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
This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.
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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 international horticultural research and extension sources. 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.
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Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.