Never heard of Tamarind before? well, you've been missing out!. The Tamarind tree is known for its delicious fruit that resembles a bean pod. You peel the thin shell and the seeds are encased in a sweet, tangy pulp which is edible. You can eat it straight out of the pod, make candies out of it and drinks such as the popular Tamarind drink. The tree is very ornamental as well, It normally grows as a single-multi trunk with a dense top canopy. If you're into the exotic fruit tree growing, this is a must to add to your collection.
 
 Tamarind Growing Tips 
 
Best time to plant: Anytime night temperatures are at least 50F and expected to rise in the next month or so. This is going to be mid to late spring for most people. This tree will only grow during hot weather.
 
Sun: Full sun anywhere in the U.S. It doesn't grow well in the shade. 
 
Winter: Cold sensitive. Mature tree can handle a bit more cold but if your winter temperatures go down in the 20F's, this tree will die without protection.
 
Root system: Tap root system, reason why this tree is drought tolerant once fully rooted in ground.
 
Growth structure: Single to multi trunk  with a wide upper canopy. Mature tree can grow up to  20-25ft tall. Very fast growing tree. Once planted in ground, it can reach several feet in a single year.
 
Fruiting: Tamarind flowers late spring and fruits usually ripen late summer early fall depending on your local temperatures. Trees normally take a 2-4 years to start flowering from seed while vegetatively propagated trees take 2-3 years to start flowering. Tree must be fully grown for it to start flowering.
 
Pollination: Self pollinating, you only need one to produce fruit.
 
Watering: Shallow water first season in ground. As the tree gets older, deep water. Do let soil dry somewhat in between watering.  Very hard to over water as long as you verify drainage before planting in ground. Container watering: follow our 50-75% rule, that is wait until 50-75% of the container is dry to water. However long that takes, that is your "how often" to water this tree.
 
Fertilization: In containers, any slow release fertilizer will work. In ground, compost and mulch is all you will ever need. No special fertilizers needed. 
 
Container Grown: Due to its root system, this plant doesn't grow well in a container long term. Tree must be fully grown for it to flower. This will not happen in a container. For this reason, we recommend you to plant in the ground rather than growing it in a container.
 
Personal Growing Tip: Tamarind is a fast growing tree that takes full sun even here in the desert. The main problem we have encountered with this tree is its cold sensitivity. You may be able to cold protect it its first year in ground but its second year, the tree will be too big to protect.  Another solution to this is hard pruning before winter to be able to cold protect it. This tree in our experience can be more cold sensitive than a mango tree. Small trees may die at prolonged exposure to low 30F's.