Germination temperature
Warm tropical conditions; the tree drops its leaves when night temperatures fall below 15 °C (59 °F).
Tree growing guide
Gliricidia is a fast, nitrogen-fixing tropical tree used for live fences, green manure, fodder and shade for crops such as coffee and pepper. Its fresh seed germinates readily; this guide covers the simple pre-soak, sowing depth and the frost and cold limits that matter outside the tropics.
Warm tropical conditions; the tree drops its leaves when night temperatures fall below 15 °C (59 °F).
2 cm (0.8 in) in nursery beds or in the field.
Prompt in warm, moist soil; fresh seed gives about 90% or more.
No light needed to germinate; seedlings need full sun.
Not essential; an optional hot-water dip and 12-hour soak is used in East African nurseries.
Both: nursery seedlings, direct sowing at the site, or large cuttings for live fences.
Gliricidia seed is fairly large, about 7,000-10,000 seeds per kg. Use fresh seed where possible: germination of 90% is reported for fresh seed, and ICRAF advises that the seed does not store for long.
Not needed. Tropical Forages states that scarification is unnecessary and that germination rates above 90% are typical. Nicking the coat is only worth trying on old seed that fails to swell after soaking.
Not needed. This is a lowland tropical tree with no cold requirement; cold actually harms it.
Optional. ICRAF's Kenya tree guide recommends putting the seed into hot water, letting it cool, and leaving it to soak for 12 hours before sowing. A plain overnight soak in water at room temperature is a gentler alternative for fresh seed.
Sow in warm weather. Across its native range the mean annual temperature is 21-29 °C (70-84 °F), and leaves fall when nights drop below 15 °C (59 °F), so sow in the hot or rainy season in India and only in warm conditions elsewhere.
2 cm (0.8 in) deep, the depth recommended by Tropical Forages for both nursery beds and field sowing.
Any free-draining soil or nursery mix. The tree grows on soils from pure sand to deep alluvium, usually acidic (about pH 4.5-6.2), but does not like very acidic soil.
Keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings are up. Avoid waterlogging.
Not required for germination. Grow seedlings in full sun.
Fresh seed germinates promptly in warm, moist soil. Old seed is slower and less reliable, so sow a few extra.
Plant nursery seedlings out at the start of the rains. Direct sowing at the planting site also works well for hedgerows and alley cropping.
Growth is very fast: seedlings can reach about 3 m (10 ft) and flower within 6-8 months. Protect young plants from livestock, which easily kill seedlings, and begin cutting or lopping once the stem is well established.
Cause: the seed loses viability faster than many legume seeds when kept warm and humid. Fix: sow soon after purchase, store any remainder dry and cool in an airtight jar, and soak before sowing.
Cause: cold nights below about 15 °C (59 °F); gliricidia has poor cold and frost tolerance. Fix: sow and plant in the warm season; in cooler areas grow it in a pot that can be moved under shelter.
Cause: livestock browse young plants and seedlings die easily. Fix: fence nursery beds and young hedgerows until the stems are woody.
Cause: aphids (Aphis craccivora), mealybugs and scale insects occasionally attack gliricidia. Fix: wash off small colonies and let natural enemies work; serious damage is rare.
Cause: fungal leaf spots and dieback fungi mostly affect poorly growing trees. Fix: keep trees vigorous with good drainage and regular cutting.
For live fences, large cuttings are the usual choice and root easily; seed is best for raising many uniform seedlings for hedgerows, alley cropping and shade.
Gliricidia coppices and pollards well. Regular cutting gives leafy green manure and fodder and keeps hedges dense.
Ruminants eat fresh or wilted leaves without problems, but the foliage may be toxic to rabbits and poultry at high rates, and fermented leaves or bark are used as a rat poison in Central America.
Ripe pods burst and can throw seed up to 25 m (80 ft). Gliricidia is recorded as a severe weed in Jamaica but not elsewhere, partly because seed set is often limited outside its native range. Remove unwanted seedlings near natural areas.
Sow gliricidia in the warm season for a fast live fence, green manure and shade tree.
Not usually. Fresh seed typically germinates above 90% without scarification. An optional hot-water dip followed by a 12-hour soak, as used in Kenyan nurseries, can help with older seed.
Not botanically. The tree widely planted in India and across the tropics is Gliricidia sepium, though the name maculata is sometimes applied to it. Kew's Plants of the World Online treats Gliricidia maculata as a separate species native only to south-eastern Mexico and Guatemala.
Only in a warm, frost-free spot or in a container. Leaves fall when nights drop below 15 °C (59 °F) and the tree has poor frost tolerance.