Teak (Tectona grandis)

Product description

Teak is a very durable tropical hardwood species from Southeast Asia. It is used for various applicatoins such as furniture, boats, house construction and woodsculpting. Because of the oils in its wood, it is water resistant and gives off a leathery smell just after cutting. The teak tree originates from the massoonforests in India and Myanmar, where it can grow up to 40 metres tall. In the dry period the tree loses all of its leaves to prevent evaporation, but when the rainy season comes the tree is full of beautiful and scented white inflorescense which are pollinated by bee species.  In Asia teak wood has been used for more than 2000 years and the oldest plantation is in India. Currently, Indonesia has the most plantations, but there are also multiple plantations in tropical Africa and America. Teak can be grown indoors in temperate environments or outdoors in tropical environments. Especially the large hairy leaves are noticible. These can all drop in the dry/winter period, during which less water should be given to the plant. The leaves grow back again in time, which demonstrates a nice metamorphosis.

Sowing description: Soak the seeds in warm water for a couple of days, and refresh the water a few times. Sow in sowing mix at 23-30 degrees Celcius and keep the soil moist. Germination should occur between a few weeks and a year. Naturally, these seeds have an unpredictable germination time and a low germinationrate(25-50%).