Swietenia macrophylla

Cultivation Details

A plant of the wet tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,500 metres, but grows best below 600 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 11 - 39°c^[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 4,000mm, but tolerates 1,400 - 6,000mm^[1]. Young trees require at least light shade and are fairly tolerant to dense shade, but conditions for optimum growth of older trees call for full overhead light combined with side protection^{[2, 1]}. Grows best on well-drained, fertile sites with medium to heavy soils^{[2, 1]}. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.5, tolerating 6 - 8.5^[1]. The tree is reported to be very firm in the wind, and resistant to cyclones^[2]. The species has some weed potential and may invade native forest communities, especially following disturbance. It should not be planted in close proximity to areas of high nature conservation significance^[2]. Flowering and fruiting are distinctly seasonal. Fruit may be produced once a year, and trees start to produce fruit regularly when about 15 years old. Seeds have a thin, tail-like wing that makes them rotate when they fall; they are thus dispersed by wind as far as 500 metres from the parent tree^[2]. In natural stands it is beneficial to open the canopy over dense, young regeneration in which saplings are about 1.8 metres high^[2]. In plantation forestry, the tree has always been planted at 10 x 3 metres (333 stems/ha), because it requires large amounts of light. Plantations established at such wide spacing rarely need thinning unless selectively to remove diseased stems. The tree is self-pruning and further pruning is not necessary^[2]. When grown for timber, The tree has a rotation age of 30 - 35 years, with a final stocking rate of 150 - 250 stems/ha^[2]. This species hybridizes with S. macrophylla and S. Mahagoni. Hybridization has been confirmed by cytological studies^[2].