Just got two pods and want to grow some trees. It will be a challenge as I am in Northern MN.However, I have a bright warm room with the only expectation of the beauty and joy of growing the trees. nothing else.Any help would be appreciated.Thank you,Heidi
updated by @heidi-ash: 04/10/15 14:22:18

I'm interested in this too. I just got a cacao baby, about 6 inches high. I live in coastal California where it's probably marginally warm enough for it but definitely too dry.Since it came home yesterday, it drank all the water I put in its saucer twice. I've been spraying it too, and I gave it a little slow-release fertilizer.Any advice is welcome.

I've had a cacao plant growing in my house in Connecticut for about 3 years. I started it from seed. I had 2 plants originally, but one succumbed to low humidity in the house during the first winter. The surviving one is about 2 feet tall now. It does well in the summer outside (we have lots of humidity), but the rest of the year I really struggle to keep the humidity high enough for it. I also wait to put it outside until any danger of temperatures going below 50F at night has past. The best solution that I have found to keep the humidity up is to keep it in a clear plastic bag when it's in the house! The humidity is just way too low for it inside. When inside, the plant is in a south facing window. The plant barely grows over the winter (temperatures in the house are in the upper 60s F), but every summer it grows at least a couple of inches. I don't expect to ever get any pods, but it's a novelty.

Wow, it's a slow grower! But everything seems to grow faster in California; we'll see if this is an exception.Here's my little tree now. I figure it will enjoy the same filtered sunlight as the African violet and the orchid.

For those that are interested growing cacao from a seed, I will be posting a segment in the homebrew section in the next few days. I have not completed it yet, but I will post it soon.Cacao plants like water, but they don't like to stand in it. They also, do not like it too breezy and must be shielded from wind. The main thing is indicated by Chris, keep up the moisture and temperature level around the plant. Orchid growers will place their plants on a gravel bed with water in the rocks to keep the moisture around the plants at a higher level. This is nothing more then a shallow pan with pea gravel filled to the top and then adding some water to it. They will also place their plants in a bathroom to take advantage of the higher humidity.To learn how I germinate cacao and make it grow, please see the post in the Home Brew section. It is a reflection of my journey into growing cacao and what works for me. My plans are to have a step-by-step with photos to keep the process simple. Here are a couple of photos from the segment.Heidi, please PM for specific instructions. If you have pods, you cannot wait too long before you start the germination process, or you will have a very poor germination rate. If it is a fresh pod, the germination rate will be almost 100%.

Sadly, my trees are no more. I started with 60. It was a tough winter. Don't over feed the trees. I killed them when I switched to a very high nitrogen. Stay with liquid seaweed.

Hi,Here is a guide I put together to take some of the mystery out of growing cacao. It might help you with your trees.Jim

Thanks so much for this article, Jim. I was glad to see the slow-release fertilizer I gave my new tree was the right stuff - and I'll try not to be too disappointed if it doesn't grow. A colleague of Tom's at Cal Poly germinated a lot more, and I've asked for half a dozen or so.

My little plant has two new leaves!

I've discovered that it is happiest in the window above the kitchen sink where it can enjoy the steam from the sink and dishwasher. I have to move it out of the direct sun that comes through that window in the afternoon though, so it spends some time every day and sometimes all day with the orchids and African violets.I gave it a clay saucer full of pebbles to sit in. When I water it, the extra water drains out into the pebbles and slowly evaporates, adding more moisture to the air under the tree.

Whoohoo! Keep it warm and moist and it will keep you company for a long time...

My little tree now has three new leaves. They are all very delicate, a fresh brown, almost red color and translucent (!) though the older two are almost as big as their older siblings. So lovely:

Here are some pictures of my happy little tree at home:

Just my two cents worth on this. Remember that cacao grows in the humid high temperature tropics. 80% to 90% humidity, between 70F and 100f in temperatures at all times. If the temperature goes below 60F (roughly) the trees will die. They love water but don't like their roots standing in water - good drainage is optimal. A greenhouse is best. Most North American conservatories (Bronx, Brooklyn, Chicago and many others) have cacao trees that flower and produce pods! It is true that in some areas where cacao grows there is a dry season, but there is always water available. 30% shade is good but don't go below 10% otherwise the cacao leaves will get burned.I tried to grow cacao from seedlings that I bought from a place in FL, but without a greenhouse and in the climate I live in they did very poorly and almost died due to the lack humidity (no matter what I did) and to the cold in winter. I gave them to someone with a greenhouse who grows orchids. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Good luck!

Hi Heidi,May I know where to get the pods from?Many thanks!Carolyn

I have grown cacao plants indoors and they can adapt to low humidity just fine. I have produced pods in the elevator lobby outside my office! Check out the attached pdf with instructions how to grow a cacao plant indoors, complete with pictures of our elevator plant complete with pods. Sorry the pics are a little fuzzy had to reduce them to make the file size small.Enjoy!

That's great Mark! Many thanks!!Would you be able to advice where I can find the pods to grow them? If you can point to me any websites or can you sell me a couple? :)

No sorry I do not have a source of seeds but have seen them online from time to time. Problem is, they have no dormancy, so its pretty difficult. They are restricted for importation into the US so to do it legally you need a phytosanitary permit from the country of origin and an import permit you can get from USDA APHIS.

Hi Jim, thanks for this - great info. M

If you want to grow a cacao tree in a non-tropical environment, the simplest way to go about it is to keep the potted plant in the bathroom, preferably at the far end of the bathtub, so it absorbs humidity and dampness from a hot shower. The bathroom is also the ideal place (or a steam room, really) if you want to grow vanilla orchids as well. We have more than 20,000 cacao trees growing in the Yucatan, by the way. Louis

but you won't get pods because you need an insect to pollinate.

Greencow, thank you so much for that PDF. I hope to utilize this information in Puerto Rico this March.

updated by @steven-j: 06/16/15 17:20:58