Also, one neat thing to note that that link mentions: PKM1 can be grown as an annual. (Maybe only in a long growing season?) That’s the most common moringa variety for commercial seed production. So if you’re picking up random moringa seeds from somewhere cheap, they’re probably PKM1.
In other words, why not use any old moringa seeds you have on hand in order to give them a try in your climate? You can definitely buy special seeds, but you may not need to in order to have something worth trying.
PKM2 is an improved form of PKM1, it should be even faster growing and flowering. They would both be good annual options for shorter growing seasons.
I think the issue is still that they want the heat and so may perform differently in a cooler climate.
I would assume bottle types would not be able to handle freezing temps due to the storage of water inside the trunk. Seems like that would result in potential bursting and more likely rot.
Yeah, that makes sense. Moringa oleifera “melts” (David the Good’s word) immediately upon being hit by a light frost, so my suspicion has always been that Moringa stenopetala will do the same thing. For me, it’ll need to be either an annual or a dieback perennial, and I wouldn’t mind both!
That’s why I am very hopeful for any potential crosses with Moringa concanescens.
It is more “woody” with thick bark which I believe could help with the above ground cold hardiness.
That does sound like an interesting idea! Moringa concanensis is stated to be a zone 9 plant here:
I don’t know if that’s accurate. It seems to be kinda common for plants that are actually zone 10a (they can’t handle anything below 32 degrees) to be referred to as zone 9. But if it actually is a zone 9 plant, it may be a 9b one – able to handle light frosts until the temperature this 28 degrees, which is a hard freeze. That seems entirely possible, and it would be a big step in the right direction.
Now, if it’s actually a species that can be hardy to 9a, that would be amazing. That would mean it could handle somewhere between 20-25 degrees, which would imply it would be possible to gradually breed it to accept colder temperatures.
With full tropicals, I think the greatest difficulties are usually the 32 degree and the 28 degree barriers. If the species doesn’t have any way to cope with freezing at all in its genes, it’s pretty tough to teach it to start. But if you can find even one tree that can handle going lower than that, you have an awesome parent available.
Have you bought seeds of the species yet? If so, where did you buy them?
I’m hoping they are hardier than the information available describes. They seem to be kinda rare and have probably not had a lot of testing of their cold hardiness. We will see.
It’s funny, I just took pics of the first little sprouts earlier. I’m going to post them on my cold hardy moringa thread.
I wasn’t sure how the seeds would do after the weeks of solid rain we just went through!
Cool! Thank you for posting it! That seems like a great deal for such a rare species.
One of my Moringa stenopetala seeds has sprouted! It looks happy so far, while the blueberries and strawberries around it are whining for water. (Meaning their leaves have gone crispy, and a few look dead.) The grape vines and Jerusalem artichokes in the same bed also seem happy. The lima beans that have sprouted successfully seem happy, too. (And the bindweed is ecstatic about a space that gets a lot of mulch and a teensy bit of water. Unfortunately. ) It’s very obvious which species are drought tolerant!
I’m definitely seeing strong evidence that anything that isn’t drought tolerant needs to be an understory crop in my yard. So I clearly need to plant more drought tolerant fruit trees everywhere. Twist my arm!
One of the things I find exciting about moringa is that it works as a drought tolerant vegetable tree, and it seems to me there is a ton of overstory potential in that.
It is not! Not at all! I have very, very alkaline soil. Ridiculous quantities of calcium in it. Blueberries hate it.
However, I prepared the bed for them with a deep mulch of a foot of wood chips, on the theory that lots of potassium acidifies calciferous soil. That worked great in spring, when the temperatures were warm but not hot, and there was a little rain every other day. The blueberries flowered and set lots of fruit.
Then came the summer sun two weeks ago, and . . . well, their unripe fruits are all shriveled, and so are some of their leaves. I’m hoping they’ll survive until they go dormant in winter, so I can transplant them elsewhere.
This seems to be my year of learning thoroughly that all the less-drought-tolerant species want shade in my yard, no matter what they’re supposed to want. The several dozen peach seedlings I have growing from pits are the biggest and happiest in the shade, too.
Depending on how well moringa grow for me, I may be able to use it as a partial canopy layer that never completely closes. That could be very valuable for me.
Yeah Moringa makes a really nice filtered shade and can always be trimmed to adjust for what you need. Seems perfect for that.
Have you ever grown Honey Berries? They don’t need the acid soil but they would still need the shade. I had two plants for a few years but eventually lost them when we had a bad drought year.
I bought three honeyberry bushes a few months ago, and put them in between my peach trees, on the north side of my Jerusalem artichokes! I figure the sunchokes should be a good choice of filtered shade for small trees and young bushes.
You can definitely buy special seeds, but you may not need to in order to have something worth trying.
It looks happy so far, while the blueberries and strawberries around it are whining for water. (Meaning their leaves have gone crispy, and a few look dead.) The grape vines and Jerusalem artichokes in the same bed also seem happy. The lima beans that have sprouted successfully seem happy, too. (And the bindweed is ecstatic about a space that gets a lot of mulch and a teensy bit of water. Unfortunately. 
) It’s very obvious which species are drought tolerant!