Indian Gooseberry – Emblica

Plant Bio

Amla is used in traditional Indian subcontinent recipes, in various cuisines and Ayurveda for its medicinal values. All parts of Amla tree are useful, its leaves, roots, fruits, seeds, bark, and flowers are used to prepare a variety of items like juice, chutney, jam, infusions, lotions, concentrates, herbal teas and other natural concoctions.

It is a wild deciduous tree that can grow up to 20 m tall. The Indian gooseberry tree has smooth, gray-brown bark. The leaves are like a tamarind tree or a fern-like, oblong but narrow, up to 2 cm and flowers are inconspicuous as they are green in color. The flowers are bisexual and appear in clusters. Fruits are smaller in size with a diameter up to 3 cm, in greenish-yellow color that changes into orange-brown after maturity. The flesh is tart, juicy, and crisp and contains 1 or 2 small seeds.

Watering
Regular and abundant watering is essential at the young age. Once the tree gets established, it doesn’t require regular and frequent watering. However, you can water the plant during the period of active growth or in a drought like conditions in summer. Watering 2-3 times in a month in summer is sufficient for a mature tree. In any case, water stagnation must be avoided.

Temperature
Amla tree is tough and resistant to exploits of climate. It bears mild snowfall during winter months in the forest of Western Himalayas and tolerates extreme heat and dry atmosphere in tropical India. It is sensitive to prolonged freezing temperatures and grows best when it is not exposed to frost.

Fertilizing
Since you are growing it for yourself, our recommendation is to use only natural fertilizers. Application of aged manure is sufficient for this tree. Although, if the tree is producing poorly you can fertilize it with fruit fertilizer according to the product’s instructions.