How to plant teak

Plant teak at the start of the rains, in full sun, on deep soil that drains well, and protect it from cattle and fire for the first few years. It is a strong light-lover: ICRAF says it grows best in 75–100% of full sunlight, so do not plant it under other trees.

When to plant

The planting months below are a guide; plant when the rains have properly wetted the soil in your district.

• Central India, the Deccan, southern Rajasthan and the northern plains: July or August, with the monsoon.
• Kerala and the west coast: Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) advises planting stumps with the pre-monsoon showers in April–May, four to six weeks before the monsoon, and polybag or root-trainer seedlings in June–July after the south-west monsoon arrives.
• Tamil Nadu and the south: the TNAU forestry portal says pre-monsoon planting has high success; elsewhere in the south, June–July with the first good rains is our guide.
• The east and the north-east: June or July, once the rains have settled (our guide).

Avoid the hot, dry months before the rains unless you can water the plant, and in the north avoid late planting that meets cold nights before the plant has rooted (practical guidance).

Choosing planting material

Foresters mostly plant stumps: a one-year-old nursery seedling, trimmed to a short stem and a straight taproot. Vikaspedia gives stumps with a 4–6 cm shoot and a 15–20 cm root, KAU gives 2–3 cm of stem and 15–20 cm of root, and the TNAU portal gives a 22–23 cm taproot; treat all of these as rough guides. Stumps go into a crowbar hole. For a single tree in a garden or school ground, a polybag or root-trainer sapling from the forest department or a nursery you trust is simpler, because it keeps its soil around the roots.

Pit, spacing and protection

• Pit: for a polybag sapling, Vikaspedia gives pits of 45 × 45 × 45 cm and KAU 30 × 30 × 30 cm; take 45 cm each way as our rule of thumb. Refill with the dug soil mixed with well-rotted farmyard manure, plant at the depth the sapling stood in its bag and shape a shallow basin, but do not let water stand around the stem.
• Spacing in plantations: ICRAF and KAU give 2 × 2 m for a block plantation, and Vikaspedia gives 2 × 2, 3 × 3 or 3 × 4 m; these trees are thinned out later. On a farm boundary, KAU suggests planting about 1 m apart in a row and thinning later.
• A single tree: about 6 m of clear space all round is our rough starting point. ICRAF notes that teak roots are shallow, often within about 50 cm of the surface, but can spread up to about 15 m sideways. This is only a rough starting point, not a safe distance from a house, wall, pipe, septic tank or power line; ask your local forest or horticulture office if space is tight.
• Guard and fire: ICRAF says plantations must be protected from grazing animals and from fire. Put up a sturdy tree guard and clear dry grass around the plant before the hot season (practical guidance).

First-year watering (rough starting point)

Water according to the soil, not the calendar. Check the soil a few centimetres down near the roots, water deeply when the root zone is drying, skip watering after rain, and never let water stand at the stem. The intervals below are a rough starting point, not trial results; sandy soil dries faster than heavy soil.

• Monsoon: usually no watering; only in a long dry break.
• After the monsoon and in winter: about every 2–3 weeks if the soil is dry.
• Hot, dry months: about once a week, more often in a heatwave, less if the soil is still moist.