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Sagwan (Teak) Tree (Tectona grandis): Where It Grows in India and How to Plant It

Tectona grandis

Sagwan or teak (सागवान, सागौन) is Tectona grandis, India's best-known timber tree, native to the forests of the peninsula and central India and reaching into southern Rajasthan. How to plant it and when, how to recognise it, how fast it grows, care for the first three years, and what to watch out for.

  • Published on October 22, 2026
  • GreenEye Team

Planting methods

SaplingPrimary method

Spacing: A single tree: about 6 m clear all round is our rough starting point, not a safe distance from buildings or services; 2 x 2 m in block plantations (ICRAF), thinned later · Depth: Pit about 45 x 45 x 45 cm (rule of thumb; Vikaspedia 45 cm, KAU 30 cm); plant at nursery-bag level

Planting steps, drawn: Sapling

  1. Dig a pit

  2. Mix compost into the dug-out soil

  3. Set the plant at its nursery soil level

  4. Firm the soil and shape a watering basin

  5. Water it well

Cutting

Spacing: Plantation spacing as a rule of thumb: 2 x 2 m (ICRAF, KAU), 3 x 3 or 3 x 4 m (Vikaspedia) · Depth: Root-shoot stump from a 1-year seedling: about 2-6 cm shoot and 15-20 cm root (KAU, Vikaspedia; rough guide), set in a crowbar hole

Planting steps, drawn: Cutting

  1. Take a healthy cutting

  2. Plant it in a moist rooting mix

  3. Keep it moist until roots form

  4. Transplant the rooted cutting

Seed

Spacing: Nursery beds, as a rough guide · Depth: Sown in raised nursery beds in April-May (KAU); seedlings kept about a year before stumps are made

Planting steps, drawn: Seed

  1. Pick fresh, healthy seed and prepare it

  2. Sow at a shallow, even depth

  3. Cover lightly and keep the soil moist

  4. Transplant the seedling once it is sturdy

Sources: ICRAF Agroforestree Database 4.0: Orwa C. et al. (2009). Tectona grandis; TNAU Agritech Portal (Forestry): Teak (Tectona grandis); Vikaspedia (Govt of India): Teak, tree crops (stump size, pit 45 x 45 x 45 cm, spacing 2x2 / 3x3 / 3x4 m; page is JavaScript-rendered, figures read from search extracts); Kerala Agricultural University, Centre for e-Learning: Teak planting (stumps April-May, containers June-July, pit 30 cm, 2 x 2 m, boundary 1 m); Kerala Agricultural University, Centre for e-Learning: Teak nursery practices (stumps from 1-year seedlings, 15-20 cm root, 2-3 cm stem)

This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.

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