Skip

Last edited by shiny on 10 Nov 2026. View history

Neem

Azadirachta indica
Also known as Indian lilac (EN) mahogany (EN) azadira d'Inde (EN) nim (EN) Indischer Zedrach (EN) niem (EN) margosa (EN) nimb (EN) arishta (EN) limba (EN) nimmi (EN) limbo (EN) vepa (EN) arulundi (EN) bevinamara (EN) indu lian shu (EN) cha do (EN) veppa (EN) thin (EN) baypay (EN) sadao India (EN) mindi maranngo (EN) sdao (EN) azad darakhul-hind (EN) nib (EN) mwarubaini (EN)
0
plantings
0
harvests
0
seed packets
Growstuff is a free, community-run site for people who grow food. Keep track of what you plant and harvest, find seeds to swap, and see what is growing near you. Join to record your own neems.

Neem facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less
Optimal temperature 26–40 °C
Absolute temperature 14–46 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall 450–1200 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 200–2000 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH 5.5–7
Absolute soil pH 5–7.5
FAO EcoCrop

Crop cycle

150–210 days
FAO EcoCrop

Max altitude

1500 m
FAO EcoCrop

Optimal light

very bright to clear skies
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?

A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.

Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.

For neem, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 14°C and a shortest growing cycle of 150 days at its best temperature, about 2850 growing degree days to a first harvest.

Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your neem will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.

Photos

Neem plantings

Neem
Neem
by cropbot

Neem harvests

Neem
Neem
by cropbot

What people are saying about neems

Nobody has posted about neems yet.

Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing neems.
Image of neem

Who's planted neems

Nobody has planted this crop yet.

Sign in or sign up to track your neem plantings.

Neem harvests

Nobody has harvested this crop yet.

Sign in or sign up to track your neem harvests.

Find neem seeds

There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.

Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Azadirachta indica Adr. Juss.

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Rosidae
Sapindales
Meliaceae
Life form tree
Life span perennial
Habit erect
Optimal soil depth deep (>>150 cm)
Optimal soil texture heavy, medium, light
Optimal soil fertility low
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours)

Learn more about neems

Resources outside Growstuff.