What is it about cocoa plants that they can only be grown in Central/South America and not in the US?
2006-07-07 16:28:00 · 6 answers · asked by alexander2744157 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
They can be grown indoors in the U.S. as heat and humidity loving plants, ideally in a tropical greenhouse. From what I've read they have no tolerance of cold. They are a crop in Hawaii. (Chocolate trees, right? Theobroma?)
The trouble is, they do not propagate well vegetatively (from cuttings) and the seeds are recalcitrant; they can't dry out because they're alive and growing, and you only have a few days to sow them before they rot and die. So, that's probably effected their distribution amongst private growers.
If you want a chocolate tree, look hard online, I have seen a few sites selling seeds and live plants. Search words should include 'cacao tree' and 'Theobroma'. They're not cheap. I would have gotten one already, but I don't have the space or resources to grow one right now. A good website to learn more about Theobroma is on Dave's Garden:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/721/index.html
2006-07-07 23:53:49 · answer #1 · answered by Echinopanax 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
cold, yes, but probably also lack of pollinators (maybe too cold for mthem, too) ... you need pollinators to get fruit set. No fruit no cocoa
2006-07-07 16:51:53 · answer #2 · answered by myrtguy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
More Sun, and better consistant warm weather, I think.
2006-07-11 17:20:32 · answer #3 · answered by thewordofgodisjesus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Too cold in the U.S I guess....
2006-07-07 16:31:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
day length and heat
2006-07-07 17:16:03 · answer #5 · answered by wizard 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don´t know
2006-07-10 22:24:53 · answer #6 · answered by cris _tinnik 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋