Dalbergia Sissoo, Sheesham - 0.5 kg Seeds

Sheesham (Dalbergia sissoo), or North Indian rosewood, is a fast-growing deciduous hardwood tree with a light, spreading crown, leathery rounded leaflets and pale yellowish-white flowers followed by thin flat pods. As a nitrogen-fixing legume it also improves the soil it grows in.

It yields one of India's most important furniture timbers: a strong, durable, attractively grained heartwood used for furniture, doors, panelling, plywood and tool handles. The tree is widely planted for fuelwood, fodder, avenues, canal banks and agroforestry shelterbelts. In India it is native to the sub-Himalayan tract and is cultivated extensively across the northern plains, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and beyond.

• Family: Fabaceae
• Native region: Sub-Himalayan northern India
• Mature height: 15–25 m
• Growth rate: Fast

Soak the pod segments or cleaned seeds in water for 24–48 hours before sowing. Sow about 1 cm deep in nursery beds or polybags of well-drained soil at the start of the rains; germination is relatively quick, usually 14–21 days. Keep the seedlings moist and lightly shaded, then transplant the hardened plants to the field during the monsoon.