Grewia Asiatica, Phalsa, Falsa - 0.5 kg Seeds

Phalsa (Grewia asiatica) is a fast-growing large shrub or small deciduous tree grown across India for its small, purple-black, sweet-sour summer berries. The fruit is hugely popular as a cooling sherbet and is harvested from bushy plants that are usually pruned hard each year to encourage fresh fruiting wood.

Hardy and drought-tolerant, it is cultivated on a range of soils in the plains of north and central India, from Punjab and Rajasthan to Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, often on field bunds and in homestead orchards. The refreshing berries are valued for their cooling, digestive and astringent medicinal properties, while the pliable shoots are used for basketry and the plant tolerates heat and poor ground well.

• Family: Malvaceae (Tiliaceae)
• Native region: Indian subcontinent & S. Asia
• Mature height: 3–5 m (often coppiced low)
• Growth rate: fast

Clean the small stony seeds from ripe fruit and soak them in water for 24 hours to soften the coat and improve uptake before sowing about 1 cm deep in trays or polybags. Kept warm (25–32 °C) and moist, germination is somewhat slow and uneven, typically over 21–30 days. Grow the seedlings on in part shade and harden off before transplanting; phalsa is also commonly propagated from hardwood cuttings and layering.