Ice Cream Bean Tree

For something unique, and for the pleasure of eating something you will never find in a shop, the Ice Cream Bean Tree is a top choice. This subtropical tree is fast-growing and tough, with something special to offer. It produces huge seed pods, up to 3 feet long (!) which are lined inside with a dense, white, fluffy material that tastes like ice cream, with hints of cinnamon too. It’s a fascinating tree to grow, a great novelty, and kids love eating the ice cream inside those humongous pods. The seeds, though, are toxic raw, but once cooked can be used like chickpeas, giving you another bonus. The tree itself can grow large, depending on the climate, but is easy to keep smaller with pruning, so can even be grown in a large pot. Very fast-growing, up to 5 feet a year, you will be harvesting pods within 2 or 3 years. The fragrant, white flowers appear during warm summer weather, and the pods soon develop. They are ripe and ready to eat once they feel full and slightly soft. Eat them fresh, or within a few days of picking. This tree can be grown in any frost-free parts of the country, or in a pot and protected during the cold months.

• Soft inner lining of the enormous pods tastes like ice cream and cinnamon
• Fragrant white flowers in summer, loved by pollinators
• Beans themselves are like chickpeas once cooked
• Fast-growing and size can be controlled by pruning
• Needs a frost-free climate, although mature trees can take a brief frost

Grow the Ice Cream Bean Tree in a sheltered spot in full sun. Protect it from cold winds and find the hottest spot you have for this Amazon native plant. It will grow in Florida, and also in Mediterranean climates. It grows in all well-drained soils, including very poor, very acidic ones, and in moderately alkaline ones too. Needs minimal fertilizer to succeed. Needs watering while young, but is drought tolerant once mature. Young trees are killed at 32oF, but mature ones will survive, with some damage, brief periods to 28o. Bring a potted tree indoors when temperatures reach 40o. Prune at any time to control the size, as needed. Heavily-pruned trees will continue to bloom, and older trees can be cut almost to the ground in spring and will bounce right back. Normally free of any pest or disease problems.