Macadamia · Marrakesh, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco
When to plant macadamias in Marrakesh
Main outdoor window
11 Feb - 11 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
28 January
In Marrakesh, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Mar - 30 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Marrakesh
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the tree
11 Feb - 11 Mar
After the last frost, once the soil has warmed. This crop is never fully dormant, so it cannot be planted bare-root in winter.
Harvest
1 Mar - 30 Jun
Macadamias through the year
Against the frost risk in Marrakesh
Why these dates
Young trees are damaged at around -2C. Even a mature macadamia will not tolerate a hard frost, which confines it to genuinely frost-free climates.
Macadamias are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. Nor is there a dormant season to plant into: this crop keeps its leaves and keeps growing through the winter, which is exactly why cold damages it. The window on this page therefore waits until the last frost in Marrakesh has passed and the soil has begun to warm, giving the roots the longest possible run before the cold returns.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Marrakesh is zone 10a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 5, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Marrakesh
Other nuts to time
Growing macadamias in Marrakesh
When should I plant macadamias in Marrakesh?
Aim for 11 Feb - 11 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 11 Mar - 8 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will macadamias be ready to harvest in Marrakesh?
Expect to start picking around 1 Mar - 30 Jun, based on 210 to 240 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will macadamias tolerate?
Young trees are damaged at around -2C. Even a mature macadamia will not tolerate a hard frost, which confines it to genuinely frost-free climates.