PlantFiles: Carob, St. John's Bread
Ceratonia siliqua

Carob is an interesting tree in North Africa. At maturity the black fruit is grinded, mixed with feed an given to animals. Boiled for one hour with dryed figues its juice is given to mothers for a week just after the birth of a baby, it helps a lot the baby & the mother.

Years ago a seed trading friend sent me a whole carob pod. I couldn't stop eating it!, lol...I removed the seeds and planted them. They got off to a slow start, then after about three years, sped up!

We usually brought this huge potted tree in the greenhouse every year, here in zone 8a in Texas, but this year, didn't get it in there in time. I was amazed to find it survived the winter, and didn't even go deciduous! The leaves turned a little weird and wrinkled, but then it recovered. It is March, and the new leaves are pushing out, and the old leaves are plumping back up. Tough tree!

Reading up on it, it appears they take 15 years from seed, to fruit. Typically you must have a male and female plant, although some trees are hermaphrodite. The male flowers have an unpleasant odor.

Real chocolate is unsafe for pets, but Carob is a substitute for chocolate, and is a safe alternative to use in homemade dog treats.

The seeds used to be used as a form of weight measurement. The word 'carat' comes from the Arabic name for the seeds.

Flowers stink! I can't stand their odor!
Well trained (trimmed) it can look really nice!
It's easy to grow from seed but it doesn't tolerate transplantation well.

I have grown a lot of these from seed. I have a greenhouse or they probably would not make it through our winter even in a zone eight. The seeds I use are collected by a relative in Arizona - I let the pods dry and then remove the seeds. No stratifying. Scarification is simple - soak overnight in warm water (dish of water on gro-mat).

I have found this plant very easy to grow, but growth is slow. It is very sad to have grown your plant for a few years, see the first blooms and have deer/cows eat it to the ground overnight because the gate was open. It will take a light frost. I think it is hardy in the warmer parts of zone 9. And it also makes a very pretty houseplant. The leaves are unusual and new leaves are red. The blooms are also red, but small.

This tree is used as a street tree in many Moroccan cities. It's thick leaves seem to resist pollution.

Note: it is the dried seed-pods and not the seeds themselves which are ground for carob powder.