How to Grow Lasoda Tree (Gonda): Budded vs Seed, Care, Fruit
Lasoda (gonda, glue berry, Cordia myxa) is a hardy, deciduous fruit tree that grows across the dry plains and lower hills of Pakistan and North India, and it is mainly grown for the sticky green fruit that goes into achar. To grow a lasoda tree that actually fruits soon, plant a budded or grafted plant in February to March or the monsoon, in full sun, in open ground. A seedling grows just as well but may take around seven to eight years to bear; budded plants have been reported to fruit in two to three.
Quick facts
- Names: lasoda, lasora, lasuda, gonda, gunda; English glue berry or Assyrian plum; Cordia myxa
- Plant: February to March, or July to August in the monsoon
- Best start: a budded plant of a known good tree
- First fruit: seedlings often 7 to 8 years; budded plants reported at 2 to 3 years
- Flowers: around April to May; green fruit for achar follows in early summer
- Sun: full sun
- Pot or ground: ground; a pot only as a temporary nursery
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Will lasoda fruit where you live?
| Zone | Verdict | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Multan, Sukkur, Bahawalpur | Plant | Heat and dry air suit it; a classic dry zone tree |
| Lahore, Faisalabad, Delhi | Plant | Grows and fruits well in the plains |
| Islamabad, Peshawar | Plant | Grows into the lower hills; young trees need frost cover |
| Karachi, coastal | Maybe | Grows; fruiting reports from the humid coast are fewer, so start with a budded plant |
| High hills | Skip | Too cold for a good crop |
For buying, cleaning and the achar itself, our guide to karonda vs lasoda has the kitchen side; this page is about the tree.
Seed, budding or grafting: which should you choose?
Here is the honest answer: lasoda grows easily from seed, but seedlings take years to fruit and their fruit quality varies. Researchers in India standardised budding and grafting precisely so growers get true to type trees that bear early. If you want achar within a few seasons, buy a budded plant; if you are planting a shade tree for the long haul, a seedling is fine.
- Seed: take seed from fully ripe fruit, wash off the sticky pulp, and sow fresh in early summer. Germination is usually good.
- Budding: the main nursery method. A bud from a proven fruiting tree is set into a seedling rootstock, usually in the warm, humid months. The same T budding technique used for citrus and roses applies.
- Cuttings and layering: sometimes tried by home growers, but we found no reliable figures on success, so treat them as experiments.
Our sibling page on grafted vs seedling fruit plants explains how to spot a real budded plant at the nursery: a visible bud union a little above the soil.
Growing lasoda from seed, step by step
- Collect seeds from ripe, soft fruit in May to June. Rub the slimy pulp off with sand and water.
- Sow within a few days, 2 to 3 cm deep, in polybags or 3 to 5 litre pots of soil, sand and compost in equal parts.
- Keep moist in light shade; seedlings usually appear within a few weeks.
- Grow on through the monsoon; plant out the next February or use the seedling as a rootstock for budding.
How to plant a lasoda tree
Choose full sun and give it room: lasoda forms a spreading crown, so keep it a few metres from walls and drains. Dig a pit two to three times the width of the root ball and only as deep, mix the dug soil with some compost or old cow dung, remove the bag fully, and set the bud union well above soil level. Water deeply and mulch. Our full guide on planting saplings, including guards against goats, is how to plant a tree so it survives.
Can lasoda grow in pots? Only short term. A young plant can live a couple of years in a 50 to 75 litre container, but this is a tree, and confined roots mean little fruit. If you have no ground, choose a smaller fruit from our fruit plants in pots list instead.
Watering and feeding through the year
| Season | Young tree (years 1 to 2) | Established tree |
|---|---|---|
| Feb to Apr (leafing, flowering) | Weekly deep water | Every 2 to 3 weeks; steady water helps fruit set |
| May to Jun (40 to 45°C) | Weekly, twice in Multan heat | Every 10 to 14 days |
| Monsoon | Only in dry gaps | Rain is usually enough |
| Nov to Jan (leaf drop) | Every 3 weeks | Rarely |
Feed with compost or rotted manure spread under the canopy in late winter. A tree that is all leaves and no fruit usually has too much nitrogen; our fertiliser guide explains the NPK balance in plain words.
Pick for achar while the fruit is green and firm
For pickle, pick lasoda when the fruit is full size but still green and firm, a few weeks after flowering. Once it softens and turns yellow to pinkish orange, the pulp becomes much slimier and sweeter: fine for eating fresh, poor for achar. Pick every few days in season, because the window is short.
Why is my lasoda tree not fruiting?
- It is a seedling: seven to eight years is common before flowering.
- Too much shade or crowding: flowers form on sunny outer branches.
- Drought at flowering: April stress drops flowers and tiny fruit.
- Over feeding with nitrogen: lush leaves, no flowers.
Pruning and pests
Prune lightly in late winter while the tree is bare: remove dead, crossing and low branches, and keep the canopy at a height you can harvest from. Heavy pruning delays fruiting. Watch for scale insects and mealybugs on young shoots (scrape off, then soap or neem oil spray), and for termites at the base of young trees in sandy soil; keep mulch off the trunk.
Grow it or skip it?
Plant it if you have ground, sun and a love of lasoda achar, especially in the dry plains where many fruit trees struggle. Skip it if you only have a balcony. Buy budded if you want fruit this decade.
Lasoda fruit is food, but traditional claims about the bark, leaves or fruit as remedies are tradition, not established medicine; do not use them in place of care for any illness. Wear gloves with neem oil or any stronger spray, read the label, and keep children and pets away while it dries. Ladders and fruit picking cause many garden injuries: use a stable ladder with a helper, and see a doctor for any fall with head injury, severe pain or numbness.
More fruit tree guides are in our Kitchen Garden section.
Lasoda tree questions
How do you grow a lasoda tree at home?
Plant a budded lasoda in open ground in full sun in February to March or the monsoon, water weekly for the first two summers, mulch, and feed with compost each late winter.
Can you grow lasoda from seed?
Yes, fresh seed cleaned of pulp grows easily. Expect a seedling to take several years, often around seven to eight, before it fruits.
How long does a lasoda tree take to fruit?
Budded or grafted plants have been reported to fruit in about two to three years, while seedlings often need seven to eight.
Can lasoda grow in a pot?
Only for a couple of years as a young plant in 50 litres or more. It is a tree, and it fruits properly only in the ground.
What is the best time to plant lasoda in Pakistan?
February to March before new leaves, or July to August in the monsoon. Avoid planting in May and June heat.
What is lasoda called in English?
Glue berry, Assyrian plum or Indian cherry; botanically Cordia myxa. Lasora, lasuda and gonda are local names.
When does lasoda flower and fruit?
It flowers around April to May, and green fruit for achar is picked in early summer, with ripe fruit following.
Why are my lasoda fruits dropping early?
Usually water stress in hot spells, or a young tree carrying more than it can hold. Water deeply and regularly from flowering onward.