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Growing Soap Nuts!

 
pollinator
Posts: 132
Location: Mississippi
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I am constantly intrigued by the thought that I might be able to grow a soap nut tree; however, in my zone there are only a few weird, non-tree plants that saponify enough.  Would those who have been growing their own soap nuts please post about the variety (Latin name) and also their climate/growing zones?  I know my yucca plants'r roots yield nice suds but then I won't have any more yucca...

Thanks for any helpful posts on growing your own soap nuts!!
 
master pollinator
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I think the true soap nuts are tropical trees, though according to Wikipedia there are some that grow in the US south and may be worth you checking out: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus

For those in cooler areas horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum, not the edible Castanea) are related to soap nuts, work just as well, and will grow in temperate to cool areas. The non-edible nuts crushed and dried are the parts that are used for saponins with horse chestnuts.
 
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