Fresh khat seed germinates in about two to three weeks without any pre-treatment, and old seed often does not germinate at all. That is close to everything the botanical literature records, because the plant is almost always grown from cuttings. This page brings together what is published and says where the record stops.
Read this first. Growing a khat plant for its leaves is prohibited in the Netherlands and treated as producing a controlled drug in the United Kingdom. In Germany, seeds and plants fall under the narcotics act when they are meant for use as an intoxicant. This page describes the plant's biology and how it is sown where it grows legally, such as in South African gardens. It is not an invitation to grow it where you live. See khat and the law.
What the sources say
Three independent references describe khat germination, and they agree on the main points.
| Source | Time to germinate | Pre-treatment | Seed storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| PROTA4U (2002) | 15 to 20 days for fresh seed | not mentioned | "Seeds soon lose viability" |
| ICRAF Useful Trees, Uganda | "completed after two weeks" | not necessary | not stated |
| ICRAF Agroforestree, Kenya | not stated | not necessary | sow as soon as ripe, viability is lost quickly |
The Ugandan guide calls germination "good". None of the three gives a germination percentage, a temperature range for the seed or the conditions under which it was measured. Read the timings as field observations from East Africa.
Fresh seed against stored seed
The short life of the seed is the factor that decides most outcomes. PROTA states that fresh seed germinates within 15 to 20 days and loses viability soon afterwards. The Kenyan ICRAF entry turns that into practical advice: sow the seed as soon as it is ripe. PlantZAfrica, the plant database of the South African National Biodiversity Institute, recommends picking the seed just before the capsules split open, which is the freshest a seed can be.
Only the ICRAF guide for Ethiopia says the seed "can be stored", without a period or method. We found no published storage trial. A seed lot that has been dried and kept for months is therefore an unknown quantity, and a low germination rate is the expected outcome. You can read more about the seed itself on the page khat seeds up close.
How the seed is sown where khat grows
In South Africa Catha edulis is a native garden tree, known as Bushman's tea. PlantZAfrica describes the method used there in a few lines:
- Collect seed just before the fruits split.
- Sow in early spring, in trays filled with compost or a seeding mix.
- Keep the trays moist in a light, warm place.
- Alternatively, sow straight into prepared ground.
No pre-treatment such as soaking or scarifying is needed, according to both ICRAF guides. Spring sowing in the southern hemisphere matches the plant's own cycle, as the capsules there split in late summer.
What a young plant needs
Nothing has been published specifically about khat seedlings, so the closest guide is what PROTA records for the crop. Khat is grown in highlands between 1,500 and 2,500 m, where the average daily temperature is 16 to 22 °C, within a range of 6 to 32 °C. Annual rainfall of 800 to 1,000 mm over four to six months suits it. Frost and high humidity are named as the factors that limit its growth.
The soil can be moderately acid to alkaline, from sandy loam to heavy clay, as long as it is deep, well drained and rich in organic matter in the topsoil. The plant does not tolerate salt. The Kenyan ICRAF entry classes it as fast-growing once established.
From seedling to shrub
How a seedling develops has hardly been studied. PROTA describes the growth of rooted cuttings instead: an upright shoot with reddish bark and alternate leaves grows for about two years before the first side branches appear. Those side branches carry slightly smaller leaves in opposite pairs, flower along their length and are shed after three to four years.
A plant raised from seed in the wild becomes a tree with a single trunk that branches into several upright stems higher up. Trees grown from cuttings are multi-stemmed from the start. Left alone in a forest, a khat tree can reach 25 m; in cultivation it is pruned to a shrub. How growers manage that is described on the page about how the shrub is grown.
Where the record stops
To keep this page honest, here is what we could not find in any reliable source: a germination percentage for fresh or stored seed, an optimal germination temperature, the light needs of the seed, the time a seedling takes to reach a given size, and any controlled comparison of sowing methods. Figures for these points that appear without a source deserve caution.