Soapnuts - anyone growing them?

[fyliu]

These are related to lychees and have native species in many parts of the world. I started one from seed two years ago from an ebay seller and it's been in a 5 gal pot. It's not an edible fruit. Anyone have experice with any species?

[Hollywood]

I have heard of them and I am about to attempt cloth diapering, so I'll bite...what has your experience been with it? How big is the tree? How prolific? What are water/sun/climate needs? Have you tried washing clothes with it? If so...can you throw it in a high efficiency washer and then just fish out the used fruit at the end???

[Hollywood]

BTW, although it seems too good to be true, these do seem to get rave reviews for the most part: http://www.amazon.com/NaturOli-Soap-Nuts-Berries-PIECES/dp/B001NU2L8U

[fyliu]

I bought my Indian variety seeds from the same company. But there are soap berries native to the US. Like these...
http://www.tradewindsfruitstore.com/servlet/the-Tropical-Fruit-cln-Tropical-Fruit-S-dsh-Z/Categories

Seedlings are supposed to take as long as 10 years to bear fruit and can grow to 20 meters. I started them as soon as I could get some seeds. I hear the Chinese variety is more compact. If you know of a source, airlayering should work.

I don't know how good these are compared to laundry detergents since I'm not picky about ending up with the right shade of white. I put some in a cloth bag into a mug and pour hot water into it just a little before doing laundry. Just shake thing around a little and pour into the machine.

[fruitlovers]

I bought locally a smaller box different brand of soapnuts than what you posted. The one i bought was totally worthless for laundering clothes, and the seeds were all removed only hulls remained. I bet there are some botanicals that work but this one was certainly not one of them.

[fyliu]

The hulls are where the soapy substance is. Seeds are black and hard. I cracked some with a chisel to germinate. 10 years wait is not for everybody but I figured maybe I'll find a mature tree before then.