I collected seeds of M. drouhardii in southeastern Madagascar and planted them in 1998 for my research. They grew well and the experiments also came out fine. Then the plants remained in pots, some in a greenhouse in Califorina, some in Missouri. There they survived nicely but the cool temperatures and limited root run kept them small, less than a meter tall. I brought them down to Mexico in 2000, and they remained in Mexico City outside in pots. Mexico City is at 2000 meters elevation and with its tropical highland climate it is always cool at night and can even freeze at the height of winter. So, not a good climate for moringas. Moringa oleifera simply refused to grow for me. I lost an M. longituba seedling to the cold, which bothered me considerably. The M. drouhardii, which is one of the species that best tolerates cooler temperatures, though, did hang on, growing a cm or two a year but never more.
Finally, in 2010, I planted two individuals here in the coastal lowlands (see post on Moringa drouhardii in the ground). Now, four years later, just like in Toliara, M. drouhardii is in bloom!
With any luck, we’ll have seed of M. drouhardii soon, the first generation born and bred in the New World, from the seeds collected in Madagascar.