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Chinese Toon

Toona sinensis
Also known as: Hsiang Chun Ya, Xiang Chun Ya

Chinese Toon is a vegetable in the Meliaceae family. It grows best in full sun to part shade with medium moisture, and is listed for USDA zones 5-9. Plants reach harvest about 40–50 days after planting and sit about 12 inches apart.

Varieties

1 from True Leaf Market · sorted by days to maturity
  • North Red40–50 days

    Heirloom; Container; Vegetable; Perennial

    40-50 Days to maturity. Toona sinensis A. juss. Chinese Toon Seeds - North Red. Heirloom, Non-GMO. Purple type. Vigorous growing. Keep the seeds in a cool and dry place. However, we recommend immediate use. Chinese toon is a perennial hardwood but the young leaves and shoots are a vegetable called Hsiang Chun Ya (Xiang Chun Ya). The fresh young leaves and shoots are rich in aromatic substances, vitamins, and minerals. Toon is also used in Chinese traditional medicine and is widely planted in Asia. ~ 2,500 seeds per oz.

    View on True Leaf Market
Family
Meliaceae
Category
Vegetable
Form
Bush
Lifecycle
perennial
Zone
5-9
Height
1–2 ft
Spread
1–2 ft
Sun
Full sun to part shade

Plant spacing

1 plant per square footSquare-foot planting diagram: one chinese toon fills a 1-foot square, spaced 12 inches from its neighbors.
1 plant per square foot

In a square-foot bed, space chinese toon about 12 in apart — that fits 1 plant in each 1-foot square (1×1). Wider rows or containers space the same.

Water
Medium

Plan your chinese toon planting

Add chinese toon to a free GardenDraft plan and get sow, transplant, and harvest dates computed for your ZIP code — with a drag-and-drop bed layout and reminders when it’s time to plant.

Start your free plan →

At a glance

Days to harvest
40–50 days
From transplant or sow to first harvest
Harvest style
Keep picking
Crops over several weeks
After harvest
Use within days
Quality eases off after peak
Frost tolerance
Semi-hardy · to ~24°F
Lowest temperature the foliage usually survives
Germination
~60%
Typical minimum germination rate

Storing & preserving

Most keep best refrigerated; storage crops prefer a cool, dry spot.

  • Freeze: Blanch briefly, cool, then freeze — keeps color and texture.
  • Can: Pressure-can low-acid vegetables; water-bath only pickled/acidified ones.

General home-preservation guidance — for tested processing times and safety, follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Growing timeline

When to plant and harvest chinese toonPlanting timeline for chinese toon, relative to last frost: start indoors from 5 weeks before last frost to 1 week after last frost; grow from 1 week after last frost to 7 weeks after last frost; harvest from 7 weeks after last frost to 8 weeks after last frost.Start indoorsGrowHarvestLast frostTransplant
Start chinese toon indoors ~6 weeks before transplanting 1 week after last frost; first harvest 7 weeks after last frost.
Seed to transplant
28-42 days
Outdoor planting
7 to 14 days vs frost
Propagation
Seed
Schedule anchor
Last Frost

Care & troubleshooting

No curated care & troubleshooting advice for chinese toon yet. Our extension-sourced library currently focuses on common edible crops; we're expanding it over time.