Estimated to range from Tropical Very Dry to Wet through Subtropical Very Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, gmelina is reported or estimated to tolerate annual precipitation of 7 to 45 dm (NAS, 1980a), annual temperature of 20 to 26°C, and pH of 6 to 8. It can tolerate a 6–7-month dry season. Grows on many soils, acidic laterites to calcareous loams, doing poorly on thin or poor soils with hardpan, dry sands, or heavily leached acidic soils, well-drained basic alluviums.
Cultivation