With no silviculture intervention it usually occurs as a single, large, open-grown tree, though pruning can improve the length and form of the bole. Best growth is on deep, medium-textured soils but sandy and clay soils also allow good development provided drainage is unimpeded. The trees will not thrive on sites prone to waterlogging. The combination of large nutritious pods and seeds with hard coats is ideal for seed dispersal of Enterolobium by animals. Seeds are most easily collected by waiting for pods to fall.
Trees produce seed crops in most years in Central America.
Seed extraction from the indehiscent pods is usually carried out by manual threshing, milling or maceration of the pods followed by winnowing and screening Enterolobium seed is naturally scarified by passage through the gut of large herbivores. It is likely that the original consumers of Enterolobium pods are now extinct and their role as seed dispersal agents has been assumed by horses and cattle. Collected seed requires pretreatment before sowing to allow water to penetrate the seed coat. Manual scarification is effective, as is treatment with hot water or concentrated sulfuric acid. Enterolobium seeds remain viable for several years under cool, dry conditions and can be easily stored under normal conditions.