Anthocleista grandiflora needs a warm, well-watered position, deep fertile soil and protection from frost and cold winds. Its ideal position is in a forest situation beside a perennial stream. It can be grown in full sun, or in shade. Under ideal conditions young trees can grow fast, reaching nearly 5m in their first four years. Use it as a foliage plant to give a lush tropical effect, as a striking feature plant or a shapely shade tree, but bear in mind that it will develop into a tall tree. It is not suited to an exposed, dry, windy position or to small gardens, nor is it recommended as a street tree. They do not have aggressive roots, but are quite messy, dropping large leaves, flowers and fruits, and can produce root suckers at the base. Feed generously and regularly for rapid growth and lush heads of leaves.

Cape Town, with its nutrient-poor soils, lack of water in summer and strong winds, does not offer ideal growing conditions for Anthocleista grandiflora, nevertheless it has done well at Kirstenbosch, which has a perennial water supply and is protected from Cape Town's notorious southeast winds. The oldest tree is an 80 year old with a magnificent spreading canopy, planted in 1934 in the Dell, beside the perennial Bath Stream. There is a 25 year old nearby, which is a handsome specimen, nearly as tall as the older tree but still quite slender. Three more trees were planted, also 25 years ago, in a well-watered but more exposed position at the bottom of the Main Lawn, but these specimens are smaller than the Dell tree with more tatty, sparse crowns and they have branched lower down their trunks, some nearly at ground level, and not all of the Main Lawn trees have flowered yet. There are a number of 14 year olds in the Arboretum, a few of which are growing beside the nearly completed raised walkway, which will soon give visitors a close-up view of this tree's magnificent leaves and lovely flowers.

Propagate Anthocleista grandiflora by seed, cuttings or root suckers. Fruits are ripe when they become soft and yellowish brown. Where they are not being carried off and eaten by wildlife, they can be picked up from the ground beneath the parent tree. Cut open and clean off the pulp to release the small seeds. They germinate readily, and are best sown in spring or summer. Take hardwood or semi-hardwood cuttings, treat with rooting hormone and place in coarse river sand under mist. Root suckers can be removed from trees that have produced them and the shoot potted or replanted to form a new tree.