Watering a baobab tree

Conny wrote:Andre,

About keeping the tree cold. I have a small storage space through a door in my flat that is uninsulated = much colder than inside flat during winter. However, maybe the temperature will drop too low in there, I´ll put a termometer inside today and see how cold there is now. Can you give me a lower limit, how cold can there be at most?

Baobabs cannot even handle a little forst. I would say between 10 - 13 degrees C, nothing lower than that.

No I don´t know how to defoliate, never done such a thing, but now understand that I should cut them of. All of them, if I understood right.

You havnt done this....I think its time for yours to budd again!

About next summer, as mentioned I live in a flat without balcony or garden = problem to keep it outdoors. That would mean that I have to place it by someone else, that would be complicated as I want to do the watering myself. About the growth, I maybe overdid the watering and fertilizing a little When I planted the seed a read that it should go dormant sometime, didnt know exactely when, but thought "hmm, better get this thing going, and going fast, so it big before first doramcy"... I planted it in that big pot as soon as it had it´s two first tiny leaves, so it has had good space to grow in from start.

You can keep Baobabs in small containers for years...they love it!

So about next summer, can I keep it indoors if I add growing light?

Yes you can, one warm light and one cool light, but I'm NOT the expert here, never done growing indoors.
And about the soil in the pot not being completely dry yet, should I perform the frigthening replant you mentioned earlier, to "secure" it from root rot? (if it´s not already present...)

No, its only a year old. If the soil has excellent drainage then, leave it. Stop watering in Autumn, this should give you enough time to dry the soil. Don't transplant if there isn't any budds


Thank you again for your wonderful answers! And apologizes to original poster for hijacking your thread.

Plantfever wrote:Hello,

I am bringing up this tread again. Is there anyway to see the difference of a tree being dead or in "sleep mode"?

If its Dead it will turn into pulp very very quickly! Feel the trunk at the bottom, is it firm?

My baobab tree is all bone dry and have stayed that way a few months now. I am starting to think that it is over. Should I try water it?

Bone dry in Winter..... thats what they like! You should raise the temperature above 18 Degrees C, this will make it budd, when you see green, then soak it thoroughly.

Thanks

tap pi lu wrote:Hi everyone.
very interesting discussion.
I also need to find out about the Baobab tree.
April 2013 from Angola a friend sent me 20 seeds Baobab Tree
I planted 5 seeds in the soil at the time, but until last March 2013, two of which germination, the rest does not work.

Which Baobab is this? I assume its digitata?

I added 5 seeds sown immediately after 1 week is new, only 1 of them germinated.
so now I have 2 members Baobab germinate in a week though sowing time between 2 times 1 year apart

I am blond, I dont understand this sentence?

I live in the capital Hanoi give me the best advice to train them to become beautiful bonsai
thanks everyone.

What is your weather like, min and max temperatures?
Did they go dormant in Winter, how big are they?

rps wrote:This is a great thread. Thanks to PlantFever for starting it and to all the contributors.
Andre, you should write a book on baobab --- seriously. I don't know if I'll ever grow one, but I'd definitely read your book. Oh, and BTW, awesome avatar.

Peace to all,
Bob

Plantfever wrote:Thanks again for your reply Andre Beaurain.

Would you like to explain a bit further this line that you wrote, how to check this: "If its Dead it will turn into pulp very very quickly! Feel the trunk at the bottom, is it firm?"

Baobabs are the worlds larges succulents, when succulents die, they rot very quickly because of the wood, which are actually just vascular bundles of tissue. So it will become brittle and soft.


Anyway, I think the darkness will fall soon. I noticed today that either my mother or my sister has watered it a bit, since the soil is a little wet. If the baobab wasn't dead until now it probably will die now then. Better luck the 3:rd attempt perhaps.

.........always look on the bright side of life....

Thanks

Sorry guys, that I only reply now, but have been very busy lately, no time for fun stuff, ......O wait, my job IS fun.

Plantfever wrote:I just want to update with saying that It is alive It has new green leaves. I am watching it everyday!

Hooray!!

To anyone who wants to answer this question: Is it ok to crop off the old dried out leaves? I took them off.

...no sooner said than done... Its absolutely fine, usually plants that tend to hold onto their dead foliage, use it as a blanket in winter protecting itself from cold.

Thanks.

Conny wrote:Hi, it´s me again

I moved my baobab stem from the wardrobe to the window like a month ago. There hasn´t been any movement this far, until some day ago. Right above where the old leaves were, on some places there are some tiny extensions to be seen. Could this be a sign of life? Noone would be happier than me... Haven´t dared to give it water yet, should I?

Yes, you can water now, Mazeltov!!

Clickable pic:



Also, as said I´ve never defoliated before, so I had to guess how far from the stem I should cut the leaves. Was this distance totally off, or ok? The one in the picture hasn´t fallen of yet, the rest of the stem is clean.

Its a bit long, only leave the petiole on, and cut the rest off.



Thank you!

tap pi lu wrote:Hi all Friend. This my BAOBAB 3 month.
[img][/img]

tap pi lu wrote:Hi all Friend. This my BAOBAB 3 month.

Plantfever wrote:
I've had mine almost a year, and it is still only a few cm.
If you have any tips or advice on how you've had it grown so fast, I will be very thankful to receive them. : )

Conny wrote:How is it with Baobab and air humidity? As mentioned I keep my Baobab inside my apartment, with unknown humidity level. I have an air humidifier that I plan to place next to my Baobab, to give it some moisture. Would this be a good or bad idea? Would the leaves enjoy it? Or could it harm my "tree" in any way?

lennard wrote:

Plantfever wrote:
I've had mine almost a year, and it is still only a few cm.
If you have any tips or advice on how you've had it grown so fast, I will be very thankful to receive them. : )

An interesting observation I have made this year:

I have planted 10 of my seedlings in the garden this year and kept a few in the pots to see what the difference would be. I have kept the seedlings in full sun in the warmest part of my garden close to a warm wall and the seedlings were planted in a lower cooler area in between my Amaryllis. With the first cooler weather we had about a month ago the trees in the pot stopped growing and leaves started to turn yellow. All my trees in pots are now leafless and I have moved them under the carport where they receive morning to midday sun. The trees in the garden kept on growing to about two weeks ago. They did not receive any water from the time of the first cold. Today they are still green with only a few lower leaves showing yellow. The trees in the garden have grown also much faster than the trees in the pot.

My thinking is that the soil in the garden takes longer to cool down and that the temperature of the growing medium have a big influence on the growth rate of these trees. I also recall a lady bringing a tree to a club meeting at the coldest time of the year and the tree was in full growth - and she watered it right through the year. She kept the tree in the living room where it received full winter sun and the air conditioner kept the temperature of the room at 26 degrees Celcius during winter.

My theory is that if you can get the soil temperature above 25 degrees Celcius and keep it there the tree will grow much faster. The ideal temperature(proven) for seeds to germinate is 28 degrees Celcius. With temperatures like this the trees can be watered and fed regularly for faster growth.

I do have a heating pad used for snakes, maybe I must experiment to see if I can get one of the trees out of winter sleep.

Maybe someone can confirm my theory?

Lennard

lennard wrote:
The trees do come from tropical regions when it comes to temperature but the rainfall and humidity in these areas are quite low. Where you live I think the humidity will be enough.

Lennard