check my baobabs

[jason biggs]

hi guys,here are some of my baobabs: our growing season is coming to an end just as your spring is starting.The big one with the top view is the one i showed last year + is starting to ramify nicely.The second big one is radically 1 sided + maybe in the next 10 years i'll get branches to grow where i need them??

 

[stacy allen muse]

I really like the one with the top view.
Do you have any pics with it leafed out ???

There are some folks arround here that sell
baobabs, but they often want to much money
for them so I have passed.
Perhaps I will give it a second glance.

 

[gergwebber]

thats like one the worlds most iconic trees!!!!! how old are they, and were they from the wild or seed or nursery stock? do they get fall color or cool fruit?

 

[jason biggs]

Stacy they just take soooo long to grow,that's why they are expensive....with leaves they don't look good as they stay pretty big but this is the real symbol of Africa....

 

[jason biggs]

correct gergwebber- i don't think in the entire world there is a fruiting baobab in a pot but perhaps somewhere?? my 2 big ones were planted from seed in 1973 + most of the smaller trees are about 20 years old.I've had most of them for 10 years.....

 

[jason biggs]

This is 1 of my new big boys - leaving the ugly surface roots on for another year so it can establish itself after re potting.

 

[jason biggs]

another big mama.

 

[jason biggs]

this one looks quite cool in an oval pot - has a nicely shaped trunk...

 

[jason biggs]

My original tree.- now apparently 46 years old...

 

[jason biggs]

The roots just seem to get uglier every year??
Last repot I lifted the tree to get stronger new root growth
as the branches are still spindly after 17 years??

 

[hemmy]

Awesome trees! Some how I have missed this thread until now! So many questions! Indulge me please!

How do you treat big root cuts (e.g., sulphur powder, allow to dry in sun)?

When do you do root work/repotting (fully dormant or just as buds show green)?

How long do they stay leafless and do they bud around same time every year or is dormancy quite variable?

 

[hemmy]

I started a few from seed in Spring 2010 in central USA (zone 5, brrr) this is the only one that made the move to SoCal, Zone 10. It almost didn’t make it through it’s first dormancy. The first winter the lower stem shriveled so I cut and grafted it back lower (about the light dark of soil interface). It’s been in a gallon can for most of that time. I only started cut back 2-3yrs ago. This spring I decided to put it in a pot and lift it to the lower bulbous roots. It was fully dormant with no green buds showing. It has been starting bud break in July and the growth suffers when we get 40sF in Dec-Jan. I wish I could get it to bud earlier!

 

[jason biggs]

They bud late spring and go dormant early winter - I have a 6 month growing season.
Big cuts ( MONSTER CUTS) are taken in their stride - if I cut that entire root base above the soil
in the last picture off, it will survive - (probably going to do it in September)...
I personally don't use any powder and don't let the cuts dry out at all but others will disagree...
in the colder regions of S.A. some guys leave them out of the soil hanging in their garages for the entire winter.
The big one with baobabs is not to water AT ALL when they are dormant -
They can rot and die within days BOOM!

 

[jason biggs]

Your growth suffers when you get 40 F ??
My growth suffers when our minimums drop to 64 F

 

[hemmy]

Your growth suffers when you get 40 F ??
My growth suffers when our minimums drop to 64 F

You are right, low 40sF is just our average winter low. It probably suffers when nighttime lows are below 50-60F. Although as an average, even our summer lows are <65F.

Thanks for the info!

 

[hemmy]

Here’s a rather convoluted chart when mine has come in and out of leaf. In late 2013, we moved a zone warmer for low temps but coastal and cooler summers. I can see one tiny piece of green now, so hopefully it will be in leaf by July. I have another I bought from Florida that is about a month ahead of this one.

 

[hemmy]

cut that entire root base

Do they sprout from root cuttings? I potted a few this year, nothing so far.

 

[Daniel son STL]

I just got 3 out of 10 to germinate. Hopefully I have a better go around. Killed a few two winters ago due to over watering. I’ve heard you can put them in a closet over winter and not water at all. I usually set up an indoor tropical room, so I kept watering.... and killed them! Won’t go that route again

 

[Nanuk]

I have never seen a Baobab as bonsai till today.
Well done guys I'm impressed. I didn't know that anyone did bonsai with them.

 

[hemmy]

I have never seen a Baobab as bonsai till today.
Well done guys I'm impressed. I didn't know that anyone did bonsai with them.

I only seen good ones from South African growers. But maybe some Aussie growers have some good ones too? I’ve never seen them at any specialty nurseries in Cali and only found one grower from Florida that sold some online a couple of years ago. Gardinos, but I didn’t see any last time I looked.