Adansonia (boaboa, or upside-down tree)

[Smokeater2005]

7-6-2013

[Smokeater2005]

I think after this growing season i will prune the tree back hard, its to lat to do it this season...

[Neli]

Do not cut it before it has reached desired trunk thickness, or it will take for ever to thicken after that. Good time to trunk chop is june july. Do not water at all during winter.

[Smokeater2005]

Do they backbud well post pruning? I have never pruned mine!

Sent from Tapatalk 2

[Smokeater2005]

So no water from Nov_march? Really?

Sent from Tapatalk 2

[Neli]

No water during winter only...whenever your winter is...that should be for 3 month.
They back bud well.
We remove them from the soil root prune them and hung them barerooted in the shade, july...so they have time to dry before planting them. trunk chop too..During winter you put the pot even in a dark place, but not cold...and forget about them. During the rest of the cold weather you gradually reduce /increase your watering but keep it minimal.
That is timing for the southern hemisphere...in your part trunk chop 2 month before spring so the chop dry/heal, before it starts growing.

[Jason]

Yeah I've just pushed mine under the patio for the winter too. Mine is in the same shape as yours smokeater, however I've put mine into a grow pot to let it get some thickness before I put it into a bonsai pot

[Neli]

The moment the leaf start yellowing stop watering, and wait for new leaf before You start again.

[Jason]

The moment the leaf start yellowing stop watering, and wait for new leaf before You start again.

Thankyou, I heard the same on the Internet Bonsai Club, so glad to here that it is correct Have never grown one before, and am just playing around with how they live and grow before I try and bonsai it. Just hoping that once we're through winter, it'll come back to life hahaha

[Neli]

It will come...dont worry!
It is a succulent like tree...so treat it like a succulent. Here in Africa they dont get water from April to november.

[Smokeater2005]

Wow, I will def not water so much this winter...

Sent from Tapatalk 2

[Neli]

I dont water them at all for 3 month.

[bamboos]

Hi Folks,
Here in australia adansonia gregorii keep growing as long as there is water. No leaf drop at all . I recently visited the Kimberly region where they are endemic and the trees in water courses were still in leaf in the middle of winter and those 20 meters away where it was bone dry had shed all their leaves. Those boabs in garden situations where they had water were in leaf. An introduced variety from Madagascar (very fine leaf ) was also in leaf. This was in their natural range!
As an aside one largeish tree has been transplanted from the north of the state to King's Park in Perth and this tree also had leaves but has maybe dropped them by now.
Steve

[Neli]

Some of my baobab lost its leaf...some did not loose them. My country has tropical climate...Even the one that was watered lost its leaf. I dont water any of them...and some have leaf some dont.
The ones I bought from a nursery (may) that had watered them until I bought them had no leaf.
It is not good to water them especially in colder climate.
Remember old trees react differently to weather conditions...

[lennard]

Some of my baobab lost its leaf...some did not loose them. My country has tropical climate...Even the one that was watered lost its leaf. I dont water any of them...and some have leaf some dont.
The ones I bought from a nursery (may) that had watered them until I bought them had no leaf.
It is not good to water them especially in colder climate.
Remember old trees react differently to weather conditions...

It seems that Adansonia digitata's dormancy is induced by low temperatures here. If temperature falls below 20 degrees Celcius at night the trees stop growing in general. There are species that grow next to water, especially from Madagascar, but Adansonia digitata grows naturally in warmer dry regions here in Africa. Here watering this species, when it is dormant, is looking for trouble.

As mentioned, this species dormancy is probably induced by lower temperatures - we had a lady who brought one to the Kai meeting in full leaf and growing actively in mid winter. When we asked her about the conditions, she told us that the tree was grown indoors in a full morning sun position and the temperature in the house was maintained at about 23 degrees Celcius.

It seems that Adansonia grandidieri, from Madagascar growing close to seasonal water, follows the same growth cycle as Adansonia digitata here in South Africa - mine is also dormant now.

Lennard