Baobab

[bubba]

Many interesting non-Palms at Fairchild including:

[philinsydney]

You are lucky indeed. I don't think there are any baobabs in Sydney.

[ariscott]

There is an impressive one next to the post office in Darwin. It is in the heritage listed tree, so it won't be cut down ever... Everytime I go pass, I kept thinking that I should take photos, but I kept on forgetting to take the camera... It is absolutely magnificent...

Mine are still babies... I have A. digitata & A. gregorii.

Regards, Ari

[BeerPlant]

That tree is so cool! I was really surprised when I saw it because I didnt realize that they could even grow here

but if anyone would have it, it would be Fairchild!!

A couple of years ago I happened to run across some in a field just North of South Beach in Miami - I will post a photo

if I can ever find it......

[Eric in Orlando]

There is also the other big specimen at Fairchild over by the old gate house and the sping Madagascar forest area;

[palmmermaid]

I don't have a picture but Ruth Sallenbach has one in her garden in West Palm Beach. It is a monster!

[Eric in Orlando]

I love these trees!

Disney planted some at Animal Kingdom and this one at the Animal Kingdom Lodge;

[Eric in Orlando]

and in Hollywod, FL, there are like 6 or 7 big ones growing in that big circular park near US1

[Kris]

Nice topic and its one of my favouriate trees from madagascar..

here is a link to see visuals of many varities !

http://www.baobabs.com/Baobabs_cultivation.htm

http://www.baobabs.com/Baobabs_photos.htm

http://www.baobabs.com/Baobabs_species.htm

lots of love,

kris

[Zeeth]

What's the hardiest Baobab? Can these be grown in my area?

[Eric in Orlando]

What's the hardiest Baobab? Can these be grown in my area?

A. digitata from mainland Africa is probably the hardiest and most common. There are 8 species; 1 from Africa, 1 from NW Australia and 6 native to Madagascar.

A digitata is a zone 9b/10a tree so you should be able to grow it just fine. There is a nice specimen of A. madagascariensis at Selby Gardens in Sarasota;

[Zeeth]

What's the hardiest Baobab? Can these be grown in my area?

A. digitata from mainland Africa is probably the hardiest and most common. There are 8 species; 1 from Africa, 1 from NW Australia and 6 native to Madagascar.

A digitata is a zone 9b/10a tree so you should be able to grow it just fine. There is a nice specimen of A. madagascariensis at Selby Gardens in Sarasota;

Thanks!

[BeerPlant]

Here is a big one from a park with a few growing north of South Beach in Miami - note the homeless man for size.

[Gileno Machado]

I've managed to germinate seeds from 2 species of Baobabs 2 years ago and now I have a few small plants. I've noticed that Adansonia grandidieri gets a seasonal complete defoliation and stays in dormancy for several months. Adansonia digitata, the other species I'm growing, already introduced in my town since a long time ago, seems to be an evergreen species in my climate.

Anyone else has any advice and tips for cultivating those beautiful trees?

[Gileno Machado]

Adansonia digitata leaves (left);

Adansonia grandidieri (right):

[Gileno Machado]

I've also tried and actually germinated many seeds of Adansonia gregorii, from Australia, but they didn't like the excessive humidity once planted in pots and died. I guess I should have used a sandy mix for that species and keep the small seedlings in the dry side.

Here are both species together, under 70% shadecloth in the cycad area of our backyard:

[ariscott]

Gileno, I grow A. gregorii too... I think you just have to make sure that the potting mix is well drained. Mine is in the ground now and doing very well. The humidity doesn't bother them, only if the mixture gets too wet, they tend to rot. I water them just as much as the others in the dry season and during the wet, they get whatever falls from the sky. I really have to take photos of the A. gregorii from the post office....

Regards, Ari

[Peter]

Love to see that photo Ari :-)

[ariscott]

I will try to remember to bring my camera....

Regards, Ari

[Gileno Machado]

Gileno, I grow A. gregorii too... I think you just have to make sure that the potting mix is well drained. Mine is in the ground now and doing very well. The humidity doesn't bother them, only if the mixture gets too wet, they tend to rot. I water them just as much as the others in the dry season and during the wet, they get whatever falls from the sky. I really have to take photos of the A. gregorii from the post office....

Regards, Ari

Thank you Ari, it'll be nice to see the photo of your beloved A. gregorii at the post office sometime.

I got my A. gregorii seeds from Jay who lives in Perth. I miss his interesting posts here, mostly about Chamaedoreas. Ever since he's moved into his new house he hasn't posted here in Palmtalk, unfortunetly...

Adansonia digitata is not so common in Recife but there are several nicelooking mature fatties of the species around town, including one in front of the governor's palace, planted by Burle Marx over 60 years ago. I'll try to get a picture too.

[virtualpalm]

I have posted these photos before, but I thought I might add them to this thread as well. This tree is growing in South Africa:

Jody

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

When I was growing A digitata in a 30 gallon can, I really pushed it with water and fert in the summer time. It grows very fast 6 months of the year and nothing the rest, plus goes deciduous in winter. I pushed it too hard and the trunk split open so I had to back off. The split healed over the next year.

[paulgila]

nice close-up shots,jody!

[ariscott]

Finally... A. gregorii. Planted in the 1800's. It survived WW II, cyclone Tracy and development... Now the tree is protected and it is in the middle of a carpark. Beautiful and very impressive. I might take more photos in the dry season, when there is no leaf left on it...

Regards, Ari

[Peter]

Very impressive Ari-thanks!

[epicure3]

Very impressive trees. Anybody growing this in California anywhere or is it a no-go?

[PalmGuyWC]

Very impressive trees. Anybody growing this in California anywhere or is it a no-go?

There is a fat trunked Baobab growing in the Ruth Bancroft garden in Walnut Creek which is about 3 blocks from where I live. It must be A. digatata, and they must be pretty cold hardy cause it gets cold here in the winter, usually mid 20's.

Dick

[PalmsZA]

The only species I have or should I say that will squeeze into my garden is A.fony....Its still a baby.

[epicure3]

Very impressive trees. Anybody growing this in California anywhere or is it a no-go?

There is a fat trunked Baobab growing in the Ruth Bancroft garden in Walnut Creek which is about 3 blocks from where I live. It must be A. digatata, and they must be pretty cold hardy cause it gets cold here in the winter, usually mid 20's.

Dick

I guess you need a pretty large garden for one of these.

[ariscott]

They are pretty slow though... it will take a few years to get that big....

Regards, Ari

[tropicbreeze]

In Australia these are called "Boab Trees", Adansonia gregorii. This species is native to the Kimberley District of Western Australia and the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory. Near Derby in WA there's a "Prison Boab Tree" that in the late 19th century was used by police as a temporary holding prison for prisoners on their way to Derby. It has an approximate 14 metres circumference.

The Derby Prison Boab Tree.

[tropicbreeze]

They're in a monsoonal climate with a very distinct dry season. Many of them are growing in fairly waterlogged ground during the wet season. The most remarkable situation I've seen them in was on an alluvial flat edging onto mangrove flats along the Victoria River. They were just above tidal inundation, but during wet season floods would have been standing in water. These were younger trees, maybe to 4 or a bit more metres tall. They grow more in the valley floors than on the sides or tops of ridges.

I've got two small ones at home. They're very popular with grasshoppers and other browsers up to the size of cattle.

Boab, Victoria River District (Bullo River Station), Northern Territory.

[tropicbreeze]

Found some of the photos of Boabs growing adjacent to mangrove flats. You can see the edges of the intertidal zone with some grasses (probably Pseudoraphis spinescens) and mangroves (predominantly Avicennia marina) in the background. The freshwater flats are some 4 or 5 sq kms in the area between the junction of the Victoria and Baines Rivers.

[tropicbreeze]

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