Hello, Baby Baobab.
Care Guide
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If potting your baobab, prepare your soil. Ideally, a soil composed of 50% cactus soil, 25% sand, and 25% pumice, perlite, or pea pebbles will keep your baobab thriving! Place in an area with good air flow so that the moisture dries out quickly.
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After planting, water your Baobab fully with a light dose of transplant/root fertilizer, so that all of the soil in the pot gets some moisture. If planting in a small pot, it's good to submerge the entire thing to allow your soil and roots to get comfortable and well acquinted. If you do submerge the pot, be careful to let it dry out completely before watering again.
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If your baobab is dormant upon arrival (typically fall, winter, and early spring), stop watering after your initial acclimation. The roots will rot if there is too much moisture for an extended period of time during dormancy. In the spring, new leaves will begin to bud from the trunk, and that means its thirsty again!
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If your baobab arrives with leaves during the growing season, keep it in a bright location, out of direct sunlight for the first week of acclimation to its new home. You can then slowly introduce your seedling to the direct sun, for a few hours a day at first. Your baobab baby may drop some leaves as it acclimates to its new home.
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Be patient, the baobab is a resilient tree and will bounce back from the transplant and journey. Sometimes it can take up to a year for a dormant trunk to push out new leaves, but the tree is still alive, biding its time. (Tree of Life!)
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Always let your soil dry out before watering again. During growing season (high temperatures) the baobab will enjoy a regular deep soak. Water lightly once a month max while the tree is dormant (late fall/winter/early spring). Good air circulation around the tree will help prevent rot.
Remember: Baobabs are dormant during autumn, winter, and early spring. When dormant, they may arrive looking like a small, lifeless stick. Don’t worry, the leaves will come back in the spring!
Protect from Temperatures Below 55F
and Strong Wind!
The More You Know~
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Adansonia
Species: your baby
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The powder of the dried Baobab fruit is a prebiotic superfood, packed with Vitamin C, antioxidants, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The baobab fruit has an incredibly long shelf life; it can last up to three years without spoiling, making it a valuable food source during times of scarcity.
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Every part of the baobab tree, from root to leaf to fruit, is edible.
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It usually takes more than 10 years for a young tree to produce fruit.
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6 out of the 8 species of Baobab are endemic to Madagascar.
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Baobabs have a complex root system that allows them to communicate with each other through underground fungal networks, sharing nutrients and warning each other of environmental threats.
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The thick, fibrous bark of the baobab tree can keep its interior cool, allowing local communities to store food and water in the hollow trunks, effectively using them as natural refrigerators.
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In various African cultures, the baobab is often seen as a symbol of wisdom and strength, with many communities believing that spirits reside within the tree, offering protection and guidance.
“The Elephant is the closest thing in the animal kingdom to the Baobab. The same massive presence, the same wrinkled gray skin, the venerable age.” “As it gets older and fatter, full of scars and memories, each Baobab takes on a shape of its own. If you befriend a Baobab, you quickly see that this one is like no other; you recognize your tree from afar, a gray, massive form, like a rock, through the other trees. As you walk toward your tree your heart beats faster, you are going to meet a friend. And a true friend does not have just an outside, he has an inside, too, no? Just as we all do.”
-The Baobab Room, Pere Jacques de Foiard-Brown with Marilyn Nelson, 2019
Note on Dormancy
The number one reason for a baobab to die is overwatering while it is dormant, which will create root rot. Try your best to mimic the natural environment of a baobab - with short, hot, rainy summers and long, mild, dry winters. When the leaves begin to shed for the winter, reduce watering to a small trickle once a month or so, just enough to keep the soil active, but never enough to soak the roots. In late spring, when you see new leaves begin to bud, this means its time to start regularly once again. When nighttime temperatures are above 60F, it can live outside. When low temperatures fall below 55F, bring it inside for the season and place it in a sunny window. When in doubt, don’t water. Treat it as you would a succulent or cactus.