Saira,don't know much about what boab trees like regarding growing conditions,however there are two of them growing approx 0.5 km from where I live.They were planted about 130 years ago in what was then just a paddock.They are now part of someones back yard.The decendent of the original owners of the paddock told me his great great grandfather planted them not long after he purchased the land.I suppose they were just plonked into the ground and left to fend for themselves.I have been told these two actually have a heritage order on them.They are in a stony clay soil and as in most places in Oz they are experiencing the worst drought in local living memory and are surviving.The larger one has a diameter at is widest part of(Im guessing this)approx 4 meters or so.Smaller one approx 3 meters diameter.Approx 4 meter height trunks then branches grow out from there.Maybe one of the botanical gardens may be able to give you some more info.Good luck with them.Regards C.N.

Firstly, I can't believe that C.N. really has a boab growing nearby, especially since his page reveals that where he lives has quite severe frosts.

Many people confuse the Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris) with the boab or Australian boabab (Adansonia gregorii). Both can develop very fat trunks, but the boab gets to be a more massive tree. As far as I know it is very frost tender as well as demanding a very warm growing season. I have never seen one in NSW, but suspect that there could be a few grown successfully in the far northeastern corner, along with many other tropical trees.

The Queensland bottle tree, however, can be grown in most parts of NSW and tolerates quite cold winters. There are some big old specimens in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, though that site is frost free.

As for whether Saira can grow a boab in WA, I would think that that depends on which part of WA. I would be very surprised if it can be grown out in the open in the Perth region, which is much the same latitude as Sydney. I think you would need to be a long way north of Perth.

I guess it's just possible that you could grow a boab in Perth or Sydney in a very sheltered, sunny courtyard which traps the heat, but doubt that you would get a very impressive tree - or if you did, it might start to demolish the house!

I bought 7 boab seeds (Adansonia Gregorii) on E-bay just recently and planted 6 of them. I was experimenting, so I attempted germination under different conditions - and now, a few weeks later I have 4 boab seedlings about 5cm out of the soil just throwing off their seed coats. They didnt care about soil type so much as having their seed coats nicked (the ones I nicked all germinated - the 2 I didnt, did not).

I currently live in Gosford, ~1.5 hrs north of Sydney...

I guess getting them to germinate is a whole different game to getting them to grow well... I guess Ill see how I go. A friend is planning on using them to bonsai so should be interesting.

How did you get along with growing yours, Saira??

I grew some Boabs about a year ago, they took over 8 months to germinate and hate cold wet conditions, even in Cairns!
I as well as Tony are surprised that this species would be growing well in winters that receive -8 degress.
I have three in NENSW where it gets to 3 degrees most winters and my specimens dont look happy.
Kris

Boabs require very hot conditions. You can grow them in milder climates in a large clay pot, placed in the sun where it will heat up during the day. They will even flower in this situation. A friend of mine in Brisbane flowered one.

Garry

Hello,

I've had experience with the Adansonia gregorii in the U.S. while working at a botanical garden, and other Adansonia species on my own property. As young trees they are very sensitive to frost damage. However, after reaching a height of 2m+, the trees suffer little to no frost damage (although their dormant season is considerably longer in colder areas). The only real cold related issue is with a freeze. Adansonias do experience some significant branch die-back after freezes, but don't present themselves until the next growing season.
The key to growing any species of boab is very-well-draining soil. During the active growing season these trees love water running past the roots, but standing in water for any period of time will cause rapid root decay. It is also important not to water at all during the dormant period for the same reason.
Hope this helps.
Alasdair

Saira there are boabs growing in Kings Park - you may be able to contact the botanical people there (there is also a group called Friends of Kings Park? or something like that).

agnes, youre right! I remember seeing boabs in kings park too

Where Can i find Boabs withing 2 hrs drive of Brisbane

Thanx

wayne

I have two boabs that I have had for years that get badly neglected and mauled by dogs and kids but are still growing and even flowered a couple of times. They are both in black 16" pots that sit on the septic tank in full sun summer and winter, the coldest it has been is around -3 to -5C, the hottest about 43C. They haven't been repotted or fed for several years and get watered when I remember to (every couple of weeks or so). The pots have been knocked over many times so only has about half the mix it should.

I originally bought them as seedlings and would be nearly 10 yrs old and are now about 1.2m tall (above the pot) with a base of 35cm round. Would've been taller if looked after better.

I think too much kindness would be the only way to kill them :)

Sorry boab hunter, I don't think they would be big or good enough for photos.

A little while back, I saw the Food Lover's Guide to Australia (SBS) discuss the use of young boab plants as vegetables - they're grown to about carrot size and then harvested and eaten.

I blogged about it (link below) - and have been meaning ever since to try and find someone in the Sydney region who might have seeds or (preferably) seedlings that I could practice on in my backyard veggie garden. I'm figuring that if you weren't trying to grow a tree out of them, one might stand a reasonable chance of growing them in cooler climes than their native Kimberly region.

If people do have seedlings, am happy to swap for various native produce - I've currently got an oversupply of warrigal greens, for eg! Failing that, I'll negotiate a payment :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Eat Australia blog

Here is a link to some pictures of my boab flowering. The same boabs that I mentioned earlier though I did re-pot them a month or so ago ("at last" say the plants)

Here is a link that might be useful: Flowering boab

Interestingly enough my partner and I travelled through Aus a year or so ago, and we were impressed by the many Boabs growing naturally there, I tried a few times to germinate seeds here at home in cold wet Wales Uk, Success was achieved eventually by washing the seeds in hot soapy water rinsing them off and placing them to soak in a shallow tray in a warm place (the airing cupboard) for three days (dont let them dry out) and then planting them in a compost of half sand and half seed compost most grew and I have one in a Bonsai pot in our front room, as apparently they make good Bonsai subjects

There's an article in the current (Autumn 2006) issue of Organic Gardener on growing A. gregorii for bush tucker.

I've heard the story about eating the tubers ofyoung seedlings like carrots - but it was about Brachychitons, not Adansonia. As Tony pointed out there is a tendency to confuse the two species. So what's true? Are both species eaten as a root vegetable, or just one or the other?
Trish

I love the boab. Mine has been growing beautifully, but lately I have been having some difficulty finding suppliers of boab. Call me strange, but I find talking to a boab really helps it to flourish. :)

Trish,

I have heard of small business's in the Top End growing Adansonia gregorii for their tuberous roots.

Regards Kris

I am really interested in any more info anyone has about growing your own seedlings from these seeds, I live in Kununurra up in the Kimberly, and i'm surrounded by these great trees! I went and got a nut from under one of them the other day and got the seeds out, and tried planting them.
I'm not too sure how to "nick" them as the seed was rock hard and i tried to nick with a file...
the i planted in moist soil, burnt some leaves over the top - as i've heard they like to germinate after fire go's over them - and watered.

I'm also really interested in whether or not they can grow from cutting as the adansonian can...

We lived in Kununurra for a year, I'm a teacher and bought some boab roots from Paddy's market to try (they were being sold as food). They sat in the fridge for weeks and got wrinkled (after all how do you cook a boab?). So we plonked them into water and they developed little roots. They were then planted into potting mix and all took, except the dog ate most of them. We have now moved nearer to Perth out of the tropics and have one that is thriving. It continues its cycle of dropping leaves in winter (the dry) and growing them during summer (the wet). So, we keep it in a pot and pour water into it during summer. I'm looking forward to seeing it in 400 years!

i returned from broom to geraldton 3 years ago and brought a boab with me. at the time it was about 12 inches tall now it is 4 feet tall it is in a large pot in the garden. i dont do much apart from water it now and then and its going great guns it cops the Geraldton southerly wind and it gets the cold of winter im no green thumb so if you want to grow one give it a go.

a friend bought me half a dozen seeds back from broome last year,so i rubbed them in sand paper, then droped them into a home made orchid mix,and left them in the fern area,and forgot about them,untill late sring, when up they came,only three,but healthy. i am going to bonsai them, one in an orchid mix, one in a bonsai mix and the last one in a gravelly bush mix. will let you know what happens later. have fun with yours.

I live in the kimberley, kununurra, and have found many uses for the boab. curtis stone just did a cooking demonstration here last week and used the boab root and leaves in a salad, but i love cooking it in a stirfry. the root tastes like radish but nicer and the leaf tastes abit like beans. I had the white seed part last week in chocolate. Delicious and full of vit C. and quite nice just on its own. A friend soaked her seeds in water for a few days then just tossed them on the top of soil and they are growing well. Ive collected a whole heap of nuts as they are all falling off the trees at the moment, and im going to experiment with planting the seeds.

hi there..just joined this website....well a friend gave us some boab seeds last year and most of them came up within about 5 weeks..i have them growing in normal "native mix" but lost a big number in winter..i didn't know they don't like frost..even we had only a few mild ones....but i still have about 6 or 8 left....maybe i should plant them and protect them over winter as someone on here said, after 2 years they may not be so affected by frost anymore !....mine are about 60cm high !.....ps; i didn't scar any of the seeds just cleaned them..have to say we were very surprised and exited that they seemed to pop up like that !

i treat them the same as a desert rose, keep them dry in winter (im in perth) and water/feed them as soon as the weather warms up. They love full sun and dont mind the roots drying out a bit between watering. Like the desert rose, they can be susceptible to fungus, so a spray of antifungal solution can sometimes save them if they get waterlogged during winter and they've started to suffer.

Could someone tell about the boab's root system. Are the roots large like the African type or am I able to plant in an ordinary backyard and not have to worry about whether the roots will end up blocking pipes etc.

While I was living in Kununurra WA the germination of Boab seeds was a simple task. The climatic conditions were ideal for the cultivation of this native succulent.
To my utter astonishment, since arriving back in the UK, I've managed to germinate a couple of the seeds simply by soaking them in water for five days, sowing them in garden compost and placing the pot on top of a radiator to keep the temperature at a constant 30C.
I still feel that it will be a minor miracle if the seedlings survive. Only time will tell.

where do I get one from, can they grow in Canberra ?

You won't grow them outside in Canberra, and indoors there'd be a time limit to it being small enough to stay indoors. Haven't seen the seeds of this one offered anywhere but if you check the Rare Palm Seeds website, they have other species of Adansonia seeds avaliable. Generally ones from Africa and Madagascar.

Hi to all:-) I was given a dried out fruit from a boab tree from Northern Western Australia by a friend who challenged me to get one to grow. Not know a thing about them or even researching I cleaned the seeds up really well by scraping all the chalky/powdery coating around the seeds with my nail. By memory I got around 10seeds and planted 6 straight away in normal potting mix around november in perth . Didn't think anything was going to happen as 6 weeks went past with no success and to my surprise all 6 came up. I had two pots with 3 in each pot and Two didn't survive after separating them and was left with 4. I kept what I thought was the best one and gave the rest away . They all died except mine which was going great with out any special care at all , just a little water every now and then. It's now coming up to one year old and a little under 20 cm high with the trunk base around 1.5 cm round. It lost all it's leaves quite some time ago and the branches have dried out a lot but the trunk still seems healthy and not completely dry like the top branches. Is this normal? At this stage there is no signs of new branches sprouting but the trunk seems to have some life . Has anyone had this problem? It was growing really well until it lost its leaves. Can any one help me on this? If it was to shoot some fresh leaves/ branches when could I expect this to maybe happen? Its in all pot around 20cm round and planning to bonsai it. Any info would be greatly appreciated . I'm quite confident it's not dead but unsure how there meant to look as I've only ever seen pictures of these huge amazing trees.:-)

Your plant will be waiting for the weather to warm up. They lose their leaves in the dry season (winter). Possibly if yours got a bit too cold the extremities died but the trunk managed to survive. Whilst the trunk is flexible it's likely still alive and will produce new shoots. Remember, in the Kimberley and VRD where they grow the temps are now in the mid 40's. That's what they like.

I bought baobab (or boab) tree seeds from ebay, and they germinated very easily, and very quickly - within just 1 day. I soaked the seeds in hot tap water. No cutting of the seeds were done at all. I just allowed the hot water to run out of the tap, and waited until the hottest water was coming out, then filled up a cup, then plonked the seeds into the hot water. Then just waited for a day (or overnight). As soon as you notice that the seed is significantly larger (eg like increased its size by 50 percent), then just immediately plant the seed into a small pot with the seed underneath the soil by 2 or 3 mm. Then, after another day or two, you may notice either the fairly large green juvenile leaves popping out. But (very importantly) if you notice some thick white-coloured thing sprouting out of the ground that does not look like large leaves, then this is where you really need to dig out the seed and then put that 'sprout' back into the ground, because that thick sprout thing is most likely to be the first ROOT of the baobab plant. And seedling will die if that root is sticking out of the ground. So basically the plant is growing upside down and it will die if left like that. So best thing to do is to re-position the growing seed (in the soil), and the seedling will then orientate itself properly after a day or two. The seedlings actually grow quite quickly. Then just keep the soil moist, and not like waterlogged, and the boabab seedling will grow. Full sun and warm weather is what this plant likes.

I am also a boab lover and have planted about 6 Adansonia Gregorii seeds in small pots late October 2013, they all germinated within 3-4 weeks, I used regular potting mix you get from Bunnings and also soil from the garden, the soil type made no difference, they all germinated and are slowly growing in Wangaratta, Vic. One of them is doing best and is about 30cm high, the others are from 3cm to 15cm. Will keep them indoors soon during the dormant period and see if they survive.

Here is a link that might be useful: I AM BOAB - Adansonia Gregorii Models

Hi, We live in North Wales Uk, pretty Cold at times, on one of our visits to Au, we found an artist who told us his Wife Boiled the Nuts in some kind of Dye and scribed pictures on the outer shell, we bought one and brought it home to Wales, we had also collected a couple of Nuts on our drive up the west Coast, and had tried many times to grow the seeds within, They need Heat (quite a lot to germinate), around 40 Degs worked, but although they grew Ok during our Summer 12 - 25 Degs usually the Winters were another story and we lost almost every one despite keeping them indoors, after about 5 Years the Artists Nut we bought I cut a small hole in and got some of it's Seeds out despite the Artists claim that they had been boiled, they Germinated and I now have one thats 3 Years old, its kept in heated frame all Year round my only bugs are I am trying to grow it as a Bonsai and although it's growing well it will not produce side shoots and to be honest I'm a bit hesitant to pinch out the leading shoot, any advice please!! the other thing is they are V susceptible to Spider Mite (nasty lil Burgers) so I have to spray it over and under pretty well Weekly, Good luck and God Bless to all. Shirley Ann.