Growing Baobab Seeds from Seed

Baobab Seeds

Generally these seeds need no pre-treatment, other than to clean the flesh off of the seeds – which has been done for you.  A long soak in warm water has been shown to speed things up, but only if this is for 3 days and the water is changed every 12 hours.

Sow the seeds in a moist, good quality gritty compost and seal in a polythene bag or place in a propagator. Keep them in a light place at a temperature of 18 – 28 Deg C. The soil must never be soaking wet.
The seeds can be slow and erratic in germination, although this may begin after as little as 10 to 14 days (but can take many months 4 - 16 weeks or more with a median we have found to be 3 months).  

 

Once true leaves have been produced, the seedlings can be potted up into deep pots. The use of deep pots is important as the seedlings quickly develop a partially buried caudex and a long tap root.

Initial growth is fast, although subsequently this will slow down. 

Keep warm throughout the year as the plants will not tolerate frost.  Restricting the pot size and growing lean and mean (little fertiliser and water only when dry)  will produce a natural Bonsai. 

Important note:  Baobab seed will remain viable for as long as 100 years, however, the fresher the seed when sown, the faster the germination will occur.  This seed is from the latest available harvest and it would be best if it were sown within the next 5 years as this will ensure the best possible germination speed.