I don't know what passes for exciting when you don't have a baobab in your life, but here at Casa de Baobab, when I find baobab seeds in the mail on Friday morning, it's shaping up to be an exciting weekend.
So here we have Za 7, towering over the memory of its predecessors at 4 3/4". And my new seeds, from left to right: A. madagascariensis, A. suarenzis, A. grandidieri. Booyakasha in da shizzy!
Truth be told, I'm not sure whether I'm going to start trying to sprout them right away, or wait until I get my tax refund and use it to buy a heat mat and grow light. You'd think that would be smart, but then again, Za 7 is kicking arse without any of that fancy stuff. Heat mats and grow lights are bourgeois. These are revolutionary trees. ¡Viva el Cuba libre!
Anyway. I've been giving Za 7 water in the form of 100 mL in its saucer "as needed." Which is to say, when I think it's needed, which may or may not be the case. But since it's thriving, I'm comfortable with my watering choices so far. In the first three weeks of January, it's had the equivalent of 60 mm of water. The average for Toliara is 97, 95 and 88 mm for December, January and February, respectively, so that makes sense. On the other hand, in Toliara this would go with an average temperature of 28 C (82 F), which I'm certainly not providing at home; but then again, Za 7 is sitting under an incandescent lamp and near the heat register, so it's not that cold, either. Whatever. Don't argue with success, right?
And this, obviously, is a close-up of the adult leaves. My sources tell me that leaf shape varies quite a bit among species of baobab. I hadn't noticed that with Za 1 and Digitata 1 because they died so short, but as you can see, Za 7 has a most interesting leaf shape.
When you think about it, isn't it odd that Za 1 only reached 1 1/4" in 59 days, and Digitata 1 reached 3" in 83 days, in summer, whereas Za 7 is 4 3/4" at 37 days in the middle of winter? How is this subarctic winter more suited to baobabs than summer?
Verily I tell you, life is never dull when you have a baobab.
So here we have Za 7, towering over the memory of its predecessors at 4 3/4". And my new seeds, from left to right: A. madagascariensis, A. suarenzis, A. grandidieri. Booyakasha in da shizzy!
Truth be told, I'm not sure whether I'm going to start trying to sprout them right away, or wait until I get my tax refund and use it to buy a heat mat and grow light. You'd think that would be smart, but then again, Za 7 is kicking arse without any of that fancy stuff. Heat mats and grow lights are bourgeois. These are revolutionary trees. ¡Viva el Cuba libre!
Anyway. I've been giving Za 7 water in the form of 100 mL in its saucer "as needed." Which is to say, when I think it's needed, which may or may not be the case. But since it's thriving, I'm comfortable with my watering choices so far. In the first three weeks of January, it's had the equivalent of 60 mm of water. The average for Toliara is 97, 95 and 88 mm for December, January and February, respectively, so that makes sense. On the other hand, in Toliara this would go with an average temperature of 28 C (82 F), which I'm certainly not providing at home; but then again, Za 7 is sitting under an incandescent lamp and near the heat register, so it's not that cold, either. Whatever. Don't argue with success, right?
And this, obviously, is a close-up of the adult leaves. My sources tell me that leaf shape varies quite a bit among species of baobab. I hadn't noticed that with Za 1 and Digitata 1 because they died so short, but as you can see, Za 7 has a most interesting leaf shape.
When you think about it, isn't it odd that Za 1 only reached 1 1/4" in 59 days, and Digitata 1 reached 3" in 83 days, in summer, whereas Za 7 is 4 3/4" at 37 days in the middle of winter? How is this subarctic winter more suited to baobabs than summer?
Verily I tell you, life is never dull when you have a baobab.
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