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How to Save a Dying Baobab Tree

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The days are getting longer and my baobabs enjoy the sunshine on their windowsill in the living room. More daylight and the warmth bring out fresh green baobab leaves. Little tips appear at the ends of the branches. However, it can take a while until the leaves unfold fully.

The iconic baobab tree, with its massive trunk and far-reaching canopy, is a sight to behold. Often called the “tree of life”, it can live for thousands of years and provide food, water, shelter and relief to both humans and animals. Sadly, due to climate change, habitat loss and other threats, many aged baobab trees are now struggling and dying off. But there is hope – with prompt action, care and persistence, a dying baobab can be brought back to life. Here’s how you can save these magnificent giants.

Identifying a Dying Baobab

The first step is learning to spot the signs of a baobab in distress. Some key indicators include:

  • Lack of new leaf growth
  • Smaller or fewer leaves than normal
  • Leaves turning yellow/brown and falling off
  • Noticeable dieback in the crown area
  • Cracks, lesions or peeling bark on trunk
  • Soft spots or hollows in trunk or branches
  • Presence of fungi, mold or pests

If you suspect your baobab is unwell, inspect it closely and look out for these troubling symptoms. Acting quickly can make all the difference.

Diagnosing the Underlying Cause

In order to revive a struggling baobab, you need to first identify and address the reason for its decline. Common culprits include

  • Insufficient water – Baobabs thrive on periodic deep watering. Lack of water can stress the tree.
  • Excess water – Too much moisture encourages root rot. Ensure proper drainage.
  • Poor soil – Compacted, dense or nutrient-deficient soil impedes growth.
  • Pests – Borers, mealybugs and other bugs can attack the tree.
  • Diseases – Fungal infections, viruses and bacteria can all affect baobab health.
  • Sun exposure – Too much or too little sunlight can weaken the tree.
  • Extreme weather – Frost, heatwaves or storms can damage the baobab.

If the reason is unclear, seek advice from an arborist or horticulturist. Proper diagnosis guides the treatment plan.

Improving Growing Conditions

Based on the specific cause identified, take steps to restore optimal growing conditions for your baobab. This provides a healthy environment for recovery. Useful tactics include

  • Water thoroughly to hydrate the tree during dry periods.
  • Improve drainage and amend soil if excess moisture is an issue.
  • Address nutrient deficiencies with organic fertilizer.
  • Switch to a sunnier or more shaded location if needed.
  • Protect the tree from extreme weather damage.
  • Eliminate any surrounding lawn or weed competition.

Optimizing the tree’s care makes it more resilient.

Treating Pests and Diseases

If pests or pathogens are attacking your baobab promptly implement organic pest control methods. For fungal issues remove affected branches and treat with neem oil spray. For boring insects, insert a wire and pull out the larvae, then use beneficial nematodes. Seek expert guidance for proper disease identification and treatment. Stopping the infestation or infection is key.

Pruning Dead Limbs and Growths

Carefully prune away any dead, diseased or damaged branches, using sterile pruners. Make clean cuts just outside the branch collar. This promotes healing and prevents decay from spreading. Removing problematic growth allows the tree to focus energy on regeneration.

Providing Structural Support

Add temporary structural supports like cables, braces and stakes if the trunk or branches are splitting or cracking. This stabilizes the tree and prevents further damage. Make sure supports are loose enough to allow for growth. Remove them once the tree regains strength.

Implementing Regular Care

A revived baobab requires diligent care over time. Water deeply every 2-4 weeks during the growing season. Fertilize annually with compost or manure. Inspect regularly for pests and diseases. Prune judiciously to encourage new growth. Providing attentive maintenance ensures your recovering baobab stays vigorous.

Being Patient

Remember that reviving an ailing baobab takes time and dedication. Some signs of recovery like new leaf and shoot growth may take weeks or months to appear. Keep up your care efforts and be patient. Even the oldest, most damaged baobabs can make surprising comebacks with the right assistance. Have faith in the tree’s resilience.

Saving a declining baobab is very worthwhile. These iconic giants support ecosystems, sustain communities and inspire awe. With knowledge, effort and determination, you have the power to nurse a distressed baobab back to health. Implement targeted solutions, nurture it consistently and let the majestic “tree of life” live on.

how to save a dying baobab tree

Where do baobabs get new leaves?

In the meantime new leaves on the branches join the old ones. The shoots of last year are still green but not yet completely “woody”. Tiny reddish or greenish hairy spikes indicate where new leaves will appear. At these spots the trees either get new leaves or new branches.

how to save a dying baobab tree

Why do some baobabs in pots keep their leaves in winter?

This year most of my trees kept their leaves from the previous year. Usually they shed them on the onset of their resting phase in autumn. But with baobabs you never know – they seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to how things should be done. Currently I do not have a cooler space where I can keep my baobabs during winter. Therefore they are in a warm place all year round and I still need to water them regularly but with less frequency during winter. That is one of the reasons why they still carry their leaves.

how to save a dying baobab tree

A strange hole in a Baobab Tree is holding clean water to save Hadzabe tribe during the drought

FAQ

How to save a baobab tree?

To protect baobab trees, we must help communities set up sustainable businesses, and replant what has been lost. This is the only way to stop these magnificent trees from going extinct.

Why is the baobab tree dying?

When scientists modeled how rising temperature and changing rainfall patterns could affect Madagascar’s baobab forests, they predicted that their habitat would shrink over the next century. Baobabs in the north would need to migrate even further north to find suitable growing conditions, but they may be out of luck.

What helps the baobab tree survive?

Over time, the Baobab has adapted to its environment. It is a succulent, which means that during the rainy season it absorbs and stores water in its vast trunk, enabling it to produce a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season when all around is dry and arid. This is how it became known as “The Tree of Life”.

What kills baobab trees?

Scientists speculate that warming temperatures have killed the trees directly or made them weaker and more susceptible to drought, diseases, fire, or wind.

Are baobabs dead or dying?

A solemn giant, somehow bulbous and spindly at the same time, often described as growing upside-down. Now, new research investigating the age of baobabs has shown that many of the largest and oldest trees in the world are dead or dying, and scientists don’t know why.

How many baobab trees have died in Africa?

Nine of 13 of Africa’s oldest and largest baobab trees have died in the past decade, it has been reported. These trees, aged between 1,100 and 2,500 years, appear to be victims of climate change.

What happens if a baobab tree dies?

Even when burnt or stripped of bark, baobabs will just form new bark and continue growing. Climate change, on the other hand, causes systemic problems that can be impossible for the trees to overcome. The oldest baobab tree to perish was the Panke tree in Zimbabwe, which died in 2011, and was estimated to be 2,500 years old.

Does a baobab grow backwards?

But on a baobab, new wood grows both on the outside and into the hollows, meaning that a straight line from the center of the tree can pass both forward and backward in time — or even skip decades altogether if they rotted out or were eaten.

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