Hi,

am new to the forum and actually also new to Bonsai.

I have three Baobabs that I grew from seeds and they are now about 25 cm high with trunks of about 6-8 cm in diameter. They look quite nice and are doing well.

Now, if I understand it correctly, i have to start defoliating the trees in order to get smaller leaf sizes. Is that correct? Does anyone have tipps for this in regards to Baobabs?

Thanks a lot.

b.

No it is not correct. They are very young plants that need to be grown on for some years, also defoliating must only be done on strong healthy plants,
I doubt that you will reduce the leaf size anyway. It is not something that I recommend especially for beginners. It is a very stressful thing to do and should only be done when it will benefit the design.

Thanks for your reply. I guess I will wait some time.

They are now 4 years old.

When do you usually start with the defoliation? If at all?

Am not in a hurry, but sometime in the future the leaf size should correspond to the trunk, or?

Could you please post a picture of your trees?
It helps a lot.

ok, this one is my favorite. The drunk is about 6 cm in diameter, I guess. Did not measure.

I don't want it to get taller. I would maybe have the trunk a bit thicker and then build a nice crown somehow.

The other two are also doing good, but for them I would like to get the trunk bigger first.

ok, he is not a drunk.

The trunk, of course.

And I forgot to mention. They are always outside. I live in the tropics. I do not water them or protect them from torrential downpours.

As I said previously, defoliation has to be done if needed and only then. These trees are young and still growing and not ready for styling. The leaves do not appear to be too big for the size of the tree. I also never do a complete defoliation, I only remove the larger leaves, and only the ones that are over the top of others so as to allow light into the lower branches. I think you should concentrate on growing the tree and keeping it healthy for at least another year or so during which time you can decide what you want to do, what style you want, and what pot you will get for it. There is no need to rush.

Right, thanks for your advise.

b.

Hi, could i ask if at any point in time you cut the trunk for it to look like this? thanks.

I never cut the trunk
just about every 3 months or so the small branches growing from it