Kigelia africana (sausage tree) help

Bonnewbie

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Hi all.its my first attempt to create a bonsai..i decided to germinate a kigelia africana(sausage tree) a few weeks before my first born..the tree is now 3 months old..any advice will be appreciated.thank you1577776909782-1162127615.jpg
 

Warpig

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Hmmm I don't know the species any without reading up on it but going from the pictures I would worry about how well the leaves of these will reduce. I feel like this might be your biggest battle here.
 

Bonnewbie

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Yes..i thought/hope after some time the leaves will get smaller? Do i need to cut the top or some leaves..thank you for the reply
 

Tieball

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Hmmm....Sausage Tree....I wonder if the companion tree would be a Bun Tree.

I don’t really know but it reminds me of the growth habit of Avocado tree I grew once. Trim the top bud off and more side shoots develop. Googled it...looks a lot like a tree......but with sausages hanging from below branches. Interestingly weird. I’d have fun with it...see what happens. You may not reduce leaves but you’ll have a very interesting fun time growing it.
 

Bonnewbie

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Hmmm....Sausage Tree....I wonder if the companion tree would be a Bun Tree.

I don’t really know but it reminds me of the growth habit of Avocado tree I grew once. Trim the top bud off and more side shoots develop. Googled it...looks a lot like a tree......but with sausages hanging from below branches. Interestingly weird. I’d have fun with it...see what happens. You may not reduce leaves but you’ll have a very interesting fun time growing it.
Thank you for the reply Tieball.😁
 

Woocash

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That’s just a giant dog treat dispenser right? Cool. I’d just let it grow out for a good while first and see what unfolds before chopping it up.

(What Tieball said), but, you might want to think about something more standardised for bonsai as well. I’m a newb with a couple of wackadoo species too, but they wont really teach us anything about bonsai so I’ve got several normal species to mess around with too. If you’re only keeping them it indoors maybe try something like a ficus as well.
 

Bonnewbie

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That’s just a giant dog treat dispenser right? Cool. I’d just let it grow out for a good while first and see what unfolds before chopping it up.

(What Tieball said), but, you might want to think about something more standardised for bonsai as well. I’m a newb with a couple of wackadoo species too, but they wont really teach us anything about bonsai so I’ve got several normal species to mess around with too. If you’re only keeping them it indoors maybe try something like a ficus as well.
Thank you Woocash for the advice...dog treat dispenser.lol😂😂
 

sorce

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Welcome to Crazy!

That's the weirdest tree on record!

Sorce
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I have no hands on experience with Kigelia. But I did a little Wikipedia, and can make a few predictions. It is in the Bignoneacea, the family that includes Catalpa & Jacaranda. In nature the leaves are huge, 12 to 21 inches according to Wiki. They are opposite, and pinnate. There are 6 to 10 leaflets per each 12 to 21 inch leaf, and the individual leaflets can be 8 inches long and 2+ inches wide. As a general rule, leaves that large simply won't reduce enough to make a bonsai with proportional leaf size. Leaves will always be "too big''. The fruit can weigh between 10 and 22 pounds, ouch if it drops on you. A small tree, should it fruit, the weight of the fruit would likely break off a branch. Chances are fair it won't fruit until a rather large tree.

On the plus side, bark looks cool, nice and rough. The flowers are spectacular, but I suspect that it will take a larger tree to produce flowers.

Lincoln Park Conservatory has a specimen tree that produces fruit, it appears to be over 20 feet tall and rather old. larger diameter trunk for a conservatory specimen.

It may make a fun tropical container plant, you wheel it outside on a dolly for the summer, wheel it back in for the winter. You can use bonsai techniques to train it to an attractive shape. But it is highly unlikely to make a "bonsai". It will try to become a large tree. It will not stay windowsill size for you.

SO enjoy it as a wacky, botanical wonder. Grow it into as large a tree as you can manage. But don't frustrate yourself with trying to make it a conventional bonsai, it will simply not submit to bonsai cultivation techniques.
 

jason biggs

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HI
I have one growing in my driveway, the sausages are over a metre long....
plant it out in a much bigger pot and enjoy it as a small tree.
Awesome to start bonsai when your kid is born - my daughter is turning 18 and I started when she was born...
 

Bonnewbie

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HI
I have one growing in my driveway, the sausages are over a metre long....
plant it out in a much bigger pot and enjoy it as a small tree.
Awesome to start bonsai when your kid is born - my daughter is turning 18 and I started when she was born...
HI
I have one growing in my driveway, the sausages are over a metre long....
plant it out in a much bigger pot and enjoy it as a small tree.
Awesome to start bonsai when your kid is born - my daughter is turning 18 and I started when she was born...
Great..please send the pic.
 
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