If you can post a photo, that would help. I haven't grown this, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think it may not be getting enough sun in an east window. Where are you situated (northern hemisphere or southern, tropics, desert, or cold winter area)?

why is it not outside for summer ... in full bright shade ...???

i too would like to see it ...

the term is etoliation ... when a plant keeps growing upright.. stretching in search of light ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=etoliation&iax=images&ia=images

ken

Interesting. I suppose this is possible. The leaves certainly don't look anemic or anything. Attached is a pic. I'm in NYC. Today is cloudy, but that window regularly gets several hours of bright sun from early morning until early afternoon, It's technically a southEAST facing window actually.

I do have a balcony I could put it on in the summer. If this would help, would it be a good idea to prune it before moving it out there?

this is why it is very hard to grow trees as houseplants ...

i might guess that sun thru glass is no better than shade outdoors ... its surely not the full sun ost trees prefer ....

if you do put it outside... first.. you have to make sure it doesnt fly away in wind ..

second.. it would have to be hardened off to direct sun ...

and third.. that tiny pot might dry out very fast ... so proper watering would be important ...

when was the last time you changed out the media???

ken

ps: soooo.. what book did you read.. that made you want this tree????

Ken - The Little Prince is certainly where the baobab was introduced to my awareness and vocabulary. :-) And I admit, of all the plants and trees I have had, this is the one that seems more like a novelty. I think it would stand a better chance outside. I haven't repotted in a few years. Perhaps I should repot and prune before setting it outside? It won't blow away. And that pot is bigger than it appears in the pic - pretty heavy.

Kara - I'm sure you're right. My jades and other native African plants have flourished but I realize a tree is a different story. I'll try it on the balcony and see if I can help it do at least a little better.

So let me know - I'll plan on pruning and maybe repotting it before moving it out this afternoon (putting it in a shadier spot to start and gradually moving it into the full sun) - unless you think it's best to just leave it where it is.

Little Prince <<<=== bazinga ... that book changed my life ....

it was either that.. or the elephant cartoon show the kids used to watch ... of which im blanking.. wait.. barbar??? .. if i recall properly ... lol

ken

take a bamboo stake.. slide it down ...into the pot.. right next to the trunk.. and splint the tree to it .. in effect.. doubling or tripling the trunk ...

and if it snaps of some time.. then it is pruned.. and you can just clean it up ...

imo.. no need to do it preemptorally ..

every leaf is a food making machine.. changing sunshine into energy ... cutting them all off.. will not help it.. long term ....

dont forget to harden it off ...

ken

Yep, Little Prince is an amazing book and changed my life too - its influence is still evident in more ways than just my selection of trees...

Got it. I will stake it today. I assumed when you said "harden it off to the sun" you meant to gradually expose it to the sun rather than just stick it immediately in direct sun. Correct?

yes ... dont sunburn it.. ken

There is no real need, unkess I’m missing something, to prune such a small plant, particularly since you’re able to put it outside in the summer (where it should enjoy the rain).

Yep, I learned of Baobob thru the Little Prince too. In fact, when I was 17, I had knee surgery resulting in a cast from the top of my thigh down to my ankle. A good friend & talented artist drew a colored marker rendering of the Little Prince on my cast. I wanted to keep the cast, but after 6 wks you can imagine it was getting gross inside.

I should have taken a pic for posterity, it's a lovely memory & the artist went on to become a physician, just as she said at the time she wanted be. She's probably a great doc too.

Don't cut back. Stake and follow Ken's advice

I have a couple of baobabs I've raised for about 7-8 years now. I cut mine back like mad. I'm not offering advice for your scenario, as mine never did what your did, and mine were in an east-facing window for over five of their years without ever seeing the outdoors. The reason I said I cut mine back like mad, is that they're currently doing great, and my pruning doesn't seem to do anything but encourage it to grow more and faster. I pinch them back, I cut off branches, mostly new growth, and I've topped mine several times. Next season, I need to prune the basketball-sized root on my bigger one to ensure it'll stay shorter. The smaller one lost ⅓ of its root this spring. Cuts just like jicama. I just gave mine their final pruning for the season. I want them to heal and grow some more before I have to move them inside, which is sooner than I want it to be. They're colder a lot earlier than I am. Once it's below 55F, they come inside and I stop watering them until late spring, when it gets close to 55F outside at night again.

Anyway, a couple of guys here said not to top it, and while I agree, I don't want you to think you'd kill it if that becomes an option, or, the only option. If you chop it above node points, it'll just sprout new branches and leaves lower on the plant.

*edit! - I ALWAYS make sure I have leaves still on the plant when I top it, which is why I encourage lower branch growth so much. I wouldn't top it from a bare trunk. Odds are, it'd survive if you did it in the spring when it's pushing buds, but I've always gone the safe route and left leaves on the plant when I cut it back.

If you want to get more branches, pinch off new growth after the branches start getting bigger. I let mine get about 8" away from the plant, including the leaves to that point, then I pinch off the growing tips. I always hope they split, but I don't think they ever have. Mostly they push out more lower growth and send new growth from another node near the pinched tip. Almost every leaf can become a branch, but the plant likes to shed the lower ones in favor of higher ones if left to its own devices. I get lots of branching at the base that way. With a digitata, as opposed to grandidieri, a fat, gnarled trunk with branching is ok, especially when younger. Grandidieris don't look quite right with trunk branching.

If I can offer one bit of advice, don't stake it. It looks pretty cool all hunched over. I'm sure once it's hardened to the outdoors, it'll straighten up some, but one thing I don't ever see is a bowed baobab, and I think it looks pretty cool. It may produce a very neat shape for a bonsai. - maybe even desirable. I suspect that if it stays bowed, it'll produce new upwards-facing growth all along the trunk, making a really wide and imbalanced plant. Imbalance is desirable in bonsais if it's interesting. Also, if you haven't looked at the root for a few years, I doubt you can stake it without poking into the root somewhere.