Adeniums

[mickthecactus]

I've got half a dozen Adeniums. This is "coral wings" pictured last weekend -

[mcvansoest]

Very nice. I have about the same number, with a 7th on the way.
Unfortunately I do not have any named hybrids that I am aware of and most plants are still fairly small, some look like they might develop a very nice caudex).
I have the A. crispum hybird that is shown in the picture, 4 A. obesum hybrids (one was sold to me as a true species, but until it flowers it is really hard to know for sure - and even after it might be hard to judge), an A. arabicum (true species that came from M. Dimmitt's nursery so I am fairly sure that that is a true species), and the plant that is on the way is supposedly an A. socotranum (fingers crossed that it is, followed by a lot of patience for it to grow big ).

I winter mine outside which is a little risky in case it gets too cold, but they are in front of a very 'leaky' window when it comes to keeping heat in the house, even when temperatures have dipped in the mid-low twenties in the yard, the temperature in front of the window has never dipped below 45F (I keep a thermometer there in winter) - not good news for the insulation of our house, but it saves me from having to find a place to keep these plants inside. I keep them bone dry in winter, stopped watering them about a month ago, will not water them until late March or so when night time temperatures are consistently above 50F again. So they tend to loose all their leaves - which freaked me out the first time it happened to my tryout plant - after I kept that alive for a couple of years I started getting more, but now I sort of expect them to do it. One is still in flower but the air is so dry here at the moment that while the flower is open it does not look like much.

I recently attended a seminar on growing Adeniums by Mark Dimmitt at the Desert Botanical Garden and learned that I was treating them way too much like cacti in the summer - I need to water them a lot more to get them to grow and flower better. I will be trying that out next summer. The A. crispum hybrid was a gift that came with paying for attending the seminar.

Both Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the Desert Botanical Garden have some impressive specimens. Looking forward (with patience) to my plants attaining that size.

Adenium crispum hybrid

DSCF6684.JPG (93.19 KiB) Viewed 3588 times

[mickthecactus]

I was told to treat them like tomato plants in summer and your most delicate plant in winter.

[Spination]

Beautiful plants guys!

I have one I grew myself from seed, and it's the sole survivor of about 10 to begin with. I gave the others away as year-old plants to friends and family, and they killed off each and every one. I guess that tells me it's not that easy to grow, even with specific instructions. Mine seems to like being ignored and left alone, receiving bright light on the top shelf in a greenhouse, and receiving minimal watering. The caudex is starting to look like something, but it's got a long way to go. I also like the branching that's going on. It's flowered a couple of times, and from memory, they look similar to those in the 2nd post. For some reason, it appears I never took any pictures of the flowers ! ?

About 3-4 years (?) old here...

2013 01 28 Adenium Obesum #1 b X735.jpg (107.41 KiB) Viewed 3583 times

[mcvansoest]

That is a nice plant! I learned at the seminar, that the flower with the striping in the throat on the A. crispum hybrid is very specific to that particular species and makes hybrids with A. crispum in the parentage somewhat easy to recognize.

[mickthecactus]

I don't agree about minimal watering. When growing in summer they like plenty of water and feeding.

Leave well alone in winter once the leaves drop though.

However, somewhere like Thailand they will grow all year round and can make huge specimens in just a few years.

[mcvansoest]

Yeah, the guy giving the seminar,really stressed the summer watering as well - is supposed to make them grow a lot better, and with the right half strength fertilizer also should help the flowering. He grows his plants in a large greenhouse and thus can water them all year round as temperatures are staying high enough for the plant to not go into hibernation. Unfortunately he only sells his plants wholesale to other nurseries and the occasional interested buyer willing to be very spendy.

I almost killed my first one because I kept watering throughout the winter especially after those leaves dropped, but it scraped through and then I learned about not watering them in winter and keeping them dry as well so no exposure to rain. But the watering like a cactus regime kept it pretty small with very little overall development, so hopefully this coming summer with an improved watering regime I will get it to grow some.

Here are some pictures of one of my A. obesum hybrids. It started out with a pure white flower in Summer, but as it got to Fall it got more and more pink in them:

A. obesum hybrid

DSCF6476.jpg (94.12 KiB) Viewed 3573 times

A. obesum hybrid

DSCF6714.JPG (67.36 KiB) Viewed 3573 times

[mickthecactus]

Lovely flower!

[Spination]

Thanks guys for the tips and pictures. I do water in summer, but other than that, I don't really fuss with it. But, I will be mindful of watering more when hot and the 1/2 strength fertilizer sounds like a very good idea. Maybe that's why I got no flowers this year...

[mcvansoest]

Hi Spination - use a fertilizer low in nitrogen - high nitrogen just stimulates vegetative growth - and usually not of the caudex variety. If I can locate the notes I took at the seminar about fertilization I will pass them along. He had some other tips that seemed useful to me.

[Spination]

THANKS!

[Stan]

I let a hybrid- 'Red Star' go too dry one winter indoors and it shriveled and collapsed. So,maybe hybrids are not like wild plants on a hillside in Socotra! It had no real caudex,looked kind of weedy except it was a very good flowerer and the foliage was dark green and glossy.
I'm down to one A.arabicum. The trunk looks exotic as can be- fat and gold blushed...few flowers in early summer. I will give it points for surviving mistakes and still re rooting. Twice.