February 2012 - Epic Grower LLC

February 27, 2012

Adenium growing by seeds

I just received a questions about how long it takes for an adenium seed to germinate. The answer is simple if you have the right growing conditions. First, growing adenium plants by seeds is a low cost method of starting a desert rose plant collection. You can obtain adenium seeds for a few dollars (packs of 10 of 20) of various flower types. However, you need to remember until the seed bloom you will not know if the plant flower is anything like the parent plant. Only a percentage of adenium seeds will grow into plants with the same flowers of its parents.

Now back to the question. If you have fresh adenium plant seeds and you are growing them in the right condition they will germinate in 5 to 7 days. yes, I have see some germinate in three days and some 2 weeks. But 95% will germinate in 5 to 7 days if the seeds are fresh. The majority of the ones that take 10 to 14 to germinate tend to be weaker plants and older seeds. We have had great success growing adenium seeds under LED lights using tri-band and even some dual band lights. After the seedlings are over 3 months old the adenium plant seedlings are totally removed from the LED and grow under natural light.

We use standard 10×20 trays (the ones with holes/slots all around the sides) and keep the desert rose plants moist by misting them using spray bottles. Yes, we dome the trays until the adenium seedlings are 1 month old. If you have any questions concerning growing adenium plants and seeds please let me know. Have a great time growing and collecting adenium, desert rose plants.

February 20, 2012

Adenium Growing season is upon us – maybe bonsai your adenium now?

Bonsai Adenium — Adenium, Desrt rose plant, bonsai style

Now is a great time to bonsai your adenium before it gets too much leafage. here is South Florida Adenium growing is just about year round. Yes, during the winter months (if you can call 745 to 85 degrees winter) the desert rose plants do slow down. Depending upon your location now is the time to get ready for flowers and training your adenium. Not all adenium desert rose growers train their plant in a bonsai manor. However, if you want to create interesting shapes and even a canopy style adenium now if the time to wire up. special note DO NOT USE COPPER wire. Use aluminum bonsai wire which is easy to bend and will not cause plant discoloration as does copper.

Remembered when wiring branches to flow a certain way do it in steps. The older the adenium branch the harder its to shape and more likely to brake. Yes, when you bonsai adeniums you may even cut a branch completely off so several new branches spring up that you can shape the flow. Desert rose plants, adeniums, branches break easily so work be careful. when wire wrapping your adenium make is a loose wire wrap otherwise you risk damage to the branch or even anchor trunk of the adenium plant. Bonsai adeniums require patience and plant branch adjusting. During the growing season check the plants ever month or so to make sure the wire is not choking the branch on your Bonsai adenium. I will start to add images of wire wrapped adeniums and some already bonsai adenium plants in the near future. The adenium image on the left is a good start to bonsai style. The next time this desert rose plant its replotted the caudex will need some work. I would suggest to remove some of the roots so the plant its concentrates growth on 3..5 roots only to make the caudex fatter. Also, when this adenium bonsai I would cut the lower of the two branches so several now branches sprout out and then curve the remaining uncut branch back towards the pot center

February 9, 2012

Adeniumrose adenium plant auction verses website

Several people have asked about the Ebay plants offered by EPic Grower Company (Azurite Ebay name) verses the ones offered on the website. when bidding on the adenium, desert rose, plans offered on Ebay, you will receive the exact plant you see in the image. On the website we pick the plants. So whats’ the difference?

People collect adeniums, desert rose, plants for the flowers and the shape of the actual plant. The caudex, exposed root system has a natural bonsai look. Many prefer to see the exact shape of the caudex of the adenium plant before buying. The AdeniumRose company has hundreds of adenium plants and seedlings at any one time. the AdeniumRose website shows the flower but not the caudex because listing every plant separate would be a huge time consuming task. Instead, we list the quantity of each desert rose plant we have in stock based on the flower name.

Also, Ebay allows us to offer larger adenium plants and sometimes desert rose plants of a particular flower which we have only 1..2 of them in stock. Plus, we will be listing some true bonsai shaped adeniums too on Ebay. When you order from the website our staff select the adenium plant Our staff does pick quality ones based on stock on hand. They first look at the overall health, number of branches and then the adenium plants caudex.

February 6, 2012

Adenium plant grafting and desert rose plants

Several people have ask about the grafts and the age of the plant we use as the base of the adenium graft. First, the base adenium, desert rose, plant we use as grafting material is an 3yr old Adenium with a caudex of approximately 3″ or larger. Adenium plant that is 3yrs old is well established, it has been growing outside in the elements so it disease resistant and the trunk is large enough to accept a good size graft or several adenium hybrid grafts.

When grafting we select a adenium branch or branches that are at least 3″ long from a plant that is 3..5 years old. We do not graft adenium seedlings or branches from young adeniums for the same reason we use at least a 3yr adenium stock plant to graft onto. The healthier the adenium plant and adenium graft the better chance the graft holds and stays healthy.

Grafting adenium plants is not a hard process. However if you do not take proper precautions your adenium, desert rose, plant graft will fail. You need to use very healthy plants, sterile tools, proper size of grafting area, proper wrapping and other procedures to get the adenium graft to work. The Epic Grower Company waits a full 8 months or more which means 2 flowering cycles before offering grafted adenium plants. In addition the plant must be growing outdoors at least 6 months to make sure its healthy and resistant to problems. Desert rose plants are very hearty and graft well under the right conditions.