Month: July 2014

Q: I live in New Hampshire. will the desert rose plants, adeniums, grow in may area?

A;

A: Yes we have clients in Maine, NY, MN, ND, Washington State, etc. However, you need to grow them in containers, use the right soil and fertilizers. In the northern states many collectors have greenhouses or a window sun room so you can extend the growing season due your longer winters. The adenium plants, desert rose plants, do not like weather below 40 degrees what so ever. If you do not have a green house or large window facing south to extend your growing season you may want to get a growing light. Do you have to have longer growing season and light to grow them – No. However, they will grow much slower and may not flower in the Spring/early summer as easily. You will need to use fertilizer to help them grow and bloom.

During the winter water them once a month. Use time released 6-6-6 or 6-6-10 fertilizer during the summer months and in the Winter.  Use Dyna-Bloom and Dyna-Grow Tekt starting in late winter (March in your area) for two months every other week or until you see flower buds just starting to form.

The grow light or large south facing window is more critical during the late winter early spring in your area. You need to get the adenium plants to warm up (60 to 70 degrees) with longer hours of daylight start to grow to get flower in late Spring/Early summer.

Adenium plants do go dormant and if the plants does not get enough light (6 hours) and warmth starting in late winter (March) to get out of dormancy you may have a hard time getting the desert rose plants to bloom. In England desert plants such as adeniums are very popular, however, they have green houses or growing windows. Their weather the Northern New England states in the USA so if they can grow the desert rose plant and other succulents so can you.

Q: I live in New Hampshire. will the desert rose plants, adeniums, grow in my area?

A: Yes we have clients in Maine, NY, MN, ND, Washington State, etc. However, you need to grow them in containers, use the right soil and fertilizers. In the northern states many collectors have greenhouses or a window sun room so you can extend the growing season due your longer winters. The adenium plants, desert rose plants, does not like weather below 40 degrees what so ever. If you do not have a green house or large south facing window to extend your growing season you may want to get a growing light. Do you have to have longer growing season and light to grow them – No. However, they will grow much slower and may not flower in the Spring/early summer as easily. You will need to use fertilizer to help them grow and bloom.

During the winter water them once a month. Use time released 6-6-6 or 6-6-10 fertilizer during the summer months and in the Winter. Use Dyna-Bloom and Dyna-Grow Tekt starting in late winter (March in your area) for two months every other week or until you see flower buds just starting to form.

The grow light or large south facing window is more critical during the late winter early spring in your area. You need to get the adenium plants to warm up (60 to 70 degrees) with longer hours of daylight start to grow to get flower in late Spring/Early summer.

Adenium plants do go dormant and if the plants does not get enough light (6 hours) and warmth starting in late winter (March) to get out of dormancy you may have a hard time getting the desert rose plants to bloom. In England desert plants such as adeniums are very popular, however, they have green houses or growing windows. Their weather the Northern New England states in the USA so if they can grow the desert rose plant and other succulents so can you.

Adenium arabicum plants grown seed produce the most amazing shapes of caudex.  AdeniumRose Company has finally found a reliable source for true arabicon seeds that show the right form, leaf color and trunk. Last year we tested several sources and one company stood out from the rest in the germination percentage from seed, strength of  the seedling and growth of plants form their seeds.

Adenium arabicums plant grows a squat fat form caudex with many branches growing from the caudex. The fat caudex and many branches gives little differentiation between trunk and branches. The leaves are shiny on the upper and lower surface, unlike Adenium obesum. The skin on the plant is has a more purple to dark brown coloration. The pink to deep red number in hundreds on a mature arabicum, flowering succulent, plant due to their many branches coming up from the caudex.

Also, unlike adenium obesums, the adenium arabicum plant makes a perfect base for a true canopy adenium bonsai form. Yes, you can grow a canopy form using adenium obesums but its a bit more difficult to get a full canopy with a plant with on main trunk. In the image of the adenium arabicum plant you will notice its hard to determine where the caudex ends and trunk begins. As the plant grows the caudex get a bit taller so the many branches coming out of the caudex create a canopy that you wire outwards.

Presently, Epic Grower Company is growing adenium arabicums plants from seed and they should be available by next summer as 1 to 1.5 yr old adenium plants. These are true collector plants and grow for their shape verse the flower type. These are the adeniums you would see in a show that produces hundred of flowers per plant with bases of over 4..5 wide with a canopy of over 5..7 feet around.