Bonsai adenium plants and cropping branches

Wow! It’s hot and humid out there working with the adenium, Hoyas, Plumerias and other plants.  AdeniumRose Company just finished the 2nd line of a drip water system for the hoyas (300 more plants). Drip irrigation conserves water and provides the hoya plants with more consistent watering to keep them moist during growing season and control liquid fertilizing.

Anyway, I potted another adenium plant that had problems last Fall in a bonsai pot with added accent pieces to make it more like a true bonsai scene.

desert rose plant bonsai
Upright bonsai adenium plant

Next month I will start training this one (cropping and wiring)  to develop a canopy and maybe add a small fishing man (mudman).  The adenium plants caudex is approximately  4″ wide and 3 inches wide. The pot is a 8″ x 6″ x 2.5″ made of ceramic with three holes in the bottom for drainage. The small white thing that looks like a “white seal lion” is actual an agate (semi-precious rock).  The green back ground rock is an jasper (I’m a rock/gem collector/cutter since I was 7 yrs old).

AdeniumRose Company may start listing some rocks such as petrified wood, agates, crystals, etc. (not ordinary rocks) to use in settings. If you use rocks, its best to use ones that are not porous.

The branches of this adenium were cropped last fall when we discovered roots problems. The adenium plant has fully recovered and three branches will be cropped next month – can you see which one? To create a canopy bonsai style adenium plant it needs a bunch of short branches in an umbrella share.

adenium bonsai traning
Where to crop the desert rose plant

The adenium plants branches on the left need cropping. The image shows where I plan to do the cropping of the adenium plant.  The branch in the back (small branch) has three little branches which I hope will grow another 3 inches so it can be cropped to by the end of the summer.

If you have any questions concerning cropping, wiring or even drip water systems please post them here for a quick reply.  Have a great week!

13 Replies to “Bonsai adenium plants and cropping branches”

      1. Thank you! Unfortunately I only just now have seen this reply, months later. I will do better to check in.

        If I could ask you to look at the pictures attached below. I transplanted it to a bonsai pot around September and raised it about a half inch out of the soil. Please excuse the amateur-ness of the wiring at the moment. (I know it is quite red-neck).

        Currently, it is the beginning of October in Southern Oklahoma with unpredictable weather. It has been in the house all winter and has had new growth. Would you recommend different pruning? I am hoping I did not do too bad of a hack job 6 months ago. I can see that I could have chosen better locations for the cuts.

        https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jUFYw2KASik98dplBci3kQGw4iq1YkAE-A/view?usp=sharing
        https://drive.google.com/file/d/164Mq6iKyXBDCXB1Mrsz1lkF5pZBwX7fw0A/view?usp=sharing

        1. the pruning looks good. I’m surprised not to see more branching on the desert rose plant below the prune area. Usually if you prune a branch you get 2..3 new branches. All yours show one branch. You may want to start using Dyna-gro Grow and Dyna-Gro Tekt to see grow more branches below the cuts in the future.

  1. Mine are older but with the monsoons..
    Can I crop now? Some cuttings I will root or graft; others I will toss. Any suggestions? Thanks, Craig
    Can I send pic?

    1. Cropping / pruning your pant now depends upon your growing environment. If you have 2 months left in your growing season OK otherwise I would wait until next growing season. here is SE Florida we can crop plant s just about year round do to our tropical environment.

  2. I have had my Adenium for about a year now and look similar to the one you have pictured here. I live in SE Florida as well and would like to prune mine to have a more umbrella-like canopy. It was repotted last spring and was waiting until it stopped blooming to prune. It is now late fall and it is still blooming but has few leaves. Should I wait until spring to prune or can I do it now to encourage more growth? You mention that you prune year round due to the tropical climate of South Florida. you also mention a dormancy period but haven’t really noticed one since I’ve had the plant. I gave it 14-14-14 time release fertilizer when I repotted it and recently purchased Jack’s Bloom Booster 10-30-20 fertilizer to feed it in the growing season. Thanks in advance for your advice!

  3. Hi, i live in north carolina and i have never had a desert rose. It has doubled in size since early spring and bloomed alot. I have repotted twice. I now know that the pot ive it in is way too big. It is now December so its been inside since late October. All the leaves turned brown n fell off. I thought it was maybe going dormant or had root rot from the research ive done so i have not watered anymore since i brought it inside. I made i mistake in cropped it back in November also. Is there any chance it will survive. Please help i dont want to loose it.

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