Spring is just a couple months away and here in South Florida winter never came yet and may never. The November shipment of adeniums plants are leafing out and will be ready in late February/March to added to the AdeniumRose Company website. Now is the time to fertilize your adeniums plants. If you do not fertilize on a regular schedule then start with a diluted amount so you do not shock the desert rose plant. If you are using time released fertilizer then put a tablespoon of it on the top of the soil if you have not done so in the last 2 months.
If you have problem blooming adeniums then consider Dyna-Gro Bloom. Use the bloom fertilizer twice a month through February in the southern states and through March colder states or until unit you see flower buds.
In the southern states now is the time to crop the desert rose plants branches that are too long and/or take off branches below graft lines to force new growth on the hybrid branches. Remember grafted adenium plants only grow the adenium hybrid flowers on branches above the graft line. Branches that grow below the desert rose plant graft line will produce other flowers sometime standard adenium flowers and sometimes a different hybrid.
In the colder states crop the branches when the day temps are averaging 60 degrees or higher before cropping the adenium plant branches. If you have long summers like we do in South Florida wait until after they bloom before cropping the branches of mature adenium desert rose plants but no later than late July to give the plant two months to grow new branches before cool weather sets back in.
This is NOT the time to start adenium seeds. Wait until March and no later than June to start growing adenium seeds. If you have seedling wait until March before you crop the desert rose plants to force mulch-branch growth. Yes Epic Grower Company still has a few seedlings in the 2″ pots available now. larger seedlings have been replanted in 3.5″ pots and will be available in February.
Your Desert Rose plants are beautiful. I have 3 plants about 4 years old and it is a constant battle to find out how to keep them alive. It is either too much or too little water I believe, but I am not sure. I have just replanted them thinking their dish was too small and there was not enough soil, however I am afraid I have probably put them in a container too deep now.
You mentioned pruning off the limbs….I never knew that you should do this! I am trying to get them to thrive so cutting off limbs frightens me. but I have one plant with a tall center top branch about 18″ long then there are about 5 small limbs that come out around the bulb but are only about 4 inches long, I don’t know how I should or would prune this plant.
If you use he right soil over watering will not be a problem. Use bonsai style pots for best caudex growing (exposed root) on your desert rose plant. Adenium are hardy plants so cropping them is not a problem. Crop after the plant flowers with 2..3 months of growing season left to give the plant time to grow a couple limbs from the cropped area.