The adeniums are blooming in south Florida. The plumeria plants are starting to leaf and some are sending out flower spikes. Due to Florida’s long growing season we usually get 2 and sometimes 3 blooms a year from a adenium plant. Not all adeniums will bloom multiple times a year but some will.
People in the northern states should already be using a fertilizer because the adenium plants may not look like it but they should be coming out of dormancy in your areas. If you do not fertilize your desert roses all the time then start with a diluted amount fro the first 2 watering to prevent plant shock.
If you are growing adenium plants from seeds NOW IS the time! We sowed our first 3,000 seeds last month and the plants are doing great. Two weeks ago we plant the first plumeria seeds. We are not using any artificial lights or warmers what-so-ever in our area. We use very high domes over 20×10 trays. The seeds are group planted about 200 adenium seeds per tray. We lift the domes once a week to all fresh air and that’s it!
The plumeria plants received last year un-rooted are just about all starting to leaf. In a month we are schedule to check the root systems. If all goes well the plumeria plants will be offered starting in early summer. There are about 6..8 varieties of dwarf plumeria plants in stock. Dwarf plumerias limb segments are shorter and the plants grow from 2 to 3 meters tall when planted in the ground. Yes, you can grow them in large pots too! Just like adenium plants; some plumeria plants bloom before the leaf and other leaf before they bloom.
Hi! I live in Chicago. My desert roses are just waking up. They have not been watered since December. This may be a bit unconventional but this had worked for me. If I water even just once a month in the winter, I’d lose them to root rot. They are also planted in water lily baskets to help the water drain faster. The media I use is 10% coir, 10% pebbles, 10% sand, 10% top soil and 60% perlite (I believe I learned this combo from your blog). I hope this helps your Northern customers. I have kept my desert roses alive (and blooming in the summer) for three years now using this. I even felt confident enough to order 5 of your A. Arabicum seedlings! Also, I have recently acquired 3 A. Somalense seedlings. Today, I was looking around in your web site and saw the Spec Crested and got interested in that too.
1. Can you tell me how they are different from the ones I already have?
2. Also, I have always used SuperThrive on my babies but after reading your blog, I think I’m ready to switch to Dyna Gro. Which one would you suggest I use on them now (like I said they are just waking up) and is there a proportion I should use since I have not watered since December?.
3. Lastly, which formula (of Dyna Gro) would you suggest I get for the A. Arabicum seedlings I got from you? Would the same formula work for A. Somalense (I hear these are fast growers) and Spec Crested (coz you know I’m going to have to buy at least one of these from you now)
Crested is a form where the plant forms a “Crest” on a branch and produces many small leaves/branches. In the cactus and succulent world its a rare form. Adeniums crested are extremely rare and hard to find.
Replaced Superthrive with Dyan-Grow Grow. I would use one tea spoon to a gallon of water for your adeniums.
A.Araicum – seedlings need more water than regular adenium plants and you need to monitor them closely. I would leave out the SAND in the mixture when you plant the seedlings. Sometimes sand is not silica based. Many sand companies use limestone and limestone retains water and spreads fungus. I would bump up the perlite by 10 percent.
Thank you for your reply. I have just placed an order.
1. I bought four Dyna Gro formulas. Which one do I use for the ones that are just starting to wake up from their winter slumber?
2. I have a hobby greenhouse. last summer, I had a spider mite problem and lost a couple of dessert roses, dahlias, etc. I just prayed them with a strong blast of water with a little bit of dish soap. I am wondering though, if you can suggest a systemic insecticide and/or fungicide that I can safely use for my desert roses as a preventive measure and if you sell any. Thanks again
You want to start a regular schedule so the plants do not get shocked by starting and stopping and starting fertilization again. I would use the Dyna-Gro Bloom unit you see buds and then switch to Dyna-grow. Use K-L-N to soak the plants fro 30 minutes whenever planting or re-potting. I nutra soap based insecticide and seven dust liquid. I use 7 dust in the spring and switch to the nutra products at the beginning of summer. I use the 7 dust because here in SE Florida there is a orange butterfly that loves adeniums and the nutra soap does not do the job. I planted passion fruit vines near by to try to draw the butterfly’s away (it partially works). The caterpillars love the leaves. It does not harm the plants but clients want some leaves on the plants when we ship them so we have no choice.
Thank you again very much! you have no idea how precious this information is to me.