Question: Hello,First, I have received my order of three plants. I am very happy with them, and will be leaving your positive feedback shortly. Second: Do you have any printed information about the caring of Adenium plants? What is cutting back and how should I do it? I currently have four in four inch pots that I have had since July ’04, and they are just tall and skinny. No signs of looking like any of the plants I have seen with your pictures. One actually bloomed this past week with five huge, white, single petals. No signs of budding on any of the other three. Should I be doing something to encourage blooms? Help…and much thanks for offering such a bargain. I am looking forward to getting them into pots. I have them in shallow water to hydrate them from shipping shock.
Answer: One of the best ways to get answer is to use this blog and post a question about adenium plants. In order to grow fat caudex you need to crop your adeniums, water frequently (make sure you have the proper soil – very fast draining!) and re-pot on a regular basis. Cropping will force new branches. I recommend re-potting once every year or two years in slower growing areas. We grow in a tropical climate so we re-pot young adeniums (6 months to 3yr old desert roses) plants once every 8 months. Not knowing your growing climate limits me to just general information. Fertilize the adenium plant when NOT in bud or flowering using a very low nitrogen formula.
DO NOT LEAVE DESERT ROSE PLANTS IN THE WATER TO RE-hydrate more than 1 hour!!!! Its much better to plant and water frequently to rehydrate the caudex. The key to watering frequently is the soil you use for your desert rose plant must have plenty of air (use 60%..70% perlite, 10..15% coir, 10% soil with no peat moss and 5% rock) and water 2..3 times a week or more if you are growing the adeniums in a desert or tropical climate. The coir and soil will retain some moisture but not much. This forces the adeniums root to reach out (created more little roots from the big ones) for water and to store any water it finds in the caudex.
I have 4 Adenium plants. One is just recovering from a root rot which caused by over watering in which the dripr tray was full of water when I returned after a short trip. My help had generously watered the plants. I searched in the internet and got few useful tips which helped me. It has just started flowering a week back.
Now the 2nd and the 3rd plants came in last week. One is a grafted white and the other one is pink from seedling (just about to flower) and another a v.young plant. Now please tell me how to transfer the plant from the nursery peat mix to the new pot. I have already planted them to new pots with relatively dry and quick draining media as they all were in soggy and clayish media. I have put v.little bone meal mixed with peat and soil over a layer of sand. I have raised the caudex a bit high and filled the rest with pebbles. This is how my 1st plant came back to life after the root-rot.
Another question is how young should the plant be to start wiring the branches to create a shape? ( I’m trying out by myself).
When should I start manuring? And also, is it just enough to use water soluble fertilizer once in 3 weeks?
Thanks
First DO NOT USE peat or bone meal because they retain too much water for adeniums. If you have no choice I recommend adding at least 60% perlite into the mixture or you will get root rot again on your adeniums. We never have drip trays under the adenium pots. The soil must drain quickly and only retain a very small amount of moisture. Please see previous post concerning soil mixture for adenium desert rose plants. You mentioned sand. Make sure the sand is not limestone based. Limestone absorbs water and creates a habitat for mold and algae which are both bad for adenium plants. Root rot will not always kill adeniums. I depends upon how bad is the rot wand when you see the problem.
We start forming the shape of the caudex as young as 8 months old. I recommend to wait until the cuadex is approximately 2″ before you start wiring branches. Up to that time you shoudl be concentrating on creating many branches by cropping.
We do not use water soluble fertilizer after the first year of growth. We use a 7-7-10 time released desert rose formula with other nutrients. When we re-pot we soak the roots in superthrive for 5 to 10 minutes before planting the adenium plants. Do not over fertilize adeniums desert rose plants. They like lean soil. I would switch to a time release formula and then only 1..2 times during the adenium plants growing season after it flowers.
Hi,
Many thanks for the prompt reply.
The sand we get here is the river sand. Shall I mix perlite 60% with 10% small chunks of coconut husk with 10% sand and 20% med to small Pebbles?
I have removed the white adenium from my pot mix and cleaned and dried the caudex and is ready to be potted according to your instructions. Is watering once in 3-4 days with a hand full of water enough?
Thanks again.
You want silica sand if possible. 60% perlite for adeniums is good with 20 coconut husks, 10 small rocks and 10% soil will work for most areas when growing desert roses.
Water 3..4 times is a lot for adeniums unless you are growing outside in the desert. 3 times is plenty and make sure the soil is dry before watering your adeniums
Does a grafted plant’s caudex still grow after it has been grafted? If it still does, is it slower then one planted from seed? Does anyone know? Thanks.
Grafted plants grow fast because they already have a very established root system. Our desert rose plant grafts, they majority of the time, use a least a 3yr adenium plant so once grafted they grow fast. The base of the grafted plants are seed grown adeniums of various types. Yes the caudex keeps growing even after the graft. Our 3yr grafted plants caudex usually increase in size by 50% to 100%, depending upon the base adenium variety, in one year when we grow them in South Florida. You need to crop the plants and re-pot the plants at least once a year. When you report the adenium plants you need to organize the roots (spread them out) so the desert rose plant caudex expands faster.
We have seven desert rose plants at our home in Anguilla, BWI, the Caribbean, 18 degree north latitude — hot, rocky and seasonally dry. They are planted in clay pots generally three times the size of the caudex diameter for the one with the best multi limbed 8″ diameter caudex, and with a larger ratio for those that look like a 2″ trunk with one or two smaller limbs growing just at or 1″ to 2″above the soil.
One adenia is quite tall and spindly, leaning greatly to the sun even though it is at the edge of a high open porch roof, and a favourite because of its deep red flowers as the others have only pink blooms. It has a 2.5″ diameter branch at the soil, a secondary 1.3″ diameter branch starting 1″ above the soil and each of these limbs are 16″ tall before another stem forms, with an overall length of 60″ to the tip. The plant is health and is producing a seed pod at the end of a 12″ long stem on the secondary branch, which I have wrapped with wire to not lose the seeds.
The shape is not globular like the other plants and needs pruning. How do I determine how high above the first branching near the soil to cut each limb? Is it best to cut both limbs at the same time?
Thank you in advance.
Without images it hard to say where to trim you adenium plant. If you want to build a larger caudex then you need to keep the branches short and develop many branches. I would cut one of the two branches at 6″..8″ above the soil level (about 4″ above the caudex). Once you start to see branches with small leaves develop cut the adenium plants 2nd branch then cut the 2nd branch.
I took the seeds from my desert rose plant and now have 150 plants growing in 4 inch pots. I live in Florida and am wondering when i can put them outside because of our rainy season approaching. The plants are three months old so very tiny. Thanks
Growing adeniums by seed is a slow and great experience. We do not put our seedlings in the open until they are 6 months old and the caudex are no longer green. Make sure you use very well draining soil or you will loose all your seedlings. Yes, we get tons of rain every year in our area and when growing adenium seedlings expect to loose about 10% to 25% of them due to problems. Not all adeniums seeds produce strong plants. Just like people some desert rose plant seedlings will have problems (sickness) and some will do great!
I would appreciate information on how to plant desert rose cuttings. I have read many different explanations but trust yours more than the others I have read! How long should the cutting be? Some say to let the cutting dry for a few days before potting. Some say to dip them in root hormone. To mix moss and perlite. How often to water? How many weeks before it is transplanted into regular potting material for desert rose. Anything special to do to help create a great caudex? I have read that transplanted plants often do not create an interesting caudex. thanks!
I learn a lot from your answers to others. thanks for providing a wondering service.
I need some advice please. I have over 20 pots of grafted adenium and another 10 of the regular pink ones. The regular ones don’t have any problems but the grafted ones suffer from poor root growth and worse still, severe bod rot. I am so discouraged. What can I do to overcome these problems? Thanks.
Its a bit late in the season to do the bloom boost to the plant. You may be have nutrients problems. I would use a low nitrogen fertilizer until right before spring and then use a liquid bloom booster to get the adeniums to flower. Remember Adenium plants are Spring bloomers and sometimes they will bloom a second time in the late summer. Remember do not fertilize the desert rose plants if you see blooms in the spring or they will drop..
first of thank’s for all the good information in this thread i’v learned alot.
my question is
1. i ordered some seeds oct.-nov. 2013 when is a good time to plant them i live near the Mississippi/Tennessee line
2. how do you get the interwoven roots like in this pic?
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=564163053652869&set=gm.10153652255300043&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Good day: when to plant seeds depends upon your growing environment. If you are growing them during winter then you will need a growing light source and a warming try to keep the adenium seeds around 70 degrees or warmer. In your area area I would recommend a growing light and seed propagation soil mix. Give them 8 hours of light at least and then should sprout in 5 to 7 days. If they take longer than 10 days then the seeds are bad/old and the plants will be weak!
The exposed root system of the adenium should be treat as a bonsai plant. Look for a recent post for more information on how to create interesting root systems.
I have had my Adenium for 7 years and I absolutely love it like I love my child! I have repotted it over the years in regular fast draining soil but this time I mixed it with some river rock and a Phalaenopsis mix which is made up of Western fir bark, hardwood charcoal, chunky peat moss and course perlite. It seems to be going great but I would just like to make sure that this is a decent idea. My baby has been through a bad relationship and has survived beautifully! Some days while she’s inside I sit her on a bed off rocks with a little water to give her some humidity indoors. I live in NC so the weather here is crazy and not yet warm enough to go outside but I put her out when I can. During the summer she is direct sun to partial shade and she loves it. Speaking of that bad relationship, she got thrown in pot and now she has a chunk out of a part of the caudex and I would like to know what I can put on that to heal it. It has no compromised the health of the plant thankfully just the look. I thought about grafting her but I can’t bring myself to do it, I just can’t. Any info you can give m would be greatly appreciated!! I think your website is great!!!
Peat moss, wood and charcoal is a big no no – they retains too much water. Orchid soil is designed to retain water where cactus/succulent soil is designed to let the water to flow through. I would change it out or you will run the risk of serious root rot.
The damaged area of the caudex will heal over in time – just keep the are dry and out of the soil for a 7 to 10 days.
haev a great day.
i have a 7 year old adenium. i re-potted it recently (about 2 months ago). it is growing properly. also flowering. but the caudex has shrinked in size.can anyone help??? i live in India
Caudex shrink due to lack of water. when you re-potted the adenium did you damage any of the roots?
i din damage any of the roots but i had just trimmed the very fine ones…and i had raised it about an inch
when you trim any roots of cactus or succulent plants you need to let the plant heal before planting or you haev a good chance of getting root rot.
Hi, I live in India. Temperature here is around 117 deg F now.
I have recently found interest in adeniums. I ordered grafted adeniums. The leaves are all dried up. The graft branches don’t have any leaves. I have two concerns here
1. There are shoots coming up from the point below the graft. Whether I should keep them or trim them.
2. I have planted them in a 60% cocopeat, 20% perlite and 20% soil mixture. As I could read in the other post here, this is not the right media as it might cause root rot. Should I consider repotting? I just potted them a couple of days back. Request your kind advice.
The shoots coming up below the graft will not bloom, like the grafted part. We usually recommend to plant the adenium plant and in about 60 days cut off the branches below the raft line to force the branches above the graft to receive the most growth. Correct the soil mixture is wrong. This site has many articles on the proper soil mix. Do a search on this blog using the word soil
I just replanted my first adenium actually 2 x because did not read anyone’s comments and this is my very first. I had to do it over because i forgot the perlite so I have potting soil 40% and 60% perlite and raised it 2 inches i want to make my plant have very wide roots. Have I do the correct thing i have a very very green thumb. thanks and have a Bless Day
Potting soil should only be about 10%. Regular potting soil does not breathe and retinas too much peat. If the potting soil is specifically for cactus and succulents then ok otherwise not.
I have three desert rose plants in a seventeen inch round by 16 inch deep pot. The bottom of said pot is full of one to two inch round river rock to a depth of six inches left for soil to plant into.AS THE DESERT ROSE PLANTS GROW and contact the rock bottom of the pot will the caudex spread outward or push itself upwards ?
I am completely new at this so I’m asking a million questions hope you guys can help me
The problem with using a deep pots is that the adenium plants roots will work their way through the rocks. Yes the rocks will slow the downward growth a bit but the roots will still go down. You need to put something solid above the rocks (below the soil) to force the outward growth. Rocks are great to use in the bottom to help drain the water but unless you have something between the rocks and the adenium plant the roots will go down too plus the rocks will get filled in by your adenium soil.
Hey there,
It is really great to learn many things from this website and your comments. Really hats off to your knowledge and the way you guide. Well i am from India, Gujarat and the area is surrounded by sea water from 3 side. Its warm almost 12 months. I have few Adenium plants at my place which are quite big like normal plant and flowering on regular base. I have small Adenium plants too. The question are as below.
1) I collect those seeds of Adenium plant which are furry from both side. Please guide me how to plant them so that i can grow more and more plants.
2) I want my caudex thick and more like bonsai…
Please help me as soon as possible
Thanks
Regards
Sid !
To grow a large caudex you need to use shallow bonsai type pots and re-pot the plant every 6 months so you can spread out the roots to make the caudex spread out. Grow seeds in late spring (May..June). You need 4 months of good growing once the seeds sprout to get the adenium seeds large enough to survive the 1st winter well. Seed and seedlings need tons of water. Never let the soil dry out when growing desert rose seeds and seedlings until they are 4 months old!
how to increase no of branches in adanium
Need to crop them. Usually when you crop/prune the branches of adeniums you will get 2.33 replacement branches.
How to grow a fat caudex
Please search this site using the key work crop, caudex. There are several articles. You need to to start with a shallow bonsai type pot to for the roots out and up. You need to adjust the plant twice a year year – lift up the plant a few inches to expose more roots. The plants need plenty of water and proper soil.
Thank you…
After how many days should I transfer seedlings to a bigger pot?? Mine are a week old ☺
We usually wait until the adenium seedlings are 3 months old. at this point they are getting large, they haev several leaves and are hearty enough to survive the transplant.
Your guidance is invaluable.Kindly let me avail this facility.
Not too sure what you are asking. This is a blog concerning growing adeniums, plumieras, succulents and cactus (soon Hoyas too). We haev a store that offer these and other plants desired by collectors.
YOUR GUIDANCE IS INVALUABLE.
How long does it take for adenium seedlings to start flowering
It depends upon the adenium seedling type and your growing environment (how much sun, fertilization, etc). On a very few some seedlings take 1 yr (from seed planting to flower) however most take some 2..3 years.
Hi I got told that I can cut the large desert rose roots and leave the small ones and I did it in winter ! Should I leave plant out to dry before repotting ?
Adeniums are collected for their large exposed roots. I would not cut off the large roots and leave the small ones. Raise the plant up higher out of the soil to expose the larger roots which will change color over time from the cream white to brown. If you must cut the roots you need to leave the plant out for 5..7 days (Keep dry) to let the cut heal over before planting to help prevent root rot. Make sure you use the right soil so it does not retain water.
I live in india.i would like to know that what is the effect of grafting on adeniums .Do there caudex grew thick by it ?
You graft to get a proven flower type on an established adenium base plant.
Hi i am from india and i recently brought and adenium from the nursery.
hear the adenium are not so great looking they are kind of dull and thin and are potted in red soil which i know is really not good for the adeniums as the soil should be lose enough so that air can pass through yet these poor plants are bearing it!
anyway i brought one and it almost 2 feet tall it has little leaves with two buds which bloomed later, it has a main branch which is the tallest and is has four small branches surrounding its sides, it has a caudex which is straight shooting downwards.
as soon as i brought it i cleaned off the roots pruned off the fine root which where at the top off the main roots and re potted it in a bonsai pot with coco peat perlite and organic manure as new soil and i have kept half of the roots exposed above soil.
after the re pot it shed its leaves and is now growing new leaves in full sunlight.
now i was thinking that i do not like the way the caudex is going cause it is shooting downwards instead it should spread out wards and i wanted to have a complete root pruning to grow a root that spreads outward i don’t know whether i should go for this or not cause its my first time with an adenium though i have done some research on it yet!
now if i really want to have a root cut i need to know few things.
how old must an adenium be to have a complete root cut so that i can grown and spread out new roots?
i have no idea how old is my adenium, yes but its 2 feet tall and thin
and it has a hard caudex. if the root is hard it cannot be cut?
even if it can be cut should i cut of the tall branch short and the other four branches leaves first and wait for a month or two to then have a complete root cut?
which is the best season to have a root cut summer or spring ?
i know that after you cut of the roots you have to wait for 5-7 days for it to dry and heal would it be good to use Cinnamon powder as healing effect on radical pruning
after the pruning can i use the same soil which i re potted or should i use only coco peat for a month until it has grown some roots?
i do know the procedure of spreading roots,
just after i have cut the roots and potted it should i water it?
if not then when should i start and how many times a week should i water?
Hi,
This is really a very informative blog. I got all the information i needed. I was not happy to see my adeniums growing slowly. Now i know what to do.
Thanks and regards from India.
Why to sprinkle cinnamon powder on cutted branches of adenium after cropping
We do not do this on our adeniums. Some people do to help the plant heal when you prune the plant but its not needed. The branches need to be kept dry for 5..7 days after cutting (even if you put cinnamon on it you need to do this) for them to heal.
My Desert Roses plant looks healthy, standing about 30cm but leans over badly, it almost touches the ground, what makes it lean over so much ?
the branches should not bend over what so ever. Are the branches very thin?
A query. I see Thai videos in which the caudex is sliced off flat, just above the roots. The bottom part of the plant is then wiped clean of the sap. Then some liquid substance, perhaps a fungicide is applied to the exposed surface. WHAT EXACTLY is this substance that is applied?
Fungal powder (Captan?)and liquid rooting compound.
THANKS. I was eagerly awaiting your reply.
hello there,
i’m from Gujarat, i have a adenium plant from 5 years and from last 2 years i had transfer it in a bonsai container which is so less in dip made by soil, my problem is that, it has no any branch only grow in single and 7-8 leaves are there on top thts why i can’t even trim or prun it its height is near to 2.5 feet now ,
so give me proper advise to have more branches and fat caudex on my lovely adenium rose
It’s hard to tell you what to do without an image except you can crop it lower to about 3 inches above the caudex and it will develop more branches. However if this is a grafted plant then you then determine where the graft is lowered and cut above the craft about 4″.
I have a fairly large Adenium and I have just dropped it 4inches above caudex. I put lime sulphur on the cuts. I am wondering how to stop it from shooting more stems from the caudex. It has 6 and I think will look quite nice when the branches shoot from the tops. I’m thinking more shoots from the caudex will make it look untidy. What do you think?
Keep on cropping of the lower branches. There is no way to make it not to grow a branch from a certain portion of the desert rose plant.
I Live in Tucson, Az. 9/10/16 Just re-potted my new Adenium. How much of the caudex can you expose at any given time. I exposed 3″ leaving a very decent amount below.
It depends o n the plant. We leave about 2″ to 3″ below ground even with our jumbo size plants. We use shallow pots for all our adeniums.
I purchased two Adeniums recently. They are both in somewhat deeper large diameter pots and do NOT have a caudex at all. I’ve purchased larger desert roses in the past from plant shows that had large wide caudexes.
What can I do now to have my plants grow large caudexes and stay healthy. They both are budding and have great blooms but I’d like to develop the large prominant caudex.
I’m not sure what soil the previous owner placed them in..each plant is wide with many branches; about 2’6″ high in pots that appear to be pots such as 20 gal or so.
it sounds like you purchased plants grow from stems. Adenium plants grow from branches/stems do not grow the wide caudex easily. You pot is way to deep to grow a wide caudex. You need to grow it like a bonsai in a shallow pot.
Hello,
I came from philppines
i want to ask about what is the way to graft adenium to have mulitiple color,
I have pulmera and adenium i try to graft many times my adenium is 10 years old and pulmera also but
i always failed i follow the youtube video on how to graft but i was failed.
what must i do to make my adenium grafting successful to have multiple color?
Please and thank you
it would require a book to teach grafting and grafting problems which is beyond the scope of this blog.
how much of the caudex should i keep inside the soil
It depends upon the age of the plant and the current size of he caudex. There is no 100% right answer. Usually we keep about 1/2 of the root system under the soil line unless doing bonsai.
is there any difference in the care of grafted and non-grafted adeniums
Grafted adeniums guarantee the type of flower you will see on your plant. 99% of the time the grafted branch is from a proven rosy adenium type. Ungrafted plants are not hybrids and there is not way to determine the flower type unless the seed if from a natural variety of adenium
remarkable source of knowledge
Wow, best blog Ive read; Ive had my adenium for about 5 years- it was a gift, so it should be a lil bit older. Ive read so many different info that Im loaded and then just forget everything I read 😒. I live in Puerto Rico, so she stays outside all year long, last year she kept flowering month after months (for around 3 months straight)- til it stopped and noticed it got a lil bit leggy. I pruned branches about a month ago, it’s strting to grow some lil’ leaves.
Now, I just read about training roots and whatnot, and just remembered that it’s been two years already since I repotted (hadn’t repot because my vanda orchid decided to spread her roots all around the adeniums pot insode and out; didnt want to dosturb any of them); only a couple roots showing through draining hole.
Finally, questions- how long should I wait to start fertilizing after pruning branches?
How long should I wait to repot, trim roots, lift caudex after pruning branches – or can I prun both branches and roots at the same time?
Can I prun roots all the way up til’ I meet with the caudex to promote roots at the top of the soil mix/ or fatter roots?
Once again, loved ur blog; sorry for all the excitement and questions 😂- its just that Im overloaded woth so many informations that Im still confused.
I would wait until new branches come out and grow to 2 inches long before re-potting the desert rose plant. You do not want to double shock the adenium plant. Do not remove too many roots on an adenium. It’s hard to tell what roots to trim without see the roots plant. On adeniums we spread out the roots and we raise the plant to expose more roots (enlarge the caudex) and rarely trim the roots unless there is a problem. We do not wait to fertilize adeniums. In our area, like ours (tropical) the adenium plants are fertilized all year long just less in the dormant/slow grow periods.
I am living in metro Manila and have 26 Adenium plants included 22 young grafted bare root plants I received in the mail a few days ago. The humidity is always very high here as are the night time temperatures. I want to know if I need to use a fungicide on these plants on a regular basis and if so what do you recommend ? I grow outdoor in pots on a very sunny third floor terrace. Thanks for this forum and all the help you have been to your readers.
We do not use a fungicide unless we see a problem on adeniums. We haev used Bonide 811 Copper 4E Fungicide and
Clearys 3336F Fungicide.
I have ordered some neem oil. Is this OK to use on Adenium and if so is it likely good enough to stave off any potential fungal problems ?
We haev never used neem oil on adeniums so I would be careful.
I have a dozen or so newly established Adenium obesum from cuttings. They are healthy and growing well. Can I pot them all together and bind them tightly, to get them to fuse together and make a very thick trunk?
No it will not work with adeniums. Adenium grown form cuttings will not develop fat caudexes 97% of the time. sorry–
97% of the time desert rose plants adeniums will not grow a fat caudex when propagated by cuttings. Sorry
I am growing desert roses from seeds. My seedlings are now about 3-4 inches tall and 7 months old. They are fairly leggy and the caudex is not as fat as I would want them. For seedlings, how do I increase the caudex size and what do I do to make new branches in addition to the center stem that I now have. Do I trim the center stem or will the DR grow new stems as it gets older. I water once a week here in central Florida.
Plenty of sun, cramped pots and fertilizer.
I am trying to grow Adeniums with fatcaudexess here in Holland and to reachthis I try to follow your directions in this blog as good as I can. But now I have a question. What is the best moment to re-pot an Adenium and when can it also be done without causing damage? I read contradictionary advises on internet, varying from “only in winter when sleeping” till ” only when growing but not in bloom”.
High summer is quit Sunny in Holland with avarage day temperatures between 64 and 82 dgr F outside, below 100 dgr F max in my greenhouse. In winter, adult Adeniums are kept inside home at 60 dgr, 2019 seedlings at 68 dgr day and 60dgr night with led lights during day hours.
Does your re-potting advis also apply for the one year seedlings? These baby’s, sawn in fenruary, are now still in 2″pots.
In SE Flrodia we can repot anytime of the year. However, in your area I woudl repot when I see new growth in the spring so you have 2..3 months of growing season left. seedling – let them almost burst through the pot before re-potting.
I have a +/- 7 year old adenium. It has a big caudex and looking healthy. After a very hot summer last year, leaves are very small and very curly. Any advise to have big leaves again?
Leaves curling is either a nutrient problem or insect.
I live in Tucson, AZ, and have 6 adenia of various sizes. I have asked 2 nurseries who specialize in succulents and sell many hundreds of adenium plants how to increase the size of the caudex. The universal response is to raise the plant about .5 – 1 inch when you transplant it each spring. This seems to work, as all of my caudex usually almost double in size every growing season.