Adenium seedling update

17 years ago

Here's a pic of the rescued baby DR's, they have grown real strong and I'm really pleased with them. The caudex's are all extremely hard with no signs of rot, thank goodness. I'm now convinced I had been far too measly with the H2O. They get watered (plus soluable food)very thoroughly once a week and the propagator is now on during the night time only. They're in the SW facing window and I take the lid off during the day to give them whatever sunlight there is. Now need a 2nd extension to the base sides as they have reached the top of the perspex already! The two at the back had the tops nipped out some time ago and have some nice branches forming, the left hand one had the snip last week as it shows no sign at all of making any branches. I think I now need to pinch the other two to make their branches grow longer and prevent the main stem from getting too leggy. Opinions appreciated.

It's very tempting to get some more DR seeds of other colours (these are A.Obesums )as I find them so easy to germinate...it's the bit afterwards that's proving the challenge!! How large would you expect them to be before they flower? Do I stand any chance? I certainly hope so, but it's fun trying!!

Gill.

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Comments (4)

bunnygurl
17 years ago
WOW! Those looks so awesome! I don't have any Adenium seeds/seedlings but I wish any of my other seedlings looked half as good as those!

Good work! I have faith in you that you can keep those lil' guys just a growin'! I hope they flower for you.
blutarski
17 years ago
Very nice. How old are they?

My two little guys are hanging in there. I transplanted them out of their peat plugs and into terra cotta pots with a sharper draining soil.

I thought my ham-handedness had torn away a lot of root (there wasn't much to begin with) but they're pushing out a third set of leaves, so I think it should be all good.

I'm watering about every other day, feeding once a week.
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martindk
17 years ago
Hi, Gill. They look great with the compact growth and multible branches. Nice job.:-)

Consider pinching the seedling to the left in the front row. However, I have one (approximately the same size) which initially had two branches. Now with the onset of the growing season, three more branches are forming. It really comes down to genetics. If you choose to pinch it, remove all leaves from the seedling. This should initiate more branching.

With the right conditions (light intensity, warmth, watering and nutrition) and in particular the right genotype, Adenium obesum can flower within the first year after germination. I have seen pictures of a four month old A. obesum (hydbrid?) flowering!

Best regards,

Martin
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
Original Author
17 years ago
Hello again, thanks for the responses.
Bunnygurl...thanks for having faith in me!! The lone survivor of the first batch got to 10months old and then croaked, so I guess at least these have bettered that...so far anyway! I really hope I get at least one to flower for me...else I guess I will have to return to Thailand to check out the huge one that got me started with this DR lark!! lol!!
Blutarski...how about adding a layer of small gravel chips to the top of the pots..I'm certain this helps the water drain away fast from around the caudex and help prevent it from getting rotten. The seeds were planted late on 10th Feb 2008 and came through during the 5th night!! They were my 2nd attempt with a batch of 10 seeds from eBayUK, and again I got 90% germination. They're potted in 3.5inch diameter pots and the biggest is just a fraction short of 6inches tall. Mine didn't seem to have a great deal of roots when I re-potted the other week, but since I did and have been watering very thoroughly, heating at night and continued to feed weekly, they have come on in leaps and bounds. I'm sure yours will be fine also...any pics??
Martin...thanks, and yes they are cute! Front left has been pinched but I may not have explained it corectly above, sorry. I did it 2 weeks ago as it showed no sign of branching, today there is just a hint of a couple of branch buds where it begins to narrow off. It is centre & right front that I think I'm going to pinch out as the stem is elongating rapidly and the branches are not. Ideally, I would like the branches to be of a similar length to the main stems on all of them as I dont like the tall thin style.
So, I keep my fingers tighty crossed for some flowers!! I'll let you know if it happens, but meanwhile I've got to keep them growing!!
Cheers! Gill.