I can't wait to see pictures of the flowers. I hope they do well. I didn't know they could flower so soon either. Now I want somalense seeds! Thanks for sharing!

I have had somalense trees before but they were 4+ years old, much larger and never flowered. Despite their simplicity, the flowers with pointed petals and extending nectar guides are quite stunning. But if I recall correctly the species never flower profusely in culture.

Martin looks great! Except I think you meant to say it is 7.5 months old? Not weeks? This seedling just keeps giving you great surprises. How exciting.

Tracy

Awesome! Keep us posted!

Outstanding tree, Martin. Looking forward to seeing it's bloom. What a base on this tree.

Did you pick up the seeds for these at that supplier that you usually use? Cannot remember the name of the one you had spoken of previously.

Rick

Tracy, thanks and yes, 7.5 months old. 7.5 weeks would be a "world record somalense flower age". ;-)

Rick, thank you. Yes, the seeds are from Kesorn in Thailand. The seedlings from his seeds certainly do look and behave like somalense. ;-) They grow really fast. I am concerned that this particular tree will out-grow (in height) the tent sometime in 2016. ;-)

Martin, how far away is your led light from your plants that are between 6-12months old and for mature adeniums? I've stopped using the bloom light on my light, I've moved plants onto the floor and made one corner of my tent a bit darker. The light is also all they way up on a ratchet hanger. I still feel like the light may still be too much for some of my plants. I'm hoping even though my plants have been under light all winter they will know when spring is, and will start putting out more growth. my biggest fockea put 6 inches on the vine in a week when it had stayed the same size on top since last spring til about a week ago. I'm hoping my adeniums that are slowly growing on top are putting mass on down below too.

Bob, under my two Mars Reflector (5w) unit, the distance is 18-20 inches (45-50 cm). Some are closer to the unit (for instance the somalense above), but this will cause quite extreme leaf curl.

Under my 3w unit, younger seedlings can handle a closer distance, 10-12 inches (25-30 cm). But for some seedlings the light is too intense at this distance and are therefore put at the perimeter of the tent.

Martin I repotted my somalense babies as you suggested. They are exploding with caudex growth right now. Mine went through a period of being stunted, but now they are ramifying beautifully.

Tracy, thumbs up. :-) Yes, the (more) free root run will accelerate growth considerably. Especially somalenses.

Martin, You are saying more free root run will accelerate growth, and I tend to agree, but I've also been told to not over-pot my seedlings. For a plant with a caudex that is ~15mm in diameter, what size pot would you place it in? My seedlings of that size were recently repotted to ~50x50x50mm pots. With some, the roots barely seem to fit. Should I be looking to go larger on the pots?

When over-potting adeniums, you run the risk that the plants won't be able to take up all available water in the soil after watering. The roots will eventually rot if left too long in wet soil - especially if temperatures are below 70F/20C (in my experience growth stops at temperatures below 20C). Adeniums don't like cold wet feet.

Having said that you can over-pot adeniums into soil with good drainage, and they will benefit from it, but only under good or ideal growing conditions with lots of sun and day temperatures consistently above 80F/25C. Adeniums really thrive at 86+F/30+C. I now grow mine at 85-86F/29-30C in grow tents and I virtually never experience root rot.

I would let the seedlings grow a little more in the 5x5x5cm pots and then transplant them to 7x7x7(-8)cm. I use square containers slightly deeper than wider and when repotting I increase the width of the containers by about 3 cm.

Flower Update

Hmm, looks like a single bud (sorry for the purple light ;-) ):

Single bud or not Martin. It is going to be amazing. Can hardly wait to see it.

So happy for you. What a treat it will be.

Rick

It must be so happy to be in that fabric pot. Really nice growing, such a young age. Can't wait to see the bloom mature. I'm sure you will take a natural light photo of it then as well.

Tracy

More buds afterall (actually two buds):

Really nice Martin. Loving the form on both of these. Look at the leaf curl on the big one! I can't wait to see them fully matured. It blows my mind how different yours are from mine. That is the beauty I suppose of genetics. What do you have there in the picture behind these two in the terra cotta pot?

Tracy

Thanks, Tracy.

I am a bit concerned about the leaf curl. It is extreme, but the tree is simply getting too large. I will probably need to raise the LED unit all the way to the top, before this issue is solved (well, for now). And then I need to raise all the other plants of different sizes accordingly. This is no easy task.

I have two other large somalenses. One of them looks quite odd, it has a natural "Twin Tower Form" and somewhat hairy leaves. It could be a hybrid. The other looks like the Big Mama to the right in the photo above, just smaller.

The plant in the terra cotta pot is a Crassula ovata. Cut back due to mealy bugs. Perhaps the worst pest... :-(

I think that a flower will open later tonight or tomorrow... Stay tuned. ;-) Btw, the tree has a whole cluster of buds.

Fingers crossed!!!!

Tick-tock, tick-tock.....can't wait any longer, have to go to bed, yawn, it's turned midnight here, hope to have some news, yawn, and pics in the morning, yawn.

Gillzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Gill, haha, I am sorry to have kept you waiting. ;-) And I wait, too! The flower hasn't opened yet. The colour is pink (which is typical for somalense) and I hope that the petals will be pointed with extending nectar guides. Otherwise it is a disappointing somalense x obesum'ish hybrid...

Yes the flowers do have a nice pattern/shape to them from what I've seen online. Any news? It's like waiting for an imminent birth!

Gill UK

Gill, it simply refuses to open! ;-) Being pink, I am hoping for something like this (perhaps slightly more pointed):

Alas, this is disappointing. :-( The flower has no nectar guides extending onto the petal bases, which is one of the characteristics of Adenium somalense. Only a few faint pink stripes in an yellow throat. Actually the colours of this flower are hideous. ;-)

The overall shape of the slightly pointed flower is somalense-like, but this tree is certainly no pure somalense. More likely a random hybrid with obesum genes.

I guess this is the downside of buying seeds from huge adenium nurseries with no (or insufficient) isolation of mother plants of the different species.

As promised, the disappointment:

Dang Martin, I was so sure with the other traits that the flowers would also be Somalense-like. I would welcome any flowers during this time of year really. A couple of my dormant plants are starting to push out flowers and I'm not sure if it is due to them exiting dormancy or if they are confused with the abnormally warm temps. Either way I take what I can get. Still think this is a gorgeous seedling.

Tracy

Thanks for the support/comments!

With its nice shape, a true somalense flower type would have made this tree a favourite of mine. I have two other fat conical-shaped somalenses. Hopefully one of them will give me somalense type flowers...

Tracy, you should start a thread about the flowers!

Oooer, well it's not as expected as you say Rick, especially disappointing after the plant was looking so promising too. Fingers crossed for the others :)

Gill UK

Don't forget the age of this plant, it could produce an improved flower on its next bloom cycle. The fact that it bloomed so young I think makes it quite special.

Martin the plants that are blooming here have no leaves, they are so pathetic looking. Dormancy has given them quite a shabby appearance. Perhaps I shall capture some pictures when more buds open, albeit a close up shot LOL. Great thread idea!

Tracy

The colours have changed a bit, for the better:

Very nice cluster of blooms! Looking great Martin.

Martin, very nice blooms.I can see from the pic that there are still 4 or 5 buds waiting to open...so that the bouquet is complete!

Wow, What a wonderful truss of flowers on it. Very impressive, I think.

Rick

Thanks! The tree continues to flower. Eight flowers have fully opened now, and I have to admit that it is a nice display despite the colours.

Btw, I think that another large somalense of mine has started growing buds! The tree is definitely not a pure somalense, and the buds look white. This is exciting... :-)