Thank you, Rick.

I found the below last night on this forum and copied it, meaning to bookmark the author's comments. However, I can't for the life of me find that post in order to give proper credit. Maybe the "artist" will step forward. I certainly hope he or she doesn't mind my sharing it here again. It matches your instructions perfectly. Was it you who drew this?

Marie Alena, this diagram was drawn by I believe Martin. He was kind enough to post it and it is so very well done. It will definitely assist you.

Martin is from Denmark and you should see threads started by him. Could post there in reference, if he does not see this.

all the best,

Rick

I think that the cutting has developed a nice caudex under the soil over the years and yes prune it above the Y.

Maria Elena, please show us pictures after you prune.

Marie

Hi, Stuart -

I read your thread last night about propagating from stem cutting...Amazing! I hope you don't mind my sharing that here for others to read:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3455951/i-will-try-this-method-to-propagate-from-cuttings?n=30

Since my mom's plant if so spindly, I thought it may be a good candidate for this technique. If anything, I'll have two additional branches to stick underground that will produce more flowers. What do ypu think?

Marie, yes, I will absolutely keep everyone updated on progress via this thread.

Maria my cutting sprouted roots but after i cut it from the plant and put it in soil it did not survived maybe due to overwatering but you can try maybe you have better luck than me.

Before I begin pruning I need to determine what will constitute the front of this plant. Please take a look at photos 1 - 4 below and let me know which side of the caudex presents best.

I have uprooted the plant in order to inspect formation of the caudex and check for root rot, pests, etc. I'm so pleased to report that the root structure is in excellent condition.

This plant was propagated from cutting and is about two years old. Question: Will the mini caudex continue to grow below ground or is this it? Should I begin to set the caudex above ground at this point and just concentrate on plant health and pruning?

1.

2.

Sorry, having trouble loading photos. I think number 3 looks best. The two above show an ugly old scar. #4 is a side view.

3.

4.

Leave it under ground and be patient a few more years lol.

LOL!! OK, so you think it will grow more? Didn't mean to sound impatient. I know it doesn't look like much...The poor thing! You made me laugh, Stuart.

Yes Maria it will slowly become bigger. If it was propagated from a seed the caudex would be bigger and you could lift it above the soil level a bit.

Hi Maria,

For 2 years old that's not bad. I myself just started a cutting because the mother's flowers are so beautiful, but from what I understand; cuttings don't produce a caudex like seed grown plants do.:-(

If you're thinking of making some cuttings from what you prune off (and it look's like you'll have enough for 4 or 5), like what "rcharles" mentioned above about the "D" shapes, if you're working with leafless sections of a branch; those shapes look like smiles if the correct end is pointing up. (It's the same with Plumerias.)

Rob :-)

Stuart,

Here's something I recently submitted for propagating roses. I think if you follow this last step carefully you will have success. This is where most people lose their air layering efforts because the plant is not yet strong enough to stand on its own & needs just a little bit more pampering. By all means, try again.

Copied from another one of my posts:

"Once the roots come In, cut branch just below the roots. Plant in individual pots, water, and cover with plastic (head to toe) for a week or two in order to allow a strong root system to grow. After that period of acclimation, these can be planted in ground as new, individual rose bushes."

Here's a great link on air layering technique, which I believe can be modified to suit propagating Adenium.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/landscape/air-layering

Rob, yes...thank you. As soon as the buds bloom and my mother has enjoyed those flowers I will go ahead and follow the instructions for pruning. I am NOT going to air layer because its not worth it for such a spindly plant...those efforts may really be just lost. And yes, I will be planting the cuttings...The more flowers for Mom, the merrier.

Thanks again...Have a wonderful weekend.

Good information Maria. Just what i needed. Pic 1 as the front but don't prune the roots. The will growing thicker and form the caudex.

Rick,

It turns out that thread I was looking for and couldn't find is the one below. In fact, it was your comment that I was looking for.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3739492/i-think-its-time-to-prune-but-im-not-sure-where-to-start

We've had low temperatures (70-84) the past 1.5 weeks due to a cold front, so flowering has been slow. Two flowers have dropped, three are open, two buds are still closed. As soon as the plant finishes flowering I will prune it and post photos. I am so excited to see how pruning will improve the overall appearance of this plant.

In the meantime, I want to share a better picture of Mom's Adenium (Desert Rose). I put bright lights on it and somehow, all of the background came out black...How did that happen? It looks so cool! Now that is a flower worth saving.

- Maria Elena

Maria check the pic

I don't know if these are standard names. Muang Pomarai is yours maybe?

Thank you Stewart. I believe you nailed it.

Yes, I know...It's that Pepto-Bismol / Hello Kitty pink Martin hates so much. However, it really is a very beautiful flower with the white and yellow contrast.

Gracias!

I have decided to air layer this Adenium because I have not been successful at rooting from cutting. Will prune after a month or two after (hopefully) roots have developed. You can follow air layering progress here:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3759660/has-anyone-tried-this-yet

Will be unveiling air layering to check for roots in 5 days (marks 1 month). You can check the above thread for status. If all goes well, I will finally be pruning this plant and will post update photos here.

- Maria Elena

Sorry, I forgot to update this post. Air layering was successful. You can follow comments here:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3759660/has-anyone-tried-this-yet?n=33

I've finally pruned Mom's desert rose and may have successfully turned it into 5 separate flowering trees! Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Thanks, everyone, for all your help.

Nice! Depending on the variety and a few other factors, pruning can actually trigger flowering. Some growers in Thailand have it figured out so well they prune them so they are in flower when they take them to competitions. It wouldn't happen with yours (they just flowered) but when you prune it again, you might see a flush of flowering.

I just can't wait to see how that base will branch off! I followed Rick's, Martin's, & Rob's pruning instructions, so I'm confident it'll turn out fine. Thanks again for all your input.

Stuart, a very special thanks to you for "holding my hand" through this process.

Maria. You did it by your self. Thank you for the live tutorial

Well done, everyone.

Greetings to all!!

My Mom's adenium bloomed twice in March / April, then went the entire summer (following pruning) doing absolutely nothing.

Imagine how excited I was to see buds developing a few weeks back ... about 7 branches all budding. One bloom opened ... It was miniature, about the size of a quarter, not the normal 4" flower. ALL the remaining tiny new buds turned black and dried right on the tree. This happened on each of the 5 prunings, which are now 5 separate plants.

In the photo that follows, the two inflos on top are dessicated and the one on the bottom is trying.

The weather here is currently 72-84ºF / 84% humidity. It rains almost nightly. I feed weekly, weakly. There are no pest issues..

What's going on? This one was a prolific bloomer when neglected & unfed.

Maria Elena

it did just put a lot of energy into recovering from the pruning. I suspect it decided self preservation was in order as it didn't have enough oomph left to bloom. In the FWIW column there … you did change the culture, too, as well, didn't you?

Thanks, bragu!

Not sure what you mean by "fwiw" or "change the culture." They are in the exact environment but in better, faster draining medium and are fertilized weekly.

They were pruned in May and turned into 5 separate caudex-less plants. The original two terminal tips flowered once in late May/June. Nothing happened all summer. All just branched & leafed out. Now all branches are budding and it appears all the tiny little buds will abort. Is this a matter of auxin deficiency? Perhaps due to seasonal changes? If so, what's the remedy?

It's interesting that all 5 plants budded & aborted together even though they've been separated.

I expected them all to have fully bloomed at least once by now. I plan to unearth them in March to check how the roots are developing, repot, then feed them with a bloom booster. I'd appreciate any further observations & recommendations.

I'll post pics of the root system on the main rooted cutting so we can compare against the March 2016 photo above.

fwiw = for what it's worth.

change the culture, includes changing the soil/medium …

that's a lot of plant stress in one season. It's gotta rebound. I pruned the heck out of a plant last summer (2015) in september and it was floriferous for over three months this (2016) summer, from july => september ...

It was an air-layering, pruning, & repot from 9 months ago. Both terminal branches bloomed in March 2016 (began budding just before pruning and held onto its buds afterwards) They bloomed again in May 2016. The other threeparts of the air-layered plant have never bloomed. Of course, these had to grow new branches.

This is from the March bloom:

The last flowers (May) had a deeper red, less yellow throat.

It never flowered again. With this aborted blooming, it's hopefully on schedule for March blooming. We'll see.

Maria Elena

Update: This is the plant I air layered and turned into 6 last year. I gave away 3 and now only have the original and 2 smaller cuttings left (1 pictured).

Maria Elena