Ed-

Well....if this doesn't take the cake! ....another Adenium Addict, and, from Da Bronx/NYC....who's now removed to The Sunshine State. I am also located in Throg's Neck. I'll bet it's a hell of a lot easier growing fat plants in a Florida climate as opposed to NYC's weather.

Ed....you need to e-mail me. Please get in touch, ASAP. I'll be down in south-east Palm City, Florida starting July, thru Sept.

Frank

fdvpiano@yahoo.com

They take 3 months to mature.

Oh, and there was 'lil old me thinking Throgs Neck was a typo for Frogs Neck! Lol!

Frank/Ed, this looks like the start of an Adenium party for you two, best of luck :-)

Wow! I just looked at Rick's plant above before and after pics. That pruning is what I want to do but I thought it would be too severe. I'm gonna do it. Yup, I'm gonna do it. Give me a minute- I'm gonna do it. Maybe tomorrow. Wait, should I put it off until all the flowers are gone??

I wired the seed pods - now I'll keep an eye out closer for them to open. Thanks for the suggestions.

I did get back to Frank- small world- waiting for his response. Ed V.

Can we see a pic. We love before and after photo's. That way we can enjoy your drama along the way.

Ed- Good luck with the chopping. You could also tie a small, draw-string organza bag over the seed pod. These bags are sold in party-supply stores, or, you could buy a small pack of these bags online.

Good luck with the botanical haircut....and thanks for the e-mail.

Frank

I'll see if I can load a couple pics so you can see the B4.

The pic look good. Your trees will look good with a nice trim. I'd wait till after the blooms are gone before trimming.

Ed v. You will loose a lot of seeds that way.

Do it so..

Seed pods are ready +/- 70 days

Stuart,Thanks, I'm on it!

Have you looked under the soil recently, Ed? Blooms are great but I'm partial to roots so I'm curious.

Pagan

You know- I haven't looked at the roots. What I do know is that my plants are further down in the soil than all the pictures show everyone elses are. Should I raise them and if so how is that accomplished? ED V.

You don't strictly have to raise them, Ed. It's just a thing that adenium growers do to expose the caudex because they tend to look amazing. For some growers, myself included, it's the main attraction. The flowers are just for interim curio. The longer the roots are under the soil, the bigger they get. From the looks of your plant, they seem old so I'm keen to see what it must look like under the soil by now!

Pagan

Some people will look at them (pic) and then decide if they want to lift the tree. You can not replant a caudex that has been above ground for to long. Since yours has not been looked at it maybe awesome or you may want to wait for it to grow bigger.

Ed V,

NYC in 'da Houzz! Transplanted across the lake but I'll be back often!

Nice tree! The wire wrap works great but you may want to place a stocking over those bad boys as they near maturity.

Well, we've had a little rain here in Florida, and quite a bit of wind. Thankfully no damage here but I did have to rescue my adeniums from the wind and especially the rain. So I got nowhere with all the great new information I have now from just about everyone on this forum.

I am going to wait until all the blooms are gone before I perform the surgery. I have covered the seed pods in addition to wiring them closed, so now it's a waiting game. I am gathering all the things I need to start the seeds and I'm waiting to receive some I ordered a month ago from Thailand. I'm sure that I'm going to end up with more seeds from my plants than I could ever use, so when I get them I will offer them to whoever wants some. I'll let you all know when that happens and my progress planting and starting some of both sets. Frank has given me some specific instructions on how to start and I will follow them to the letter. Thanks for the help so far- but you surely haven't hear the last of me yet! At the very least I'll be lurking for a while until I actually DO something. Ed V.

Update-Update- Today I finally got around to pruning some of my plants. I cut back 3 of the 5 I have thinking I'll wait until the seed pods on two of them mature- plus those 2 still have blooms on them (any excuse to avoid chopping on my beauties).

I also received 20 seeds from Thailand yesterday and started 8 of them to see if I have any idea of what I'm doing. My starting mix consists of fast-draining potting soil for palms, cactus, etc., approx. 30%, and the rest 1/2 perlite and 1/2 pine bark finds. This weekend I went to a Craft fair where I originally got my adeniums. This lady's business name is "Desert ROSE" (really!!!). She has some amazing plants- all grown from seed and then grafted. So I managed to pick her brain for a while about starting seeds and fertilizing. She advised me that she started her seeds in cut-off toilet paper core rolls and then moved them from the covered nursery- cardboard and all-to new 3.5inch pots and the cardboard eventually just falls apart and becomes part of the soil. She says that this way she never disturbs the roots. Her description of the new soil matches, in general, all of the suggestions here.

As far as fertilizer is concerned, she only ever uses "DYNAMITE 13-13-13". She advised that no other fertilizer is necessary to get the results she gets- and that's what I would like to see. I will post pictures of MY results. I need for someone to smack my hands when my hands get the idea to take the cover off the nursery every hour to check on progress- or lack of it.

One question I still have; how long are seeds viable? I've only used 8 of the 20 so I'm wondering how long I can wait to start the rest.

So, it's a work in progress and I'll keep up on the progress to youse( that's the Bronx talk!). Thanks, Ed V. (on the west coast of Florida).

Sounds like you have a good plan. To be able to get things direct is a big advantage for those in FL. I can't even find large ones in my local box stores like you can. We all watch our seeds and plants a lot.. I will grow seeds again. I under watered them.

There a lot of nice forum members from your area too.

I have noticed that most people keep there seeds from 6 months to a year, but have to sprout ones even after a year. There are several sellers in Taiwan that are know for fresh seeds. Like K0 have fun

Ed V,

Congratulations! Sounds like youse got the start of a nurturing & lasting relationship!

Yes, you are doing great! So nice to see your enthusiasm. Enjoy your adeniums. Sending good vibes your way on the seed germination and the maturation of the seed pods. Good timing ... You will soon have lots of viable seeds and an awesome experience.

- Maria Elena

I received my seeds from Thailand last Tuesday and immediately started them after soaking overnight as Frank suggested. I only planted 8 of the 20 so that if I screwed up I would still have some to work with. I took the picture below today- Tuesday- late afternoon. Only 6 of the 8 sprouted but I think that's acceptable for a Newbie. I'll see where I go from here. Ed V. Clearwater.

Ed, is the mix dry? Looks as though the left hand two need some more water, seeds need to be kept rather moist till they sprout and for quite some time afterwards, so don't let them dry out please. I bet they will pop if they're given a good watering, so don't give up on them just yet! It's surprising how much water they need, but don't make them drown :-)

Gill

Gill, They are wet- I have been keeping a clear cover on the tray all along and the condensation on the underside makes it look like its raining. I use a spray bottle at night and by morning the water condenses on the cover. It's wet but more like damp when I test the soil. I only took the cover off for the picture. By the way, I also have a heat light and a thermometer and I keep the interior at 85 to 90 degrees because here in Florida, with the A/C on 24/7 it rarely gets above 80 degrees inside - outside is a completely different story.

But you are right- I haven't given up on those two quite yet. But if there is no progress by the time I transplant the others, I think I'll start the rest of the seeds (12 more).

Thanks for the observation- I sure need someone to watch over my shoulder. Ed V.

Hey Ed. They do grow faster and stronger outside in full sun with high humidity and temps over 36C. This way you won't have to use a heat light for them just to wrestle with the AC indoors.

Pagan

Glad to read that Ed! You should have a good crop of youngsters to nurture if the next batch does as well. They should grow quick and strong given your favourable location. These won't be the last Adenium seeds you will purchase I can guarantee that as you are well and truly hooked having swallowed our bait hook line and sinker!

What type were the seeds? You've obviously read that seeds don't come true to the parent or are often very different to the often tweaked pictures we see advertised on the Internet. That said, its still exciting to grow your own plants from the start, and even better when they flower for you. Please continue to post on your plants progress, performance and problems, oh yes and with pictures, (we like pictures!) and ask as much as you need to.

We all try to look out for each other's plants (and each other at times, I know that personally) on here as you have realised, theres a great bunch of folks on here all willing to share their experiences and expertise. Best of luck.

Gill

Pagan and Gill; OK- so now I'm saving money by not having to use the heat light. The outside temp is around 77 to 80 degrees at night and around 90 during the day with high humidity. I'm keeping them well watered but I'm concerned that they might not be old enough to stay outside all night by themselves! I'll watch- - but if I see something I don't like maybe I'll get my sleeping bag and go out there with them.

Is it normal to see that first growth spurt when they emerge and then slow down so much that it almost looks like they are dying? Ed V.

close up pic please

Hey, Ed. We have to get together. I'm up the road in Palm Harbor. I'm addicted too. We moved here from Lawng GIsland. But I'm grew up in FL. And where did you find the desert Rose lady? I guess I don't go to enough craft fairs. I like the toilet paper roll idea!

Hi; short update- - - those last two seeds have just broken the surface. I'm glad I waited! However, one of the original six I'm afraid has bitten the dust. At least I think so. It has lost all of it's green and is now a pale white so I think it's gone. I'll post some pictures tomorrow - maybe by then there will be a positive change- - like it's getting better OR it's positively dead.

Cynthia, I go to the Craft Fair in Dunedin. They close the streets through the whole town and there are vendors selling everything you can imagine. This year - two weeks ago- there was only one lady selling African Roses. I'll try to find out when the next one is scheduled.

I'll get on the pics tomorrow. Ed.

Edit - Correction- edit edit edit. I meant "Desert Roses". Don't know where that came from!

Ha, it's because you have a fever, Desert Rose Fever!

Gill

PS, re the two late seeds..... told you so....patience is a virtue ;-)

Here's a pic of the original 8 seeds that I planted and on the left side you can see the 2 that just emerged. Note that the other 6 have not shown any appreciable growth since the first pics one week ago. That is the basis of my question about growth rate after emergence. Are they very slow growing inherently or am I maybe doing something wrong? The other picture of the 6 in-line is of some seeds I started in MARCH! Is it normal for such slow growth? Maybe if I talk to them????

Also, You can clearly see the second from the left- it has turned all white except for the stem which is still pink like the others. Is it gone?

Ed

Hi Ed. Sorry your latest question has been missed, sometimes that's just the way it is :-)

Anyway, it's common for seedings to grow faster than juvenile or adult plants, this is when they put on the most rapid growth....usually! They can absorb quite a lot of water at these early stages and need to be kep on the moist side, don't let them dry out if possible as that can impede growth rates.

Regarding the little pink and white fellah....if the leaves have no pigment, It's my opinion that it will fail some time soon as it won't be able to photosynthesise :-( Some plants stems do get this pink colouration in the early stages, but it will soon fade to the more usual green. That will then alter to green-grey and when even more mature will develop a netted appearance. Hope this goes someway in answering your questions.

Gill

I found that I was watching them to much. When I was told it was slow growing. Grrrrr I wanted them big now. :-). But I find the trees are a waiting game. Next you will wait till it blooms, some at 5 months some still waiting a year later. For me I am waiting to play with them. I think I will have to wait till next spring. Hang in it is worth it.

Ed,

Your seedlings look great. Do you have them outside? They love sunshine, just don't let them dry out. They appear to be in cardboard rolls ... is that right? I have seen this method. Since you are asking about growth rate, I will share my experience. Keep in mind that genetics plays a big role in how each individual seedling develops.

I grow my seeds in egg cartons and carefully transplant them at 1 month old into small yogurt cups. I find they are the perfect size & height for the seedlings until they reach 3 months. Once transplanted, I begin fertilizing weekly, weakly. During this time, the caudex will begin to fatten up.

After 3 months, I transplant to 3" pots and faster draining medium. In my case, that's 50/50 perlite & cactus mix. They remain in these pots until the age of 6 months. During this time the caudex will become fatter, the height will noticeably increase, and the seedling will begin to 'leaf out,' forming double leaves, with some branching out on their own.

I only have 5 month olds, so that's all I can share so far. I'll try to add a link to one of my posts for comparison. With respect to your albino seedling, Gill is correct ... if it fails to green up, it will abort eventually. Keep your hopes up. I had a similar that just stayed too long in the seed cover then suddenly just greened up and it's 4 months old & branching on its own now.

All the best,

Maria Elena

Edit: Here's the link I mentioned:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3943465/progression-my-first-small-group-of-seedlings?n=23

Hi Ed, If you end up with extra seeds from your plants I would love to have some. I only have one plant. I call her Rosalinda and she's 7 years old. I bought her at Home Depot for $5.00. I am now obsessed with growing more! That's her I the background on the right

Monique, Do you have to bring them in for winter? Can you go to your profile and tell us where you are located. Also check to see it your message (PM) is turned on. When some one need special info or needs to talk about seeds and such we tend to do this by PM. Also we love to see the weather and growth differences from all over the world. Nice big pretty old Adenium.

Marica; How do you turn on your PM?

Ed V, it is under your profile\advanced settings at the bottom.

I do it different from SC. I go to the top of this page and on the right you highlight Your houzz. Then click on profile.

Monique; Now that I know about the PM thing, send me a PM (or an email- my email address is 1500Driver@gmail.com) and send me your address. I still have one plant with a double seed pod that looks ready to open. When it does I can send you some. Ed.

ED the PM keeps you hidden from listing your email here or at all. When you type there you can then give out private stuff. Just ask to have them PM you. That's it hope this works for you.

Thanks, Marica. But I didn't know about it last week and so my email was out there then for anyone wanting the seeds I had. I'll change that now. Ed

Marica,

i put all that info in my profile. I hope I did it right!

Monique