Since you have so many i think i would experiment with the damaged one.. Do what Latin Lady says...

Hi Jane, lovely plants, since they were growing so well in the flower bed, I am wondering why you pulled them out and put them in the pots. They would have become large trees...had they been left in the soil. But anyway its your choice

LL, root stock, or grafting stock is exactly what people use roots of plants for if they are not partial to the color of flower.

As these are amazing roots, it would be an obvious choice, and comment.

Jedoba,

I understand that, given the beautiful structure of the root systems, they would make excellent root stock. However, was not at all suggesting Horrie use these as root stock. I was referring to saving one particular tree with damaged roots by suggesting complete removal.

Since Horrie has taken the time and effort to dig up and pot up each one, I do not believe that rootstock is the final intention...I may be wrong. Whatever the case, it's an awesome undertaking and I'm so impressed by this thread ... and by Horrie's adenium farm.

I know you weren't suggesting it. I said in my post that if they didn't like the color of any flowers, they could use as root or grafting stock, and you said no.

Gotcha. What I meant in that prior comment is a tongue-in-cheek, facetious "Oh, no! Don't even suggest that!!" after all the work Horrie has done. It was meant light-heartedly.

Final down to the last two left probably next week transplant. Thanks everyone for helping me with the ideas all put into practice. Just crossing fingers on recovery period before putting them to the opening. A few drop leafs, alot still struggling. Will update on progress.

jedobaTX9b I've been following your comments and am glad you pointed out a few suggestions, to be honest my plants are not going to be root stocks or any kind, just because I don't have many colors to chose from. I only have pink, red white and a grafted one which was genuinely given by a good friend. If I have a wide variety to select from then yes I can make them as roots stocks. Right now am happy with what I've achieved in the last 3 years. I haven't counted all the plants but it's over a hundred. I'll confirm that figure tomorrow. Someone was asking who planted the plants, I have two other people helped me when transplanting. I only did uprooting myself. LatinLady(12b Caribbean) am happy you showed me that picture wished mine turned out that way . A few with promising features.

Horrie, the picture was to show how the roots could possibly develop if you tried the experiment I mentioned. Perhaps something to try in the future.

I imagine you're not in the mood to experiment and are more focused on completing the task at hand. The new photo you posted of the roots shows deformation, probably from choking off, more so than damage. This tree will be fine.

Your trees do have naturally beautiful root structures, which is in essence what Jedoba is saying. Some of them look like shapely crossed legs. It always makes me laugh that they can grow that way. With a little imagination and the right pots one can create such interesting displays based on the awesome roots.

Please keep in mind that the grow bags are airy and will dry out quickly. You'll have to carefully monitor water needs. Dropped or yellowing leaves right now are just the result of uprooting. Adenium are resilient and will quickly adjust to their new environment.

Over 100! I don't think we need an exact count ... I just wondered about the enormity of this project. You've done a tremendous amount of backbreaking work ... I pray for your and your adeniums quick recovery.

Please post a picture when they are in bloom. I know you have some lovely tripple petal flowers in this group. I borrowed one of your pictures for the occasion:

All the very best to you.

Here is the update, considering the risk and benefit I cut in tortured root, LL, I learnt a lot from you, not only from this post but other post. I know you know a lot about adenium. I want to thank you for the efforts you put in. You were also right about the plastic plant bag I found the soil quite dry in a few days after watering, it start to make sense.

The total number of plants in the grow bag is about 151 plus or minus a few death ones hopefully not. Will be posting blooms in a few months to come.
A few drop leafs and hopefully recovering soon, a few am impressed about put new shoots already. If you notice in the picture the white stuffs are ashes, sprinkle ontop of the soil to keep the African snails away, it works really well for us here.

job well done!!

here is another update on adenium which I lost the picture from last year around the same time( June 2015) similar story I transplanted this adenium into plant bag, a month later the caudex rot, I had to cut just below the trunk of it. Today I revealed the amazing roots, the grow was not disturbed, did not applied anything.

Roots after washing
I had to hang it, one of the roots was infected.
Am a great fan of cinnamon these days

Oh, wow! So, Horrie, you've already tried a few experiments of your own. You literally cut off the entire caudex? Incredibly beautiful roots! I can't believe how fat they are in just one year. And just look at all the branching at the base! Lots of blooms to look forward to!

Thank you for posting ... Now I won't be afraid to take that plunge if ever the need arises. I would love a tree like that. Enjoy!

- Maria Elena

i'll see if I can find that picture to answer your question, if I don't find it i'll sketch a picture for you.

Horrie

Here is an update today, to start, here in Vanuatu it's really hard to find coconut coir in hardwares which are commercially packed. however we have a lot of coconut trees here. I went and collect coconut husk ( source of coconut coir) and shreds them.

i shred them to put them as top dressing, to keep the soil abit cold on sunny days and stopping the weeds. Ounces shred they will decompose fast if you apply the thinly. Before After

That's awesome that you made you own Coco coir... Nice and organic.

Impressive, Horrie. I really admire your dedication to these!

Had these two visitors tonight, maybe attracted to the light.

They operate at night I guess

Horrie,

Did they do any damage to the adeniums?

That looks like the Giant Great Sphinx Moth. We have those here as well. At first I thought they were bats. They actually fly surprisingly fast and zip by during the day to escape the hot sun. The underbelly was the best I could do:

Their caterpillars eat all my in-ground plumerias 3-4 times a year and quickly go from skinny 1/2" little things to fat 6" giants ... I've grown accustomed to them and think of them as living pruners. Once they fatten up, they drop to the ground, burrow under organic matter, form a coccoon, and metamorphosize into the Sphinx Moth right there! They lay their eggs on or around the plumerias and the cycle begins all over again.

Until I actually saw the moth, I thought these were Monarch butterfly caterpillars!

Maria,
I was waiting to see the progress of these butterfly but still none turned out the way you showed in one of your pictures. I've been checking my plants everyday and still no signs of any, am just guessing a lot of my plants shade leafs that's why.

will be updating a few pictures on a few blooms in a few minutes.
Thanks again for sharing.......

Good morning, Horrie -

Great to hear from you. Would love to see your blooms ... That means your trees have recovered from transplanting.

If you never see the caterpillars, I don't believe you have anything to worry about. They go hand-in-hand with in-ground plumerias, particularly the white Albas and red Rubras. Do any of your neighbors have plumerias (frangipanis)? Perhaps that was just a lone moth flying by ... They mostly like Periwinkle and orchids for their nectar.

Correction: In my comment above, I referred to this moth as the "Giant Great Sphinx Moth" (darned voice command!). It's actually the Giant GREY Sphinx Moth.

Sorry for the late reply, internet here is quite slow sometimes.
The petal size are quite small, for all the blooms
a few with leaf but a lot with 3-4 leafs on a branch a few with flower buds still unopen. I have to admit I have a few root rot, but am happy to confirm none of the treated plant died of fungal infection
I was shocked, too see them, I had to cut above and replant them after 5 days.
I cutting is just above all he caudex, just like the one I did last year. I couldn't find last years picture. But here is a reference
this time I had to improve on inspection. A lot can. Happen to adenium with a little infection. Will be updating on progress please comment.

Was going through my adeniums yesterday night and spotted this curious guy

I wouldn't say it's not common to see them around often, am guessing it's attracted to the coconut coir , still thinking it's the coconut itself. Tot I'd share not often you see a hermit crab around at night especially in these areas (far from costal area).hope to see him/her often

that's great. I wanna live where you live!!!

Jane and Horrie I had to go and look where you were from because I forgot. Can you Please go to your profile page (upper right corner) and then to edit profile, next to your name type Vanuatu. It helps us when we read so many posts to remember your climate. Thanks :-)

Cool guy! (Or girl)

watch your bags carefully. some degrade faster than others. the cloth bags tend to last the longest, i have found. i went to pick up one of my _ admittedly cheap _ plastic bags from last year, and it fell apart as i lifted it. just saying ...

Hi, Horrie!

That's a big one ... Yes, we usually see them along the shore line. They love wet, sandy, rocky areas.

How are your recently pruned trees? Do you see any growth coming in yet?

Bragu, was the plastic bag you're referring to similar to the awful material Topsy Turvy planters are made of? Those deteriorate within 6 months here.

I like the pots Rick has been making and hope to head that way soon. It's a project, but I love creativity and think it's a great alternative for customization ... The possibilities are endless.

Thanks for the comments, the plastic bags are divided in grades the first grades are the ones am using. I"ve used it for a year already and no degradation or whatsoever, I am aware of the degrading ones that degrades in less that a year. These ones are abit thicker and stronger. Here is a few update on the adeniums that manage to pull through the tuff times putting new leafs and a few

flower pads
casrol grow with weeds no matter the shred coconut coir
after and failed flat graft
I've had successful flat grafts last year but not this year, they were all okay but the the scion dehydrates a week after I remove the plastic it's a disappointment but will do it again if my plants recover.

Horry, I'm amazed by the scope of your adenium collection. So happy to see how well the transplants have recovered.

With respect to the grafts, perhaps misting and keeping out of direct sun will help? Just keep trying ... gotta get back on the horse! Sending good vibes your way for success next time.

I wish you & your 100+ brood all the vey best! See you in the dirt.

- Maria Elena

Horrie, did you match branch size with a comparable scion, just a little smaller? Also, did you wrap your grafts in waterproof bands and create a high humidity environment (hot house)? Please see below ... Perhaps something helpful will click:

http://adenium.tucsoncactus.org/propagat.html

http://garden.org/ideas/view/gone2seed/53/Grafting-Adenium-101/

I finally found the photo, did a comparison on these photos, did the repotting on June 2015, but the root got rot a month later so I cut the rotted roots in July 2015. The turn out is priceless, Here is what I did, weather, full sunny no rain for 2 weeks during the period, I cut the part and didn't apply anything, and left it hang for 7 days and then did the repotting with no watering, the soil is not dry but not wet, only the top part, water it separately. but starting to have second thoughts about it, I was glad it didn't die, but I never expect the roots to be that good. Hope it helped a few newbies like me experimenting.

I transplanted 25 adeniums into plastic plant bags last year June 2015, here is the comparison, a lot can happen in a year, am still experimenting, from that year, I saw that plants in plastic bags do really well compared to plants in the ground, that is just an observation in a year period but am open for new ideas in years to come. Remind you that these are only three (3) year old adenium these size, it still keep me surprising, the largest is about 13 inch caudex, I need to find a bigger pot/plastic plant bag. These plastic bag don't degrade in that period and I used them again this year, but the only difference I did was lift the adeniums caudex further up.

am really happy I did joined this forum.

Wow & wow, Horrie.

Nice documentation of root formation when caudex is removed ... This shows the possibilities for those propagating from cuttings.

Why do you suppose the potted trees are more robust than the ones that were planted in ground? No doubt, the growing medium (w/ground coconut shell) you're using has something to do with it.

By the way, according to this site, Vanuatu is zone 11b.

http://www.plantsdb.gr/en/general-cultivation/hardiness-zones/277-hardiness-zones-oceania

Horrie,

Good day! I made a mistake above ... Your zone is 11b, not 10. I have corrected it.

I tried to send you a private message but that feature is not activated on your profile. If you wish to activate it, open your profile page => Edit Profile => Advanced Settings (on left). Scroll all the way down to Privacy Settings, below that "Who can message me" - Select from the drop-down menu. If you select "Allow anyone to message me," a "Message" button will appear on your profile page. Users will be able to send you private messages via Houzz, which you'll be able to retrieve under "Messages."

Have a lovely Sunday & spectacular week!

- Maria Elena

I know it's spring in Vanuatu and everything is waking up, right, Horrie? How has your adenium farm held up over the winter?

Maria Elena

It’s been awhile since I last post. It’s easier when plants are in a pot or plastic bag. I transplant the plants to a bigger pag once in a while. Here’s a few that needs transplanting

Maria, we don’t have winter here just a rainy season from January to april also know as the cyclone season.

So, you're in mid cyclone season now! Ours is Sept to Nov ... We are still recovering from Hurricane Maria. I know you don't have winter but you do have a time of year when overnight temps are cooler. Is that in Aug? Ours is Jan / Feb ... Overnight temps fall to 68 and my plumerias lose all their leaves and go to sleep.

Looking forward to a wonderful growing season.

Maria Elena

Horrie not long came back from your way mystery island. its a beautiful part of the world except the cyclones i love your set up. maria just expanded my collection of plumeria

lannablood orange :×)

Socks be warned they should be called ice plant once you start u cannot stop :×)

Wow. Thanks for update. Love to see pics

Love the caudexs. You like the branches tall. I always hack at them for more flowers.

You have some really gorgeous roots there, Horrie! I really love following this thread!

I did a few root trimming on th plants and have the cuts sealed with Water resistant glue since its rainy season which i was not planning to transplant my plants, they just grow out of there containers. so far so goo none of the plants look weak.

Horrie thanks I love the updates

Here is a few which I dug up yesterday

It’s cyclone season and we have been getting a lot of rains

And we have a lot of weeds....hopefully root trining and repotting pictures soon...

Nice natural low branching.