One I still want to order as a grafted plant, if I can get it, is Orient Adenium's 'Indigo Glaze' so I'll be on the look out for it. I emailed them for their updated 2017 grafted plant catalog. 2016's catalog had great prices but I am less certain if anyone has had virus issues with her stock or no.

Thank you, Rick. They do come very highly recommended so that's why I decided to go with them. That and they have some of the hybrids I most wanted. I appreciate the additional feedback from your personal experience with them.

I am very pleased with the Star of Top so far. I only paid $10 for it plus a little more than that for the shipping and certificate and it's a good sized plant with multiple grafts. The bright classic red blooms with the yellow-white throat can't go wrong.

I am looking forward to trying a little hybridizing of my own, as well as dabbling in the meristem tissue culture attempts.

Excited to hear how you make out and seeing the bloom of your Star of Top. The new ones will get a good start heading into summer.

Rick

This is one more I have coming called 'Petchsayrung' which I hope will also look amazing as a single with the throat striping. But we'll see!

Hyn, Very beautiful. What I have learned with plants from Kukuan and any other vendors. The color of the blooms can be 'spot on' of what is pictured in photo we view (You are aware of this, I am sure) and others times quite different. This is not something with reputable sellers, just a matter of the conditions in which the plants are grown here. My one plant from Kukuan has bloomed many years and has not shown the exact colors of photo, but actually better in my opinion. It has not bloomed the same one year to the next. Quite something and I love it.

Looking forward to seeing you plants and your seedlings.

Rick

I am very aware, yes. PH and temperature both can have a huge impact on the blooms. How much white, or how blue or pinkish a purple comes out, etc. Or whether it's a single layer or more fully double and so forth. This is also true of my African violets, especially my Russians which are very temperature sensitive. But they are even prettier to me for their variation. For the purple adenium I'll be adding a light touch of lime if the purples tend a bit too pink but they'll probably be fine. I appreciate the warning though in the event I wasn't already aware. We'll see what happens! ;)

I am also hoping to try my hand at cross pollinating some of these to see what I can get. I'll be keeping them to line breeding, purples to purples, reds to reds, yellows to yellows etc to try to keep pairing up the traits I'll be hoping to get more of in time.

Hi Hyn I have the petchsayrung it looks just like that for the first 2 hrs. Then the yellow tent fades to bage to white but is a good bloomer thank you will injoy

roger

Ah, sorry to hear the yellow fades pretty fast but even if it turns white that will still be pretty. What I'm interested in is the reddish pattern most. I have a number of flowers that are yellow but turn white with age so that isn't surprising. Do you find that to be true of a lot of yellows in adeniums or just some of them?

Yellows in particular and most Dark blooms will be effected by humidity levels and filtered sunlight in High Light level situations.

Rick

Good to know. I can easily move then into dappled shade for blooming and high humidity is /not/ a problem in GA. 60 to 70% is pretty common outside of winter.

Very nice selection, I especially like the triple star pacific.

Can you post a picture of your "star of top"? I have one also, paid $7 for it, came completely bald from Thailand last August. It never leafed out, so I've yet to see the foilage. In fact it's got an issue.

Yes, certainly. Mine came last September and I paid around $10 for it plus very reasonable shipping. It also came 'bald' but started to leaf out almost at once. The first few photos are when it arrived and I potted it up, and the last couple of photos is of it now breaking dormancy and about to flower. I got this off of Ebay.

It's about to flower and putting out new leaves so I'm excited to see it. So far the leaves are variegated around the edges and while I'd love to see mostly white leaves /later/ I hope they stay mostly green until it's growing strong and well.

Keep us updated on its progress. Would like to see it totally leafed out. And of course on those flower buds. I would also hope for a white variegation. Just hope mine stops drying out at the tips. Not going to be left with anyting.

I will do. Have you pulled it and checked the roots? It seems to me it's worth checking to see if the roots are too dry and shriveling up as well, or too wet.

No, I haven't, every time I pull one up, it ends up dying. Maybe lack of water, perhaps.

I had one that kept drying out last year. Try taking it out of the sun, and unfortunately you have to keep pruning it until it stops drying out. Make sure you are sealing the ends with wood glue. It was a frustrating experience because I wasn't sure what else to do.

No sun, currently too cold to catch the little bit of sun. Wood glue, okay. I had been dusting it with cinnamon is all.

Hyn Patty, sorry to have high jacked your thread with my issue. No mas! ;)

Oh no worries! Keep going! So much nicer to have the thread active and sharing information than to have it die and get buried right away. I hope yours recovers and does well for you. Besides, I'm new to adeniums myself so I may learn something from it too.

Incidentally I was under watering my seedlings over the winter. People here helped me out when I posted photos, worried I might over water them. But they assured me they were loosing leaves and shriveling for lack of water. As soon as I bumped up the water (within reason) they really fattened up and started super active growth. This was my first winter with adenium seedlings so I didn't know and worried they'd rot.

Oh, my goodness ... The triples, indigos, and petchsayrung are so spectacular, Patty! If you ever have seeds, please remember me. Great to hear your over-wintered seedlings are doing better.

Roger, have you tried placing the petchsayrung both in direct sunlight and under filtered sunlight to bloom? I wonder whether the blooms will keep their color better under filtered sun. I've experienced how July / August sun intensity (coupled with feeding) can either fade or intensify bloom colors, depending on the individual plant. Just a thought. I don't know the science behind it, but have experienced bloom changes in my own garden over the years.

Maria Elena

Yes Maria it will help a little to move it to shade but not much

roger

I am definitely going to be working on hybridizing (line breeding similar colors to like) so there will be seed made available eventually. Right now I'm still intensely in an information gathering phase and trying to map the genetics. What are dominants, recessives, what are the maskers, many of which I have identified and some of which I still need more data. Looking for homozygous pairs, identifying polyploids, identifying chimeric characteristics both for leaves or flowers, and so forth. It takes a little time so that when I start my crosses I will hopefully not be entirely leaping in blind. Much of which follows other plant genetics but adeniums surely have their individual quirks to map.

Atm, I've been informed by the Adenium Center that they wish to delay shipping by a month to see what the temperatures will be around early April in New York. I agreed that was fine. Meanwhile the Petchsayrung has shipped and should arrive in about 3 weeks. It's plenty warm here but they will come in through NYC.

If it helps, Rinoa is very forthcoming with male / female cross information. Ask her about the just purchased plants.

I didn't order these from Rinoa but I can chat her up if you think she'd be willing. I do have her catalog just arrived but hadn't had a chance to go through the newly updated one yet.

Hyn patty, Rinoa has an actual catalog? I need to get on her mailing list.

I've decided that 'Indigo Glaze' at $65 per plant and up is just way too expensive for me for now. Ouch. Also the other photos I have been able to find of it online don't look nearly so nice in color or markings so I'll wait and see.

I did however put in an order with Orient Adenium for the following to round out this year's collection. I ordered 'Violet Angel' (again not my photos, please pardon)

Joy Rich

Quartest

Scorpio

Magic Elf

I /should/ have plenty of white, yellow, and bright red/whites among other things coming up in my seedlings.

I really wanted Black Luna but it continues to elude me, always sold out.

Yes, she had an actual email PDF catalog last year you had to request. But this year she has all of her grafted plants now on her regular website so my new email linked me back to that. Her prices are good, but shipping is a bit steep and isn't any faster than cheaper shippers (still 7 to 21 days).

The original photos don't even look like Adeniums to me...but your later ones certainly do. They're all lovely.

Patty, my mistake ... Adenium Center. Contact them directly and they should be able to provide the male/female cross information.

Maria Elena

Outstanding. He seems very nice and great communication so I can follow up with them later. I do admit 'Cool Blues' looks too awesome to be true, Dbarron but hopefully it'll be something in the same ball park. I can keep the PH slightly over neutral to help the blue purples come out and not shift too pink with acidity.

Oh, wow, Patty! How exactly do you shift the pH over neutral and keep the plant in bloom? I guess "slightly" is the operative word, right?

Maria Elena

Yes, keeping it slight. Even at neutral the blooms should be pretty good but as the PH tanks down more and more acidic over time, it will also shift flower colors. That obviously isn't a problem if your water is a little alkaline to begin with but mine is slightly acidic o I tend to buffer my mixes lightly with lime or crushed shells, etc.

You are correct in that, Dain.

Rick

Well, alas. My Petchsayrung I ordered from off of Ebay never arrived and that was two months ago. The tracking number the seller provided suggests it never left Thailand and it's never reached US customs. If it really was shipped then I can't blame the seller and must assume it was lost in shipping. It may or may not eventually show up but I requested a refund so we'll wait and see what happens.

In other news, Adenium Center is now shipping my big order. It should arrive sometime after the first week of May, perhaps mid May.

Hyn, are you talking about Thaiperfect gems? I am pending order from them as well. My tracking number also suggested that it never left Thailand too. In that case I might as well request a refund. Keep me posted on your order. Thanks. I saw a feedback regarding item has not received. They used to be very good. Someone at the post office might have sticky fingers.

You will not get a refund through the seller. It will have to be through PayPal which eBay uses.

There is nothing lost in starting a claim with PayPal and if the plants come through, then you cancel. This is sometimes the best way to get a clear picture and communication from the seller. It is the only way to keep seller honest.

Rick

Yes, it is Thai perfect gems, Shang. I'll give it a few days and let Ebay have a go at it and see since it was already filed. Then I can go to Paypal to file a claim if need be. I am familiar with having to do that if necessary. I've had people refund plants lost in shipping before on Ebay without any trouble but you never know what a seller will try to do.

They advised that by this coming Monday, it tracking doesn't update they will send another batch out for me. I will ask for a refund instead.

I would be happy with either a replacement or a refund, really.

I am wondering if they send by ship or plane. Ship does take forever.

it takes an inordinately LONG TIME for the package to clear postal and customs on the thai side … once clear, it takes a week to ten days to make its way to the states. be patient. Their postal service appears rampant with corruption, plus they do inspections one or two days a week, like wed. so if you buy on a thurs, it won't be inspected until the following wed, AT THE EARLIEST.

It's been two months since they claimed to have shipped it, Bragu. Usually it takes parcels 3 weeks by airmail to get to me from Thailand and that's usually pretty consistent. This is far from the first time I've had shipments from Asia and I also used to live there, though not specifically in Thailand. So I have had decades of mail back and forth to and from all over Asia. This isn't a first time waiting. ;)

Hyn, did your order gets any updates? My finally shows movement after over a month. It is in NY now. Probably another 15 days before I get it. Lol.

Great Shang. It usually moves quicker once released from Customs to Postal Dept.

No package will show any results in tracking after the initial Posting showing Processed and shipped from Thailand, until it reaches it's destination country. Then, it all depends how long Customs has it. Once showing item processed by Postal fascility, then it will move quicker.

This is why most order via EMS, as Regular International Air Mail will take 2-3 wks. Min. While we are aware of these plants versatility, not worth the added time for myself. Especially if it is held up at Customs.

Rick