Jean,

I have even unpotted a soft bodied DR for a while with about 50% success.

Lonnie

Hi, Jean!

... and welcome to the forum.

So, what you are saying is that you didn't have to excise any roots; they sort of excised themselves and healed themselves ... Right? If that is the case, no worries below ground! You mentioned "open wounds of the roots." If that means not everything was calloused over, uproot the plants right away and wash away all soil. Leave unpotted at least 10 days so the roots can callous over. If you plant a plant with newly excised roots, you run the risk of more rot.

Another consideration would be substrate. Hopefully, you've used something super fast draining, like 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 perlite, 1/3 pine bark. To that, you can add small crushed rocks. The idea is to keep the soil loose & airy and non-water-retentive.

Now, above ground. Raising the caudex is something that should be done slowly, about an inch at a time with each repot. The reason: probable sunburn to the caudex. The roots have not been previously exposed to sun and need to slowly acclimate. Exposing a large surface of roots all at once can cause unsightly damage that is irreversible.

In terms of branch cutting, good for you! The more you prune, the more branches & the more flowers you will get!!! Cutting should be done at a sharp angle ( / ) and from one node to another, always leaving a node at the top and bottom of your cut. Pruning will activate branching in these and surrounding nodes. You will begin to see nubs in as little as two weeks ... Please refrain from touching them. Pruning can also activate self branching lower on the caudex. This is purely genetic.

Acclimate your plants to full sun slowly. Feed weekly, weakly ... at 1/4 strength. Adeniums do well with steady feedings as opposed to monthly.

Can't wait to see your plants! Happy growing!!

Maria Elena

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it.

@Maria Elena:

For the roots, I removed tiny ones off the caudex. Some of the roots that healed themselves was still moist so I cleaned and dried them. I applied the sulfur on all the wounds.

So since you stated that it would be best to uplift the roots an inch at at a time, I failed on that end. I basically exposed most of the roots. The good news is that none of the new wounds are under the soil. I set all 3 under my patio to allow them to recuperate, protect them from the rain, and direct sunlight.

I did pretty good soil wise. Cutting the branches I did sort of ok. I knew that I had to cut them nice and in an angle, but some I didn't want to because I was afraid to cut off too much.

I will place pictures below. Thank you for the quick reply Maria!

-Jean

Hi again,

Be warned the pictures are a little unsightly. Remember I am trying to restore beauty. LOL.

Adenium Saved #1

This looks good from this angle, but it lost some really big roots in the back that rotted.

I made a big cut on the main stem. So sad.

there is something else happening to the main trunk that I don't know how to fix. Does any one know if I should just leave it?

Adenium Saved #2

This one didn't have much root rot, but i accidentally broke one off.

But this one had a lot of branch rot.

Adenium Saved #3

this adenium has some roots that are soft, but not rotten.

It did have some root rot that is why I have it supported. This was the best idea I had. Please feel free to suggest something better.

and the ugliest part is the branch that was rotted badly, but some parts of it was not. This one is the first adenium that I first assessed and sort of got carried away that is why the branches look like this. please suggest how I should fix it. Should I just cut it off clean or leave it for now? It has branches growing it out of it.

I know, I know. I really butchered this one. Any opinions on if it will survive or how I can keep it alive?

-Jean

P.S. Thanks again for the help.

Jean,

I am concerned about the red circled areas in the 2nd picture. Did you remove all the rot? Did you scrape away to clean tissue (like a turnip)? There should be no black / brown.

Maria Elena