I'm not at all an expert either, but I'm thinking your seedlings may be reacting to the culture change. The leaves folding up and the squishy causes together seem to indicate they are not Able to absorb enough water. This makes sense if you've just moved them to this grittier substrate. I think I'd back off on the amount of sun they get to give their little roots time to adjust to the different substrate. Sounds like they may not need any more water, just less sun until they have a chance to adjust.

I just moved a bunch of my seedlings to a gritty mix and some other caudices (caudexes?) were also a little squishy (particularly the less developed ones).

Thanks Rob, Ill try that. These are the first adeniums I've ever grown or had so I dont know all the signs except for what I read online. They were doing great for months. Its hard to always pinpoint whats wrong when you dont know much about it.

What kind of soil did you have them planted in before the current stuff? I've also always read the seedlings generally like more water than mature plants and it may be that they're still in that stage and so this mix dry out a little too quickly for the amount of sun they are getting.

Your seedlings actually look pretty healthy to me except for the leaves folding up (their way of conserving water). They've got lots of closely spaced, healthy looking leaves. But you can see most of their caudices haven't fattened up yet. Once that happens, they should be very happy in this substrate in your normal 8-10 hours of sun.

The soil i used is pretty similar. Might have used a bit more potting soil when they were hatching but I started with a pretty gritty mix, maybe 50/50.. grit to soil when they were still underground. I think by looking at this one's stressed plant's roots, I can pretty much eliminate root rot as a cause. Does that mean they aren't getting enough water? I mean if I were giving them too much water, wouldn't the roots be brown? They look white to me but on the other hand, I thought yellow leaves meant they are getting too much water? This is where I'm confused. Are the stems squishy because they need more water or because they need less water?? LOL. Then you said they fold their leaves up to conserve water. Does that mean I haven't watered them enough? Its a vicious cycle, I tell ya!

I basically pour in a bit of water, not much, just enough to moisten the soil every few days. Its what I've been doing for months..

They're folding up their leaves because they don't feel like they're getting enough water (thus the effort to conserve it). I agree with Peter - sounds like in your substrate, and your very tropical climate that you shouldn't be able to overwater. And I agree with you, the roots look very healthy - they do not look like they have been overwatered. I think the caudex is squishy because the plants haven't been able to soak up enough water to "fill up the tank" as it were.

So, I think you could give them more water, but it may not help because:

1) the roots are still forming, and getting used to the grittier mix

2) the caudices are not really formed, so they don't have a place to store water for when they need it.

Thus, I think they just need a little less sun until those caudices get fatter and the roots have adjusted/grown a bit more. Maybe try 6-8 hours of sun and see if that makes a difference.

Like i said, I repotted all of my 1+ year old seedlings last week into a much grittier mix than they were in. The ones with fatter caudices did fine. The ones with a less well formed caudex became a little squishy like yours are doing. They just need time to mature is all. So I'll give the squishy ones a little less sun.

I would add that you should thoroughly drench the gritty mix when you do water. Maybe the rain in the Keys does that for you every day, but I've seen several posts where people were watering their adeniums twice a day. Again, I think you shouldn't be able to overwater. I'm only slightly hesitant because it does sound like you do have some organic matter (soil) in your mix, but with your weather, it's probably ok. However it probably means you should repot more often (once a year?) to avoid the organic matter from settling in the bottom of the pot and the roots towards the bottom start rotting...just keep an eye on it.

There are certainly more experienced members here than I who might chime in on this...

Thanks, Rob and thanks, Peter.. When I pour water in those pots it evacuates pretty darn fast. There is soil in the mix, it doesn't drain as fast as lets say an all gritty mix but it pretty much comes right out the bottom. Ill definitely try what you suggested and get some of those less fat plants in some shade. And as a whole Ill try and give them less sun and see if that helps. What you are saying totally makes sense, 100%. I just hope I can save that one little guy before it goes kaput! *finger slashing throat motion*

Your potting medium is too wet. Napa floor dry absorbs moisture. The potting soil absorbs moisture. You need another component (not pine bark) to make the water drain faster. some chicken grit (non oyster shell) or some crushed granite, small crushed lava rock, or pumice would help. Even some aquarium gravel would be okay. Your plants go squishy when there is too much water around. The napa is nice because it absorbs quick and slow releases. About 1/3 of your mix should be gravel, 1/3 napa and 1/3 potting soil with a good bit of perlite cut into it.

Update: I didnt water these for 5 or 6 days because I thought I was watering them too much and they actually got worse. I've watered them 2 days in a row and boy, they look much better. All the stems have hardened up and are all stiff. All the leaves went horizontal and are no longer pointed up towards the sky. Looks like Rob and Peter were spot on. Thanks guys! I learned a lot from this thread.

Hi everyone! I am new to this group but love all the positivity here! I would love if someone wanted to share some seeds with me. I have 2 desert roses that are about 4 years old and 2 baby ones my hubby bought me from Home Depot. I would love to be able to try to grow my own! If anyone wants to share please let me know. Thank you all so much!

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