Thanks, Rick. VERY good news. I repotted them all into larger pots this past Spring and no way is there room for pampering babies on a heating mat.

Tyler

Speaking of my yearlings, I wondered why one of them suddenly lost all of its leaves. Same watering/feeding schedule as the others. Same pots and medium. Firm caudex. Better dump it out and see what's going on down below. Hmmm...mildew? That doesn't make sense. Then as I looked closer I saw them moving. DAMN MEALIES!!! Dunked the whole thing in a cup of alcohol and all of the stuck remaining medium and mealies fell away. The roots and caudex look good. Tossed the medium. Scrubbed the pot with alcohol. I'm going to leave it unpotted for a couple of days so I can dunk it again.

I sure hope none of the rest are infected. I'll know what to look for now.

I guess there's something to be learned by setbacks.

Tyler

Stewart, may I ask a side question, please? I am in your zone and have my first adenium, about 6" tall and in a black plastic pot. I am uncertain about the amount of sun. Are yours in full sun? I'm also wondering about the roots getting too hot as I'm not a fan of black plastic pots.

Of course.

All of mine are in full sun. I have some in terra cotta, some in black plastic and some in brown plastic the color of terra cotta. Except for the mealy infested one above, they are all growing and some have bloomed. I over wintered them in the house, but put them outside in the Spring & they went directly into full sun. Of course, San Diego Springs are cloudy & overcast both in early morning and in the evening often with only an hour or two of clear cloudless sky so "full sun" is a relative term. They really didn't start taking off until July when our Summer finally started with several hot days in a row.

I'm sure the black plastic will work for you just fine, but if you don't know what conditions they've been growing under you might want to ease them into full sun gradually to prevent burn.

Tyler

I have too many to pamper. Most of mine are only 6 months old. But I will not be able to provide the lights and heat like I did for them as when I first started them.

Hi Alma. So, what are your plans for them once it gets cooler? By the way, how are all of your yearlings doing? I think we started seeds at about the same time last Fall? Within a week of each other if I recall correctly. In fact, the one that has (hopefully past tense now!) the mealy infestation was one of mine from that time. I haven't sown any more Adenuim seeds since then.

Tyler

In general terms, most people consider a seed grown plant a 'seedling' until it's large enough to bloom for the first time. This however varies from one type to another and from one region to another.

However, with adeniums, you might note that in Asia, EVERY seed grown plant is ALWAYS called a seedling no matter how old it gets to be. They are no longer referred to as seedlings if it's grown from a cutting, or grafted, etc.

So naturally that does cause some confusion when you see a very large, well trained, older specimen called a 'seedling' when it is obvious that it's been grown for decades or more. The reason for this is that until /fairly/ recently, almost all adeniums were grown from cuttings. Except for wild collected seeds, none were hand pollinated/hybridized until the past 20 years, and only in about the past 10 years has that really taken off to include all types. At least according to my reading.

So I think it depends on who you are talking to. I'm loosely considering mine to be seedlings until their first flowering, or at least until they start really looking like small trees. But if you speak with someone in Asia they may look at you funny if you use the term differently than they do.

I know that answer has nothing to do with over wintering but everyone else is on top of offering ideas on that already. ;)

Thank you, Hyn. All very interesting, nonetheless. It sounds as if the term "seedling" in Asia is used as a way to differentiate between plants grown from seeds or propagated by other means. That would certainly lessen confusion if you weren't able to readily tell if a particular plant was from a cutting (although from what I've read, most cuttings don't develop a caudex like a "seedling" would) or couldn't easily distinguish a grafting point. Makes sense, when you think about it.

Tyler

Mine yearling (almost in Sept ), the only one I have left. Started with 3. Gave one away and sold one for 25$.

Is the ugliest of the 3. It's has weird leaves. Some curly and some that point downward. The other 2 were gorgeous as far as foilage. But the caudex on this is far superior to the other 2. It is growing so slow. They grew so fast for the first 6 months.

Here's a picture

Wow! Sold one! Good for you! None of mine have bloomed yet and I'd like to see what I have before getting rid of them. I'm sure I'll have to bring them inside at some point maybe Novemberish... But I'm hoping they'll go dormant and no bottom heat or watering. It'd be much easier.

Tyler

Most definitely easier! I hope to sell some next year. Maybe at a farmers market or something. Will have to draft up some care instructions or something.

Which one did you keep? How many 6 month olds do you have?

Tyler

By the way, I think that one looks amazing. Far bigger than any of mine that I planted around that time and it looks like you've raised it already, too. Good job.

Unfortunately, due to space limitations, I needed to wait to repot mine into bigger pots until Spring. I think it may have stunted their growth, but I didn't loose any. I still have the 5 Pink Panther, 4 Black Diamond and 1 Doksawai that germinated last Fall.

I've heard of some people being fortunate enough to have blooms on 7 month old seedlings. Such was not the case for me. While I did provide bottom heat, I did not provide supplemental lighting. The only light they got was from a South facing window. I'm sure they won't have any blooms on them between now and when it starts to cool down. Maybe they'll bloom for me next year.

Tyler

I'm with you, Tyler. I started my seed late last summer and they are only just now /starting/ to even slightly approach blooming sizes, and many are too small yet. So while I know some people can get first flowers as early as 3 months of age, mine are already a year old and not very tall. But they are thick with lateral branching, mostly. I won't be a bit surprised if mine aren't blooming until next year and that's fine. My little seedlings were dormant over winter because I didn't water for the most part. They look really, really good and almost none of them have long single necks. The hard, dry over wintering seems to have triggered a lot more branching than most people get on them, I think.

Thank you, Hyn. That's really good to know as that is my plan for this winter, as well.

Tyler, my seedlings are 6 months old and I have 6 of those blooming. You can see which ones they are on my other thread. 2017 KO seedlings, of those, I have about 60. All in 4 in pots. And there they will remain over the winter.

I still have some of my adults, I did loose 4 total over the winter. And the one dawaski, pictured above. I never raised it. It has been doing that from the beginning. I remember Maria Elena telling me not to do that yet. It is in a 6 in pot. I don't know if I should repot, but maybe some one can advice if I should?

I just caught up on the 2017 KO seedlings thread. Good job on getting those blooms on the 6 month olds. Can't wait to see them opened. ...and wow that's a lot of seedlings. While I do love the blooms, I just don't have the patience or time right now. Maybe one day when my life settles down I'll be able to spend more time on them, have more room for babies and make the hobby pay off. For now, other succulents are more forgiving and less demanding year round. Maybe if I actually made some money from it, I'd change my mind in a hurry! $25 isn't too shabby.

Tyler

I think it's finally time for me to bring those that must come in into the house for the Winter. For the most part nights have been just above 50F, although I wasn't paying attention and one night did dip below 50F 3-4 days ago. Luckily (I think/hope) since the medium is pretty gritty and was dry, I don't think any rot occurred. The days are still fairly warm in the 60F to low 70's range.

I leave for work and it's dark outside. I get home and it's dark outside so I haven't been able to do much inspection except by flashlight. Not very thorough, but I did seem some mealies.

My plan this weekend is to bring all of the more temp sensitive plants (mostly Adenium, some of which have a few buds, but oh well) inside, but to treat them for the mealies with alcohol first. I'll put them in the shade and spray them thoroughly with the alcohol. Only a couple of the plants it appears are really entering dormancy. In addition to the budding on some, the mini is fully leafed out, but I don't want to risk loosing the plant to the cold, so in they come.

So my question is this: In the Summer I did have one of my seedlings that had root mealies. I dumped the pot out and bathed the plant in alcohol. It had lost all of its leaves in the infestation, but has since grown them back. Would it be advisable to douse the plant medium and pot with a cup or so of alcohol? I did have root mealies in the past and would hate for them to explode once I bring everybody inside.

Thank you in advance,

Tyler

...and I mean douse all with of those with alcohol that are coming inside. NOT just the one that had root mealies.

Thanks, Tyler

Just now bringing yours in? Mine have been in for almost 2 months now. And I can' believe they all still have leaves

Yes, and I could probably leave them out a bit longer. The days are certainly warm enough, it's the nights that are iffy, mostly the low 50's to low 60's but there are some that are going just a bit lower. I just don't want to risk it or worry about it and don't have time in the mornings for the back and forth thing.

Yes, leaves, buds and flowers. I'm fully expecting the buds to drop, but since it's warmer in the house, maybe not. We'll see. Only one of the plants resent by Rinoa and my A. Multiflorum have dropped most of their leaves. These are all the same plants I had this past Winter. No new acquisitions since I knew I wasn't going to have space inside to overwinter. In fact, I have 2 less, trading away 2 of my seedlings for succulents & cacti.

Pictures below.

Very nice.