They look amazing. So happy for you and I know they will do really well for you. Cannot wait to see them bloom.
That gravel will be fine when screened as you are doing. My sources for products seems to change all the time when I go in to purchase. Going to look into getting Horriculture Pumice.
Thinking of adding some pelleted composted chicken manure or something alike. The Thai and folks in Australia and India use it.
Rinoa, usually sends quite nice size plants (caudex's).
Rick

Is there an average age for an adenium to bloom? I have a dozen or so seedlings that germinated a couple of months ago.

Ken, I am not sure of an average. Seems some get them to bloom as early as 5-6 mths. Many not until a few years old. Not sure if there is a true way to force or make them bloom other than when they feel like it.
Outside of giving them strong sunlight, which does not have to be strong sun all day. Many people growing these as in Arizona will often use 60% shade cloth over them.
Wish I had the absolute answer. Would do it.
Rick

Rick, glad to share!

Ken, I agree with Rick. About my own adeniums, some had flowers beginning at 7 to 8 months. Many others have not bloomed yet and the trees are just over a year old.

@RCanada

Okay...I screened the fine particles out of the calcined clay and the gravel grit. I thought it would be a task and a half, but not at all. And have mixed together equal parts of the clay, grit, and orchid bark and potted up one of my year-old adeniums. Overall the tree looks more attractive in the new media. Any suggestions on uses of the fine particles? (I'm letting Rinoa's trees dry one more day.)

A few people had mentioned that they used the fines to mix in their seed starting mix. I sift mine over my succulent bed and let them wash in.
Rick

RCanada said:A few people had mentioned that they used the fines to mix in their seed starting mix. I sift mine over my succulent bed and let them wash in.
Rick

Rick, I do have two raised beds that we had been growing vegetables in and thought to use it for raising my grafting stock...now that you mentioned a succulent bed, I have definitely decided to do it. And then your mentioning chicken manure...we could place free range chickens temporarily on the raised beds enclosed in scratch pens, and allow them to scratch into and poop on the soil. After about a week, will remove the chickens and pens, add green and brown vegetation waste, cover with corrugated tin that will be heated by the sun and allow to compost for about 4 months. By then my grafting stock should be ready to plant.
Any helpful comments/suggestions about the above ideas are welcome.

Kadie, That is a wonderful way to get your bed area fed. You know here, most speak of Chicken manure being too high in Nitrogen for most garden use. Obviously the composting/aging of the manure is important. My sisters in-laws have been using their aged Chicken manure in their veggie garden and they have unbelievable produce.
I am going to start using it. When I read how the Thai people use it and in Australia (they call it Chook Poo) use it. There must be something to it, they are growing remarkable plants.

This is where, I think Kadie. You can make a mark where you are and do some nice growing and grafting for market one day?
Have been having fun with my grafting.
Rick

Thank you, Rick. I did hear about the high nitrogen as well as the possibility of burning the roots, so aging the Chook Poo with the compost is a definite must. Thanks for your support on the raised bed and chickens Btw, your Thai Soco's will be 3 months old next month and I will take and post pictures then before transplanting into larger containers. I am going to crop the roots of two of them for comparison of overall growth.

Looking forward to seeing them, Kadie.
Mine have developed quite well being outside getting all day sun.
Rick

Rick/Ursula, all those seedlings are positioned so that they get sun between 10:00 and 11:00 AM and then again from 3:00 till 6:00 PM. They are shaded by stands of trees otherwise. Should they get more sun? Even when they were compoted, they got far more shade than sun. They were sitting under plumeria, and plumeria have huge leaves.

That's about the amount of sun my babies are getting. I will probably keep them in that kind of exposure for now, but I might give them more sun next Spring/Summer, when they are a bit larger.

Thanks, Ursula. I will watch for blanching of the leaves and move them to a bit more (afternoon) shade if necessary. Rick made a comment about the (white) stem showing above the "soil" line. I elevated some of the plants from the level they were growing in the sphagnum and left some at the same level. I don't know if that was a good move or a bad move on my part.

Ken, I would keep them at the same level as they where before potting individually. You can just add a small layer of soil mix to bring it up to the bottom of the green stems.
I usually with newly seeded seedlings have them with the others, but use a 60% shade cloth over them until they have atleast 4-5 true leaves. Where you have should be fine, but move out slowly when they have grown more true leaves. You will be surprised at how they respond.
Rick

As fall approaches, the angle of the sun makes the exposure less severe. Of course, in a couple of months, everything will begin to be brought inside. Then they will be in the "Everything Else" greenhouse.

You are taking away my experiment, Rick.

Rick,
Regards my Rinoa trees...should I clip off a bit of the branches to "wake" them up out of dormancy? Or should I wait and see for now?
Kadie

It was recommended to me that they should be left to get started and grow a good root system before doing any pruning.
Rick

Thanks, Rick...will heed this advice.
Kadie