Is it one of these that you use? http://www.lillymiller.com/tre...

The second one looks like it. You know how it is...depending on the date of web postings and such other like product improvements, things could change.

Rainbow said:Hmmm...it contains a wetting agent? This does not sound good to me...more chemicals!

I received a reply from Ferti-Lome they said:

The SDS lists Surfactant 1%, Ammonium Phosphate 28%, and Potassium Chloride 5% by weight. All other ingredients are considered trade secrets to the manufacturer.

I have to run to PX this morning, I'll check there to see what I can find if they haven't replaced the garden section with Toyland yet

Chris, the surfactant can be nothing more than kitchen (dish) detergent. It any case, I would think that it is innocuous.

Thanks Ken, all the PX had was Miracle Gro stuff which I refuse to use. I'll go with what I have. It's worked fine on some of my other plants.

Chris, after googling surfactants...it will not only cause water-retention, but it will also cause salts retention in your potting media. This is not good for succulents in pots.

Chris, If nothing else, just use seaweed fertilizer if you can find it. It has many beneficial nutrients and "vitamins" for plants.

For those who missed the beginning of this particular discussion...we were talking about preparing young seedlings, in strength and health, to withstand up-coming cooler temps.

I guess I'll need to make a trip to Lowe's soon. I found this site - http://rooting-hormones.com/in... this afternoon.

New e book on Adenium's http://adorableadenimums.raman...

Thank you for providing the link to this ebook, crystalview. The book provides very basic introductory information for those new to adeniums. What's more...it's free!

Lots of good information and the pictures are lovely and interesting. Thanks for the link!

Kadie, I'm using MSU with RO Water (see the numbers below) on my Orchids and I've been following the same watering/feeding schedule for my Adeniums as well, about every 6-7 days feed/water using RO water I make at the house. Currently I'm using 3/4tsp of MSU per gal of water. I'll be cutting that down to probably 1/2tsp in the next few weeks or whenever the cooler weather sets in (can't come soon enough for me). Do you think that possibly using a solution of 1/2 or 1/4tsp per gal of water would hurt the seedlings?

RO Water Special
(13-3-15)

Nitrate Nitrogen 12.5%
Ammoniacal Nitrogen 0.5%
Urea Nitrogen 0.0%
Phosphorus as P2O5 3.0%
Potassium as K2O 15.0%
Calcium 8.0%
Magnesium 2.0%
Iron 0.17%
Manganese 0.08%
Zinc 0.04%
Copper 0.04%
Boron 0.01%
Molybdenum 0.01%

I've noticed no issues using this on my adult Adeniums in fact they seem to be putting out a lot of new foliage and I've one that is blooming for the third time since I got it in I believe July.

Which is a better potting mix for Adeniums soil or soil less such as a good quality orchid bark?

I remember you mentioning the MSU in a previous discussion, Chris. For orchids and older adenium plants this sounds like a very good fertilizer. I had mentioned before my concern about the high ratio of nitrogen...it encourages quick, lush, and possibly elongated growth on young seedlings. If this is what you are striving for, then yes, this fertilizer used in a weakened solution would be very good.

As for potting media...definitely soil-less. Since around the beginning of the year I had been incorporating orchid seedling bark to bagged potting media, along with perlite and peat moss. The bark is supposed allow for aeration as well as be able to hold on to fertilizer nutrients. But I won't be adding the bark any more...my adeniums weren't performing as well as I thought they would. I think something-- some kind of chemical was added to the bark in the process. Or else it's just the bark's characteristics that eventually make the potting media "gunky" and not well aerated like in the first few weeks. So back to the drawing board for me.

Here's a video about a potting mix that I think would be ideal for adeniums, but tweaked for individual growing conditions and climate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I see what you mean, I'll not use it on the seedlings then but continue with the adults.

Here's the bark I use on all my orchids - http://www.rexius.com/rexius-o... I've been using it since Feb and it hasn't broken down at all. Should the adult Adeniums be potted in the straight orchid bark then?

I'm wondering then if liquid fish fertilizer, very diluted of course, would work for the seedlings?

Chris, like I said...I won't be using bark for my adeniums any more.

Understand, I didn't know if you were going to try a different brand of bark or just give up.

Chris, as you well know I am certainly no expert when it comes to Adenium. The potting mix I use is half orchid mix (I make my own) and half potting soil (I make my own of that as well). I go through a square yard of media every year so I have a lot of stuff on hand to customize my mixes. I find that the half bark media and half potting media work well with Adenium and with terrestrial orchids. I do use Rexius Douglas fir bark and chopped cypress as another wood in my orchid media.

I am definitely no expert either, but I use half cactus palm and citrus soil blend and half perlite for mine. I just have never trusted bark.

Grow as many orchids as I do, James, and you will learn to trust it quickly..........