Thanks, Rick. It's funny. The soil looks dry in the photo, but it was actually damp, but not soaked. That is a beautiful tree your friend has! Her roots must be very shallow. I have some pots like that, but my roots won't fit in it unless I chop off a lot of them. Do you think I should do a light pruning when I re-pot it? Some of the branches are filled with the dead buds. It also could stand to be even wider, so I was thinking more pruning might help it get really nice this summer..

Karen, sooo glad there is no sign of rot. So back to the excess salt accumulation (from the other thread).

Rainbow said:"The higher concentration of salt outside of the plant cells in the soil causes water to move outside of the cells to try and equalize the concentration. Some root cells of plants that do not tolerate salt may die, and if bad enough the plant will die. The damage gives the plant a burnt look, often on the leaf edges first. The same thing happens with too much of any mineral."
Source

Karen, seems to me then that the new growth wilted and buds dried and dropped because of lack of water being transported to the apex. Even given lots of water, the roots cannot take it up due to the process of equalization of salt concentrations. Glad this was caught in time....because over-watering and lack of proper drainage will ultimately lead to root rot.

Since some bruising occurred in the process of taking the plant out of the old pot, I suggest hanging her up somewhere to allow for callousing over. At this time, you could also cut back drastically on the long roots. When it's time, plant into a shallow container that is about 4" wider than the diameter of the caudex base. So if the caudex is 8" in diameter, a 12" pot would be ideal.

(p.s.) I was composing this reply when RCanada posted.

Thanks, I never really did a big flush with the distilled water. It's possible lots of salt is still in there. Should I cut all the leaves and buds off, or leave them for a while. Cutting the roots sounds good.

I have a pot that is the required width, but it's deeper. Would that still work, or do I need to hunt for something else.

plantmanager said:Thanks, I never really did a big flush with the distilled water. It's possible lots of salt is still in there. Should I cut all the leaves and buds off, or leave them for a while. Cutting the roots sounds good.

I have a pot that is the required width, but it's deeper. Would that still work, or do I need to hunt for something else.

Deeper than what? You mean like the usual depth given for the width of the pot as in "azalea" pots? I would say no...shallow is better for your adenium (my adeniums too). It is not a Somalense...which grow tall and require a deep pot for their tap root.

Karen, in answer to your question of whether to cut leaves and buds off. I would leave them alone for now.

I was thinking of the pot the Buddha Baby was in. It is very wide, and very shallow. The one I was looking at today in my stash looked like it would be good. It is 15 inches wide, just a bit wider than Rick mentioned. It is 13 inches deep which I thought would accommodate my roots without cutting them. Can you give me a link to a pot you like? We don't have many pot sources here in our small town, so I may have to buy one online.

If you want to maintain compactness as in "bonsai," roots need to be cut. Your 15" pot would be okay as long as there is plenty of aeration in the media to allow for good drainage and some time for top layer of media to dry between waterings.

For the 13" depth of your 15" pot....to solve the issue with depth after cutting roots, place gravel at the bottom of the pot, place a screen material on the gravel, add an inch or two of media on top, then plant your adenium and fill sides in with media.

Oh, one other thing. You could do companion planting of small low- growing succulents around the edge of your 15" pot. They will take up the excess moisture around the base of the caudex.

I think as Kadie mentions about hanging for a few days will assist roots to heal before replanting. The root pruning would be completely a personal thing. If planting into a very shallow pot it would be needed, but going into a pot 10" or deeper (not too deep), it would not be necessary.

When you say that the roots measure 9". Is this from the end of the feeder roots to Where? on the caudex. Much of the caudex on this tree could be exposed. The feeder roots should be somewhat spread out when repotting and not straight down.
A even pruning of the branches once you have repotted it, would give a nice new flush of blooms in the summer. Prune in a half semi circle shape like a mushroom top.

This will be a beautiful specimen. Very nice.
Rick

Thanks KD. That is an idea to fill the deep with gravel and a screen. it might be neat to have some low succulents. I'll have to think about that. I have trouble finding plants that need the same watering. I've made group plantings and always had a few plants that didn't like being with the others.

Thank you, Rick. I appreciate the help. The 9 inch measurement was from the bottom of the roots, to the level on the caudex where it was planted before. I can raise it up and lessen the root depth. I'll let it hang for a week or so and then replant it as well as giving it a light overall pruning. I do want that wonderful compact mushroom shape.

Karen,
Upon thinking about you hanging it. I am thinking that if you hang it for any length of time, it should have it's leaves snipped off. The tree could suffer from transpiration from the leaves.
Less stressful on a tree if no leaves. Would not need to do this for a few days.
Rick

Ok, I'll do that. Should I cut them entirely off, or just in half like I've seen some do?

Karen,
I hate the thought of you having to cut them off, but if hanging for this length of time. You should. I would cut them all off about 1/4" from the branches. You just do not want to tear them off.
Would be worth dusting the roots with some sulfur dust, if you feel that there was damage done.
Rick

I'll do that, Rick Thanks for the help!

plantmanager said:The 9 inch measurement was from the bottom of the roots, to the level on the caudex where it was planted before. I can raise it up and lessen the root depth.

Glad this distinction was made. I was thinking the measurement was from the end of the fine feeder roots up to the lower tip of the succulent roots. I didn't know it also included the entire succulent roots to the previous soil line. Now I understand your reluctance about cutting roots...you thought I meant cutting the succulent roots too? No......you only want to cut off the fine feeder roots, not the thick succulent roots. I believe the fine feeder roots are dead now, useless once taken out of the pot and the media washed off. And I suspect they were dying anyway from excess salt concentrations.

Whew! Glad this misunderstanding has been cleared up. Yes?

Very important note: I am speaking here about the fine roots on older adeniums, not the fine roots of seedlings! Based on my own experiences and culture of adeniums, young seedlings are super resilient and accommodating...their fine roots do not die at transplanting process...they are essential to their growth. This is a major and critical difference between young and old.

I was not totally sure Kadie. So I thought I would ask Karen. Glad to have such a supportive group here and able to throw back different thoughts. It does help me very much.
Rick

Thanks, KD and Rick. I never knew there was any distinction between the different parts of the roots. They were all roots to me. I thought it could be cut off at any part of it, and would do fine and re-root. I remember seeing photos of Adeniums where they cut the caudex in half and had the disks placed under it so the roots only formed all around the edges with no roots in the center. I'm learning, little by little, thanks to all of you.

Hi, I don't get to my PC over weekends, so I just found this thread. I think you guys know a LOT more about Adeniums than I do.

I didn't disagree with anything I read, and I especially agree with this, if it's possible:

RCanada said:
>> It is best to water enough so that water or water/fertilizer mix always flushes through and out the bottom.
This will flush out any unused or build up of salts.

And it is important to use a mix that drains fast enough that you CAN flush like this, without waterlogging the mix for a week.

P.S. When there are too many Ricks or Rics, I also go by "Corey".

Thanks, Rick Corey! When I re-pot it I will make it much more fast draining and try to use mostly distilled. If I use my well water, I'll do the flushes. It's hanging right now to dry a bit before it gets re-planted. In another 6 months I'll hope to show you a fully leafed out tree full of blooms!

Thanks, Corey!