Here are some of my blooms from 2015. Looking forward to 2016 Season.













I hope you enjoy and I would love to see your blooms.
Rick

All magnificent, Rick! Thank you for sharing.

Some great blooms Rick. Looking forward to your new blooms. Hope Mine Will be that pretty one day.

Wonderful and variable array of flowers, @rcanada.

Rick, do you trim off the taproot from all, some, or few of your adenium? At what age is it best to do so, or what size of plant is it best to do so?

Rick, all i can say is "wow" to all of your collections. I cannot wait to get back into gardening.

Thank everyone. I know that I have probably shown these as they bloom, but I have started making logs of each year of which trees bloomed.

Ken, I have not done much tap root cutting. Might try some this spring when young ones are really starting to grow again. Best time for rejuvenating roots.
It has always been recommended to not transplant seedlings until they have at least 5-6 true leaves and I would think no earlier for root pruning. I imagine this is when it would be done anyhow, as we are transplanting.
I think with the cutting of the tap root, it will give more roots from around the outer most part of the "future caudex", giving it a wider and more appealing look.

Rick

Thanks, Rick. I think pretty much all of my plants have at least that number of leaves, and since I am going to re-pot them all anyway, I might as well do some tap-root cutting. I will make a label for each one that I cut the tap-root, so that I know I did it and the date.

Adeniumgirl said:Some great blooms Rick. Looking forward to your new blooms. Hope Mine Will be that pretty one day.

Your blooms have me drooling!

Hello Rick! I don't think I have seen these blooms before. Perhaps I missed them. They are gorgeous!

I'm so glad I found this site!

drdawg, after reading your posts, it would seem we have some things in common. I also started cutting tap roots. I did one as a test late this summer, and the caudex got huge compared to a similar plant. I cut them when they are around 1.5 months if grown in the summer, and probably 2 months under lights. For me, it's about size, and while I don't want them to be too young, I want them to be old enough to survive the snip.

It would also seem that you, like me, replant them immediately after snipping? (I think I read that somewhere)

I also plant mine in a compost-like 'potting soil' rather than a gritty mix.

The plant on the right is the one with no tap. These plants were virtual twins before. Only thing was that the caudex on the left was slightly larger.


This is that plant potted: sown 7/3/2015


Are you cutting the taps to fatten the caudex, and/or to slow the growth?

For me, I like both aspects.

To tell you the truth, I cut those tap roots just to see what happens. I have never grown Adenium before this year and I am simply experimenting with them.

Hi Jed! Very nice to see you here! to ATP.

Remember my tree that you called, "Plumber Adenium?"

Kadie?
I see the plumber is still alive!
Good to see you here! I hope you've been doing well.

Welcome Jed. Seen you around on garden web as well. So you found this one as well now.

JedobaTX9b

Nice to have you part of this site, Jed. Always a pleasure conversing with you.
How are your seedlings doing?
Rick

Thanks Rick, Adeniumgirl, Dutchlady, PlantmanagerKaren, and anyone I missed! Adeniumgirl, you're the one who mentioned this site on the old GW site and brought me here.

Rick, the seedlings were doing great until about 10 days ago when I decided they needed to come out of the community pot and get their own pots.
They were under the LED, but I only have two panels currently and all of my plants just won't fit under them. So, I moved them out under the two 4-light florescent lights. The plants are fine, but some have lost >50% of their leaves. I had to move that light up recently because I have some large ones. Well, moving that light up decreased the intensity enough that some of the plants (most actually) started going dormant. Two days ago, I installed an extra ballast into each fixture which doubled the power going to each bulb (1.7X produced light). It's called overdriving if anyone is interested. It allows you to get H.O. florescent results from a standard bulb, and fixture.

Rick, you had also commented on your dislike for the form of Obesum "stick with ball on top". I have some pictures of one of the tap root snipped Obesums that you might find interesting. This plant is 4 months old.



If you wished, you could snip the bottom of the caudex and you would get a wider base of roots. Just an idea if that's not wide enough for your tastes.

Those Obesum X Crispum are AMAZING. They all already have multiple spots branching or starting to. Actually, all leaf nodes appear to be branching. They are all about 3" tall, and over 1/2" across at the caudex. I cannot wait to see what this spring and summer will bring!

For awhile, I thought that one of the DQ's was variegated. It's still possible, but not sure. ALL of the DK's, DQ's, and the Socos are doing amazingly well. Excellent branching on the DQ's and DK's, and the sheer size of the Socos. All amazing.

Now I need some more basic Obesum seed for experimentation. I don't think I have mentioned this elsewhere, but I am hoping to start supplying at least South Texas with Adenium.

Sorry this was so long!

JedobaTX9b said:Thanks Rick, Adeniumgirl, Dutchlady, PlantmanagerKaren, and anyone I missed!

Jed, you missed me...but that's okay you're forgiven. Seeing the Plumber again wearing his tongs must have shocked you!
I remember you're hesitance in buying seeds on line and needing names of reputable vendors. Great that you're now growing all these different varieties and experimenting. You have come a long way baby!

JedobaTX9b said:I don't think I have mentioned this elsewhere, but I am hoping to start supplying at least South Texas with Adenium!

I too, am sharing my excess adeniums here and having fun teaching others about them. Of course I get remuneration so I can feed my adenium addiction.

Jedoba, Sorry to hear of your Dimmitt seedlings showing these results and losing their leaves. I am sure they will be fine.
I don't mind a bulbous base on my obesum's, but not overly fond of a long thin stalk w a clump of branches at the top. Just my own preference.

Nice looking seedling in photo.
I have a few Thai Soco Golden Crown which I started about a 1yr. ago. They did not even produce anything other than horizontal root growth. Not tap root at all.

Those Dimmitt obesum x crispum are quite unique and I am loving mine also. Cannot wait to see what this spring/summer brings them.
Really hoping that I can get some more of his seed some day. Really enjoying them and it proves that the hybridizing of these seeds from people such as himself, makes the world of a difference.

I hope that your venture with the Adeniums to Texas proves fruitful.

Rick

Sorry Rick, I probably wasn't very clear. The Obesum x Crispum are the only ones still under my led. They are very special to me. Those plants will be pampered, and treated like the royalty they are. Thank you again for them.

Yes I did mention it to Chrissy. So you did see that. Well it is a nice place here. Really learning a lot.