I'm no expert but I've been doing this for 25 years and learned a few things and one of them is how to make them produce seeds pods. the photo just show a few I picked last week. Like I said, I ain't no expert but it sure has worked for me. I will start from the beginning from what I use to pollinate the flower all the way to planting the seeds and having seedling sprouting.
Wilfred
First thing you have to do is get your self some artist paint brushes like the ones they sell at Walmart, 25 brushes for around $5.00. that's the one I buy, it has all kinds and sizes you can chose for different types of flower.
Wilfred
Close-up of brush pack so you know which one I'm talking about.
Wilfred
Out of this brush pack your going to chose this brush ( #3 ) for pollinating the Desert Rose ( Adeniums ) only, all other bushes are good for all kinds of other flowers.
Wilfred
Now chose a flower that has recently opened by the base as shone in the photo and gently skies it a little at the base.
Wilfred
Look inside of the flower center part as you look at it from the front, notice how the center will slightly open when you skies it, Its were the for hair looking thing come together at the end.
Wilfred
Now take your #3 brush and carefully introduce it through the middle of the flower and gently introduce the point of the brush through the opening as you skies the base of the flower, now gently mover the brush in a circular motion in side the flower base, that were the pollen is, got to be careful not to break the stylise that's inside there. Repeat this on all the flower available a the moment thus this increases the chases of pollination do to the fact that the more you do it the more pollen you have on the paint brush tip. flowers last for a few day so you can repeat it several days until the flower fall of. best time to start doing this is about half an hour after the flower has opened.
Wilfred
Here's a few photos so you know what I'm talking about.
Wilfred
Here's a close-up of it. Notice how the center opens when you skies it a little.
Wilfred
This message was edited Jul 4, 2009 5:02 PM
This is what is being done as you introduce the brush through the center of the flower.
Wilfred
I've rip off part of the flower so you can see were the pollen is and were it suppose to end up on, as you notice the pollen is at the bottom of were the two antenna hair looking thing are and were its suppose to end up on that little white point you see in the middle.
Wilfred
This is how the pods look like after a few weeks if pollination was successful.
Wilfred
This is the color it turns to as its almost ready, notice the pods are still in the V formation, as times goes on it will start to turn like an up-side down V, more like an arrow point, this is when its getting ready to open. at this stage I tie a trash bag tie around the middle so it doesn't open and seeds fly away like feathers.
Wilfred
This is a pod that has ripened and opened, see how the seeds are designed to fly away at the slightest breeze.
Wilfred
Seeds have these feathery thing at each end of it.
Wilfred
Actual seeds are this cylinder shape 1/4" to 3/8" tan colored thing to the side.
Wilfred
Very nice. Thanks so much for sharing.
Great tutorial!! Thanks!
Now if i could get me a bloom : )
Now how I plant them, I like to use a hanging flower basket for two reasons, first because their big enough to hold at least a hundred seeds at once, second they stay nice a humid long enough for seeds to germinate. I use seed potting mix for this purpose, particles are small and loose, I fill the basket one inch from the rim.
Wilfred
After you get the soil in the basket, you must wet it until water comes out the bottom. Basket should look like this, ready for seeds.
Wilfred
Now place your seeds on top of the soil like demonstrated in the photo.
Wilfred
Now you start to cover your seed just barely with the seed soil mix as shown in the photo.
Wilfred
Here's a close-up so you can see what I mien.
Wilfred
This is what it should look like after you finish covering them. Now come the tricky part, you have to sprinkle them again with water without disturbing the seeds, how you do that, simple, you take your watering can and you start to pour water out side of the basket and swing it across the basket to the other side of it not to slow and not to fast, you have to do this several time in order to get a nice smooth surface look.
Wilfred
After you have water it, look closely to see if any of the seeds have been exposed, don't worry, just press them down a little so you can cover them.
Wilfred
This is what they should look like after you cover the exposed seeds. After this just water it once more and place in a sunny location.
Wilfred
This is what it should look like in two to three weeks after you planted them, they usually start to sprout after a week.
Wilfred
After a year more or less they start to bloom.
Wilfred
Enjoy some photos of mien, and any questions fell free to ask me by D-mail.
Wilfred
If you want to get lots of bloom out of your Desert Rose you need two thing, first you need a high phosphorus fertilizer, Desert Rose uses a lot of phosphorus to produce blooms but one thing to have in mind, from time to time you have to water it a lot enough for water to come out the bottom for a few minutes to avoid salt build-up and second lots of sunshine, this induces bloom while the contrary produces growth, the more sunshine the closer the leave grow together and the less sunshine the more separation of leaves giving a lanky week look with no flower on it.
Wilfred
Here's an older one. I've haven't cut this one yet.
Wilfred
Just to let you know, you can propagate Desert Rose from cuttings but it will not produce the bulb shape root system like the ones grown from seeds, all you have to do is let the cutting dry out for about three day before you plant them in a humid potting mix not soggy wet. You have too let the wound dry or it will rot.
This is one of my favorites, and with this I end the show, hope this can help others with their Desert Rose ( Adeniums ) projects. To all I say take care and prosper, Thank You.
Wilfred
Thank you very much! you have answered my questions.I have some high phosphorus fertilizer and will use it. Great info!
Thanks for the info Wilfred, mine hasn't bloomed yet, so I need to get some fertilizer high in phosphorus.
Darla
Wilfred, I am not going to try growing from seed, but I can sure appreciate the time and effort and love you put into your tutorial. Kudos! Don
Actually I have some from seeds I bought last year and a flat I started this year with about 30 seedlings. I planted differently as I laid he seeds horizontally and got only 50% germination. I have some more Thai import seeds that I will try planted vertical and see the difference in germination.
Thanks kimarj, Darlacooper and Dimcgrw, glade to share from my 25 years experience with Adeniums ( Desert Rose ), nice to share what one has learned thru the years.
budgielover, nice to see different methods of planting adenium seeds, but i would prefer to use the trays to grow them on, I've also noticed that some parts of the tray are to dry on top, they should be humid when starting to germinate or their tiny first root will dry out without you noticing it, and the seeding will fell to germinate that's may cause you to get a 50% germination, remember when they start to sprout is wen their most fragile to dry out since they don't have enough roots and are to small to hold water it them. that's why I use a flower basket, it retain moisture for a longer time period and won't let my seedling dry out. I also put mien in 1/2 day sun at least to promote the heat they need to germinate. Well this is my opinion not saying your is not as good as mien, circumstances change from place to place, what works for me mite not work for you, by the way, when you do your experiment, how would you know which part of the seeds is the top or the bottom, unless they are marked them when pick and sold to you. well anyway let me know how your experiments go.
Wilfred
The soil appears dry because I bottom water due to fungal gnats we are prone to here. Keeping the top dry discourages them
I thought you had your tray in a aquarium tank from what I could see in your photo, maybe you can cover the tank's top with a thin white bed sheet cover or spray mist the top of the soil with neem oil to discourage the fungal gnats, this mite help you.
Wilfred
By the way, if you keep the top of the soil dry, how deep do you plant your seeds if they need constant moister to germinate and seeds should be planted as deep as their size, almost on the surface for what I understand, just curious.
Wilfred
