How to make your desert rose produce seed

I've tried the neem. Doesn't help. I have the tank with a screen mesh top with heat lamps. I plant about 1/2 in deep I presoak my seeds overnight also before planting.

Than how small are those darn fungal gnats, are they smaller then the hole in the screen mesh, never seen one of those darn thing in my life and hope I never do. I also think you mite be planting them just a little to deep, like I said mite be. Anyway hope you are successful with your seeds and seedling.

Wilfred

Wilfred,

Wow, that is amazing to see! I cannot believe how many you are able to get to germinate. I was happy one of my 10 seeds actually came up. Thank you for taking the time to show your step by step technique.

This is my 3 month old seedling.

Btw...."Caridura aqui de Fajardo" LOL! What a small world!

Great information!

Thank you for all the info, I had the seed pod on my plant but it never got seeds in it, it was quite large and it was on there almost seven months befor it wilted and died, I have not had any flowers on one of the plants this year.

Thanks to all,

Your seedling looks great Gardenia731, nice and healthy, remember to be careful with the water at this stage, she still small and can't absorb to much water yet, good thing you have her in a clay pot, this really help evaporate excess water.

Glad info helped you Sallysblooms, If I remember anything else that I consider can help someone, I'll just post it for all to see.

As for your plant not putting flower yet Kareoke, just fertilize her with some super-bloom fertilizer and put her were she can get at least 1/2 day or more direct sunlight, she needs direct sunlight to bloom and phosphorus to produce more.

Wilfred

Hi Wilfred,

Here is one of my flowering beauties. I love the white one with the red edges and that last one is...wow!

I just realized you mentioned that they will flower within a year. That is not a long time to wait for these beauties so worth the wait.

Any other pics of your beautiful collection? I would love to see them.

Thanks Wilfred, for sharing this tutorial with us. I can hardly wait for some blooms to try my hand at it. (Off to Wally's for bloom fert. and brushes :~)

Dave

You have a nice color one Arlene, how old is this one, do you have a photo of the whole plant I could see. This one is one year old and has flowers on it, I've noticed the first year they grow pretty fast and you can get it to bloom,but as time goes on their growth slows down the older the plant get, I have one that's almost 20 years, the other thing I've notice is as it gets older, the plant re-buds faster between flowering. I have some that re-bud almost weekly if there enough sunshine. right now I don't have to many photos of them since my photo card is full of hibiscus flower I grow and propagate, have to get another SD card. As soon as I get a new SD card I'll take photos and post them.

BTW, do you grow any tropical hibiscus, if you what you can go to the hibiscus forums and see my treads so you'll know what I'm talking about, till then, take care,

Wilfred

Hi Dave, don't forget to put the plant in sunny location after fertilizing it, remember it needs sunlight to bloom.

Wilfred

Note: IF YOUR HAD YOU PLANT IN THE SHAD ALL THE TIME AND CHANGE IT TO FULL SUN ALL OF A SUDDEN, LEAVES WILL DROP OFF, DON'T WORRY, THEY'LL GROW BACK ADAPTED TO THE FULL SUN. If you don't want the leaves to fall off, you need to move to sunny location gradually bidaily.

Wilfred,

I don't know how old it is but I've had it for two years. This is my favorite one because of the rich color. I don't have a picture of the whole plant but will take one tomorrow for you. It is raining cats and dogs out here this evening.

No, I dont grow any hibiscus. I love looking at pics of them but have not started another collection yet. LOL! I will definitely check out the forum.

* Hit the sent button by accident.



This message was edited Jul 6, 2009 8:29 PM

Here is the plant of the dark red.

Light Pink

Electric Pink

Your plants look great Arlene, nice and healthy, you should get lots of blooms from them.

Wilfred

This is the seed pod I had on the plant for seven months then it turned brown and shrivelled up




Doris

Don't worry Doris, something similar happens with hibiscus pod also. I have a couple questions, did you open the pod manually, sometime pods fail to open even though they have some seeds in them but not enough to seeds to induce it to open, second, did the plant have enough water at all times while it had the pods on it, pod tend to shrink a little when they have not enough water to support them. a good Singh is when you look at the pod and notice that along the center it has sunken in a little. From what I notice in your photo your seed pod were almost ready to ripen and your plant looked healthy at that moment, did the plant receive enough sunlight while it had seed pod. A tip to know when seed pod are almost ready to open is, as you notice on your photo, the seed pods have a V shape, points of seed pod are pointing up, when its almost time to open, the seed pods have a upside down ^, more like an arrow, the points of seed pods are pointing down more like an arrow.

OK, if seed pod are empty you have to remember that there were no insect to pollinate her, that's why you have to do it for her. Remember no pollination no seeds will produce just like all other plants that produce flower, flowers have only one true purpose, attracting insects to get pollinated and produce seeds, the artist brush simulates this by moving the pollen to were it supposed to get.

So get your artist brushes ready for the next time you have flowers on your plant to pollinate and practice, practice, practice, I know you will get your seeds, BTW, some seed pod ripen faster than others depending on the size of pods, so no given time in particular for each pod to ripen, just have to observe them.

Wilfred

Thank you Wilfre, I am sure that was the problem although I had them outside for about a month when it was hot, they are still doing well so when they get the next flowers I will do it myself, just as I do my Brugmansia.


Doris

This is a photo of some Oleander seeds planted the same way the Desert Rose Adenium seeds where planted, results for germination are the same as you can see.

Wilfred

Where exactly is the pollen and where does it need to go?

Adenium seed should be planted as soon as received. The older the seed gets, the lower the germination rate. Keeping the seed in an airtight container in the refrigerator will help the seed remain viable for a longer period of time.
Mike

Thank you WQP for such easy and understandable instructions, I had given up my efforts at planting desert rose seeds, but now intend to hand pollenate and get my own seed pods. Question,,, should the tip of the brush be dampened before inserting to get pollen? Also, should I use two completly different plants, one to take pollen from and another to implant it. Gee's I'm 70 yrs old and here I am asking questions about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees LOL.

Hi Jimsned2, glad this help you, but don't wet the tip of the brush, pollen won't stick to wet brush, also seeds don't come true to mother plant so it doesn't matter from which bloom you take the pollen off, what I do is that I go to every single bloom that the plant has at the moment and pollinate every single bloom without cleaning the brush, this way every time I do a bloom it tends to collect more pollen on the tip of the brush and this helps you get a bigger chance to pollinate the bloom. after you finish wash the brush with regular dish washing liquid to clean it, if you don't the tip of the brush gets stuck together a hardens a little and it harder to clean of and you won't be able to pollinate with it until you do clean it.

JPlunket, the photos from #7 to #11 starting from the top shows you where the pollen is and where it needs to be placed in, place attention to photo especially #10.

Just want to mention that after you pollinate the bloom, it will fall off about tree days after and where the bloom was placed on the plant is where the seed pod will start to grow, this is a slow process so be patient, it could take a month or more to grow and ripen, you'll know when it ready when it turns form green to a tannish brown tone, suggest you tie a trash bag tie around it around this time so seeds won't fly away.

Wilfred

Another question, one of my desert rose I think it's called white fregrance! anyway, it's very small but full of flowers, I can't see any leaves at all. Is this unusual? Do you think maybe my soil lacks somthing? I have about 8 planted in a row, this one is the most productive for flowers, but I'm concerned about no leaves on it.

Hi!, Don't worry Jimsned2, quit normal for them to lose leaves especially if changed from one location to another location or drastic climate change, also season change will cause plant to tends to drop leaves and produce new ones condition for that particular spot you placed her in or climate, I recommend to fertilize with a super bloom fertilizer and interchange it with a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer once in a while.

Wilfred

Went out last night (when I was able to breath due to our outragious humidity) and having bought the recommended brushes, I did two of my desert roses, I will be shocked if it works and more then greatful. Mine are all in the ground and getting down there is a bit of a problem, and getting up even more difficult I think I will try hand pollinating other things if this works, I get a bigger kick from seeing new growth from seeds then I do from buying trees bushes etc, and I can always find neighbors who want desert rose, and fruit trees. How are you at graftingWQP? I sent away for what was described as a "complete grafting kit,"only $40.00, what I got was a $2.00 pen knife, some tape, and about an ounce of wax to seal any graft. No fool like an old fool I guess.

Oh, I wanted to warn anyone who is thinking about producing sesert rose seed pods, whatever you do don't open the pods in the house with the airconditioner on. My first time I did just that and the gust of air blew the first pod batch of seeds (I had two) all over the house, it would have been funny if I wasn't so dis-apointed at my stupidity.

WQP is it possible that a pod is full of seeds, but maybe the seeds themselves are not fertile? I tried so hard with several pods from my neighbors plant, full of seeds, and I closely followed instructions given from some one in Thiland, and not one grew? I'm talking about maybe 150 seeds! Oh I should tell you that I cut the fethery things off both ends of the seeds, I, now I'm wondering if the feathers are mother natures way fo feeding the seed? It's neat how your picture shows very clearly the center of the flower openening when squeezed, when I squeeze mine I see a bit of an opening on the edge but not dead center like yours, is this a problem? I'm afraid I'm going to bother you till your sick of the questions, but I'm bound and determined to get this right, and you by far give the best and most understandable instructions, so please be patient with me. Hey, are you going to be sellling any seed pods?

Jim

Hi Jim, you can asks all the question you desire, you don't know how happy it makes me feel when I can help somebody succeed with there seeds, I will answer your question as best of my knowledge and experience I gain through the years, OK, here we go, I think what happen to you in the house with the air-conditioner and your pod was not a stupidity, you just didn't know how nature had designed the seed for it to disperse, it has happen to every body in one way or another, I rather call it a lack of experience with something new to you. from my experience you do not have to buy expensive tools or kits to have success with plant propagation of any kind, nature sure doesn't, all you need is the know how.
Seed pod should ripen on the plant, if you pick them before there ready, they will fail to germinate, all you have to do is tie a garbage trash back tie around the pod to stop them from opening when they are ready to spread all over the area with the slightest breeze, you'll know when they start to ripen when they change from green to a tannish brown color, you must take the feathery ends off the seed before you plant them.
When you squeeze the end of the flower not always will it open perfectly, you can try to roll it gently until it does and if it doesn't what is important is that you are able to get the point of the brush through the opening to move the pollen around inside it, the more flowers you do when you start the more chances you'll have in successding in pollinating some since every time you do this, some pollen stays on the brush end which in turn will pollinate another flower.
after you plant your seeds they should get full sun but must never leave the surface to dry out completely, get yourself an empty Windex or Fantastic spay bottle and fill it with clean water to mist the surface several times when this happens. you should have seedling in a week if done correctly, maybe two weeks at most, mien pop out usually in three days so start checking them after the third day.
I have several pod developing on my plants right now, so keep in contact with me, I had more than a 1,000 seeds last month which I gave away to several people, from 100 up to 300 seeds each and all have new seedling growing already, some send me some money in gratitude, others seeds and others cutting of plants I like, since I didn't ask for money, I just gave the seeds to them, so if you want, you can D-mail me your mailing address so when the seeds are ready I can send you some. I rather give them away than to let them dry out like what was happening before, for lack of time, space and material (pot and potting soil). some times I get carried away pollinating and get more seeds than what I can handle.
I hope this helps you and remember, you can ask all you want and I'll try to help you but you have to remember that it might take some time before I answer your question do to the lake of time I have.

Wilfred

Hi, Wilfred!

I'm going to try, your instructions and advice are so good!

And maybe you will get too many people who want seeds. I found some from Thailand that the man wanted $12 for THREE seeds! Supposed to be fragrant.

OK, Thanks again.

Melissa

Thes are my plants, the larger one has lost all the leaves but is loaded with flowers, I am hoping to get seed pods.




Doris

To all I say this, be very, very careful when purchasing from any vendors from Thailand who sell seeds. Desert Rose Adeniums does not come true to parent plant from seeds in the first place, they only come close to some of the parent plants characteristics. any body who say they sell seed pretending it will come true to parent plant is a swindler. I'll tell you a little story about this, three years ago I purchase more than 15 supposedly different Desert Rose Adeniums, I new that they didn't come true to parent but just wanted to see what came out, their was supposed to be from a purple one, yellow one green center one, and all sort of different red pattern ones, after waiting a year or more what I got was a hole bush of Desert Rose Adeniums that looked almost the same as common as any pink one you can purchase anywhere, if you think that $12 for three seeds is expensive, what would you think of $50 for five seeds like some of the ones I purchase from Thailand, why do you think they graft so many Desert Rose Adeniums, when one seedling has a different color or pattern or size or shape they graft them because they can't get seeds to come true to parent plant and sometime they are even sterile so they graft them to new seedlings. another thing, usually only 10% more or less germinate because the seeds are old, the older the seeds the less chances for them to germinate.
One more thing, it take almost a year for seedling to bloom, maybe more, imagine after waiting a year or two hoping to see a bloom of supposedly, lets say purple color bloom and you get a nice common pink one you see everywhere and to make it worse you've paid $50 for five seeds and only two germinated. If your going to purchase Desert Rose Adeniums seed, make sure you purchase from a reputable vendor, not somebody you know nothing about.
Again, please be careful when buying seeds, plant and gardening tools and product through the net, I've found that there are to many swindler try to sell garden goods at high and low prices to trick honest people and take there money and dreams away from them.

Wilfred

Doris you have a big, big opportunity to get lot of seed pods, go for the freshly open one first since this are the ones that are loaded with pollen and from there to the ones that opened the previous day and so on, in two to three weeks after the bloom drops you should know if your going to have pods from them, here is a photo of my second Desert Rose Adenium in front of my pick-up truck, it's about 20 years old now, I've never have trimmed it, I've just let it grow naturally, most people tend to trim there, not me, like it just as it is

Wilfred

WQP, I find just about everything you say to be so very interesting, now, you've opened up another topic. Is it easy to graft Desert Rose? And other then posssibillity of getting two different flowers on the sme bush, is there any other reason to do it? Thanks again.

Jim

From what I know the only reasons are the ones I mentioned and yours, to get two different flowers on the same plant also to get more branches from the base of the plant to create that bonsai look everybody likes so much Jim. Grafting Desert Rose Adeniums is quit easy to do, if you want, you can go to YouTube and right the phrase ( Grafting Desert Rose Adeniums ) on their search bar and you could find several videos showing how its done, check it out, and then come and share with us what you have found there.

Wilfred

Oh dear. Since I posted this morning, I ran to the garden center that had a shipment a couple of weeks ago, and bought the two best? ones. I've been drooling ever since I saw them the first time.

Now to see what colors I got! They have new little leaves growing. They are totally dry, the little weeds in with them were withered away. I think I'll give them a drink tomorrow. And new pots when I find some I like.

These were much more than I can afford at (gulp) thirty dollars each!!!!!! So, with some help from my friends, and luck I'll be playing bee eventually.

Molamola, please keep posting and let me know how your doing when you play bee! Actually, I think you will be playing moth since from all the reading I've done on desert rose suggest that it's a "black moth" that does the job at night time. But since the only reliable information I feel I've gotten is from WQP, maybe the black moth info was also a deception. I've gone out two mornings in a row and followed Wilfreds instructions on about 12 blooms, will continue and let you know how it goes.

Super.

I'm kind of nervous that I'll water these guys too much, so I'll probably not water enough! arghhhh They seem to be in rough peat moss. Their root are clutching through the drain holes.

Molamola, rule of thumb, give it a well watering soak and let dry between watering, always do this and you won't have any problems with it, at least with the watering issue.

Jim, even though a month does the work of pollinating, you probably won't see one around, so you have to take their place instead and do their job of pollinating it. In fact, humanity is in bigger trouble then they think, all our pollinators are disappearing from the face of the planet, this includes, moths butterfly, hummingbirds, bats, bees and others to name a few. Bees population alone have drop to 1/4 of what it used to be, I used to have bees all over my garden everywhere now I haven't see one for the past two and a half years. same thing with hummingbird, butterfly, bats, etc.
I remember when I used to go out at night and have to duke when the bats flew so close to you to get any insect that was close to you, I used to run from them thinking they were going to get caught in my hair, quite dumb since bat are one of the best flyer's around and very accurate when catching insects. Europeans are having a lot of problem right now with their crop failure since they don't have enough bees to pollinate all their crops, they're reporting half of what they used to collect do to the fact of not having enough bees to do the job and its getting worse as the bee population is keeping to fall further, this is to let you know a little of whats happening to the wolds pollinators.

So I say to every one, please be careful when using insecticides and don't kill the bees and other pollinators as well.

Wilfred

It's a sad condition I agree.