Adenium, a mixed review.

I have most of my caudiciforms in s/h. Some have done fine and other have not thrived.
The first shot shows several A. obesum. The first on the left leafed out beautifully and has a red bud that is being slow to open. The middle plant has had small leaves from the beginning. The one on the right started out with small leaves and then began flowering on one part of the plant.

I think the problem is with the roots. We had a terrible hot spell this spring and I may not have kept up with regular watering. This may well have caused root loss and stunted growth. I hope to get a chance to inspect the roots soon and make a diagnosis and maybe render first aide.

The second photo is of one plant that hasn't missed a beat. It has been blooming nonstop for weeks. In fact it has produced a seed pod, the first one I ever had! Some kind of fun!

All these plants have been grown side by side with the same schedule of watering/feeding. Possibly the container size played a role in the differences in how the plants are doing at this time.

Helen

For anyone interested in s/h culture, I have made a change in the containers. The ones from First Rays have started to disintegrate. I found a commercial kitchen/restaurant suppler right up the road from me and they have great little food buckets. I drilled the holes and made the reservoir deeper than the old containers. The new ones are considerably thicker. I will have to wait and see how they hold up in the sun light.

The picture shows both the old and new 8qt container.

Helen

Here is a better picture comparing the containers.

Very interesting on the containers, Helen. I have had the same problem here in Phoenix with the FirstRays pots breaking apart. I found an online source for some pots I really like. They are expensive though. Your new pots look really sturdy and should last.

Picture shows my new pots. There is an inside liner to hold the stones and a thick plastic white exterior container that has a way to measure on the side if the pot need water or not. They work great. They come as part of a kit with the stones from Interior Water Gardens. I have lots of stones I bought from FirstRays so I asked to just buy the kit without the stones and they let me.

Correction. The containers are the 6 qt size, not 8qt.
They look like nice containers Nancy.
Mine were between $3 - $6 each. I got one, and 3.5qt sizes as well. They are very sturdy. I like the contents to remain stable when I pick it up. It seemed as if the roots could be damaged if all the stones shifted when you picked it up.

I just took some pictures of my adeniums that are really blooming right now. Helen, I think it could also be the species that makes a big difference. Some are know to be big bloomers and some are not.

Love all the blooms! I finally took my 3 Adeniums out of S/H a couple weeks ago. In the last year they have not done well, the branches were very thin and straggly. Barely got any blooms. I cut them all WAY back and potted them up in potting soil. I did mix a lot of the little clay S/H material in with the soil to keep it lighter and draining well. They are exploding with new growth! I think it's just too hot here (record heat) for the S/H :(

I have had good luck using the S/H on my adeniums, pachypodiums, euphorbia miliis etc. It is definitely too hot for the FirstRays plastic pots! They don't last at all.
I feed every time I water the plants in S/H and they are nice and green and growing.
I have lots of the clay pellets and have been wondering about using them in with regular soil for drainage.

Love your red adeniums Sally!

I think the problems I have had with some of my plants in s/h is my negligence. I am try to water almost every day now. I am hoping my new containers with deeper reservoirs will help too.
Sally your red flowers are beautiful.
Helen

That is a good point Helen. Whether my adeniums were in dirt or s/h, I water them every day in the heat. They love the water in the summer.

OMG......love the Red flowers.

I didn't have good results with S/H either. I do think temps make a difference. I am also sure it has to do with the gardeners habits. For me dirt works better.
C

I bought this one because it was marked RED.

Oh well.

That happens a lot, unfortunately. I definately want a grafted red that is ever blooming but so far haven't found a new site that sells them.
C

Ever blooming?? I thought the grafted ones didn't have the big bottom.

In my very limited experience, the ones that continue to bloom are the grafted varieties. My species have very limited bloom periods. Now to be honest I don't have that many plants. My pink grafted (only one I have) is in constant bloom and is very pretty.
C

This is the. Plant today. Its never without blooms.

Nice plant newtonsthirdlaw. Constant blooming is especially cool.
BYW, with more regular watering all my A. obesums are doing much better. The white ones leaves grew and continued to flower. The red one is rallying and making a few more flowers.

That is really nice Newton. Mine are doing really well this year with all this heat.

Newton - Such a beautiful plant. And it does have a big bottom.....I learn something new every day! The flowers are so large! So very awesome!

LOL are you calling my plant fat! Yes its grafted and it has a nice caudex. It might be larger if I would repot it and give it some room!

LOL..........These plants remind me of the old Queen song...."Fat Bottomed Girls"

Helen: When you got your new pots from the restaurant supply store, did you put the holes in them? How? My adenium grew a lot this summer and I need a bigger pot and want to get one from a restaurant supply store but can't remember if you use a drill with a diamond bit or what.

Nancy,
I use a regular bit meant for wood. Not a diamond or ceramic one. Be sure the bit is sharp and you don't put too much pressure while you cut through. You can risk cracking the container. I put the holes under one of the little handles. It helps me find them when I am watering. I also placed the holes a little more than an inch up since I think I have more problem with them running dry.
Here is the web site for the products I found best. This store is about 5 miles up the road from me but I think you can order on line. At least you can see the product and maybe find another source.

http://www.atlantafixture.com/ItemSummary.aspx?CategoryGuid=342c07bf-50db-4680-a5dc-83063d1ab158&PageNumber=1&SortMethod=Relevance&ContractOnly=N&FavoritesOnly=N

Thanks for the info, Helen. Boy, you are so lucky they are so close to you. They have great prices. I'm going to check a local restaurant supply store but it may be cheaper to get thru this site even with shipping. I'll see.
I have a friend here who grows his adeniums in soil with a lot of pumice. He dries his plants out and does not water from Nov. through March. They lose all their leaves and come back in the spring and flower beautifully with some fertilizer when he starts to water again.
What do you do with yours in the S-H?

Hi Nancy,
Mine are all in s/h. I think they do fine. As I said earlier in this post my main problem with small leaves, lack of flowering and slow growth was probably because I wasn't diligent about keeping the reservoirs filled during the growing season. I hope to be more conscientious next year and get more flowers. I may stick some out in the garden the way Sally does with her caudiciforms.
I bring everything in when the temps drop into the 50s regularly, which is sometime in October. They get watered but they are not in a bright light and drop their leaves at varying rates.
The last big one I had in soil rotted last winter so I doubt I will use it again.

I have some of mine in soil and some in s-h. The ones in s-h are growing really well. Mine are all still green and nice leaves right now but I will cut back on the water on all of them. Cold and wet would definitely equal rot. Mine are outside on a south facing porch that hasn't gotten below 45 degrees yet. If there is a chance of more cold, I will bring them in.

Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is s/h?

s/h is semi-hydroponics. If you look at the first post of helenchild with the 3 photos, the first one shows adeniums in white plastic pots that are filled with a round brown ceramic medium instead of soil. The plants grow in this inert material and you water and feed them in that.

Ahhh... always more to learn!