Adenium socotranum

Hi,

I was wondering: How scarce is A. socotranum in culture in US? Here in Europe it is almost impossible to find this (sub-?)species for sale. Last Spring I succeeded in finding a small, very expensive seedling in a german cactus-succulent nursery garden and bought it right away. Unfortunately I made the mistake and overwatered the plant causing lethal rootrot. :-(

Once again, I am on the search...

Best regards,

Martin

Hi Martin,
A bunch of us were ogling the lovely caudiciforms from vendors listed here:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/663009/
Maybe one of them has your adenium. Gutes Gluck!

I recently bought 2 from a collector and they are not cheap. No one in the USA has seen one flower--yet. If your seller is reputavle he/she should be able to tell you whence the seeds came on the Island of Socotra and what year they were collected. Mine came with a "pedigree tag" naming the expedition, the person collectong and the longitude/latitude of the place in the Island there were taken. Very few expeditions are allowed to this island as a rule and then, only certain times of the year. I would be very cautious about even buying seeds and there are sellers on Ebay claoming to have them and I do not believe them. I am attching a picture of my A. socotranum and the info tag that came with it.

This message was edited Oct 28, 2006 5:52 PM

Note the rather distinctive texture of the bark on this young plant.

Here's the tag

These plants are all I could get. Before buying the 2nd, I sent these same pics to a well known adenium breeder and he verified their identity immediately. I am definitely hanging onto these in the hopes they will one day bloom and set seed. in the interim, there is a seller claiming to have socotranum seedlings--smaller ones---and he seems to have a good reputation though I cannot guarantee what he has is the real thing, ---here's a link if you want to see what he has: http://www.rareexotics.com/store/index.php/cat_154

Bbinnj Thanks for the tip. :-) But until now I haven't found it yet.

Ncasselberryfla, mine was a "true" one as well. The texture of the bark and leaves looked exactly like yours but mine was more compact. I had it id'ed by several persons. I bought it at the oldest cactus and succulent nursery in Germany.

- Martin

Haage??