I have been waiting for what seems like months for this first bud to open. I finally realized I wasn't giving her enough light. A day after moving her into the fullest sun I could find she blessed me with her first bloom.
Zora is my first try at adeniums. I rescued her from HD last year and it has been a growing affection since then.
She has such a personality! I know she's probably just a run of the mill, but I LOVE her!
Here she is struttin' her stuff today :)
Closer:
Side View
She's such a Night Owl *lol*
Closer
Here she was almost a year ago. I had to change her as I had her in the wrong soil and needed the pot she was in for something else. I like the bamboo pot for her better :)
Congrats, Kinskreations,; beautiful flowers and I like that pot(bamboo), too!
8)
Larry
Thank you so much Larry, that means alot coming from you :)
I SO want to try other caudex's someday but for now Zora has led me into a love affair with them :)
She is one of my favorite characters :)
Zora is still going strong :)
I didn't realize how much I would fall for this plant :)
It is so exciting when they bloom. It makes it all worth the effort. I like her name. Sally
What a gorgeous little set up.
Her blooms are graceful and delicate, so desireable.
The pot is eloquent and delightful, Iove it!!
Nice going!
and congrats on her steadfast blooms they are enviable!! :)
Thank you SO much *blushing*
My boss asked me if it was real today and then his next questions was....do you have another one? *lol*
She was literally 1/2 dead when I bought her at HD last year and I knew nothing about them but something told me to adopt her and I am so glad I did.
I tried pollinating her and THINK I have something that looks like a pod forming :)
Your compliments mean an awful lot as the 2 of you are so educated in these plants and I read EVERYTHING you both post and have learned alot from you.... thank you.
Still love that pot and yes, the plant, too!! Congrats!!
8)
Larry
If you see the flowers collar remain on the plant after the flower drops
and there are 2 lil nubbies inside it
Then you may well have a seed pod!
I didnt have any for years.
Then a friend told me to take a pine needle (ive also read a cats whisker) and swirl it around in the flowers top then down the bottom.
Im up to my ears in seedpods from a few that I tried to cross.
Good Luck!!
A first seedpod is sooo exciting!
Oh goodness, I have 2 little nubbies on almost EVERY flower that has fallen off!!!
I had read you post that about the pine needle and I've done every single flower so far!
I probably shouldn't let her have THAT many seeds or it will totally exhaust her huh?
I don't even know how to grow any of the seeds out either and that probably takes a long time to get a nice looking seedling huh?
I really don't know anything about these *lol*
Will all the babies look just like Zora since I didn't cross pollinate it with anything else?
Thank you,
Kim
If she is a graft then its not likely
If she isnt a graft then she bloomed true to her species and some will probably look like her.
Feed her 10-10-10 to keep her going till the pods develop
Also Super Thrive is a good supplement
I use it plenty
Each set of 2 tubes per flower is considered 1 pod
Congrats! 8D
OMG should I keep all these pods on her then? I mean I pollinated EVERY flower.
I don't think she's a graft...from what you said above, most will look like her?
I have some ST and have been giving her fish emulsion. That OK?
What will I do with all these seeds?
OMG
PLANTTHEM!!!
HEE HEEE LOTS AND LOTS OF ADENIUMS!
Use the uglies for grafting ;)
Now you're WAAAAY over my head there *lol*
Can you give me some insight as to how to start the seeds?
How long before seedlings bloom?
How long before they get a sexy caudex like Zora?
I take a small container and put about 1 inch of pottting soil in it
I put 1/2 inch of sand on top of that.
I make a groove with a knife or spoon handle and put the seeds in the slot.
Then cover with a light dusting of sand.
Spray till wet with a spray botttle
Place in a plastic bag to keep the humidty up and move to a hot sunny spot.
1 year to a graftable caudex if you feed it right
3 years to a nice sexy shape.
They could bloom in as little as 1 year, more likely 2 or 3.
I like to roll and lean them as I lift them
Why? I dunno, Im a doofus...
Its always something a little different than the norm for me.
I actually make a paste of lanolin and GA-3 (growth horemone) to rub on the seeds sometimes.
The results can be frightening heh....
I may try rubbing a little around the base of a few caudexes to make em fatter.
The seeds are very easy to germinate and grow. It is so much fun because they grow pretty fast. If you have extra seeds you might be able to persuade Malestrom to take them....hum...
LOL Sally!
I have so many adenium seeds right now
Im a dead man when the lovely wife sees all the sprouts heh...
I just planted about 75
I have about 7 seedpods of my own coming due as well as my buddies dozen pods!
Yes well grow most of them so we can practice our mad science and grafting skillz
OK, please don't laugh at me. When you say sand, what kind of sand do you use? I notice alot of my seed starting directions say "silver sand". What is this sand and where can I get it?
Also, with is lanolin and GA-3? Where can I get it? What do you mean the results can be frightening?
I think I might give this a shot.
How many seeds are in a typical seedpod? I might just try a few seeds at first though.
Maybe I won't let ALL the seedpods develop.
I have 2 seedlings that I purchased and they don't seem to have put on any weight. How do I fatten them up? Zora was already fat when I bought her but the other two seem to be watching their weight *lol*
Thank you again for all your help :)
The ones that didnt fatten may be cuttings, they wont swell
Theyll bloom and grow but no caudex.
It could also be the variety, some stay tall and lean.
If its a caudex put it in a shallow bowl and feed it 20-20-20
GA-3 is growth horemone
It will stress the plants, ive gotten 3 months growth in only 7 weeks.
The growth was gangly and weak and sunburned easily.
Ive also killed plants using it.
I highly reccommend reading up on it before messing with it.
Always wear rubber gloves and a mask when mixing it.
Id reccommend using 'MegaGrow' instead of GA-3 until youre willing to lose some plants. http://www.megagrow.com/
The sand I use is 'All purpose' sand.
River sand is flat and compacts
All purpose is different sizes and shapes and doesnt compact quite so badly
kim, very beutiful! i have one like it and it has seed pods. have been waiting for a month for them to dry enough to pick
Hi Kim, No one would laugh at you here - I think he was laughing at me which is fine. I have 2 teenage boys so I am used to it! I am just kidding. We love your enthusiasum and everyone here seems to be more than happy to share their knowledge.
Malestrom is much more scientific than me. I just put the seeds in a seedling mix, put them in a seedling tray and has a cover and put them on a heat mat.
My don't usually ripen until Nov. or Dec. I will also put them under lights when they get going. After they have 4 leaves I take the humidity cover off. Sometimes the seeds will start germinating within 24 hours. I don't even soak mine.
Wow, SO much good information here :)
Thank you all so much for your help :)
Malestrom, the Lanolin? What is that? I want big fat bellies (like mine)....none of this skinny stuff *lol*
I can't believe the compliments from people regarding this plant. Everyone kids me about it going missing. I better bring it back home before it really does *lol*. I would be SO heartbroken if someone stole Zora but I don't think anyone will.
I'm going to try some of that megagrow stuff I think Malestrom :0)
So...am I understanding this correctly....cuttings stay lean but seedlings will get fat?
Thanks again for all your help, I wouldn't have Zora today if I didn't lurk and read everything you all write :)
Kim, another thing if you want to get a fat caudex. In the spring, cut all the limbs back close to the caudex.
*GASP!*
YOU ARE SCARING ME SALLYD!
Ill cut mine only to shape them
I cut every tip so it bushes but I like some body to the branches.
Ill have to post a pic of my more mature specimens.
Yeah....priced out that MegaGro....not cheap.
Malestrom, do you really think it's worth the money?
I don't think it's anything I'm going to find locally?
It is premixed GA-3 in a friendly form and strength
It is worth it to try the small bottle eh?
Yeah, maybe...hmmmm....now wondering HOW I'm going to break it to hubby *lol*. He just let me buy a bottle of Fish Emulsion for $10.00 and will never understand there is a difference *lol*
Fish emulsion smells and attract lots of flies and bumble bees
I use it outside, never inside
Tell him its for the indoor winter waterings ;)
Malestrom - I really held my breath the first year I first cut all the branches off. It was scarey, however, where I cut them usually sends out 2 or 3 new branches so it also becomes much bushier. If you look closely, you can see where I cut them all back. Sort of looks like a graft. Sally
Talk about scarey. This summer my Ficus Microcarpa grew so much and the top was huge and out of control. It is a very fast grower. I didn't feel like try to trim it back so I cut the whole top off right under where the branching began. Sure enough, it is all growing back and I like it much better. I learned this technique when I took a bonsai class. Sally
hmmmm... bonsai class.... thats 4 me!
One of the top bonsai masters in the country is in New Hope. His name is Chase and he is always at the Flower Show. He and his wife are awsome and it is worth a ride just to see his stuff. He has all kinds of wonderful classes. Most of his students are men. I bet you would love it.
Got an addy or telephone # or web address I can check him out at?
Thanks SallyD 8D
Here we go. I could see you really enjoying bonsai. Sally
http://www.rosadebonsai.com/
Thanks Sally!!
Ill be scouring his site for the next hour ;)
