Dendrosicyos Species, Cucumber Tree

The fastest growing but least hardy of 'the big four Socotrans' (Adenium, Dracaena, Dorstenia, this). Most easily grown if kept at least ...Read Morepartially evergreen with supplemental heat in winter and no dry dormancy, honestly I think 40 degrees F is much lower than this plant prefers in my experience. If too cold, it will die back very aggressively from the tip and that die-back can be very hard to stop, unless given a lot of ambient heat and some water. Grows best with a lot of water and fertilizer during the hot season, and is self-fertile (monoecious) and puts on more height as a young plant than it does as it matures. Girth comes pretty quickly with age (and heat, water & feeding). Also the recommendation for full sun is not ideal, they do far better in partial shade. In full sun they will grow much more slowly and put on much less height, which is more important to achieve flowering plants. Don't trim the side branches, those are where flowers will form.

Grows best from seed, cuttings are possible but *very* difficult to root and tend to grow much more weakly than by seed. Flowers earlier than all the other Socotran giants, around 5 years of age, provided you grow the plant quickly as described or in greenhouse conditions. Seed is almost impossible to find, as they are very easy to germinate and the plants are so valuable even as seedlings. But well worth the investment.