Adenium basic care

Durham Botanicals
http://www.durhambotanicals.com
Adenium Basic Care
Adeniums are one of the easiest to grow and most rewarding of the fat plants (caudiciforms).
Their adaptability to a broad range of conditions makes them forgiving of less than ideal care.
This attribute enables just about anyone to grow and bloom them despite individual climate
conditions.

Light
In most areas it is best to provide the highest level of light possible. The exception are locales
that experience extremely high temperatures combined with low humidity and drying winds.
Under these conditions you will want to provide some shade during the seasons of most
intense weather.

Potting Mix
We recommend a good quality, bark-based,
soilless potting mix amended with coarse
perlite (3 parts mix to 1 part perlite is
adequate under most conditions) to improve
aeration and drainage. If you are unable to
find a local source of such a mix try visiting a
commercial greenhouse grower. Most
professional growers are plant enthusiasts
themselves and will gladly sell you a bag or
two of their mix and you’re more than likely
to get a good dose of very sound advice to go
along with it.

Many sites on the internet recommend using
extremely high percentages of drainage material (up to 70%) in the mix to avoid root rot. The
problem with this method is that you run the risk of inadequate moisture and nutrient retention
leading to a drastic slowing of growth that can actually increase the risk of rot rather than
reducing it. Additionally, if you choose to grow in a mix such as this with a very high
percentage of inert material, you will have to radically increase fertilization to compensate for
the mixes lack of ability to retain nutrients.

Water
When you water, you should do so thoroughly. This means applying water until the potting
mix is saturated and the excess begins to run out through the drainage holes. This will greatly
reduce any possibility of harmful excess soluble salts accumulating in your mix.

The amount of time between waterings will vary based on your conditions, container size, and
whether your Adenium(s) are in active growth or not. Ideally, you will allow the mix to
almost dry before watering again. With a little practice you should be able to determine
whether it’s time to water by lifting the pot and inspecting the upper surface of the potting

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mix. As the mix dries, your pots will become much lighter signalling that it’s time to water
your Adeniums again.

Overwatering can lead to root rot and should be avoided, but if you have used a mix with
adequate drainage you should have a fair margin for error. If you know that you have a heavy
hand with the watering can you should add a slightly higher percentage of perlite to your mix.

Under watering can be nearly as destructive as overwatering, so you should never allow your
mix to become dust dry as this will desiccate and destroy the delicate feeder roots necessary
for water and nutrient uptake.

If you intend to hand water your Adenium(s) it is best if you use a good quality water breaker
on your hose or watering can. This will prevent wash out and damage to delicate roots.

Fertilizer
Probably the simplest and most effective way of providing your Adenium(s) with proper
nutrition is through the use of a good quality controlled release fertilizer. A balanced blend
such as 13-13-13 or 14-14-14 will yield excellent results. These mixes are available in
different release times ranging from a couple of months to nearly a year. We use and
recommend the shorter release terms because they activate almost immediately, vs. up to
several weeks for the longest term formulations, and will allow you to easily time the
discontinuation of feed if you live in an area where your Adenium(s) will go through a period
of winter dormancy.

Containers
Adeniums differ from many of the other fat plants in
that they do not like to be underpotted, so it is
important that you choose the appropriate size
container. We think that it is best to use a container
not much more than double the diameter of that of
the caudex (swollen base). By keeping a watchful
eye on root development you can step your plant(s)
up to larger container(s) as needed. This will ensure
healthy root development, keep the roots growing in
fresh mix, and reduce the risk of rot associated with
planting into a container which is too large initially. Our normal progression is from a 4″
standard pot to a 6″ azalea to a 6″ standard to an 8″
azalea to a 10″ standard. After the 10″ standard size we
normally change from plastic to terra cotta or ceramic.

Whether you use plastic or ceramic is entirely up to
personal preference but you must keep in mind that clay
pots dry out much faster than plastic. An important fact
to also remember is that the strong roots of Adeniums
have no respect for clay or ceramic pots and, unless the
container is bowl shaped, can easily break them as they
grow.


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Since the form of the caudex and large roots is as important
as the bloom to many collectors, we feel we should mention
that the formation of the caudex is controlled, to a large
degree, by the depth and width of the container.

This means that if you want a wide squat caudex and root
system then you will want to choose a wider, shallower
container. As you can see in the photo to the right, the base
of the caudex is much narrower than the widest point of the
roots. This type of form could never have been achieved in a
narrower pot, nor would it have been likely to produce the
large girth of roots in a very deep pot.

If you are growing an Adenium somalense or similar
cultivar with an upright growth habit, as in the photo to the
left, you will want to select a narrower, deeper container.

Experiment. Come to your own conclusions. There are few plants that offer as many forms or
are as adaptable as Adeniums are. Above all you should have fun with your plants.


Adenium basic care

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