Adenium Obesum leaves getting brown (pic)

16 years ago

Can anyone say for sure what I did to cause this leaf-browning? My guess is either overwatering, or fertilizer burn, both could have conceivably (*guilt*) happened recently. This plant was also repotted just before the leaf-browning began.

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Comments (4)

birdsnblooms
16 years ago
Hi Pep..Usually, overwatering wouldn't cause brown tips..they yellow first.
If anything, it has to be fertilizer burn..how often did you feed and what did you use? A chemical type food?
Since Adeniums are slow-growing, they need little food to get by..(like most other C&S's)
If it were my plant, I'd leach soil..Run water w/hose into soil to remove excess fertilizers/salts.
Clip off brown edges..
Otherwise, it's a nice-looking plant..Hope it does well..Toni
pepperomia
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi, Toni -

I fertilized with Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro - can't remember the numbers on that one, and I no longer have the original container. I think I over-fertilized, since this plant can usually stand to be watered quite liberally, especially in summer.

I am a little worried about leaching the soil because since I repotted this plant in a glazed ceramic container, it hasn't dried down as fast as I expected, but I guess I will have to try it before this brown crispiness gets any worse. I was thinking the problem was overwatering because the inner margins of the brown areas are yellow.

Yes, hopefully this plant will pull through - it's one of my favorites - I actually rescued it from wal mart, which was selling it as a pseudo-bonsai (with the rocks glued over the top of the soil), and it had fallen down behind the shelves and gotten half-smashed. I was happy, though: I got it for half off! I have had it for a year and it's never showed signs of blooming.
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Thanks everyone for the replies! A good thing--the caudex feels normal, not soft. I unpotted the plant and the roots are rotten. :( Even though the surface was a bit dry, the rest of the soil underneath was sopping wet. Recently it's been very humid where I live, and yes, I checked the cachepot and there's a puddle of water in the saucer. Because of the shape of the cachepot, the water's not directly touching the plastic pot, but still. So today I removed much of the soil and dead roots, and it has some good roots left (I guess they're good roots). I planted it in soil mixed with a lot of sand and grit, in a clay pot with no cachepot this time. I hope I didn't stress the plant too badly by repotting? I seriously should've done more research and taken better care of my plant. I will also flush it occasionally.
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How can it be 'doing better' if it's doing worse? I'm by no means an expert, and I don't grow Adenium, but your post gives me some ideas as to the performance of your plant: 1. Over-watering - first, it's winter right now, and you've increased soil volume. Wait for the soil to dry between waterings. Too much (or too little) water can cause yellowing leaves. 2. Nitrogen - again, too much or too little can cause yellowing leaves. You've added rabbit manure, which I'll assume is high in nitrogen...that could be the problem, especially since the plant isn't in its optimal growth-season conditions. Was it blooming when you bought it? Did you re-pot while it was blooming? The good news is that you have supplemental light.... but you should really allow the soil to dry out more between waterings, in my opinion. Josh
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Elichka said: "The plant is 3 inch long ( top leaf)." so it sounds to me like the plant has leaves and if that's the case it would certainly need more water than a plant that is leafless. Although, a leafless plant may/probably needs to be watered during the winter if the caudex starts to get soft and/or wrinkled. Keep in mind that plants in nature never get as dry as a plant in your home. In nature, there is dew that forms most nights, even in the desert, and cactus and succulent spines help to channel that moisture to their roots. The moisture condenses on the spines and as it builds up, water is directed to the base of the plant. So even if it has not rained for months, the plants in the desert are not quite as dry as you would think. I have a bunch of plants I keep in my cold basement over the winter, in the dark, and I have to water them a few times over the course of the winter to keep them alive. I have two plants that I do not have to give any water to at all from about October to May and those plants are Bursera fagaroides and Jatropha multifida. They come through the winter without water with flying colors. None of the other plants are quite that drought tolerant, unfortunately. If a plant goes bone-dry for too long, you are at more of a risk of the plant losing it's roots to the drought. My .02 Mike
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Comments (16)
Yeah, I think you are right, Rick. It's a terminology issue. And even with 'sharp' sand such as used in construction, the actual grit size varies by location. What I have here is pretty gritty but still a little 'sandy' and it seems to work great especially with my seedlings. I get about 50 inches of rain fall a year and my cacti do great with it in my mix (though I shelter them from rain from November until April). So far my adeniums also are doing well with it, though I admit to being new to growing them. I've been looking at soil mixes on a ton of websites. I'm making a mix for adult plants that has a small amount of potting soil, sharp sand, touch of worm casings, but is mostly large chunky perlite with some charcoal. I found Jericson Pastor's mix to be interesting as it seems to be much finer than my own and I know he gets a higher rainfall than I do. His plants couldn't be healthier! A lot of the Taiwan growers are using mixes are surprisingly 'soil' like. Then top dressed. I sure would like to know what people like Ram are using. I should have paid more attention when I was living in China. Keep us posted on how your plant is doing, Wendy! ;)
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birdsnblooms
16 years ago
Pep, be careful watering in the ceramic planter..they're pretty and all, but aren't the best for succulents/cacti..U know?
Half price..can't go wrong..I'll be going to Walmart tonight, so we'll see what they have available if anything..lol..
I've heard of Dyno-Gro but never used it..I think Homeharvest sells or sold it..I hope u didn't overfertilze. Do you measure?
Well, if it were my plant, I'd see how it does..if it doesn't dry out, or starts browns more, I'd repot and change soil..this is what I'd do, I'm not telling you to do it..okay? Toni
mrbrownthumb
16 years ago
I recently did a number on my Adeniums by mixing up the fertilizers. I thought I had picked up the C&S fertilizer but it turned out to be the houseplant fertilizer. You got lucky though because I lost ALL the foliage on mine and one of the stems even started to rot.

The plus side is that all the new growth once the plants recovered looked better than the growth that was there before the accident. Since they were growing in full sun all the leaves were smaller and nicer looking. Here's a pic of my Adenium Fertilizer Damage

Good luck with yours.

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Adenium Obesum leaves getting brown (pic)

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birdsnblooms

pepperomia
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Adenium Obesum leaves getting brown (pic)

Comments (4)

birdsnblooms

pepperomiaOriginal Author

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pepperomia
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