Dain, For myself, I would have to say that when I am growing a Swazicum, Obesum, etc.. The traits being leaf shape and girth of stem/Caudex would depend based on information and photo's I have seen of others mature plants. Having said this. We can only hope to have similarities to them. It is seeing the differences not only by different species or hybrid, but even within the same seed lot. You are doing well to have you seed grown plant blooming for you. Rick

I finally ordered some seeds from KO! My life is a mess right now, I just switched from Android to iOS on my cell devices and I switched from Apple to Windows on my desk top. It was quite the task getting my payment over to Mr. Ko. He's been understanding, but I am sure he is sick of me. I finally have Obesum seeds coming though. several Yellows and a red. Also some white Minis, I may of over ordered. Ill let everyone know if I have some extras to give out when they get here, I have to go and throw out some runts to make room in my tent! Also I have seeds coming from Kesorn. What a great person! I chatted with him bit via email. I showed him two of my hydroponic seedlings and he really thought that was cool, he said he's only seen that done with food. He confirmed that the Black Pearl seedlings I have are Arabicum Socotranum crosses, then he told me about how several of the sellers in Thailand have different names for them but they are the same. I am assuming black pearl, and black knight are the same. and probably some other black ones as well. At least that's what I was lead to believe with the conversation we had. I also have seeds coming from another source in Australia. Some multiflorums.. I am hoping I get good germination on those I never used a source out side of Thailand except for Ko and I haven't received his seeds yet. I did however buy a small amount of seeds from Florida when I first started, it was almost a dollar a seed a nothing germinated. It turned out they were just seeds that were bought in Thailand who knows when, and they weren't even from one of the reputable ebay seed dealers. I will never do that again.

Hi Rob, I live in a area where there is very few garden shops unfortunately. There is one I found this year that has beautiful Succulents but only a few small cactus. They did not have any Adeniums at all. I actually had never heard of them until I happened upon these poor ones at Walmart just running thru the garden area one day. So glad I took a chance on them. Only issue I am noticing is one plant has some leaves turning brown on the tips then yellowing. Any idea what is going on and a solution? I just noticed it so I moved that one away from the others. The ones that have had leaves turning yellow before falling off are doing much better but they did not turn brown. It is frustrating living so far away from a area that we can't find everything we need. Can not find any "equal numbered" fertilizer like 20-20-20 except for 1 all purpose 4-4-4 which you sprinkle around the soil anywhere here. What fertilizer do you recommend? I am hoping Amazon has what I need simply because I can get within a day or 2. I am new this year to any type gardening be it inground or container! Sorry for asking what some might think are crazy questions. Your Adeniums are beautiful by the way!

I use a diluted castille soap spray. It kills them for sure but they do come back every so often. I use Dr Bronner's liquid pure castile soap, diluted in a spray bottle. Be careful with other soaps that aren't actually a natural soap, but a chemical detergent. From what I've read, what makes Dr. Bronner's so effective is the potassium salts of fatty acid. It's basically potassium hydroxide added to a vegetable oil based soap. "The fatty acids work effectively on soft-bodied insects like aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips and white flies. These fatty acids dissolve or remove the insects cell membranes and their natural protective waxy coatings, causing death from excess water loss." It works 100% on my plants and trees. It must be a direct hit though so make sure you get everything. FYI I'm in 10b and it gets super hot here. I tried Neem oil in high heat and had significant leaf burn. It's better if you can move in to shade while the oil is on the leaf. It worked really well for me in cloudy weather for plants in the ground. Very effective. But it's too sunny here on a regular basis and the leaf burn can be bad. I also get a good amount of scale and aphid infestations on various trees and the castile soap kills them too. It's so much cheaper than the prepared insecticidal soaps. A little goes a long way. I get mine at Target. It's hard to find in the store! In my Target it's with the lotions, not with soaps, oddly. "Safer Brand" insecticidal soap is a ready made brand that contains potassium salts of fatty acids and this is from there site... So... What are Spider Mites? Adult spider mites are tiny plant pests that are actually a type of arachnid. Like spiders, they have eight legs and most species spin webs. They can be red, brown, yellow or light green in color. Natural & Organic Controls What? The combination of Insecticidal Soap and Botanical Pyrethrins will kill Spider Mites on contact if they are spotted on your plants and Neem oil helps prevent re-infestation by killing the egg and larval stages of the insect. How? Pyrethrin is a powerful nerve agent and will paralyze and kill the insect on contact. Keep in mind this soap is not like dish detergent, its a base from a blend of natural plant sources and pyrethrin oils and come from the chrysanthemum flower. An effective and organic combination... When? Spray Insect Soap & Pyrethrin as a contact killer. Use in accordance with directions on the product label. Spray the neem oil product in accordance with directions on the product label. Safer® Brand offers a variety of spider mite control products to help control and eliminate this garden pest and revive your plants. Please check out our spider mite control products for more details about how they work and how, when, and where they should be applied. ------ Reading this, it looks like the Neem kills the egg and larval stage, but not the adult which might be why you are still having this problem. The soap eliminates the adult for sure. I've never use pyrethrin but it sounds powerful lol. http://www.target.com/p/dr-bronner-s-unscented-baby-45-mild-pure-castile-soap-45-32-oz-46/-/A-10770135?lnk=rec|adaptpdph1|related_prods_vv|adaptpdph1|10770135|1