Hi Mike, I'm no expert, but I did rescue a few adeniums this fall from wal-mart that had top rot. I think it can be caused by something as simple as having moisture sit on the trunk when they are in a cool room, I don't really know - however, I cut it out of mine as you did, and they made full recoveries, so i don't think you need to worry. However, I think you should take them out of the cool room - from what I understand it is not essential for Adenium (obesum at least, if that is what you have) to go dormant, and in places like florida or thialand they generally dont, though they may take a month or two off from flowering and full leaf. If you have a warm sunny location they can sit in, put them there, and go ahead and water when the soil is dry - especially if they are just seedlings. If you do want it to go dormant, I think yours is big enough that it could handle no water while in a cool room - mine that are always thirsty still look like bean-sprouts... either way you want to go, cool and dry, or hot and moist :) If you do hot and moist leaves will reappear very soon, adeniums just seem to worry when they get moved, or spend time without light, and drop all their leaves just in case dormancy is necessary ;) anyway, my long-winded 2cents, hopefully an expert comes along to give better advice :) Best of luck - keep us posted! -Willow

Hey Josh! Thanks a lot..I really appreciate it..For the life of me I can't remember what the weather was like back then..It sure looks like what you said.. I am glad I can finally say it is not because I am over watering....Am I wrong to think that the rot starts from the bottom up with overwatering? Jojo....I am so happy to hear that yours is doing ok..That is exactly what happened to mine.. It would of been nice not to loose the tops and have to cut them off so I could of had straight up one stemed plants, but I will take anything as long as they make it and they are healthy.. Happy growing! Mike

Your plants look great. My DR's are doing ok but don't look nearly as nice as yours. I love the plumie seedlings with multiple branches. I only have a handful out of all my seedlings that have multiple stems. I have a Royal Poincianna and Pride of Barbados that I started from seed earlier this summer and am surprised at how fast they grow. I'm not sure if I'll ever get blooms from the RP but the PoB should bloom at a much smaller size. They look almost exactly alike with the PoB being smaller. I also have a few varieties of Coral trees that I started from seed and several tropical fruit trees that are doing well. My concern is providing enough humidity for my Theobroma Cacaos over the winter. Karyn

Little cactus seedlings need to be kept a little more on the moist side when germinating and starting out. As far as species.....what interests you? I put cactus seedlings on top of a good draining mix.....usually one with a lot of coarse sand and perlite in it. I water it good....let the excess drain, plant the seeds, and then put the whole thing in a sealed Ziploc bag. This keeps the little bit of moisture in. Easier to grow under lights as you can keep them in the bag but not cook them as they would in the sun. As the seedlings sprout and begin to form new spines, you can gradually open the bag slowly....starting with a small opening and then more and more. As you open the bag gently water the seedling as needed....usually fairly often. If the mix drains easily frequent watering is fine. The inside of the bag should have a layer of humidity but not large drops. If too wet drain out the excess or use a new bag. As they begin to look like tiny cacti they should be out of the bag and continue to grow under lights or moved to a windowsill. You can keep them quite crowded in the pot at first. Once they start to touch each other they will look like little cacti and can be moved to their own pots and treated as such.