how often are you watering? they can take more water in warm weather.

Maybe some fertilizer too?

I will add this picture ( I hope) to see if this will help- (The stalk you see on the left is a Canna behind)
Best,
Jessica
{{gwi:576959}}

I am also waiting to see if anybody help jmomcon out.
I have a friend who also had 2 of these stumps this year,and they remain the same since April after the cut.

The answer to the watering question is? Big drum roll....

It also wouldn't hurt to give us an idea of when you cut it back.

randy

Well I just checked and the stump is definitely alive. I cut it back 2 winters ago. I know it's hard to believe. I water it sparingly in winter and in the summer put it in full sun outside and let nature do most of the work.I thought as a desert type plant with all that storage in the roots and no leaves to support watering would most likely go to rot . I am posting everywhere. People in Thailand say it needs more heat,more sun and less water. I don't know how I could do that here in Maryland anyway. Here is a pic of the before - not an unusual one but nice I thought

Here is a link that might be useful: adenium- before

Well I just checked and the stump is definitely alive. I cut it back 2 winters ago. I know it's hard to believe. I water it sparingly in winter and in the summer put it in full sun outside and let nature do most of the work.I thought as a desert type plant with all that storage in the roots and no leaves to support watering would most likely go to rot . I am posting everywhere. People in Thailand say it needs more heat,more sun and less water. I don't know how I could do that here in Maryland anyway. Here is a pic of the before - not an unusual one but nice I thought

Here is a link that might be useful: adenium- before

Is there are reason why you pruned it back so hard in the winter?

People in Thailand don't understand your climate. I find any advice they give should be taken with a grain of salt.

You are still being very vague about watering. If you are keeping it bone dry all the time, it will never break out.

You need to think of it as a tropical in season and not a desert plant.

randy

maybe putting it in a bigger pot as well?

The Pot is not an issue. It sounds like care. All my adeniums would be dead and gone if I was to "let nature do most of the work" when it comes to watering. You can't keep a plant in a small container and never water it.

randy

Ok so here are the sordid facts - I left the beautiful plant out too long 2 years ago and the frost got it so I had to cut it back to where there was no more damage.
Re watering - I don't actually leave it "bone dry" I guess it gets a drink 1/wk plus rain and win the winter I water it with my violets but less saturated.

So maybe I should ramp up the watering a bit add some fertilizer watch fro rot and hope for the best??? One more question...ARE THOSE BUMPS THE BEGINNING OF THE GROWTH AREAS? I hope?

Thanks everyone-
This was a lesson well learned not to put your favorite plant out of site in the fall so you forget it's there when the frost hits.
Best,
Jessica

If it hasn't grown a new branch in 2 years, I would add some superthrive (few drops diluted in water does the trick). Do that twice per week for 3 weeks and new branches will appear for sure. That stuff wakes up any dead or alive plant. Also, feeding the adenium occasionally, couldn't hurt too!

For what it's worth (another grain of salt for you lol) I would cut into a bumb /plant leaving 1/8 th - 1/4 inch deep and 1/8 wide 45 degree angle wedge shapes ( V )out from two or maybe even three of the bumps, in a grafting fashion( see also pic and description below)
Not that the Thailand people are "wrong" either, at very least there advise certainly shouldn't be considered a grain of salt. What there trying to say is how you may want to effort replicating there ideal Adenium growing conditions where you live a bit better than you may have been.

I'm no Adenium pro and I don't know what you already understand about them so just as an example, if you watered today you might not want the plant to be over exposed to rain the next (few) day(s) with a lack of sun and cooler days. you/ me and Thailand can see how this wouldn't make sense.

{{gwi:576960}}

Regardless of what you may of seen or read on the GW forum (sometimes GW info is a grain of salt too) Adenium normally takes up to three good years to "cure" from it's cuts

note my thumb and the new growth that it holds it's from a good sized bump I saw in October 2008. What you see to the right is a bump that I wont cut as it's possible a soon to be new branch (in 2012 if not then I'll cut that bump out in the same manner) Note also the graft shape cut I made into a growing upright that small area had a " bump" removed but not the branch.

Chances are you donÂt have a long enough season to set it up and grow it in a sling so good luck with the superthrive, if you choose that route do drop in and let us know how it went for you

Wow,I had given up on this blog. Thanks for your responses!Since writing this I have changed the soil and added osmocote and am now considering grafting-although the consensus seems to be that it's a long shot.But I am afraid this was a grafted specimine and I may have cut off all the grafted material in my effort to save it and after 2+ years I am inpatient for this guy to GROW!

Mike -I have never heard of your cutting technique.Am I getting this right - You are saying to cut AWAY the growth node leaving a "V" shaped wound? This is something that has worked for you?

I have never grafted so I do appreciate all the suggestions here.
thanks, jessica

Here are larger before and after pics.
It WAS a nice plant at one time. As you can see under the flowers there were some "bumps" (nodes?) there before I butchered the thing too so I don't know if they are really an effort to grow or not.They certainly haven't sprouted thus far

{{gwi:576961}} and {{gwi:576962}}

Am I in another space-time continuum or hasn't this particular plant been discussed on another posting here? Geez, I hope the senility isn't hitting so soon.

Never mind, y'all, senility seems to be held at bay another day - it was the same plant.

Yes, that's me there too - after a month I got to thinking about grafting and posted about that. So now I guess this plant is famous ...but still leafless. I am waiting for a donor plant to arrive and doing everything else I can think of in the meantime including researching this slicing technique mentioned above.
What's your take on the situation? If you are worried about senility maybe you should post now before senility ruins my chance. :)
jessica

Jessica,

I've given you the I-shouldn't-graft-it advice in the other post already, so I shan't flay that horse, but have you repotted it into fresh soil and given it ideal Adenium growing conditions yet, or is it still in the same soil/pot?

Same pot (There is actually more room below then it appears) but with fresh soil mix of stones, bark, perlite, sand, a touch of soil, and osmocote. If anything I think it may could've used more light in the winter but in Maryland.....This winter he will get a light of his own-not share with the violets.

Have you EVER had a plant treated nicely stay dormant this long and actually bloom before? A grower seemed to think it was unusual - that's why I thought of the grafting.

Jessica

If it won't grow it's own leaves, what will make it sustain a graft?

Now there's something I hadn't thought of....It looks healthy as stumps go (aside from my botching the technique) why wouldn't it support them? A grower in Thailand suggested that I may have cut off all the "growth areas" of the caudex so it cannot grow back its leaves. He thinks that by grafting I may give it back it's "top" and it can grow again..
Kinda of makes sense in that plants are not able to produce leaves from older branches. Those "bumps" you see have been there for years but have not leafed out- I don't know are they even leaf buds???
Jessica

jessica

I am curious to know what happened to this "stump". Did it ever grow leaves again? It was so lovely, I hope it is doing better now...

Wow ! Thanks for asking - You won't believe this but I still have that guy and he is not much worse for wear. I attempted to do some grafts unsuccessfully so he is a bit more beat up about the head but other than that looks about the same!!! I did break down and actually BUY some plants with tops though :)
Jessica

Jessica,
So, if I get this right,if it's a grafted plant and the top is cutt off,nothing will ever grow again? I'm so confused........I have alot of these plants ,and on occasion I have had to cut them way back to a stump and I have had new growth .even still if it was a grafted plant I don't understand why there is nothing happening .after this long I would probably throw it out.
Sharon

It has chlorophyll and it has roots. It doesn't care what you think it should look like. :p

Perhaps cutting off its light supply with a big cardboard tube or something would convince it to reprogram some of its cells. Perhaps not. I remember this plant, and thinking about this one topic on cactiguide.com and whether the hormone discussed there would work. I can't remember if I actually posted anything, so here's the link (again?).

Here is a link that might be useful: Hormone topic