I for one don't think you will need to water it everyday. Keep it in a misty environment, however, is a must.

It will be less challenging if not repotting them during the heat wave.

Just my 0.02

Since you just repotted them I would put them in bright light for a week or so then gradually move to full sun. I repot mine all the time when the temp is >90, and they do great. I wouldn't water it every day either.

Every spring I repot them by lifting about 1/3 of the caudex out of the soil, trim off any roots that are now above ground, fill in with new mix.
Good luck! They are actually a fairly tough plant.
Tally HO!

I'd water it w/ diluted hydrogen peroxide once or twice.. it will give it a jump start.. we've started watering all re-pots that way.. ratio is 1/3 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 gal of water.

If it were my Adenium, I would prune it back even further below the blue tape, to where the thin elongation begins. IMHO it will look much more attractive because of your severe pruning.

Christopher

What Chris said..

Thanks for all the advice so far guys! I really need it! I've ordered the Mark Dimmit book and am counting the days for its arrival.

@ bwolfsohn, can I ask what the hydrogen peroxide does?

@ christopher, do you see the two branches? Initially I had thought about getting rid of the shorter branch by pruning that flush with the main stem. Maybe I should use that junction as a starting point/level for all my pruning and slice about an inch off of it? and then an inch above that line on the main stem?

sharp knife, angled slice. Anything else to note?

Here is a picture of my tray of smaller adeniums in 4-inch pots. I should prune these as well. I would say they are all quite healthy. I'm just afraid pruning will affect their health somehow!

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Hydrogen Peroxide provides additional oxygen to the root zone.. this is a good thing..

Pruning both branches to the same height is a good idea..

How:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cacti/msg0610020924795.html

Keep in mind this is only my opinion, but pruning anywhere near the tape is a mistake. The highest I would go on the main branch is 3/5 up from the lower branch.

Some fair questions would be why prune so high? What do you envision the overall height of the plant down the road? If the pruning is for a more compact growing form, why keep so much of the skinny part of the main stem?

If mine, the lower branch would be pruned to about 1/3 the length of the pruned main stem. Having two stems the same height is not appealing to the eye and not very functional. I would avoid removing the small stem altogether. An unnecessary scar to heal over that actually takes away from the nice form this plant can achieve.

randy

@ randy, I'm trying to envision what this means "3/5 up from the lower branch."
I really am very new to pruning despite having this plant for years I've never pruned an adenium! I'm rather scared so I hope you'll be patient with my questions.

Are you suggesting I trim the lower branch to a length of 1-inch from the fork, does that mean you would recommend trimming the main stem approx. 3-inches up from the fork? Since the main stem is growing straight, up, would you also slice at a directional angle that I would want the grown to be, instead of say, straight across?

@ bwolfsohn, I'll try the mix then, thanks!

@smoochas
I figure he means something like this.
The first cut on the main stem is 3/5 of the way between your tape and the smaller stem.
The 2nd stem is cut to 1/3 the length of the cut main stem.

{{gwi:582522}}

Be patent with me. I'm dealing with some early morning pain and medication. :-) If I'm way off here, just have a good laugh and mumble under your breath about old people and drugs.

Your photo is really not best suited to giving specific ideas that would enhance the plant. So I give broad or simple equations to hopefully be general enough to help.

Lets say that from the joint of the small stem to bottom of the tape on the main stem is 5 inches. I would probably cut 2 inches below the tape. That would hopefully be 3/5 up from the lower branch. Clear as mud?

If you are uncomfortable with those recommendations, don't do it. Go with your blue tape.

I'm personally not fond of long, same diameter stems. The bottom 1/3 of that stem looks about the same. Why have a stem like a giraffe's neck if you can have the neck of a mature bull in his prime?

{{gwi:582523}}

I want taper. It gives the illusion of of size and of a age, even on a seedling. Or makes a bull look twice as mean. I don't do pencil neck geeks. :-)

Whatever you choose, have fun with it and that's no bull.

Ole Dopie Gills

Thanks.

I did it, guys!!!! EEP! I hope I did it ok. I was conflicted about how to cut the middle one since its growing straight up... Didn't know if I shoule try and angle cut it or not. Some sap had dried on the wound before I figured out I was suppose to keep it clean. Used a wet paper towel and dabbed. I hope its still okay.

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I have some other questions. Can I cut the roots off the exposed part of the caudex? Will I need to take any special care? after doing this?

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The same plant has a dead branch in the middle. If I cut that off, do I still need to keep it in the shade for a couple of days, not a lot of water etc.?

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And lastly, this same plant, I dont' recall ever seeing this reddish part on the leaves so I hope it means its doing well now!

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I've been following this interesting thread and now I've got questions please.

I bought an Adenium obesum at Lowes yesterday (they got in a bunch more cacti/succ) but now I'm thinking I made a mistake. They had a much smaller one in a bonsai pot and I think I should have got that one instead.

The one I got is about 16" from the pot and it has multiple stems. I want to prune and repot it so is now a good time? I'm zone 5/6 so our first frost will be in mid Sept. I will bring it inside on the nights that frost threatens.

It's in the shade structure with all the tender cacti for now. I put it in a pebble tray so it gets more humidity.

It lost all of its leaves. I think because it probably came from So Cal and now it is in the hot, high, dry desert. The next 10 days are usually the hottest and then it will cool back down. It still has flower buds so can I wait until they bloom or is it better to prune/repot asap? Or should I just wait until next spring?

I'm going to try to post a picture later to get more detailed input.

Here's a picture, not very good I know. I need a better camera and some classes ;-) or a better photographer.

The main stem is 12" at the Y.

The main stem is only 4" around at the bottom.

Is it too tall and skinny to do anything with? If nothing else I can experiment with it. I only have time/room for one of these so I want it to look as good as possible.

Also I wondered if Hummers like these flowers? They look like a good shape for them.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:582519}}