Hi Linda, Below is a nice link that should help you some. You'll want a very fast draining mix that doesn't stay real wet. To get seedlings like these would be a somewhat complicated process for a newbie. I would get the propagation and growing technique down first before experimenting. Both of the plants in the photos are almost a year old and have been pruned at least 4 times. A plant left to grow unhindered would be at least 10 inches tall or more by now. I'm not really interested in big and leggy. I want short, fat, compact, well branched and beautiful. randy Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Info

Mary, Enjoy the fall and winter. Now is not the time to fret and concern yourself over adenium care and making things better. Unless you enjoy reading. Come spring move the plant out where the big boys play. :-) I just keep my plants alive through the winter with no expectations. I do start selecting the next generation of bonsai wanna bees. It's a honey of a deal. Here is a somalense that will make the cut. Plant and pot are roughly 9 inches tall and the pot is 3 1/4 inches wide at the lip. You can see where the subterranean caudex is pushing the pot out. In the spring it will get top pruned, root pruned and subjected to one of those wonderful Walmart cereal bowls to help expand the caudex and root system. randy

I would have used Aluminum wire, I think that is the most recommended for Adeniums but not exactly sure. I don't have any though, So I just went ahead and used some galvanized steal wire that came off a roll of chicken wire when I first opened it. It was very flexible and I just wrapped it around carefully holding the wire and winding it around the stem. I heard galvanized steel is poisonous to junipers and some other conifers. So I will be watching it closely. I will probably check to make sure the wire isn't digging in to the plant to leave too much of a mark in 2 weeks and I will remove it probably in about 4 weeks. This is my first time experimenting with wire on Adeniums so I will update how it goes on this post as the information comes in. I am over wintering them in a hoop house in zone 9b. I cover them at night inside my open ended hoop house ( I have not closed the ends off with plastic yet) The days are in the 80s and 90s here and the nights drop down to 55-59*F at night. I have a different structure over them inside the hoop house to cover them at night. When the temps drop to 50*F and lower come winter I will put on the ends of the HH. I was going to check out aluminum wire at the jewelry section at Michael's for my next plants next season. I know they make it especially for, and sell it on bonsai sites though. I got most of those plants in the pictures from Out Of Africa 2.5 weeks ago, and they hardly had any leaves. They've been starting to push out though, and all the branch tips are showing signs of leaf growth. I hope to order more multiflorums from them come spring time if they have any left. I also recently started 22 arabicum seedlings and I am sowing 140 more in about 2 weeks. All different kinds of arabicums. I hope to sow several hundred obesum seeds come spring and grow them for grafting stock for the arabicums I am growing. These plants are so far a lot of fun.

Thanks Todd. I can't say enough good things about the place. He had a room full of awesome pottery to choose from! Cass Bonsai is the name of the business. I like the 13 inch bowl, it fits the Dino King nicely. It is a little plain but finely made and imported from Japan. I can't wait to use the matching set next year! I will need to get some better photos to post too, this one doesn't do them justice.