Gill,

As I recall them, they are slow to form and slow to open.

Oh isn't that just typical then!! lol!! Just hope our weather holds out long enough for them to do their thing before they go into dormacy.
Thanks for replying.
Gill.

Gill,

Do they flower normally in the winter there in the UK?

When I grew them to flowering size in San Diego, I recall them flowering in the spring. Given that you're farther away from the equator, I wonder if that means that the flowering cycle starts sooner. Since I now grow only a single species (A. balsamniferum) here and it hasn't flowered yet (maybe in several years), I'm still learning about non-hardy plants in hardy places (there must be a country music song there, don't you think?).

Hi there again CactusMC...in answer to your ?...I have no idea!! Although I would have thought that mine are late flowering rather than earlier, as we have had yet another poor summer this year, with a few hot days in April and again in July. Now are we enjoying an early autumn heatwave which leads me to think mine are late.
DR's are a completely new plant for me. I have only ever seen them for sale once over here and I couldn't afford/risk one at the asking price of £20+ as I was very unsure if I could provide the proper growing conditions I knew it would need having seen one 'up close and personal' in a rather more tropical location than the UK ie.Bangkok a few years earlier. So, I chose the very much cheaper option of trying my hand with seeds and now have 5 from a sowing in Feb 08 and a further 3 from a May 09 batch. It's one of the 08 guys that's got the buds. The pic below was taken in June so they have all put on more growth since it was taken. They're in 3 inch pots, the bigger guys that is, and are around 6inches high I guess.
Regards, Gill.
{{gwi:644051}}

Depending on care and environment, a quality adenium obesum with good a good genetic background that has been bred for blooming will do so off and on all year. I have a few plants that may rest a month through the summer with no blooms on them. If it doesn't get too cold and cloudy in winter, they will also bloom for a time through the winter.

A lot of the old pink bloomed obesum from years ago that you see in a lot of box stores may only bloom in spring and sometimes in fall.

randy

Hi Greenclaws
I am very interested in this question as I have one I started from seed 4 years ago that set some buds in June and then lost them, and now has some more. One bud about a half inch long aborted last week. I too am in a race against the weather, but it has been sunny for the last few weeks.
Joe, in Montreal

Gil,

Oh dear, you're asking about Adenium and I completely read it as 'Aeonium'. My apologies for my non-cognition.

Randy,

You're supposed to help me out there - no one else noticed until I saw you chime in about Adeniums, which prompted me to look again as I don't know you to be an Aeonium grower, but what do I know....I canna read, laddie, either.

Never mind eh CactusMC!! You can't get it spot on every time can you? Hehe! I didn't twig either as I assumed that the A. balsamniferum that you referred to above was in fact Adenium balsamniferum.....just shows you what I know too!

Joe, hi there. I'm just hoping the little plant will hold onto the buds as I would love to get one to flower here. The weather has been very hot and cloudless again today with temps in very high 20'sC and is set to last for several more days. The plants are loving it, but it was so hot at work...and will be again tomorrow!

Randy, hello to you also. All my seeds are ones that I bought off eBayUK, so I have no idea as to their actual quality/background, but guess they are just cheap mass produced ones. I'm getting a great deal of pleasure from trying to grow them and thats what counts in my book :)
The second batch I sprouted are 'supposedly' named varieties, 'Noble Concubine' and 'Star of Luck', but I now know from reading info on here that you can't get true copies of a particular named DR from seed...it has to be from a grafted plant...correct? However, I shall be more than satisfied with a flower of any type/colour/form....so it's every finger tightly crossed till that happens!
Regards to all.
Gill.

Gill,

Where you get the true stuff and the oddities are from seed. Grafting gives something that's weak on its own roots/slow-to-grow a stimulus and a chance to grow faster and flower and seed sooner.

Hi Gill
Any news? Mine has a few buds sitting still. I've had to take it in as the weather has shifted to cool and rainy.
Joe, Montreal

Did you try to give them some artifical lights in the house. I have visited very keen growers in England, and I believe that you Brits can do anything that you make up your minds to do, like pick up a Volkswavagon and lift it up on a loading dock in Holland, and leaving it there while we continued our way to a green house. Jolly good fun, those Brits. Norma

Hi there Joe and Norma, yes I have some news for you....
....they're just the same as before!! LOL!! Nothing much has happened with the buds at all since I last wrote, they may have grown a tiny bit, but not much. The weather has turned a lot colder now and often the evenings/nights/early mornings are down to single digits C. The warmest day temp we saw today was 15c. The DR's are in the house in the sunniest window we have and I put them under a regular lamp come evening time in the warmth of the living room...hopefully the buds will hang on in there and get to open before the plant goes dormant...unless I can prevent it from dropping all the foliage that is.
Hehe, yes there's another Brit here Norma that likes to have ago at almost anything, especially when there's a tropical plant involved! I'll crack these pesky little DR's yet!!
Gill.

I came home from work today and the bud set had fallen off. It might be too dry in the house when the heat comes on. I'll try the Epsom salt spray on the remainder.
Joe

Oh no!! Thats really bad news, so sorry to hear that Joe. Hope your others reward you. We had another chilly day here again, fine and dull but cold.
Gill.

Gill,

what happened? Did your Adenium bloom?

Regards,

Martin