New to Adeniums...looking for a bit of advice and support
I'm pretty new at this Adenium stuff. Actually have been growing them....ahhhh, well, IT.....for almost a week now.
First, perhaps a bit about me. I'm an older geezer - I now live in the central part of SC. Retired from the US Navy many years ago, and now am fully retired after completing a second career in retail management.
I had my own small greenhouse and was growing orchids long before I retired from the Navy. I worked for a local orchid nursery on two different occasions after the Navy, and have never really ever gotten them out of my system.
I recently started tinkering with African Violets, but they're just another plant to grow right now.
I have always been fascinated with Adeniums, but was never willing to fork out the $$$ for a nice plant, and all the ones I usually saw for sale were on the discount rack someplace, two days from dead, and still priced more than I wanted to risk on a plant I really knew nothing about.
Last week all that changed. I was in a Lowes in Columbia, SC and they had a whole rolling (discount) rack of Adeniums. These plants really looked pretty good to me....rock solid, most with healthy leaves, All had been pruned, and had nice new sprouts, and a couple with a flower still hanging on. $5.00.....couldn't resist.
One of these plants had a brilliant red flower still hanging on...The darkest Adenium bloom I had ever seen...SOLD!
Here's the plan.....with photos to support it.
On the right side of the plant, one leaf has what looks like a stain from water standing in it...Another has two brown spots, and a third had a broken tip that was brown that I took off. All in all I think the plant looks pretty good.
Here's the plan....I'm not planning to do anything to the top of the plant right now. I thought I would take it out of its pot, and see what the roots look like. I plan to raise the plant an inch or two, depending on what I find in the pot. There is one group of roots that shows in all three photos just at the soil line, so I thought I would take them off flush with the side of the caudex (thought I would practice some of my new vocabulary.....☺) so they would not be sitting out there In the air all alone. I will probably trim some of the smaller roots as necessary.
I have a potting mix of my own design that I plan to use...
1 part fine fir bark (screened from a box of orchid seedling mix that I have.
1 part Perlite
1 part builders sand
1 part commercial potting mix (peat base with some pine bark chips and slow release fertilizer)
Now, if some of you more experienced Adenium growers don't mind jumping in here and picking this plan apart, I would really appreciate it. I'm trying to learn this new "game", I've read until all the information has run together, and my eyes are glazed over, so am looking for a few outside opinions before I leap in here with knives and spades. I'm pretty thick skinned (Navy trained), so there's no real danger of hurting either of my two remaining feelings.
Thanks for any help, and I am looking forward to being seen hanging around in here quite a bit in the future, and getting to know some of you.
Bill
Comments (17)
plantmanagerkaren
8 years ago
Kadie
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Winter returned, frost -bit shrub advice needed
Comments (7)Hey Ho Steve O I'm so sorry to hear about ur troubles. Maybe tis will cheer ya up. I was down at the orchard about a week or two ago and another grower who is a good friend of mine shows up and says how did you do. I was like with what. He says with the freeze dumbo. I was like huh, he's says well all my cherries are black and dead. I was like no way. Well u guessed it, I lost half my crop. I still have a sick feeling in my stomach. Well it will be tuff to pay the mrt. on the orchard this year. Oh well. On a happeier note I been selling alot of lilacs. My experience with frost is to leave it alone and see what happens. If you deal with emotion then u tend to cut it all back and one that is done you may have act too rash. I would wait and see what happens. Maybe if you want just cut some back. Time will tell and before you know it those plants will be fine. I pray all is well, Tim...See MoreAdvice on support for flowering vines
Comments (10)I don't have a garage or shed (am in a hi-rise but was in a house for years before and do some vertical gardening on my balcony wall), but I do have vines for hummingbirds and recently butterflies have been visiting too (yes I get both up here...lol). Regarding your suggestions, you bring up good points and counter-points regarding trellising against a shed wall. Wood does rot after awhile (even with paint) and metal can rust and crumble after awhile (even with paint). It would be nice if one could find a similar large wall trellis in PVC (I know there are smaller ones that are tall but usually narrow too, but that might be something to think about to use). What I can offer would be like a small scale experience to help describe what the vines you are considering might do and the type of support you might need. Some of the vines that hummers like do include the honeysuckles, but if you choose a native (Loncera sempervirens), then those don't grow as aggressively or are as invasive as the japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). There are many named varieties of the natives and my hummers couldn't wait until the flowers started opening yesterday and they were all over it. Mine ("Blanche Sandman") is in a pot and supported by a decorative vinyl-coated metal trellis. Interestingly, that honeysuckle seems a bit reticent to twine like other honeysuckles so it would basically mean manually threading it around the support and/or tying them initially until they are on their way. My other honeysuckle - a "Mandarin" (Lonicera x mandarin) does twine quite readily on its own and that is on a small wooden trellis support and yep, the hummers like that one too). But as a note, as a twiner, honeysuckles may have some difficulty going around something too large in diameter, although being woody vines, they do better than the annual vines on wider supports. Similarly, my American wisteria, which is not as aggressive as its asian cousins and as a woody vine, can twine better around a wider support, but the thinner the easier for it. My Blanche Sandman honeysuckle looks like this right now (sorry for the hazy picture but it's hazy here...ugh... this is its 2nd year with me, it was from a 1 gallon size plant that I got last year). These have a tendency for bare bottoms (I have seen larger specimens do similar) with a mass of vinelettes and flowers towards the top (unless you prune to make it bushier - the japanese honeysuckle tends to do the long vines): The SRBs, cypress vines and cardinal climbers have thinner vine shoots and need a finer support to attach to. I have seen some interesting suggestions for that on the large scale where one can string fishing line up for them. Since they are annuals (and the cardinal climber is in the colder areas although they might reseed), and unless you can find white or clear netting, using fishing line might be more aesthetically neutral in winter when the support area is exposed after they die back. The crossvine and trumpet vine are woody like honeysuckle and sortof twine but can become shrubby as well. So for any of the woody vines, a good solid support would be a must. The trumpet vine can get aggressive so unless you are willing to hack it back (I have seen people grow it like a standard), then you might want to reconsider. The crossvine might get that way too, although it's not as aggressive and there are some pretty cultivars out there. If you did decide on clematis (I have one on a cheapy tomato cage) it depends on the type as the group 3s like I have can be cut to the ground every year and will bloom on new growth (meaning for a trellis, it needs to be re-trained each year), whereas the group 1s and 2s maintain a woody structure and require minimal pruning. These attach via their leafs, which wrap around the support, so too thick or wide a support and they can't climb well on their own and they will attach to themselves and then fall over in a tangled mess. But for the ones maintaining a woody structure, if you thread and train the vine (even tie it up), you can shape it permanently. For attaching to a wall, it's probably best to have it on a stand-off (maybe a few inches out) so that you can get behind it and allow the plants to be woven around and through it easier. Plus it keeps the back of the plants off a hot wall and allows some air to move behind. Anyway, hope this helps a little - when I was composing this, I saw a butterfly that I wasn't sure of. Someone from above was looking out for me because I took a WAG and checked a PA butterfly site and immediately ID'd it on a first try as a silver-spotted skipper. I have alot of red flowers blooming up here right now and I guess it saw those and the leaves of my wisteria and maybe thought the wisteria was a locust tree or related (these apparently like pea family plants and the wisteria leaves resemble such): I did have a visit from an Eastern Black swallowtail last weekend: And I'm still trying to get a good picture of my hummers this year but here's a rare one from last year where 2 were sitting not far from each other and had they known the other was there, the mad chase would have errupted (plus you can see my volunteer MGs around the shepherd's hook where the feeder was hung - they did use the MGs as they were closing by the way):...See Moress support - dec 27, 2004 -- jan 2, 2005 happy new year!
Comments (37)Amy, the lyrics you came up with are sad to me, but thanks for stopping in and sharing them. They sound lonely. Are you lonely over there? What kinds of social activites are you indulging in? Do you still have the home helper to take you out to the stores and galleries? And have you had any new ideas on canvas? I remember you were thinking of painting the small Hawaiian homes and broken down trucks beside them --some local flavor. That was a cool idea. What about your web site ---- ? I know these are a lot of questions, but I am curious about your forward movement. I think about you all the time..... Raeanne~ Geez! How'd the guy's fire start? Having things burn always makes me feel really strange. I really enjoy controlled fire, but fires that destroy are so irreversible. You lose so much of your life's history when a fire takes the things you've worked for and cherished. The photos and memories are virtually lost and there is so much to rebuild. However, speaking from experience, a fire is a time when you find out who your true friends are, so it is an excellent eye-opener for the New Year. I hope the community pulls together for him and shows him the spirit of hope! I've only just read the latest couple of posts, so I'll read more and be back to relax later. All in-laws left yesterday, so we took down the tree, decorations, and will drive them to storage to day. Also, gotta go to the transfer station with all the garbage and recycling. Then, off to the grocery to refill the pantry and get the kids lined up for school to start tomorrow! Whew! Happy New Year!...See MoreResent supporting my new husband
Comments (32)I was resent for supporting my husband at the beginning of the relationship..its almost destroyed my marriage...i went for a few sessions of counciling..which really didnt' help. In the end..i began to relaly keep separate finance with him. We always had separate but i would always fork more out... now i make sure we pay half and half on the bills...i took back all the cash i bailed him out before we married. And when it comes to any bills with his kids i leave it up to him...extras..he pays but he pays bit by bit to budget himself. Ex wife complains..but too bad. That is our budget..she's lucky she's evne getting any extra for the kids...becasue he is tight and i'm not a bank account. I felt so resentful for a while. To save myself and my marriage i spoke with him..and reminded him that before we got married that expenses...such as gas especially was his responsibility for his kids...( the cost is ALOT to pick them up...its a 3 hour drive...soo...hefty onthe gas) i stopped paying the gas ..that is his responsibility.. The only thing i still pay is xmas gifts....which i've cut down onthose as well...but one thing hit me this year...he bought nothing for his daughter...and i mena nothing....i paid for all her gifts..which next year this will have to change.. There are times i just feel like a mother...and not a wife..nto a partner.. Especially when it comes to birthdays..or xmas... i know why he is holding back on that...i understand. He feels used. Unappreciated. He gives , he gives, extra...and then they drop him on his weekends...they say its boring..etc...they skip out on father day gifts on year.. Last year they made up for it. But youknow..after a while...the scars are left and you just cannot forget..so as much as he loves his kids. He also resents them.The key is to not let it control you. Tell you husband...he wants to give extra?? not your money...tell him to go work more and give if he wants to do that. I make sure the bills in our household, food, rent is taken out first...anything else he will have to manage what is left... Its sad but that is reality. You must talk with your husband. Spell it out onpaper..ihave a book where i write all the bills coming in and how we split it inour household. He must pay his share....your not a bank account.Sure you support your husband....but not his exwife! NO WAY!... I made sure my finances would be separate...so no money goes to his ex or actually his kids. Unless i want it to. By my own accord..not be forced. This is why you feel resentful. Because he is taking your portion to cover his butt from ex and his kids. No way...i would never allow that. Dont care if the kids hate me.....woldnt' want anyone around me who hated me anyways...so no loss there....lol I'm lucky that my sk dont hate me..but i do wish were closer..but thanks for mom..that will never happen....See MoreKadie
8 years ago
treehugger101
8 years agoBill
8 years agoBill
8 years agoKadie
8 years agoBill
8 years agoWell, today I bit the bullet, and got 'er done. Everyone recommended I add "oil dry" to the mix, so I went down to the local NAPA store and got the smallest bag they had....probably enough to last the rest of my life unless I spill the grease the next few times I fry fish.
Since I had already made enough mix to fill the selected pot (thats a joke!)and it contained sand which some of you recommended against, but I couldn't get out, I just added a measure of the oil dry to the existing mix.
Next step was removing the plant from its pot....Turning it over and tapping the pot on the bottom did NOT work! I struggled for over ten minutes before I convinced that plant to turn that pot loose, and when it did come out, it just kept on, and on, and on coming out. You've been to the circus and seen 10 clowns get out of a car the size of a large suitcase......Well, I'm convinced Adeniums taught them how to do that. There was more plant in that pot than I would have ever thought possible.
None of the pots I had considered using was going to work, so the search began all over again. I finally found one thats a bit small, but will work for a while.
Photo #4 shows what I got out of that pot. There was a large swolen root that had been just below the surface, and another much smaller root on the opposite side. I trimmed all the small roots off the smaller one, and left both of them on the plant, thinking they might add interest in later years (hows that for a new grower being optimistic). There was a small cluster of roots on the back side of this photo that was growing above the old soil line, and a little "button" of an old root stub that was starting to grow a new root, so I took both of these off flush with the Caudex. I removed a few of the more flimsy looking bunches of tiny roots, and thats about all.
Photo #5 shows what I put in the new pot. The swolen root is on the left, and the one I am going to try to get to match it is on the right trimmed of all its small roots.
Photo #6 is the final product. The plant is raised about 2 inches, and shows the large swolen root on the right, and the new smaller one on the left. You can see the spot near the center of the Caudex where I cut off a small patch of roots that were growing above the old soil line.
I intend to leave the plant on the porch for two or three days to allow it to dry and heal the cuts I made, then will slowly reintroduce it to the sun until it is again in pretty much full sun, and being fed and watered on a regular basis...like every couple of days.
I know I probably did as many things wrong as I did right, (I would consider 50-50 a real accomplishment) But I do believe things went pretty well, and now the challenge will be to grow this (to me) strange new plant.
Thanks everyone for the help and encouragement. I have been lurking around here for some time, soaking up the knowlege you good folks have been putting out.....I guess today was exam day...Thanks.
Bill
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