I'm not sure there's an O. decaryi specimen close to me that I can gawk at. Take photos when you find one!

May I post a photo of my newly-hacked sapling? It's OT but I want your take on it.

Fire at will. ;-)

Here it was before it went outdoors.

And now. I just happened to be holding a pair of scissors, not even a plant
clipper. I want to see how that tip dries out before cleaning it up
later. Thanks for checking it out!

Hi, do you have any suggestions for me about how I cut this guy down? I'm a beginner. Dunno if cutting it will help it to fatten up. I live in Tehran (Iran), weather is hot now and will get hotter, low humidity ... if that helps.

Thanks.in advance

Pagan, I like your radical approach to pruning. ;-) I would probably have pruned your seedling as you did. Well done. Any particular bonsai style plans? Cascade?

Yardakani, some say that pruning an adenium and other caudiciform plants will fatten up the caudex. I doubt it. But the caudex will grow thicker as the seedling gets older. Most obesums have weak caudexes and a "vertical growth pattern", unlike arabicums which grow fat quickly and branch out from early on.

I suggest that you prune around 1/2 to 2/3rds of the leafy stem away. Well I would. ;-) But it depends on the thickness of the stem. A thick stem (say >0.3 inches) means a more visible "stump" (after pruning) which will take longer time to conceal by the new branches growing. If you do the pruning at an 45 degrees angle, the wound will heal over more easily.

There are numerous threads here on the forum describing and discussing the topic of pruning adeniums. I once made a small diagram, a "how to prune"-diagram (eh, actually two):

Take a look at:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3739492/i-think-its-time-to-prune-but-im-not-sure-where-to-start

...and

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3795126/taming-the-jolly-green-giant-without-compromising-form

Cheers,

Martin

Wow, that Operculicarya decaryi (Jabily) looks awesome. I just ordered one and am looking forward to training it. I want an exposed root, fat gnarly trunk with a small branching flat top. Hopefully I can learn from others like you all on here to get a plant that fits my dreams. I have found sometimes, they do what they want, but can take cues from my input. Martin, do you have a thread on the growing of that one?

Martin, thanks for the help finally I can go for the cut. One more question. How do I treat the plant after cutting it? Normal watering and sunlight like before the cut? After cutting I would only have 1 or 2baby leaves.

Thanks a lot mate.

Yardakani, you are welcome.

Well, I do not treat wounds after pruning. I simply "air dry" wounds and let the wounds callus over. But remember, my adeniums and "horticultural practices" are adapted to the mild coastal climate here and/or my grow tent. ;-) I do not have to battle all kinds of aggressive fungi and pests. My biggest struggle is the cool summer days which can last an eternity!

No or few leaves = no or reduced photosynthesis = no or reduced water uptake. The soil should be moist, but not wet, until new growth shows. Do not let the soil go bone dry. The seedling will tell you when to water (simply "weigh" the container). Keep it warm and under good light conditions. As before. It is actually pretty straight forward. Cuttings can be more tricky, though.

Happy growing!

Daniel, thank you.

There is no single thread about growing Operculicarya decaryi here on the adenium forum. But in my experience, the species is easy to grow under warm-hot (75+F) and sunny conditions and can take a good spill of water. It is definitely less prone to rot than adeniums but I have not tested its "hardiness" to cold weather.

If you want the roots to grow fast, keep them buried! ;-)

Cheers,

Martin

Thanks for the advice Martin. Maybe I can start a time lapse thread of growing my Jabily plant and do periodic updates once I get started.

Should I feed this 20.20.20 fertilizer to that baby addendum (picture above) which I cut few days ago?

People with more experience may give you advice on proper fertilizing techniques, but from my experience and everything I have read, 20-20-20 is a bit much. Adenium like weaker mixtures. I have heard that the best way is "Weak-Week" as in make a weak mixture and apply every week. I have been using Dyna-Grow liquid watered down and tend to do it every Sunday, but sometimes less if the soil medium feels wet still. Also, Dyna-Grow Pro-tekt is good to use for added silicone and potassium nutrients. This makes the leaves more resistant to insects and fungus and also supposedly helps with heat/drought/cold tolerance. Another fertilizing method is to use low numbers with slow release fertilizer, which you can actually mix into your soil medium. This keeps it from burning and draws out the fertilizer over time instead of mixing with water. Miracle-Gro Shake 'n Feed Palm can be used for this method.

Pro tekt is just potassium silicate. While it is good for container plants too much is not good. It has a drastic effect on raising ph. Same chemical is used to alter ph of nutrient solutions for hydroponics. So use it but keep that in mind. My comment about 20 20 20 fertilizer is that most.plants don't prefer even ratios like that. Tomatoes like less nitrogen for example. Contrary to some claims hibiscus do not use phosphorous to make big flowers. They resent too much phosphorous. so far to me adenium respond to high nitrogen. But someone just the other day told me not so much at least with arabicum. Anyway balanced isn't always best is my point I guess that and not too much protekt.

This is true. Pro-Tekt can increase PH. As I said, I use these fertilizer products sparingly and have not had a problem yet. In combination with the Foliage liquid, it seems to work well for younger adenium plants. Additionally, I have some other ingredients in my soil medium that offset the PH issue, specifically, Coco Coir, and pulverized Pine Bark nuggets on the top layer of the soil for function as well as asthetics. This works well as I hate seeing little floaty perlite stones in my pots, and the bark/coco chunks can float over that and give it a much better looking presentation.

If you are having problems and are concerned about PH, you can test your water or soil medium with aquarium or pool kits. It really depends on the soil medium, the water you are using, and how often you repot or flush the soil.

See this thread for some comments on PH effects: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2117978/foliage-pro-and-pro-tekt

Don't get me wrong I bought a mixed case of foliage pro, bloom, and protekt wholesale from the company years ago. And only now have run out of the foliage pro, which I used the most. I think it's the best or one of the best product lines out there. Yeah I've tested leachate for ph before only when something was yellowish. I used a cheap aquarium kit. Works fine but just gives you a range. It can be an issue here for me because I water comes from a limestone aquifer and is very alkaline as it is out of the tap.

I also noticed a difference in his label as opposed to US. Ideally I'd like to know the source of the. Nitrogen. Urea is cheapest but not the best. It is only available after a soil microorganism acts on it. Which may not be efficient in a fast draining container mix

All good points Todd, the more info we have on here the better. It is great to have a wealth of different people's experience on this forum since these cases are all different. Usually, the answer to any simple question like "Should I use this fertilizer?" is "It depends. . ." so evaluating the situation and taking into account all the factors to understand what your plant really needs and what can cause what is really helpful.

On a side note from upthread, I received my Operculicarya decaryi (Jabily) today. It is Tiny! Hopefully one day eventually I can grow this little buddy into something as nice as yours, Martin:

Cute little guy. I may start a periodic thread on it's progress since there doesn't seem to be much on these plants on GardenWeb (provided I can take care of it don't kill the poor little thing, lol. I don't have any experience with these yet).

Here is an update showing 4 parts of new growth after cutting the main stem. Let me know if you got any suggestions about caring for this baby.

I have forgotten all about this thread. ;-)

Yardakani, nice! It looks like that you have everything under control. Btw, you could start a separate thread about your seedling and its progress. :-)

Daniel, thanks. A plump little fellow. O. decaryi grows fast under hot sunny conditions if kept well-watered and well-fed. Maybe we should start a single OFF-topic thread about the progress of our operculicaryas?

This is one of my arabicums (NOID) from last year, about 14 months old (and repotted):

2016-04-06:

Martin, that is curious. I have 2 small 8 month arabicum. They have centipede roots. I have read two other opinions on what size to pot the plant in, Now you say to "slow down the growing stem mass (and to channel more energy into caudex growth), I plan to keep it pot-bound and water/feed it sparingly." you left the roots natural right? The idea before this was keep a pot 3" further out from the roots. You can then trim the leaves to put the energy into the caudex. They mention nothing about reducing watering . I am guessing you have done this method before? I don't think I remember you doing decorated roots on any of your tree's. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated

The advantages of growing adeniums (or other caudiciforms) hard are: 1) more compact growth/sturdier stems with tight nodes, 2) thougher tissue meaning more resistance to diseases and pests, 3) larger caudices (= smaller stem mass:caudex mass ratio). And yes, the Thai growers do grow magnificent multi-stemmed adeniums with huge caudices under generous culture. But this is probably due to a combination of breeding/selection and a perfect growing environment. ;-)

To grow them hard you need to: 1) provide maximum light and heat, 2) reduce watering and fertilizer and keep your adeniums pot-bound.

The primary reason for defoliation is to trigger branching (or reduce leaf size in non-succulent/caudex plants). It might even trigger flowering.

I do not believe that defoliation will cause caudex enlargement. No leaves = no photosynthesis = minimum to no growth. And why would an adenium suddenly increase the mass of its water storage tissue simply because it looses leaves? What matters is the availability of water. Or lack of. Of course. As you know, succulence and caudex development is an advantage in dry climates with raining seasons. If the plants receive plenty of water year round, there is absolutely no point in growing a large caudex (and using costly energy).

Martin, I pruned my little and only baby adenium thanks to your help and encouragement and I am very happy with it growing in several directions. Thanks again.

Arabicum 'Yemen' Update

I am not quite sure how old the seedling is. But probably about 1 year old from seed. Since the last photo (2016-05-02), I have repotted it and pushed it a lot with water and fertilizer which made the stems grow faster and stretch. Not really to my liking, so from now on I will grow the seedling more hard.

2016-05-02 (the left one):

2016-07-20 (repotted a few weeks ago):

What a nice little fat plant is that !

Thanks!

Marica, the last one has been grown under LED lights entirely. I try to grow other adeniums on a windowsill and outside in a Vitopod (large propagator) but with little success. The weather here has been awful the past month and nothing really grows.

I often defoliate my adeniums to ensure that the branches do not overshadow each other (= etiolated growth). I prefer to pinch the growth points instead of pruning. I prune when everything else fails or to remove etiolated weak growth.

As you know, some seedlings are genetically "programmed" to grow more upwards than sideways. If you do not like the overall shape of your seedlings and the way they grow (for instance a conical shape), then do prune. If you wait too long before you prune, you end up with "stumps" that will take more time to hide. There are several threads here on the forum about pruning and how to do it properly.

Thanks Martin. I have been reading those post but a lot are on Obesum's. The Thong tonnam Thai Arabicum seems to be more conical then other Arabicum's. Pinching sounds better to do first thanks. Maybe Rick, laura or Tracy will chime in They have theses tree's too. Should I open another tread so I don't bother this one?

Well, the result of pruning or pinching is a matter of personal taste. But if done correctly - and with the use of wire and/or strings - you can shape your tree and give it a harmonious and proportionate form. Or you can choose not to if you want to imitate the growth of battered wild adeniums. ;-)

Yes, open a separate thread, please.

Martín! Your plants are impressive! I have a question, can I prune/pinch my 3 months old seedlings? Some of them are branching itself, but others doesn't... Thank you

Arabicum 'RCN' Update

2016-06-17 (13 months old):

Still no flower buds...

Really nice form

Yet another great looking plant Martin. Was wondering where you were, not seen you around much lately, hope all is ok.

Gill

Thank you. I find it increasingly more difficult to grow in the tent under LED lights because of its size. I need to turn it during the week to let the light hit both sides. Actually most of my plants in the tent are turned on a weekly basis. Alas, not to mention the watering...

All is well around here. Just got caught up in RL stuff. ;-) But thanks for asking, Gill. :-)

Wow those plants are stunning! Hope to become a good grower too.

Francesco, thank you.

You have come to the right place if you need advice on growing and/or bonsai train adeniums. Some of us embrace pruning, cutting, wiring and defoliation to shape adeniums into a desired form. I mainly grow arabicums because of their fat conspicuous base/caudex. Others grow adeniums because of their great diversity of colourful flowers. And others simply just like the combo: grotesque form x beautiful flowers. ;-)

Happy growing!

Obesum NOID

... with weak caudex. 16 months old, pot-bound and mistreated. ;-)

Martin, i love your plants. Could i get you opinion on one of mine? It bloomed for the first time. The flower is like none of my others. I think it might be crispum hybrid. Would you agree?

Dain, thank you.

I love the shape and the stripes of this flower of yours! As far as I know, most crispum x "obesum" hybrids have striped and quilled flowers and fairly large caudices. I have no "field experience" with crispum hybrids but the crispum resemblance of your flower is certainly there...

Arabicum 'RCN' Update

2016-07-17:

2016-09-22 (16 months old and repotted):

Another round of defoliation, pinching and pruning. Once again I am trying to get the tree to branch out more. I want a more dense crown of branches/"canopy".

Dain, thank you. Hopefully it has some nice showy roots but I do not know. I have not looked yet and the tree will not be repotted before spring. ;-)

If the pruning/pinching succeeds, I will let the new branches grow until flowering. It will take a while.

OFF-topic: Operculicarya decaryi Update

Today, I raised the roots and pruned the branches:

I bought some obesums in Germany two weeks ago. 3 x "Pure White" (biggest seedlings) and 4 x "Deep Red":

I plan to sell them, but I'll keep one of each cultivar.

How about an update on that Arabicum RCN? :)

Yayi, sure. ;-)

21-05-2017:

Wow.....great looking plants. Short and fat like me.

great job.

Marie

I can only dream to have a plant like this. Beautiful.

Marie Tran, haha. ;-) Thanks.

Yayi, thank you. New in the adenium business?

Today after clean-up with hose:

Next step is light pruning and wiring and finally it goes into a Smart Pot.

Martin, just two months into the whole gardening business. You can say I dove right in. Lol.