Haha, good start, Tyler! I jumped in with both feet and started with ordering 400 seeds from several sources and a grafted plant. I guess I like to start off with the notion, go big or go home. I wish you luck with lovely seedlings.

Oh, my! 400 seeds! ...and right off the bat, too! Quite an undertaking. No one can say you aren't committed, THAT'S for sure! I thought I was getting ahead of myself with 10 seeds and a plant! My husband hasn't noticed yet or if he did he still hasn't said anything. I think he might notice 400 little seedlings all over the place. How long ago was that and did you sow them all right away? If so, how many of them actually germinated and how many adeniums do you have now?

My husband will hardly notice - I propagate thousands of plants already.

I have gotten all of the seeds this month. I sterilized the seed surfaces, soaked them, and started the with the paper towel method. Once germinated in 2 to 3 days they were moved to rows in flats. Anything that turned to mush and didn't put out a tap root was discarded and all data recorded. I initially had slightly less than 40% germination rate on the Rinoa seeds but very nearly 100% germination on the 180 seeds I got from KO, using the same methods.

I currently have 173+ seedings with a few late ones still coming up, 30 new KO seeds germinating now, 200 more just arrived today and are soaking, with 20 Thai Soco of various kinds coming this week, and some replacement seed from Rinoa as well. I only have one grafted plant at the moment, a variegated Star of Top. I've done bonsai off an on over the decades and wanted to try Desert Roses for ages. My future get list includes RCN and PBN seed.

I also dabble in flasking orchid seed and home tissue propagation so I'm also going to play around with that for adenium explants.

Mine noticed and he is thinking of winter

Marica, maybe he'll help you build a grow setup for over-wintering your plants.

LL Haha haha haha

tell me that is NOT a laughing cat ...

It sure is, just what my cats have been looking like since the other half started building my adenium winter quarters :-)

I'm at 50% germination so far! Of course, I only had a meager 10 seeds to begin with so... HA HA HA!

Tyler

Tyler,

Good for you! It's only been 6 days. Give them a full 15 and keep them on a warm surface. Bottom heat is important to germination.

I have some Adenium Obesum Doksawai seeds for you, if interested.

Click on my username to access my profile and message me.

- Maria Elena

PS: Keep in mind that seeds contain the genetic makeup of both parents and do not produce the same bloom (but may). Each seed may produce a completely different flower or produce all same flowers with same strong dominant traits.

Bottom heat! Got it! Thanks for the tip. I'll have to rig something up.

Tyler

60% germination. Patiently waiting to see if the other 4 will germinate. Of the 6 that have popped their heads above the soil, only 2 have shed their seed coverings. The other 4 still have them on. Cause for concern? Should I attempt to help, possibly risking irreparable damage, or just have faith and leave them be?

Thanks,

Tyler

Let nature take its course Tyler! Like many others, I'm always tempted to help them a little. 8 out of 10 times that works, but this week I managed to kill the heads on 2 seedlings that way...

Have faith!!!

Will do!

I find if you are going to remove them, make sure they are /wet/ caps. They slide right off a lot easier and cleaner than those that have dried. If you don't want the rest of the seedling wet, use a paint brush to dab on a droplet of water and let it soak in a minute. Despite the risk, those that I have removed have fluffed out faster and do better than those that are left should they dry in place.

Tyler, please leave them alone.

Sometimes there is a thin sheath attached between the brown covering and the seed head. This is the case when the covering doesn't easily slide off. Forcing it will likely damage the delicate seed head.

The sheath will dry out on its own, breaking the cover free when the first leaves emerge. If the cover slides off easily, it's OK to remove it very carefully with a pin or toothpick. Careful not to uproot the seedling.

Or, you can just leave them alone! :-)

- Maria Elena

If you wet the caps, the inner clear layer also comes off very easily. Up to you.

After 13 days I'm happy to be at 90% germination. All 5 of the Black Diamond seeds have sprouted but only 4 of the Pink Panther. I haven't quite given up all hope on the last seed yet. They are in full sun in the day time and I bring them inside in the evenings. 2 are getting their secondary leaves.

I purchased the 2 Dyna-Gro products that have been recommended by members of the forum and waiting for delivery. I went to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Armstrong Garden Center and Walter Anderson Nursury but no place had it. Wound up ordering from Amazon. Should've saved myself time and running around and done that in the 1st place!

Dyna Grow is /really/ good stuff. I need to get it for my streptocarpus but keep forgetting to order it.

Good evening.

I'm considering leaving my seedlings outside over night for the 1st time. The over night low is forecast to be 64F. Is it safe?

Thanks,

Tyler

I don't pull mine inside until about 55. They can stay longer, but where I over water, I don't ever let them get too cool.

I will pull mine at around 51. You should be ok till Oct. Just keep an eye on the temps. I reduced water when my nights are in the mid fifty's

Tyler, hello and welcome to the forum. It appears you are already having good results with seed germination, well done! It's a great feeling to be able to grow your own plants in this way, you seem to appreciate them even more, I know I do anyway. Hope to hear from you often, happy growing!

Gill

Maria Elena, that is a very pretty DR'S!

Maybe my mom needs to find you when she goes down to San Diego, you may be selling them by spring. ;)

Ha ha! Could be! Gotta make it through the winter 1st to see how well I learn how to care for them and how many I have left in the spring. Finger crossed.

Ya, I'm with you there. I started last winter with 4, lost one in early spring, Brought my mom's home and lost that one in the late winter. But hers was actually my husband's fault. He took a bucket of water and poured it on . And her house was only mid 50.° so it rotted. It was 7 years old. So I've got three going in. Gonna do a few seeds and picking a cple here and there real soon. So bust of luck to us rookies! :-P

This is is a picture of my triple Aphrodite. I took a group picture and then cropped it so the image quality isn't the best. According to the seller it's about one and a half to 2 years old. Prob closer to 1 1/2. It's currently in a bonsai pot but I'm not necessarily tied to that and I'm kinda of thinking about changing it to a regular pot. Its put out quite a few new leaves since I got it and probably grown an inch or so. Approx 8-9 inches tall maybe from the soil to the top of the plant. I'm hoping it will flower sometime in the next year so I can see if it will look anything like the photo. I'm thinking that sometime in here I'm probably going to have to cut it back to encourage branching. Maybe in the Spring although there are no signs of it going dormant right now.

Any suggestions on how far or when (or if?) to cut back would be greatly appreciated. I wasn't thinking about asking you all for advice when I took the picture and will try to get a couple of better shots at different angles tomorrow.

Thanks,

Tyler

Tyler,

The best time to prune it would be when it is in active growth. Noticeably putting on branch growth.

In my experience pruning seedlings. I prefer to prune (looking at yours) lower down the stem where it starts to become long and similar in length. You want to make sure that there are multiple leaf scars on stem where you prune to give you best chances of 3 or 4 branches to form.

Rick

Thanks for the info, Rick.
I was able to get some better pictures this afternoon. Currently, there is active growth occurring. Looks like I overestimated the height though.

Tyler,

pruning would be a personal choice based on what you would like to see as an adult plant. You could leave it until after you see a bloom, if you like.

If I was to prune this plant. I would cut it just below the node at center of the rim of pot shown in second to last photo.

Rick

Thanks, Rick. In looking at that same spot in the picture with the ruler on the soil, it looks like it would be around the 3 1/2 inch mark. Thanks for the guidance.

Tyler

I think that the plants I got from Marica in September are getting ready to bloom. The Red Mini and the yellow Thongyod. I thought the blossoms forming on the Thongyod was those little woolly buggers at first...then I put my glasses on. Those are still really tiny but here is the Red Mini. 1st picture is one Marica sent me. Other pictures I took this morning.

Tyler

It definitely is buds forming, Tyler. So exciting.

Rick

Very nice, exciting! How do you get buds this time of year?

Now Alma, you know I don't know what I'm doing. I just lucked out! The red mini has bottom heat but the yellow Thongyod does not. They do what they wanna do I guess, even when trying to survive under my clumsy efforts. Fingers crossed that they don't drop.

Below is the picture Marica sent me of the red mini bloom.

Tyler

She's beautiful! The flower is bigger then the plant, it appears!

And just for the record, I think we are doing better then anticipated!

Okay, dumb question here, mini red? It's a miniature DR? Do they have the same characteristics?

Hey Alma. If these buds open and they look half as nice as the picture I'll be very happy.

I don't know much about the Mini Red, but yes it is a DR. Not sure if it's more like an Obesum or Arabicum or what. Maybe someone else can chime in here.

The leaves are somewhat curly. Makes it challenging for my creepy crawly hunts so I keep alcohol and cotton swabs near by. Marica said it was seed grown and about 6 months old when she shipped it to me in September so approx 10 months now? Below is a picture from when I first received it, still taped up securely. Marica shipped both the Mini Red and the Yellow Thongyod to me potted and not one bit of soil was lost. She did a top notch job. Seeing this picture, though, makes me realized how much it's grown.

Tyler

I got the red mini seeds from Ko they took way longer to sprout than my other Adenium seeds but are growing very nicely now with beautiful very dark green leaves. I got the mini red mix. Alma If you would like some seeds and want to send me a pm with your address I can ship you some. Let me know, John

John, that Mini Size Sunup Star reminds me of A. Multiflorum flowers. Nice seedlings. Can you tell if any have curly leaves?

Tyler

Tyler,

Some of the seedlings do have some curl to the leaves.

John

John, not able to send you a message. I think you have message me first? Thanks, Alma

I can see the growth, definitely! Marica did a nice job shipping mine as well! I hope I can do half (decently)the job that she did when I ship 5 babies come spring!

I can't wait to see the blooms!

Ok Alma sent you a message so hope you can get a message to me.

John

Alma, that tape she used was key, whatever it is. Keeping the soil in the pots and the pots taped securely inside the box. I mean NOTHING budged. Held tight and completely secure. No idea what brand or type of tape it is, but you need to get some of that if you don't have some already.

Tyler

I don't and no clue. Mine wasn't taped like that. But very well!

Alma,

I lay styrofoam on the soil so it doesn't budge, tape it down, then tape a sturdy, disposable cup (air holes punched in bottom) over each seedling, attaching it to the pot all the way around. These are snugly fit into a box, using newspaper, so they don't budge within the box.

I've mailed 4 seedlings in their square 2" pots in a priority mail small flat rate box for $6.95. Alternately, you can also place your own small box inside a priority mail padded mylar flat rate envelope for the same rate. Many post offices do not carry these padded envelopes ... They have to be ordered online at USPS.com and are delivered to your home in multiples of 10, free of charge.

Maria Elena

Great information

SoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)

hI Steawar - The best way to get rid of the SEED HUSK is just spray a wee bit water twice and after that, the seed husk will come off very easily