My grandpa have a 27 years old Adenium, noticed that the trunk is starting to rot. Any advice? Will really hope to save it.
Upper trunk is still solid, some forums suggest digging out the whole plant and chopping off the lower rotted part and pray hope the rest off of the plant will dry out and crust over and can try rooting again.
Pictures attached.



A picture of the whole plant. Is slowly but surely losing leaves


This part is soft when I press it, but there is still a tiny bit of resistance


This is slightly above the "soft trunk" they look like roots, but I can be sure, can the grow that high up?

To add, we are living in tropical Asia, Singapore to be exact. (:
We have not repotted or done any anything special to it since we had it, the plant just grew into its pot, just the occasional banana peel as fertilizer.

I wish I could help you, but all I can do is ask what kind of sun exposure? How long has it been in that dense looking soil? Watering? , Heat? I don't know if it can be saved as is, but you could maybe start some cuttings.
One of the experts will hopefully come up with an answer for you.

looks like your potting soil is compacted ...if so, this will effect your plants growth

would recommend you pull the plant from the pot .... knock off all the potting soil, wash root ball off with water and examine the roots ....

a healthy root system will have white or off-white roots ....

but, if you see any roots that are medium tan, dark tan, brown or black - and sometimes, but not always, a mushy, slim like mess - it is root rot .... and usually, root rot is at or below the soil line ...

If you do not see any root rot ...then repot in a gritty, chunky fast draining potting soil ....

if the root system is a "tight ball" ..the plant may be pot-bound (or root-bound) ...if so, this will effect drainage, and plant growth ....try to unravel as much as the roots as possible and try to thin it out some ...

*Important* if you cut anything - make certain to coat cut with cinnamon, or anti-fungal powder and allow to "dry" or "callus-over" a few days before repotting & keep dry

make certain your pot has a hole for drainage

I recommend this potting mix

1 Part: Coconut Coir -
1 Part: Poultry Grit (chicken grit) = crushed granite /or Pea size Gravel - (sift out any fine grain silt)
1 Part: Sand - coarse Builder's Sand, or Leveling Sand, or Horticultural Sand - (sift out any fine grain sand or silt)
1 Part: Lump Charcoal - Break-up (crush larger pieces) - (sift out any fine grain silt)
1 Part: Lava-rock – (volcanic cinders or pumice) (crush larger pieces) - (sift out any fine grain silt)

Optional: mix with above

1 Part: Redwood Bark - Break-up larger pieces
1 Part: Orchid (Phalaenopsis) Mix - Break-up, cut or crush larger stems
1 Part: Perlite - coarse

give your plant at least 6 hours of sun .... (the longer the better)
water thoroughly once every 5 to 7 days ....
count rainfall as a watering day
increase watering if daytime temperatures exceed 100°F / 38°C to once every 3 days

as you water- you want to see almost as much water drain out of the bottom, as you put on top


If you see any roots that are tan, dark tan, brown, black or a mushy mess - post back

Thanks for your reply @deepsouth!
Is there a best way to "save it" and is unpotting a must? Seeing how big the plants is, is a huge effort to unroot it, the funny thing is that it has been in the same pot, same soil for years, and nothing like has ever happen apart from a occasional infestation of mealybugs.

Your suggestion is treatment from the roots, but another poster from another forum suggested slowly cutting off the rotted part of the trunk, let dry and callus over which I am hesitant as I am not sure how deep into the trunk the rotting might be. And the whole plant might just collapse.

Any suggestion/ discussion is much appreciated! At this moment I have already stopped watering hoping it till deter further rotting.

I agree with Deep South. You need to look at the roots. I also agree that you need to change the soil. If the roots have been in the same soil for five years or more, the soil is probably depleted and the roots are probably all bound up. I'm also concerned that the caudex is soft and that there are no
leaves. You probably need to cut the caudex just below the soft spot. Is the smaller caudex soft too? If not, cut it higher and have two caudices (caudexes). It will look interesting and probably revive. David

I have to agree, that the plant needs to be unpotted, and then remove the existing rotted part by cutting it off. The thing is, it is so easy for the rot to travel much deeper and spread to the rest of the plant. Your humid conditions there is an environment that invites it faster once rot has showed up. That is why the most immediate approach is to cut off the rotted part, apply some cinnamon to help fight fungal issues and let it dry and callus that fresh wound area.

Your current temps in Singapore as I see it online is still favorably warm, but rather humid. And this is very typical Southeast Asian weather, where at this time of the year it is wet and wetter period. So try your best not to get that plant rained on. Just keep it warm and dry as you air dry it for a week or longer. Then replant in a more well draining media. I have seen Adeniums in my homeland, the Philippines and the gardeners add a rockier substrate since our soil is quite rich and volcanic or they add more pumice just to make the root zone as well draining as they can get it since it rains way too often there. They use wide mouth but shallower containers too. So after cutting off some parts of the plant, you may have to change containers and use a smaller one more appropriate for its root area.

Once it has dried off, as long as there are no more parts feeling soft and soggy, you can repot in a new well draining media, then it may hopefully bounce back. It takes a long wait, so do not be tempted to water yet, especially if there are no roots. It may just head to dormancy and as long as there is no new leaf growth, do not water, got to wait patiently for new roots to form and new leaves that will utilize the moisture.

Thank you everyone for your response!

There has been a interesting turn of events!

Just an update, due to the size, weight of the entire thing and my hectic schedule, I have been putting off unpotting the plant while waiting for a window where our schedules line up and my BF to able help me with the unpotting.

I have stop watering the plant for a good 3- 2 weeks, just a few days ago, I've noticed that new shoots/leaves are growing!

Attached is a photo of one such growth, will update with more pictures soon so everyone can have a better picture.
And so I am in a dilemma once again, in light of the new growth, is repotting still a good idea? I'm afraid of disturbing the plant and putting it into shock if I do so.
The stem seems to have firmed up? I'm not very sure to how to gauge, but from memory, it seems less "squishy" now.

if you want to save your plant .....yes ...you still need to look at the root system -
and while you're at it replenish the potting media

to see why the upper trunk is soft - it will be necessary to pull the plant from the pot - this to see what is happening below the soil line (a lot wrong can happen below the soil line)....
you will need to inspect the roots for color (rot) and if the roots have grown into a root ball - any or all of those can be causing the symptoms your plant is having

a soft trunk does not automatically mean root rot ....under-watering can also cause a soft trunk

loss of leaves is also a symptom of under-watering ....
but could also signal the plant is entering dormancy ...

a tight root ball may cause under-watering symptoms ....

potting soil does not "last forever" .... after awhile, the soil looses structure, becomes compacted, and depleted of much needed nutrients & minerals ....very few plant species will grow under those conditions.....

every now and then (every several years)....it is beneficial to a potted plant to replace the potting medium .....this will encourage growth and at the same time provide a faster draining medium ...

make certain the pot has a drainage hole - insure the drainage hole is not clogged-up

never let an adenium sit in water - roots sitting in constant wet soil is the cause of root rot

if you have root rot you will need to remove those roots that have rotted -
working from the bottom upwards and if necessary into the stems above the soil line - the only way to do that is pull the plant from the pot

a plant with root rot will die if nothing is done ..... and it may be too late to do anything

Those tiny leaves are a good sign...a great sign. There is life in the plant; but it still needs help. Repot it. Dry it out and reread what Tarev has written. He makes good sense.
David

all for your responses!

I have yet the time to unpot the plant as I do not have the time and I do not live with my grandpa, I know I really shouldn't have put it off for so long but I really cant squeeze out the time.

I went over to his place this evening and he told me that in the afternoon, there were some strong winds and the whole trunk actually collapsed! So I am guessing the trunk has already rotted all the way through. (We are supporting the plant with a plank of wood now) I really have to squeeze out the time to get it done now, mostly likely in the coming week or so.

I will like to understand, if it is just a small part of the plant that is rotting, just removing/scraping off the rotting part and applying some fungicide and waiting for the plant to callus over should be okay. But with the current situation, i guess i have no choice but to half off the plant including it's root system, is it even possible for the plant to spring back?

Is there also any fungicide to recommend, will take the week to source for it, or is using cinnamon powder sufficient?

Attached are some more photos.

the whole plant with new growth, we have cut of some off the new branches to root them separately


are these roots?


the plank of wood supporting the trunk

Happy new year everyone!

I have finally done it, i have emptied out the pot, the roots and base trunk has gone soft, so I removed all of them. I have cut off all affect trunk and stem till I see their white core and applied fungicide.

I googled and "SAAF" brand fungicide seems to be the best fungicide but unfortunately is not available in SG so I used "Zagro's Mancozide 80% WP" a wide spectrum powdered fungicide. I created a pasted and applied liberally on parts that have been chopped off.

The trunk is currently hung up to dry.
Is there anything I should take note? How long should I hang it up for before repotting?

Attached a photo for reference, wasn't able to take a few more photo of the stem or show the extend of roots/trunk infection.

Seeking expert advise from @deepsouth , @tarev , @BigAppleRoseGuy. Thank you all in advance!



Base of the trunk

Hello Badwolf, click on this link and view the video: https://youtu.be/JfeIkh2P0GQ
It is very informative and will help you understand how to plant your cuttings.

I am looking at your temps and weather condition online, nicely warm. Just try to protect your cuttings for now, got to allow it to callus very well before you can attempt to plant it as mentioned on the video. I do understand why it is being done that way, since weather on your side is much more humid, so callus time will take longer.

Good luck! Hope your cuttings rebound soon! On the good side, your weather is already very warm and conducive for it, so your chances are quite high. Make sure you use gritty, well draining media, shallow but wide mouth containers with drain holes.