Just received 4 Adeniums ( Arabicum? ). Curious to see how they can maintain a very short version in the coming years without cutting the branches. Will play around on leaves trimming, fertilizer, media, water and sunlight.
Created this thread to record their development.
The 4 adeniums all come with strange and fancy name. At least they still keep the family line..
The list/directory:
19th June 2022
A. Nomsod Nong Nuang
B. Black Hawk x Black Bangkala
C. Godji X (Lucky Que X Big Fat)
D. Black Munta Muakong X Iaya Bangla.

20th Nov 2022
E. === DEAD === Bonus NOID
F. === DEAD ===Godji x Emerald Becelet
G. Ownjam x Chadapet
H. Black Falcon x Godji Fat Black ( black adenium)

14th Dec 2022
I. Kalamae Arabicum ( black adenium)
J. NOID Arabicum

6th March 2023
K. Black Zombie

6th June 2023
L. Own Jam x Chadapet
M. Own Jam x Chadapet
N. Godji x Nomsod

11th June 2023
O. Rambo



Today : 19th June 2022


Do not plan to do any root train, just trim some unwanted roots upto 1 - 1.5 inch below the root line..


Below are some photo of the Adeniums with the same name, so that we know what to expect out of the 4. All have the same / similar character.

As usual, feel free to add and comment.

Looks interesting! Looks like you can keep them looking cute without pruning!

This will be fun to watch! Thanks for sharing these interesting plants!

Just finished potting them..
The media are very gritty, pumice : charcoal : lava rock, 1:1:2.
Usually I will have compost, garden soil and goat dung in the mix, but not for these 4, as I don't want any media that can retain too much water, the plan is to keep them in full sun, and water everyday.
A bit oversize pot as I need media to retain enough water .. So confusing ...huh..

Kaktus said: Just finished potting them..
The media are very gritty, pumice : charcoal : lava rock, 1:1:2.
Usually I will have compost, garden soil and goat dung in the mix, but not for these 4, as I don't want any media that can retain too much water, the plan is to keep them in full sun, and water everyday.
A bit oversize pot as I need media to retain enough water .. So confusing ...huh..

I found the PERFECT pot for my 2 latest Adeniums: & Yes it has a drain hole.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1...

Yes, those pot are beautiful Glen, but for adenium, it is better to use a shallower pots to show the caudex and roots. As for these 4 young adeniums, we need to bury and let the roots grow bigger before we can display their roots.

It's time for update.. All 4 adeniums have grown new leaves,
starting today, they are now in full sun from 6 am to 1 pm, then partial shade from 1 pm to 5 pm, full rain, if required I'll make them full sun till 5 pm, let's see how they perform,.

Looks great! If they are Arabicum they probably will grow fast!

Yes, they all should be Arabic or at least have arabicum genetics in them

@deepsouth has a lot of arabicums. He probably need to give them names and market them with names.

Earlier I've trimmed some leaves that grown bigger than others.
Today I checked their roots, it looks like the roots are growing quite fast, cut all the roots that have grown too long, hoping that this procedure will trigger them to grow more side roots, had applied fungicide on the cut. Let the wounds air dry for 1 day, tomorrow will repot. Until now I have not applied any fertilizer.

The one that says B4X looks like a Groot.

They look adorable!

I have repot and upsize the pots, put styrofoam at the base to push the roots outward, just introduced them to full sun yesterday and there was a heavy rain last night, hope the wounds on the roots are ok.

Try to balance the growth of the branches by trimming the leaves of the larger branches ( plant C & D)


And it looks like the second plant (B), has broken end during shipment, it has grown new branches on top

Last night there was heavy rain again for 2 hours, this morning I checked, 3 of them, plant B, C, D potentially have stem rot, their main trunk feel soft, I think I will lost them..

Kaktus said: Last night there was heavy rain again for 2 hours, this morning I checked, 3 of them, plant B, C, D potentially have stem rot, their main trunk feel soft, I think I will lost them..

Can you take it out of the pot and let them dry out. That is what I don't like about root pruning. It takes some time for the Adenium to recover. They get dehydrated,which makes the caudex look soft (as if it has a root rot) but you cannot over water because feeder roots are not yet fully developed to take in water.

sorry to hear that ....
maybe pull them out of the pot - place where they wont get anymore rain - and repot once the heavy rains end ....

I have unpotted those 3 plants, the roots still look healthy, only the stem dehydrated like what Gigi said. The soil totally wet, hope they are ok, will wait for a few more days before potting them again. Thanks all for the suggestion.

Kaktus said: I have unpotted those 3 plants, the roots still look healthy, only the stem dehydrated like what Gigi said. The soil totally wet, hope they are ok, will wait for a few more days before potting them again. Thanks all for the suggestion.

glad to hear that. They should be fine. I have mine drying for almost a week now. I didn't prune the leaves and some started growing buds. One I reported last week is starting to bloom but caudex still look dehydrated.

Been 10 days, hope these character adeniums are doing well.