I bought a small Adenium in 2004. It was in a 4" pot. Over the years it was neglected, frozen because I left it out too long in the Fall, and sunburned in our hot AZ summers.

5 months ago I found another Adenium forum online, and got some great advice from them on how to rehab my poor tree. This is what it looked like at that time:




I uprooted it, cleaned off the soil, pruned the branches and roots, let it dry a while, and then potted it up again.




It quickly became much happier!


I finally learned about LED grow lights and got one from Mars-Hydro. I got a small grow tent to go with it. Here is the plant in my tent.


It soon had buds at the tips of every branch! That was super exciting for me. :)




Now I have one bud ready to open in the next day or two. The other buds are in all different stages of development. I was hoping they would all bloom at once so it would look like a big bouquet! Is there anything I can do now or in the future to ensure that the buds will all be open at the same time?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thanks,
Karen

Karen! What a nice job on that adenium! I'm sure someone more experienced than me will be along shortly, I just wanted to welcome you!

Welcome to ATP, Karen! Glad to see you here and sharing your adenium rehab project. Great that you have successfully rehabilitated your adenium.

So you will be displaying your adenium tree outside of the tent soon for enjoyment of her flowers. I suggest keeping her under a covered patio/porch, allowing for bright indirect sun all of the day (a couple of hours of direct morning or afternoon sun is okay too). The first opened blooms will last a lot longer so that by the time the other buds open you will have a nice bouquet on each stem.

Your weather permitting, the adenium can be kept outside...or if frost or freeze temperature threatens, then bring indoors and place in front of a bright window.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of the tree in bloom.

That is a big difference on that tree. You did a great job. Well done.

IbisFla, thank you for the welcome and nice comment!
Rainbow, thank you for the helpful tips and the welcome. I will do that. I'll be sure to post pics when it starts blooming! Adeniumgirl, it is a big change, and I'm so thrilled that they are so hardy and respond so well to the proper care! Thank you for the welcome!

They sure seem much tougher that I thought they where. Good to know. I must admit that I can not give you much tips, as I am also new to Adenium.

Adeniumgirl said:They sure seem much tougher that I thought they where. Good to know. I must admit that I can not give you much tips, as I am also new to Adenium.

Yes, I was really amazed at what they can take. Hacking (carefully) roots and branches works so well. I used to be afraid of uprooting plants. Now I know that Adeniums can take it and thrive. I appreciate your comments. We're all learning, and it's great to have a forum like this to share information.

Yes I was also glad I found this forum. Very nice people here who are willing to share information. Are you planning to sow your own Adenium as well in the near future .

@plantmanager
Karen, you are very welcome! Here is a photo one of my bouquets:
Desert Rose (Adenium obesum 'Caprice')

I do have some Adenium seeds I was given. There is no ID on them, but I plan to sow them and put them in my grow tent with a heat mat and the LED light. They hopefully will germinate and grow well for me. I've never grown any from seed.
Rainbow, that bouquet is gorgeous!

The more apex branch tips you have with buds, the more flowers you will have. Your tree has many now, which will assist in getting more flowers. Pruning each year will help to keep a good shape as well as induce good flowering.
Many of the hybrids do not throw a large group or truss of flowers off of one tip. The singles are more prone to this. When getting the Doubles, Triples and Quad's, then there is usually less in one truss. Fortunately as the Adenium flowers last for quite some time. This allows us to get numerous flowers at different stages on the tip of a branch.

Rick

Thanks so much for that info, Rick. "Truss" is a new term for me to learn. I can't wait to see this tree in full bloom.

Karen, I am not sure if this term "truss" is correct for Adeniums, but for all the Rhododendrons that I have. Truss is a group of flowers all together forming a cluster.
Rick

I think it must be correct for Adeniums too. I looked up the definition of truss, and in horticulture it is a cluster of flowers or fruit growing at the end of a single stalk.

In American culinary terms, we truss a turkey by binding the legs together with string.

Rainbow said:In American culinary terms, we truss a turkey by binding the legs together with string.

That, too!

Good luck with sowing the seeds. I too have seeds with no Id. I do not mind. As long as the color is nice. Remember to soak them in water for a while.

Plantmanager and for sharing your story with us. Your DR looks great. I want to try doing what you did.

Adenium girl and Deebie. I probably won't get my seeds ready to sow until after the first of the year. We have trips planned for Las Vegas, and Sanibel, Florida. Deebie, that method works so well. The hardest part is waiting 5 or 6 months for the results. I have been eyeballing that baby closely every day! (Sometimes I even used magnifiers. )

I used to soak the seeds for several hours before planting, but retrieving a seed from the water then placing it on the soil can get tricky as the seed wants to stay stuck to my finger. Now I water drench the soil in the container, place the dry seeds in the media, then sprinkle starter mix on top of the seeds , tamp down lightly, then mist with a spray bottle of water. They germinate the same number of days as pre-soaked seeds.