Hello fellow Adenium lovers,
I live in a semi desert environment and have 4 Adenium Multiflorum's in clay pots.
A couple of years back I unwittingly starved them of water as I was afraid of over-watering. But in my super-dry hot environment I started watering every day as this showed good results and the adeniums finally started growing and the caudex thickening as well as some flowering.
This year I repotted them into wider clay pots. I half filled the pots with chipped stone and then on top of that added organic potting soil.
I couldn't find perlite or pre prepared cacti soil anywhere where I live.
So I figured that since the potting soil was only deep enough to surround the roots, with plenty of stone chip underneath for drainage... that this might be okay.
But I now I wonder if I've done the right thing, mainly because the potting soil doesn't seem to dry out quite as quickly as the previous soil (which had more gritty sand in it)
My question is this:
Given that my previous experience - although it was when in smaller pots I experienced too much drainage (hence my needing to water daily)
Do you think that my above mentioned new solution is okay or foolhardy?
The ADENIUMS look healthy enough at this stage. But I noticed that the potting soil does not dry out as quickly as before (and so now I water less frequently)
Obviously I am trying to adapt to my particular environment (where the ground and pots actually get hot to touch!
But how can I tell if this will result in problems root rot or not??
Thanks for all your knowledgeable insights
