Growing adenium in an apartment. Everything you need to know for growing indoor adenium Adeniums in an apartment
Lighting
Adenium belongs to light-loving plants.
Unlike most other indoor flowers, it does not need shading. The flower feels great on the south and southeast side. The more light he receives in the summer, the brighter and more magnificent his flowering will be.
It is advisable to adhere to a light regime close to the natural habitat of adenium. A flower is common in the equatorial zone. In the period from autumn to spring, the plant needs daylight hours for 13-14 hours, so artificial lighting will have to be done.
How to water?
At the time of active growth, adenium requires a large amount of water.. Watering depends on temperature. When the cold comes, it is worth reducing the watering of the flower. Excessive moisture will lead to disease or death of the root system. In summer, adenium should be watered when the topsoil is completely dry after the previous watering. If in winter it is cool in the room where the flower is located, watering should be limited.
During the care of adenium at home in the summer, regular watering is provided - watered immediately after the soil has completely dried. In winter, water gently and little. If the plant hibernates at a temperature of 15 to 20 ° C, then watering is carried out only after the soil has dried.
When wintering in a colder place, they water either very rarely, or completely stop watering. In winter, young adenium sprouts are watered very limitedly.. After the spring awakening, it is advisable to water the plants for the first time 2-3 weeks after the appearance of the buds and the beginning of the growth of adenium.
Temperature
Adenium is a heat tolerant plant. A temperature of 32-36 degrees is quite acceptable for a flower. Small drops in temperature do not affect the flower in any way, but if there is a long cooling of the air, up to 17-20 degrees, then the adenium inhibits its growth. At a temperature of 38 degrees and at low humidity, the flower becomes ill. Without proper moisture, the plant cannot tolerate such heat.
The soil
The soil mixture for adenium needs to be loose and light in order to pass moisture and oxygen well. Acidity for adeium should not exceed 5-7 pH. If you have purchased soil, and it is very dense and poor, you can mix the soil yourself:
- five parts of the already prepared substrate are taken;
- three parts of leafy land with a high content of humus and two parts of river sand.
What kind of pot do you need?
Adenium feels great in both ceramic and plastic containers. The main rule is to match the size of the flower and the capacity for it. Young adenium feels great in deep pots.
A growing plant is chosen a pot, the height of which is equal to the diameter of the top of the circumference of the container. This must be done, as the growing root branches on different sides.
What and how to feed?
Mineral-organic species are excellent. Often, organic fertilizers, such as chicken or pigeon droppings, are taken as top dressing. The frequency of fertilizing with mineral supplements is once a week. The concentration should be taken one fourth of what is written on the package. Organic fertilizers are applied every 3-4 weeks.
Often flower growers buy ready-made supplements. In special stores you can find good fertilizers for adenium.
Let's talk about some of them.
Application of cytokinin paste
Application:
- Dip a needle in alcohol.
- Then you need to scratch the sleeping bud of the flower.
- We process several kidneys.
- Top with paste.
- We spray these places with water every day.
- On the tenth day, leaves will begin to emerge.
How to apply mycorrhiza?
This drug is applied by watering or spraying the plant. If the vaccination passes through the soil, then it is necessary to make a couple of small holes near the plant and pour the drug into them. Often mycorrhiza is used when transplanting to a new place.. Since the vaccine helps the plant to adapt faster. After vaccination, development and growth is accelerated.
How to graft?
Vaccination is an effective method of propagating adeniums. Grafting is useful for combining a beautiful flower with an unusually shaped caudex to grow several types of flowers on the same plant, and can also improve the shape of the plant.
Now the number of these plants in the collections of our lovers is growing very quickly and many, starting with growing adeniums from seeds, are trying more complex methods of propagating adeniums. To increase the decorative effect of a flower, it is grafted. On one plant, flowers of various shades can bloom. For example, they take an adult adenium and graft branches of other varieties to it. It is best to vaccinate in the spring, when the plant has an active phase of sap flow.
picking
Picking seedlings is carried out after a few pairs of true leaves appear. There are no strict rules for picking. Therefore, if you want small adeniums to grow faster, you can produce it at the age of 1-2 months. It is recommended to pick sprouts at the age of three months. At this point, the root system and the plant are already quite well formed.
We offer you to watch a video on how adenium picks are made:
When should you transplant?
A young flower develops rapidly and actively, and every day its root system takes up more and more space in a pot. The moment will come when the roots will be very crowded, so that this does not happen, the adenium is transplanted in the spring into a larger pot.
After transplanting, do not flood the roots, let the plant get used to the new place.
Pruning and crown shaping
To make the crown denser and more branched, flower growers resort to the formation and pruning of adenium. Often this is a necessary measure, because in most plants the development of the top is predominant and does not allow other shoots to develop, except for the central one.
About pruning and the formation of adenium, it is said in.
Transfer
Adenium should be transplanted in early spring. The main thing during this process is not to damage the roots. They must be carefully cleaned from the old soil, it is better to rinse under a small stream of water.
If the root is accidentally damaged, it must be immediately treated with a special preparation and given time for the root to dry. After transplantation, the plant is not immediately watered, adenium takes time to get used to a new place.
If your adenium has slowed down growth, do not rush to transplant it, because There are many reasons why a plant does not develop, and in the case of adenium, the tightness of the pot is the latest of them. Unfortunately, novice adenium growers think the opposite and instantly transplant adenium into a larger pot, thereby exacerbating the problem.
What to change after caudex formation?
Diseases and pests
- ticks;
- root and mealybug.
The most dangerous enemy is the spider mite. It quickly adapts to changing conditions and is resistant to the means of combating it.
Viruses introduced by ticks are also very harmful to the plant, which all the time introduce the flower into a state of illness. The virus in the plant causes distortion of leaves, flowers. Unfortunately, such adenium is not treated, it must be destroyed.
More information about diseases and pests of adenium is written.
Conclusion
Adenium is an exotic flower that is gaining more and more popularity among flower growers every day. Proper care of the plant will give a beautiful decorative flowering that will delight the eye.
| 1. Growing temperature: summer - 20 - 35 ° C, winter - preferably at a temperature of about 15 ° C. |
| 2. Lighting: direct sunlight in the morning and evening during spring and summer, autumn and winter, provide the most illuminated location. Caudex needs shading. |
| 3. Watering and humidity: the frequency of watering depends on the temperature of the content, remember that the plant has a supply of water in the caudex. |
| 4. pruning: Needs very competent shaping pruning. |
| 5. Priming: with a high content of sand and a neutral or sour pH. |
| 6. top dressing: only during the growth period - mineral fertilizers for succulent plants. |
| 7. reproduction: seeds. |
Botanical name: adenium
Family. Kutrovye.
plant homeland. Distributed in Arabia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Africa, but can also be easily found in many other countries.
What does adenium look like?. The genus "Adenium" or "desert rose" includes about 5 species of perennial, unusual succulents from the semi-arid regions of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Plants with thick stems and fleshy branches.
Naked stems with a bizarre tuberous thickening at the base - caudex, crowned with leathery leaves usually oval in shape. The shape of the leaves varies from narrow to very wide.
Leaf blades are glossy light green or dark green in color, 5 to 15 cm in size. The size usually depends on the degree of maturity of the plant and its location. In many species, leaves appear only after flowering.
Flowers may be pale pink to dark red, about 5 cm in diameter. Flowering directly depends on the conditions of its cultivation.
Ideal conditions include sufficient heat and water, which will extend the flowering period to at least two to four months, if not more.
After pollination, the tree forms fruit- pods with seeds that dry and crack when ripe.
How to form a plant?
The formation of the trunk begins at a very early age and consists in pinching young shoots.
The crown of the plant is formed in such a way as to obtain the maximum number of side shoots. If the flower stubbornly refuses to let out side branches, you can add them with the help of grafting "on itself".
cleft graft can be carried out even just on the surface of the trunk. It is worth putting on a plastic film on the places of cuts so that moisture from the place of inoculation does not evaporate too quickly, otherwise the places of cuts will be strongly tightened.
The formation of a thick caudex is also facilitated by pruning the root system plants. Remember that fresh wounds must be blotted with paper towels to remove the protruding juice and treated with disinfectant solutions for better healing.
After pruning, the plants bloom not so profusely - after all, flower buds are laid on the shoots of last year.
In the absence of formative pruning, the trunk of the tree is stretched.
Bloom Can stimulate by giving the plant a slight drought for 2 to 3 weeks.
Adenium will appreciate the stay outdoors in the warm season under cover from strong winds, direct sunlight and rain.
Plants may shed some or even all of their foliage if they are kept cool during their dormant period.
Very elongated and not very beautiful specimens about six months old can be brought into shape simply by cutting off the top of the plant before the caudex begins.
Do not be afraid that when pruning the plant will not have leaves - they will appear later from lateral dormant buds.
2.7. Fertilizer adenium
When growing young plants, it is worth using fertilizers with a high content nitrogen(or balanced), feed every 2 weeks. Plants respond well to top dressing!
For the formation of a large caudex and the onset of flowering, the amount of nitrogen in the soil should be reduced and fertilizers with a high content should be used. potassium And phosphorus.
During the dormant period, top dressing is stopped and resumed only in the spring, with the appearance of the first signs of new growth.
Alenium responds well to fertilizers for cacti and succulents.
Pink flowers of the plant appear for a couple of weeks in the spring, adeniums bloom only with good care.
This adenium is widely known for its deep, funnel-shaped pink flowers and swollen succulent stems. It is often referred to as "fat", plants whose growth mainly depends on pruning. When this succulent grows by itself, it can reach 3 meters, although there are cases when the plant reaches 5 meters in height. The plant is easily formed during periods of its most active growth (during the spring and summer months).
3.4. Arabian Adenium - Adenium arabicum
This variety resembles a baobab in its appearance, has a squat and very wide caudex. The branches are short, winding, covered with grayish or dark brown bark. The leaves are large, green, fleshy, the flowers are pink or red. It is believed that this is the most drought-resistant large-flowered adenium, which, in addition to caudex, has a very powerful root system.
3.5. Adenium Somali - Adenium Somalense
Succulent trees up to 1.5 m high with a rounded caudex at the base of the trunk and abundantly branching shoots. The branches, trunk and caudex are covered with brown bark, which contrasts well with both leaves and flowers. The leaves are narrow, linear, reach a length of 5-10 cm, have a matte, silvery-gray surface, on which the central vein stands out in a light shade. The flowers are attractive, bright, up to 5 cm in diameter - with oblong pink or red petals.
3.6. Adenium multiflorum - Adenium multiflorum
Deciduous flowering shrubs or small trees up to 3 m high, resembling a baobab in their appearance. The plants have a caudex and a trunk covered with gray or brown bark. The leaves are green, glossy, club-shaped, leaf blades are entire, often fall off even before flowering. The lower surface of the leaf plates sometimes has a lighter shade. The flowers are collected in small axillary inflorescences, reach a diameter of 5 - 7 cm, the petals are painted in white - pink or red shades.
3.7. Adenium boehmianum - Adenium boehmianum
Small trees up to 1.5 m high with a lush, spreading crown and a thick caudex at the base of the trunk, covered with light gray or brownish bark. The leaves are glossy, dark green, thick, wide, leaf blades are entire, often with corrugated edges. The flowers are funnel-shaped, with 5 rounded pink or lilac petals.
There are terry adeniums with large and bright flowers and variegated leaves..
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Adenium at home adapts to any conditions of detention. Despite this, this flower is not often seen in apartments. Why? People are afraid of its exoticism. Many do not know what kind of care and maintenance adenium needs. In particular, how to water and feed it, how to transplant and when to prune.
So, the recommendations of experts on caring for adenium at home. What kind of soil does he need, when to transplant it, how to prune and fertilize. What to do if adenium sheds leaves, a description of its common diseases.
Adenium - care and maintenance in the apartment
Adenium feels great both under the scorching sun empty and in the humid environment of the tropics. And what kind of care does he need at home?
The key to successful cultivation of an adenium flower at home is moderate watering, light and loose soils, and a well-lit place on the windowsill. In winter, lighting is required for 14 hours.
Lighting. This is an important parameter in the care of adeniums at home. Lighting the flower needs quite intense. The optimal location of the plant is the windows on the eastern and southern sides of the house, where there is no shading from the trees. In summer, it is recommended to take the plant to a balcony or a glazed loggia, where again there are direct, sunny rays. Despite the general opinion that adenium needs to be shaded, practice shows that the plant is necessarily exposed to direct sunlight for 4-5 hours a day without any shading. The rest of the daylight hours, the plant needs a lot of bright, diffused light.
Without good lighting, an adult adenium plant blooms poorly or does not bloom at all, young flowers slow down their growth.
In winter, you can not remove the adenium from the southern windows of the house at all. From a lack of light, the plant does not bloom and looks painful. With a parallel decrease in the level of illumination, temperature and humidity, the plant goes to rest. Adenium can partially or completely shed foliage. It all depends on the type of plant.
temperature for adenium. The temperature regime at which adenium will be kept at home is closely related to the humidity regime. So, in natural conditions (tropics), the plant easily tolerates temperatures up to +42 degrees, but at the same time, air humidity reaches 90%. Therefore, at home (in the middle latitudes), with an increase in the average daily temperature, it is necessary to increase the humidity of the air. So, the maximum temperature at which adenium will feel comfortable in a room of an ordinary, residential apartment will be +35 degrees. But in this case, it is necessary to keep the humidity regime within 80%. The average daily temperature in ordinary living quarters in the middle latitudes in summer is +25...+30 degrees. In such conditions, the air humidity should be equal to 75-80%. Although, according to experts, with a decrease in the average temperature of the content of adenium at home, its growth and flowering intensity decrease.
In winter, the average daily temperature in ordinary apartments decreases and is in the range of +16 ... +22 degrees. At the same time, the length of daylight hours decreases. In such conditions, adenium goes to forced rest. The plant partially or completely sheds leaves. It is believed that a dormant period is simply necessary for a flower, since during this time the flower gains strength and grows with renewed vigor in the spring.
It is believed that the optimal temperature for keeping adenium at home in winter is the temperature regime within + 12 ... + 16 degrees. The lower minimum temperature limit at which the plant will not die is +10 degrees and necessarily low air humidity. If the room temperature drops below +10 degrees, and the air humidity remains high, there is a possibility of rotting of the root system of the flower.
Humidity. There is a pattern: the higher the temperature of the content of adenium at home, the higher the humidity should be. On the other hand, this plant feels great in the desert, where, along with high temperatures, air humidity is low. What air humidity does adenium need at home? At an average temperature of +25 ... +30 degrees, the air humidity should be in the range of 75-80%.
I do not spray adeniums. The humidity of the air in the room where the flower is located is increased as follows: bowls with water or wet expanded clay are placed near the flower. Although, experts recommend giving the plant a light, warm rain on the hottest days. But the rain should be short and only in the evenings after sunset. Otherwise, the leaves of the flower will get burned in direct sunlight. Water during the "rain" should not fall on the flowers of adenium.
Air humidity decreases with decreasing temperature of the plant content. So, adenium can easily overwinter at a temperature of +12 ... +16 degrees and very low humidity, almost in a dry climate. If the air humidity is high and the temperature is low, the roots of the plant will rot.
How to water adenium? Home care that is favorable for adenium provides for the following watering regimen:
1. Abundant watering every other day. On especially hot, sunny summer days, the soil in the adenium pot should be slightly damp. This will have a positive effect on his well-being. The plant needs abundant watering during a period of intensive growth, and it grows when it is hot outside.
2. Moderate watering. The number of waterings is reduced if it is cloudy outside and the temperature is kept within +20 ... +22 degrees. The lower the temperature outside, the less watering the flower should be. In cloudy weather and at a temperature of +20 ... +22 degrees (spring-autumn), adenium should be watered once every 5-7 days and only superficially, that is, only the top layer of soil should be watered without wetting the entire volume of soil.
The level of soil moisture in a pot can be determined as follows: take an ordinary wooden stick, stick it into the pot in which the flower grows. In autumn-spring, the soil in a pot should dry out by a third before the next watering. In summer, only the top layer of soil should dry out.
3. In winter, at a room temperature of +16 ... +20 degrees, watering is very scarce with complete drying of the soil in a pot before the next watering.
4. When the heating is turned on in the apartment and the room is warm enough, people wear T-shirts, you need to water the adenium once every 5-7 days with a necessarily high level of air humidity. If central heating is turned on, but the apartment is cool enough, then the flower is watered once every 7-10 days. At the same time, it is impossible for water to come out of the pan, that is, it is not recommended to completely moisten the earthen lump in a flower pot.
It is very important for adenium to observe the following condition: at a room temperature of +20 degrees and below, carry out only surface watering of the soil, without completely wetting the soil in the pot. Otherwise, there will be an excess of moisture and rotting of the caudex !!!
Land for adenium. Proper care and maintenance of adenium at home involves the use of nutritious, loose soil. It should pass air and moisture well to the roots, prevent stagnation of liquid in the pot.
Soil Mix Options:
1. In any flower shop you can buy a soil mixture for succulents, add inert baking powder there. It can be vermiculite or perlite 20% of the total soil used.
2. Make up the soil mix yourself: coconut fiber (50%), sheet soil (20-30%), perlite and medium fraction sand 10-20% each, charcoal can be added.
The overall pH of the soil should be 5.5-7, that is, slightly acidic or neutral.
What should not be in the soil for adenium: clay (it prevents air exchange in the soil), broken brick (the plant hurts the roots about it), a high percentage of vermiculite, perlite in the soil (leads to waterlogging of the flower roots).
Top dressing and fertilizers for adenium. With proper care, adenium should be fed during the period of intensive growth (spring and summer) once a month with liquid complex fertilizers.
Adenium transplant and pruning
When and how often is an adenium transplant performed? It is preferable to transplant an adult plant in the spring before the period of active growth. If necessary, transplantation can be carried out in the summer, but no later than a month before the autumn temperature drop. Transplantation of adult adenium at home every 2-3 years. At the same time, each time slightly increasing the volume of the pot, preferably in diameter, and not in depth. If the adenium is young, then the first transplant is carried out only in the spring, after the plant reaches one year of age. Until the age of 2-3 years, a young adenium needs to be transplanted annually, as a young plant intensively grows its root system.
Important note!!! If the adenium is cramped in its pot, it stops growing and looks sickly. However, this is not the main reason why adenium gets sick and sheds leaves. It is necessary to pay attention to the correct care and maintenance of the plant at home.
When is adenium trimmed? This is usually done in the spring, but before you prune the plant, you need to consider several factors:
1. Has a flower transplant been performed if yes, then its pruning is carried out no later than 2-3 weeks after transplantation. An important condition is that adenium must restore the functioning of the root system after transplantation, its leaves must be sufficiently elastic. This means that the roots have recovered from the transplant and are fully functional.
2. Adenium must come out of dormancy, that is, begin to build up new leaves. But there are also several nuances here. According to experts, if the pruning is done too early (the plant is about to come out of its dormant period), then only one kidney will wake up, which is closest to the upper, presumably removed, kidney. As a result, only one shoot will develop in the adenium after pruning. If you perform pruning after the plant begins to actively grow leaves, then the likelihood of awakening several lateral buds increases significantly.
It is possible to stimulate the development of lateral buds in adenium, and therefore its branching, with the help of cycotine paste. How to use it can be found in the instructions for the drug.
The height of adenium pruning is a personal matter for each grower, but experts give several recommendations in this matter:
1. If you don’t know what height to cut - the universal option is the height of the remaining branches of 9-12 cm.
2. It is also necessary to focus on the rise of the caudex (the root of the flower) above the ground. If you cut the adenium very close to the level of the caudex, then the flower will wake up too many small branches, which is not very beautiful for the adenium.
New shoots will form 45-50 days after pruning.
At what age should adenium be pruned? Despite the prevailing opinion that pruning of adenium should be carried out at the age of 1 year, experts still recommend focusing on the condition and size of the flower itself. So, with proper care and proper maintenance, adenium is ready for pruning in the second year of its life. If the plant is weak, that is, it has not grown a sufficiently wide trunk and a developed root system, then it is better to wait a little with pruning.
The wider the place of the environment (pruning) in adenium, the higher the likelihood of awakening more dormant buds.
Read more about pruning adenium
Adenium diseases. Why does adenium drop leaves?
The leaves turn yellow if the adenium is either retired or sick. If adenium goes to rest, the leaves dry and fall off gradually. And this happens when the average daily temperature drops, that is, in autumn. The plant remains completely or partially without foliage - it all depends on the type of plant.
Paradoxically, but with the onset of autumn, adenium can be poured. And the first sign of waterlogging of adenium and, consequently, rotting of its root system is leaf fall.
So, if adenium leaves turn yellow and fall off, you need to pay attention to the state of its root system and caudex. They may be rotten. However, it should be remembered that in a healthy, at first glance, plants, from an excess of moisture in a pot, the stem and roots can rot. In this case, it is recommended to reduce the soil moisture in the pot. If the plant is an adult, then it can independently overcome the disease. If the leaves of a young adenium fall off (seedlings from 1 to 2 years old), then it is necessary to cut the caudex to a healthy tissue, and root the rest.
Leaves dry if adenium is deficient in moisture during the hot season. In this case, its caudex may wrinkle. The plant must not be allowed to dry out until the caudex begins to wrinkle. Even with subsequent watering, the stem tissue may not recover.
In the article about diseases of adenium, you can learn more,
Proper wintering of Adeniums (Adenium) is an important point in the culture of these amazing plants. During the winter holidays, Adeniums gain strength and prepare for spring flowering. At this time, they are especially vulnerable, it is important for them to provide proper living conditions and proper care.
Wintering Adeniums in the greenhouse
Most Adeniums in a greenhouse or winter garden begin to prepare for wintering at the end of September - when the number of sunny days is reduced and the temperature drops to 20 degrees. At this time, watering of Adeniums should be reduced, because. When the temperature drops and the intensity of sunlight decreases, the likelihood of plant diseases with root rots and fungal infections of the caudex increases. Also stop all top dressing and smoothly introduce plants into a dormant period.
In November, Adeniums begin to actively shed their leaves, this is a signal for an even greater restriction of watering or its complete cessation. In my collection, many, as well as varietal plants, overwinter without leaves. I stop watering Adeniums in mid-November and don't water them until late February/early March. In my conditions, the plants stand at a temperature of 15 degrees and practically do not lose water.
On sunny days, the temperature in the greenhouse can even rise to 30 degrees, but in the evening it drops and stays within 15 degrees at night. This helps keep the plants in good condition until spring. Dry wintering in coolness gives Adeniums the opportunity to rest and keep thin roots alive. This is very important for the rapid resumption of growth in the spring. If the roots are preserved, the plants instantly take on water and begin to grow.
By the end of February - beginning of March, Adeniums begin to wake up and come out of dormancy. This is evidenced by greenish buds on the branches and crowns. At this point, you need to resume watering. At the first watering, it is necessary to water the pots abundantly so that the substrate is thoroughly saturated with water. After the first watering, Adeniums wake up before our eyes - they are saturated with water, restore the previous volume of the caudex and begin to bloom.
Wintering Adeniums in the apartment
In apartment conditions, alternative maintenance of Adeniums in winter is possible. For example, when plants stand on a windowsill next to a central heating battery, the atmosphere around the plants is dry. And the temperature throughout the winter is maintained in the region of 25-27 degrees. At this temperature, Adeniums do not shed their leaves and actively evaporate water. Therefore, they need to be watered at least once every 2 weeks.
Rare watering is not enough for full growth, but also does not allow Adeniums to dry out. With such a warm wintering, some Adeniums do not stop growing to the end. Their branches may stretch and Adeniums may continue to bloom from time to time. These weak flowers are different from those of summer, usually paler. Due to the lack of light, the winter growth of branches turns out to be thin and ugly, in the spring it is best to simply cut it off.
Another option for organizing the winter maintenance of Adeniums is accommodation in. In fact, I would not equate this option with wintering, rather it refers to a particular case of maintaining the culture of Adeniums as a whole. Indeed, in a modern greenhouse with the help of special devices, you can create almost any temperature, humidity and lighting. So Adeniums in such a florarium will develop beautifully and bloom all year round. For small collections, this method is justified and gives excellent results.
- ✓ Features of growing adenium
- ✓ Adenium: planting a flower
- ✓ Adenium: adult flower care
- ✓ Flower Adenium - a note to the grower
- ✓ Planting and caring for adenium at home - sharing experience
- ✓ Adenium or rose in a "bottle"
Adenium flower (impala lily) - how to grow at home: care, growing transplant, etc.
Desert rose, impala lily, adenium - these are the names of the same plant that appeared on our flower market quite recently and immediately won the hearts of indoor flower lovers. This exotic succulent is ideal for growing in our apartments, as it successfully combines spectacular and long flowering, a bizarre stem shape and unpretentiousness.
Once upon a time there were tropical forests in the place of deserts, in which beautiful adeniums grew. With climate change, many residents of the tropics left their homes, but adeniums remained, having managed to adapt to new conditions. The stems acquired a bizarre shape, turning into a pantry of moisture and nutrition. Thanks to this, the plant retained the splendor of flowering and received the name - desert rose.
Although tropical and subtropical in origin, adenium feels great on our windowsills. In summer, this exotic succulent is covered with large flowers collected in brushes. They are formed both on old and young shoots and even on the stem. The shape of the flowers is similar to a lily, hence the second name - impala lily. Each flower lives 7-10 days. Thanks to the caudex - the thickening of the stem in the lower part - even in winter during dormancy, when the leaves completely or partially fall off, the plant looks spectacular.
The birthplace of adeniums is Central and South Africa, the Arabian Peninsula.
In the natural environment, this is a small tree or shrub 1-2 m high with a fleshy silver-gray stem thickened at the base. Rosettes of leaves are formed on the top of the shoots. Now we need to make a clarification.
Adenium is not the name of a particular plant, but a genus that combines many species: Multiflorous, Crispum, Nova, Socotra, Arabian, Swazicum, Olieforum, Boehlianum, Somali, Obesum and etc.
Using the wealth of species diversity, breeders have bred a huge number of varieties of adenium with simple, semi-double and double flowers, with a smooth or wavy edge of the petals. In addition to the natural pink color, flowers can be red, white, cream, yellow and even variegated.
The diversity of the leaves is not inferior to the flowers. Coloring is different: green, yellow, red, variegated, with light edging or spotted. The surface is smooth or velvety. There are varieties with narrow and small leaves, and vice versa - the leaves can be wide and large.
With all due respect to the work of breeders, adenium fans prefer varieties with pink-red flowers, that is, the way nature intended them. This is Grimbley Byte - flowers are pale pink with a white border; Kandy Strip - with salmon-red flowers and longitudinal bright red stripes; Azkha Asha - purple flowers, red border, wavy edge; Calypso - with purple petals of a wide-oval shape and a blunt top, etc.
Photo 2: Varieties (types) of adenium: 1. Many-flowered. Arab. Fat
Features of growing adenium
On the window, adeniums rarely grow above 60 cm. But this does not mean that they grow slowly. For three years of life, the stem in the lower part reaches a diameter of 6-8 cm. In most representatives of this glorious genus, the shoots are short and thick, the flowers are large, tubular with a five-lobed limb. In the buds of the share, the corollas are tightly twisted, they open at the end of spring and adorn the plant all summer.
Like most succulents, adenium loves warmth and light. In spring and summer, the plant needs direct sunlight for 4-6 hours daily. At this time, the optimum temperature for him is 23-28 degrees. The ideal place to live is south-facing window sills, although it grows well in bright diffused light on any window except the north one.
In autumn and winter, when most exotics retire, adenium also needs to rest in order to gain strength for lush flowering. That is why in October you need to move the pot to a cool place with a temperature of 12-15. At the same time, it should be light. In a dormant plant, the growth of shoots stops and the foliage partially or completely flies around. During sleep, he does not need watering, top dressing, he just needs to make sure that there are no sharp fluctuations in temperature and drafts.
It was noticed that if the adenium rested cool and without watering, it would wake up in March, and if occasionally, but watered and kept warm, then the dream would last for several more weeks.
Adenium: planting a flower
It is better to grow adenium from seeds, since the thickening of the stem - the hallmark of this plant - is not always formed when propagated by cuttings. Seeds are easy to get, through an online store or from lovers of exotic plants, which have recently appeared in abundance. Seeds are quite large, freshly harvested, have high germination, but quickly lose it. Therefore, it is necessary to sow as soon as received by mail. The time of year does not matter much, although experts recommend sowing in February - March so that the plants grow over the summer.
Before sowing, it does not hurt to disinfect the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, you can stimulate germination with zircon by dissolving it in warm water and lowering the seeds there for 2-4 hours. Or you can wrap it in a damp cloth and sow after the sprouts hatch. Prepared seeds germinate in about 10 days, without preparation - after 21 days.
Sowing is carried out in boxes filled with air - and moisture-permeable substrate with a neutral reaction (pH 7). To obtain such a composition, it is necessary to mix either vermiculite and peat, or perlite and sand (in a ratio of 2: 1) with the addition of charcoal (5-10%).
Before sowing, the soil is moistened and the seeds are laid out on top, without deepening, but only lightly sprinkling them. Then cover with a thin food transparent film and put in a warm place (24-28 degrees). With the advent of seedlings, the film is removed.
Seedlings are protected from direct sunlight and midday sun, drafts and low temperatures (below 18 degrees). When 2-4 true leaves are formed, they are planted in pots with a diameter of 5-6 cm. This usually happens 2-3 months after sowing. Flowering occurs after 2 years.
Propagation by cuttings has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages - flowering begins earlier than that of seedlings, and when breeding hybrid varieties, all breeding achievements are preserved. The disadvantages balance the advantages: we have already mentioned the thickening on the stem, which forms several years later than the seedlings, or does not form at all, and the second disadvantage is the difficulty of acquiring cuttings in the Russian outback.
However, if you have a desert rose growing at home, it is easier to propagate it with cuttings. Usually cut them in spring or summer from the tops of the shoots. The optimal length is 10-15 cm. The cuttings rot easily, so the sections are dusted with charcoal and slightly dried. Root in the same substrate as when sowing. Clean calcined and cooled sand is poured around the handle, pieces of charcoal are placed to prevent decay. At a temperature of 25-30 degrees, rooting continues for a month. Periodically, the substrate is moistened with a spray bottle, preventing the soil from drying out. Plants bloom from cuttings after 1.5 years.
Adeniums grow very quickly, so young plants are recommended to be replanted every year. At the same time, you do not need to buy a large pot, for growth. Its diameter should be equal to the crown of the transplanted plant. Transplantation is usually carried out in spring or late summer. Drainage is laid at the bottom at 1/6 of the height of the pot, which provides good aeration.
See also: How to grow pineapple at home
While the plant is young, you need to decide how you want to see it - a tree or a bush.
To give bushiness in young plants, pinch the growing point. After 45-50 days, intensive branching begins. If the plant is formed as a tree, all branches are cut by a third, the trunk is shortened. All these operations are carried out only in the spring, at the beginning of shoot growth.
Photo 3: Formation of an adenium flower by a bush (1) or a tree (photo 2)
Adenium: care for an adult flower
In the third year of life, adenium becomes an adult, profusely flowering plant, that is, the very desert rose for which you have worked so hard. Now the plant needs another pot. Due to the fact that the roots of an adult adenium grow horizontally, he needs a pot not deep, but wide. And a prerequisite - drainage holes at the bottom - the more of them, the better.
How to fill a pot? The soil mixture should still be neutral, well permeable to air and water, but more nutritious than for young
plants. You can use a purchased cactus substrate or prepare it yourself from equal parts of sand, turf and leaf soil with the addition of charcoal (10% of the mixture volume). It is better to take leafy soil from under linden, birch, hazel, and it is advisable to use fine river sand.
An adult plant is transplanted every few years, and the composition of the soil is also changed. To prevent it from caking, soddy soil is mixed with sand, expanded clay or broken bricks with a diameter of 1-3 mm, the proportion of which can vary from 30 to 70%. Some use peat as the main component, mixing with pieces of foam and sand. Drainage is still necessarily laid at the bottom and transplanted into a wide pot with many drainage holes.
The plant is examined and shortened by lateral and secondary roots, diseased areas are removed, carefully cleaning out the rot with sterile tools. Wounds and cuts are not treated with anything other than charcoal, since adenium does not like chemistry, the plant itself soon heals the damage. When transplanting, the stem is slightly raised, placing it slightly higher than in the previous pot.
Before transplantation and after it, adenium is not watered for 3-4 weeks to allow damaged roots to heal.
Actively care for this handsome man only in spring and summer. If, after hibernation, the shoots began to grow too quickly, they are pruned. Water only with settled water at room temperature. It is important not to flood the plant, that is, water it when the soil dries up. Watering should be plentiful so that water comes out through the drainage holes. Seedlings and young plants are not afraid of waterlogging, while adults suffer from excess moisture.
The reason is that, by its nature, adenium stores water in a thickened stem in order to survive a long drought. Over time, the stored moisture becomes more and more. And if there is still excess water in the soil, the roots can rot. Even in summer, between waterings, the substrate in adult plants must dry well, otherwise the leaves lose their elasticity, the stems wrinkle and darken. For the same reason, after watering after 15-20 minutes, the water from the pan must be poured out. And some flower growers even water only after the stems begin to wither.
In the autumn-winter period, watering should be reduced to a minimum, young plants are watered once every 2-3 weeks, adults - once a month. When leaving dormancy, the first watering is done very carefully, in small portions. Usually it is carried out 2-3 weeks after the plant begins to grow.
In order for the desert rose to live up to its name, it must be fed. A complex mineral fertilizer with an equal amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium provides lush flowering, and even better if microelements are included in its composition. In spring and summer, fertilizer is applied at each watering, reducing the dose indicated in the instructions by 3 times, approximately 1-2 g / l of water is obtained. During the dormant period from autumn to spring, plants do not feed.
Adenium rarely gets sick, only if they overdo it with watering, keep it in a draft, or lower the temperature too much by frequent airing in winter. Pests are more dangerous for him. True, there are no particular difficulties in putting things in order, since the same insects that annoy most indoor plants damage it. This is a mealybug, scale insect, spider mite.
The mealybug is easily identified by the white cotton-like coating on the leaves and stems where the female usually lays her eggs. The plaque is removed with a napkin, then the plant is washed with soapy water or pyrethrum infusion and the plant is placed in a cool place.
Shchitovki fit snugly to the leaves, covered with a wax coating like a shield, and suck out the juice. In damaged plants, leaves fall prematurely. The pest is cleaned with a cloth dipped in soapy water every 5-6 days. The procedure is repeated for three weeks.
Spider mite most often moves to adenium from other plants. Damaged leaves are covered with small yellow spots, with excessive reproduction, a transparent cobweb is formed. It is easy to get rid of spider mites with a decoction of cyclamen tubers, the saponin of which destroys the pest completely in 1-2 sprays (50 g / 0.5 l of water). Of the chemicals, you can use a 0.2% solution of Rogor. Only it is necessary to treat the flower not in the room, but on the balcony or landing.
Flower Adenium - a note to the grower
Adenium obesum (A. obesum) is most often grown as a houseplant. He deserved this good character, the ability to adapt to different conditions, without reducing the duration and splendor of flowering.
Each flower of the desert rose adorns the tree for a whole week.
Like many exotics, the periods of rest and flowering of adenium are pronounced: after sleep, the plant wakes up, begins to bloom, sometimes even before the leaves bloom, and falls asleep again in October. If you choose the right soil and care for it, following this frequency, you will understand why adenium is called the desert rose.
If you want plants sown at the end of winter to start flowering faster, illuminate them with fluorescent lamps after emergence.
Adenium seedlings grow very quickly, in six months they already have a thick stem.
For all its attractiveness, adenium is a poisonous plant. Therefore, planting, transplanting, pruning a flower must be done with gloves!
Light-colored plastic pots are more suitable for adenium, they better reflect the sun's rays, and overheat less.
See also: What to choose pots for orchids, saintpaulias, succulents and indoor large-sized
In summer, adenium can be taken out into the fresh air - a balcony, loggia or garden, protecting it with a small canopy in rainy weather from excess moisture in the pots.
During the period of filling the buds, the plant can neither be rearranged to a new place, nor can the pot be turned.
In the heat, adeniums respond well to a spray shower.
Planting and caring for adenium at home - sharing experience
Adenium or rose in a "bottle"
There are decorative leafy indoor plants, flowering, and recently also dwarf ones, formed in the form of bonsai. But the mesmerizing flower adenium, also called the desert rose, has all these characteristics. It is both decorative and deciduous and flowering (some species even come with fragrant flowers), and sometimes even resembles a bonsai.
flower description
This is a slow growing shrub or small tree with a fleshy trunk, which has a thickening at the base - caudex. most of it may be underground. In total, there are 10 types of adeniums in nature. They may have different leaves - some are rounded, others may be elongated and pointed at the ends. The color of the leaves can be either pale or bright green, glossy. Flowers also differ in these plants. They can be large and small, terry and ordinary. And there is no need to talk about the palette of colors, it is so diverse - from white to purple.
Among these types of beautiful flowers there are adenium obesum, or, as it is also called, Fat". This species has gained immense popularity among flower growers for its unpretentiousness, early and abundant flowering. Under good conditions, it blooms in 1.5-2 years, it happened to me in the third year. It has thick gray-brown stems that taper towards the top, as if resembling the shape of a bottle. The shape of the leaves is different, it is either lanceolate with a pointed tip, or oval. The foliage itself has a smooth structure and a glossy dark green color.
seeds
It was such a handsome man that I decided to have at home. The seeds were sent to me from China by mail. They came very quickly, in the spring of 2012. While they were on the road, I carefully studied the information on how to sow them correctly and how to grow adenium in the future.
And here I am holding in my hands the treasured envelope with seeds. There are several ways to prepare the seeds for sowing, I chose the most correct and suitable for me. First, I soaked the seeds of adenium in a fungicide (everyone chooses his own, because there are a huge number of them), it is also possible in ordinary, pink-colored potassium permanganate, literally for 20-30 minutes. I did this in order to protect future seedlings from possible diseases. Then the seeds were soaked for another three hours in a growth stimulator (there are also a huge number of them). So that the seeds do not sink in the container, I first wrapped them in gauze. If there is no gauze. then you can use any other material or even cotton pads.
After the seeds were processed, I proceeded to sow them. I prepared small (500 ml capacity) plastic cups. I made drainage holes in them with a needle. I planted each seed in a separate cup, did it intentionally, so that when the plant grows, neighboring shoots do not interfere with it, and it grows stronger. Naturally, picking is not required. In my opinion, this sowing and planting is the best.
In the spring and summer, adeniums should be watered frequently, as the soil dries out quickly, especially when there is intense heat. These plants drink a lot of water. Need to keep an eye on that. so that the soil is always slightly damp. Sometimes in the evening I also spray the plants. In winter, the opposite is true: plants hibernate at a temperature of 10-15 degrees, almost all the leaves fall on them and a dormant period begins. Watering at this time they need to be very careful not to flood. Personally, I only water when I see that the stem of the plant is starting to wrinkle. But even in this case, I moisten the soil very moderately.
substrate
I used the following substrate for sowing adenium seeds: I added vermiculite and chopped coconut fiber to the prepared soil for cacti, mixed everything and scattered it in cups. I did not compact it tightly so that the seeds would not rot. In the middle of the glass I made a small depression 1 cm deep and put a seed there, then leveled everything. Sprinkled with warm water from a spray bottle on top and covered with glass. You can use a regular plastic bag to create such a mini-greenhouse.
Adenium Care
Before the seeds germinate, the cups can be kept in the dark, as I did, as long as it is warm. Since I sowed in the spring, the seed containers were near the battery. When the seeds began to hatch, this happened about a week after sowing, I rearranged the cups under the lamps so that the adenium seedlings would reach for the light and grow faster. The glass was not removed immediately, but after 5 days, and all this time the seedlings were gradually accustomed to air. Since before sowing the seeds were soaked in a solution of growth hormones, the seedlings grew very well and amicably, and most importantly, everyone was strong and healthy.
With each month, the plants rose higher and higher, and the caudex became thicker and wider. So the year passed unnoticed. Adeniums became crowded in small cups, and I decided to transplant them. When choosing a container for transplantation, I was guided by the peculiarity of the growth of adenium roots.
They mostly grow in breadth, so I chose a wide and shallow pot for transplanting. The substrate was made the same as when sowing seeds, only a little horse humus was added there. In a wide and spacious container, the plants immediately began to grow again.
After hibernation
When the buds begin to hatch on the plant, the period of their winter hibernation ends. But even after you saw that the buds began to hatch, watering can be started no earlier than in 1.5-2 weeks.
As for lighting, adeniums are very fond of diffused light. In summer, they need to be shaded from direct sunlight, otherwise the leaves from the scorching sun can quickly burn out. In winter, during the dormant period, light is not necessary for them, but this is only if you arrange this wintering. If someone is warm and dry on the windowsills, then you can illuminate the adeniums without putting them into hibernation.
I spend top dressing with mineral and organic fertilizers, but only mainly in the spring - summer period, during active growth and flowering. From mineral fertilizers I use a mixture for succulents, I breed according to the instructions, I fertilize once every 8 months. I use organic fertilizer in the form of horse manure with the same frequency, dilute it with water in a ratio of 1:15 and insist for several hours. In winter, I feed adeni-ums only once with mineral fertilizer.
The flowers have blossomed!
In the spring of 2015, my adeniums turned three years old. I made another transplant-transshipment into a large container. Mineral fertilizers were added to the soil in advance. And put his favorites in the brightest place. The result was not long in coming. Soon a bunch of buds appeared on one of the plants, which I was incredibly happy about. I have been waiting for this moment for three years, and I was eager to see with my own eyes, and not in the picture, all the charm of this amazing flower.
But the buds did not open for a very long time, apparently, this is also a feature of this plant. The flowers bloomed closer to summer, the beauty is indescribable! These delicate white-pink gramophones adorned my windowsill for 1.5 months, some flowers fell off, but others hurried to replace them.
Having grown adenium from a seed and brought the plant to flowering, I realized that it is unpretentious, not capricious, but rather easy to care for and therefore suitable even for a beginner.
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