Adenium

Oglesby’s Adeniums are obesum hybrids grown from cuttings and finish much faster than typical seedling ‘Desert Rose’. These special hybrids are free branching, selected for extended bloom cycles and from a liner can produce a flowering 6 inch pot in only 16 weeks! These cuttings not only have hybrid vigor, but unlike seedling production, their heritage promotes good crop consistency and disease resistance.

Although Adenium can tolerate dry conditions, they will perform best when grown in a well drained media and given a generous amount of water and fertilizer. This is not a cactus. Grow this plant as a bloomin pot plant much like Mandevilla, Ixora or Hibiscus.

SOIL:

Any well drained, well aerated media that has good moisture holding capacity. Most commercially blended foliage mixes work well. Bagged mixes such as coir with 15% additional perlite or Sungro’s GBX straight from the bag is a good choice. Maintain a 6.0-6.5 pH.

WATER:

Irrigate daily in hot, dry, long days. During shorter winter days, 2-3 times per week. Drainage is very important. Avoid wet feet or cold wet conditions.

FERTILIZER:

Any well balanced 1-1-1 time release or liquid formula will give good results. With liquid feed, use 150 to 200ppm weekly.

LIGHT:

Full sun, clear poly and bright shade houses 55% and brighter – all produce a beautiful saleable plant.

TEMPERATURE:

Adeniums in general respond to high temperatures. Our hybrids have a tolerance to 55°F without leaf drop. Ideally 60-65°F night temperature will keep them actively growing. Short periods of temperatures below 50°F sometimes seen in South Florida won’t hurt them.

FLOWERING:

Our selections flower non-seasonally as long as the temperature does not fall below 60°F and the light recommendations listed above are followed. Flowers are borne in clusters of 8 to 19 flowers pending maturity.

PLANTING RECOMMENDATION:

All Adenium liners are grown and sold in 50 cell trays. We recommend planting to azalea pots which gives a quicker ready-to-sell look for marketing. This also holds down media cost when using bagged mixes.

ESTIMATED CROP TIMES

* Liners planted direct to 6″ for 6″ sales take approximately 4 months.

* Liners planted to 4″ pots and then 4″ planted to 8″ for 8″ sales take approximately 6-7 months total

* Liners planted direct to 6″ and then 6″ planted to 10″ for 10″ sales take approximately 9-10 months total.

Because our liners are cutting grown, they all will be on the same growth and bloom cycle, unlike seedlings which don’t crop evenly. Cutting grown plants will not have the swollen basal trunk seen in seedlings. However, the root system of our cuttings do swell below the soil line. To produce specialty bonsai-like plants that command higher prices, remove the top 1/3 layer of soil to expose the stem base and roots. This is usually done with mature 6″ and 8″ pots, requiring well-trained labor.

PESTS:

On occasion aphids, mealy bugs and mites can be a problem, but can easily be controlled with soaps or chemicals such as Avid, Marathon granular or Orthene.

DISEASES:

Botrytis on the flowers can be prevented with sprays of Cleary’s 3336, Decree or Medallion. For leaf spot caused by Coryneospora use Daconyl, Dithane or Cleary’s 3336.

This text is a recommendation only; it is not an endorsement of any products or acceptance of any liability as a result of usage.

Revised 11/01/10