Adenium Plants

To get the beautiful blooms involves some work

, right from choosing the ideal medium to professional pruning and proper potting. The environment under which they are grown also has a lot of influence on its performance.

Adenium plants love a growing medium that can moderately retain water, but too much water in the root zone is undesirable. Fair judgment is required in order to apply water correctly. You should not apply water if the medium retains a lot of water, such as coco peat and rock wool. For media that don't retain water (for example, vermiculite or rock chips) more frequent watering is required. Experience shows that a mixture of water-retaining and non-retaining media gives excellent results.

For nutrition, Adenium plants require little nutrients at a time, so giving frequent, small amounts works well for them. Feeding also depends on the purpose for which they are grown. If they are grown as mother plants, heavier feeding is required than those grown for flower production. The basic macro and micro nutrients can be applied, but the percentage of nitrogen can be higher than the other major nutrients, unless they are flowering. Chicken droppings have proved a good source of nutrients in some parts of the world.

If not well handled, diseases such as soft rot may appear which is usually due to very humid conditions around the shoots. In case that problem occurs, the remedy is to cut off the diseased branch, until a clean area is reached. Adenium plants will usually resist the disease if treated as recommended. Occasionally they may develop other fungal infections. The best treatment is a systemic fungicide. It is recommended to use metalaxyl--the active ingredient in ridomil.

In temperate climates, Adenium plants should be raised in a greenhouse to avoid unnecessary effects when the temperature goes below 10 degrees Celsius. Adenium plants naturally enjoy hot, humid conditions; even at 40 degrees Celsius they can thrive, as long as they are given enough water. But water should be applied on the growing medium, not leaves. This is because leaves can become susceptible to fungal infections.

The seedlings of Adenium plants need to be pinched early to give a better looking plant. Care should be taken however to avoid too many branches which can look unnatural.

In Thailand, Adenium plants are a house hold name. They have developed a special technique of pruning to target the period between December and February, around which time they bloom and look very attractive. They are common in horticultural fairs in Bangkok. They are sometimes potted in very exotic pots and sold as specimen plants, with prices ranging between $300 to $600 US dollars.

With adenium plants, there is no such a thing as one size-fit-all. Growing conditions can be locality-specific, so it is fine to experiment with different conditions, nutrients, and other agronomic practices.

by: Robin Khan

POST COMMENT

Adenium Plants The Hong Kong Background Three Great Desktop Paper Folders Three Great Swingline Hole Punches All Categories Of Copper Wires Three Paper Shredders That Look Great Do You Know What an Avocado is? Why should I worry whether Do I have a warrant or not? Say What You Need To Say Recover Deleted Photos Quickly - How to Easily Restore Deleted Photos in Minutes Handyman - Steps To Making Sure You Hire A Good One Handyman - Consider The Tasks One Can Do For You International Talk Like A Pirate Day On September 19th