Adenium at home - how to grow exotic
The adenium that grew up at the Russians' home is better known as "Desert Rose", "Impala Lily, or" Star of Sabinia ". This plant has many romantic names. Adenium is common in Thailand, Arabia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Africa. In fact, the area of its growth may be even larger, since it is found in many countries. Belongs to the Kutrov family. Breeders have managed to breed many varieties of this succulent. Over time, adenium became extremely popular. Thanks to its beautiful appearance at any time of the year, easy care, as well as the resemblance to a rose, the success of the plant was guaranteed.
Adenium juice is poisonous. Aboriginal people often use it to lubricate arrowheads. Because of this, you should not place plants in places where pets or children can access. For them, contact with the adenium can be fatal.
Adenium at home - choosing varieties
At home, the cultivation of adenium is regulated by its size, which is controlled by pruning. However, with age, the plant will still become quite large and it will not work to prevent it. But in many ways, the maximum growth is limited by the variety.
Adenium obesum (Adenium Obesum)
The most widespread variety in pot culture. Blooms profusely. It is an evergreen succulent that develops caudex - a special thickening of the trunk, due to which it is able to store a large amount of water and nutrients. The leaves are arranged in a spiral pattern and grow up to 7 cm long, they also have a long flower tube and five rounded petals.
Socotranum adenium (Adenium socotranum)
One of the largest species, capable of reaching five meters in height, and its cylindrical trunk can grow up to 2.5 meters in diameter. It blooms for only a few weeks in summer, and only with quality care. Differs in original pink flowers.
Adenium arabic (Adenium arabicum)
This variety is very similar to the baobab. He has a squat and wide caudex. The branches are small, but sinuous, covered with grayish or dark brown bark. Litsya themselves are large and fleshy. Flowers can be pink or reddish in color. The main advantage of this variety is an extremely powerful root system and drought tolerance. It is vital for survival in the middle of the desert, where nutrients and moisture are severely limited.
Desert Rose (Adenium Desert Rose)
This showy species is best known for its bloated stems and funnel-shaped pinkish flowers. Growth depends mainly on correct pruning. If you leave the bush by itself, then it can grow up to five meters in height. It grows most actively in spring and summer.
Adenium multiflorum (Adenium multiflorum)
It is a shrub or small tree up to several meters high. It also looks like a baobab in appearance. Plants of this variety always have caudex, and their trunk is covered with gray or brown bark. At the bottom, it is lighter than at the top. Flowers are collected in axillary inflorescences and are white-pink or red, or their various shades.
Bohman's adenium (Adenium boehmianum)
It is a small tree. Can reach 1.5 meters in height. Has a spreading crown and caudex. The leaves are dark green in color and glossy, the edges are corrugated. The flowers are funnel-shaped and have up to five pinkish petals.
What care does adenium need at home
The plant does not require too complex and constant care. On the contrary, it is enough to fulfill the basic recommendations for the adenium to develop and grow perfectly, delighting the owner with its flowering. The main thing is to ensure proper feeding. Also, adenium plants at home can be independently propagated in various ways.
About temperature
For adenium, you should choose the right temperature in the room where it will be kept. You need to choose a place with a temperature of no more than + 35 ° C. In the winter season, you can keep it at + 15 ° C.
The higher the temperature, the more humidity should be in the room with the plant. The optimum value is 75-80% at + 25-30 ° C.
The peculiarity is that indoor flowers are quite sensitive to temperature extremes. Frosts can quickly destroy a plant, so you need to avoid them. In winter, a lower temperature is needed so that the bush can rest and gain strength for the subsequent re-flowering with the same scope. Also, at this time, the plant is able to shed foliage, sometimes even all of it. Too high a temperature (more than + 35 ° C) causes a slowdown in growth and flowering, which can cause the plant to wither.
An important criterion is the lower temperature limit - + 10 ° C with low air humidity. Failure to comply with these conditions can lead to decay of the root system and the death of the plant.
On the hottest days, adenium will need to make light rain with a sprayer. However, it should be short-lived and only after sunset. Otherwise, its leaves can get burns from the sun's rays, which will not only adversely affect their appearance, but also harm the plant. Also, moisture should not be allowed to enter the flowers.
To increase the air humidity to the required one, you can use a good method. It is enough just to place bowls with water or moistened expanded clay next to the bush. It would be enough.
If the room temperature is higher than + 20 ° С, then the watering should be superficial. the earthen lump must not be completely moistened, otherwise the caudex will begin to rot due to an excess of moisture and the plant will most likely die later.
Watering and soil
For adenium, the following watering methods are possible:
- In one day. On hot summer days, the plant pot should be slightly moistened. It should be watered abundantly during periods of active growth, and they begin only with the arrival of heat.
- Moderate watering. When the weather is cloudy outside and the thermometer does not rise higher than + 22 ° C, then watering the plant is required about once every 5-7 days. This is optimal for its root system. This should be done superficially, without wetting the entire soil at once.
- Winter watering. In the cold season, it should be scanty, and before the next procedure, the soil should be completely dry. If the heating is turned on, but the apartment is still cool, then you will need to water the Adenium once every 7-10 days, but with relative warmth, it will be enough even once a week.
The main factor for the growth of a plant is the land in which it grows. Gardening will not work. A nutritious and loose soil is needed so that adenium can develop and bloom quickly. The earth should allow air and moisture to pass well to the roots so that the liquid does not stagnate in the pot.Since this can lead the plant to death.
The main options for soil mixtures:
- Succulent potting soil is easy to obtain at any gardening store. Baking powder must be added there. As an option - vermiculite or perlite. The total volume of baking powder is 20% of the total soil.
- You can make your own potting soil. The ratio should be as follows: 50% coconut fiber, 20-30% leafy soil, 10-20% medium size sand. Charcoal can be added if desired. It will act as a drainage or natural soil component.
You can not add clay, broken brick to the soil. They interfere with air exchange, which is why the plant will not be able to develop normally. The high content of baking powder can lead to waterlogging of the root system and can cause rotting. The soil itself should eventually turn out to be neutral or slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5-7.
Top dressing is done only during periods of active growth.
About lighting
Sunlight is critical to Adenium. The flower badly needs intense light for normal development. It is best to place it on the east or south side of the house. The absence of shading from trees is desirable. And although the general opinion says that it is necessary to shade the plant, in fact it will still need to be taken out for 4-5 hours to a place where it will be exposed to direct sunlight. The rest of the time, adenium needs bright, but diffused light.
In the absence of the recommended lighting level, adenium develops extremely slowly and does not bloom.
In winter, adenium needs backlight within 14 hours. Therefore, it is worthwhile to make good lighting in advance on the windowsill where you plan to put the plant. If the plant lacks moisture, light, and warmth, it may shed foliage completely and look painful. However, here it is worth making an allowance for a specific variety.
For illumination, you can use fluorescent or phytolamps.
A rest period is necessary for adenium. At this time, the flower is gaining strength and is preparing for spring.
Therefore, it is important to monitor the length of daylight hours in order to roughly understand:
- when and how much to turn on the backlight;
- whether you need to feed the plant;
- how moderate watering should be in order for the plant to receive enough nutrients to bloom.
The specific conditions of detention may vary depending on the variety. Therefore, in addition to general recommendations, you should rely on your own experience, or trust gardeners who keep such a flower at home.
Adenium at home: how to properly fertilize and pick up a cough
The correct fertilization can significantly accelerate the growth and flowering of the plant. But if you overdo it, the result will be an increase in caudex and leaves with an almost complete cessation of flowering, so it is worthwhile to be moderate in fertilizing this plant.
The fertilizers used must contain a large amount of nitrogen, or be sufficiently balanced. To form a large caudex and improve flowering, it is recommended to lower the amount of nitrogen in the soil and start applying fertilizers that contain potassium and phosphorus.
Adenium takes fertilizers well for cacti and succulents. But during the dormant period (winter), feeding should be stopped and resumed only at the onset of the growth period (in spring).
Often there is no need to feed the plant. Once every two weeks is enough for adenium to feel good. During the flowering period, three dressings are usually applied, this is enough for most varieties.
The planter or plant pot should be spacious, but not too large. The elongated shape will allow the roots to be fully accommodated so that they sit freely. It is desirable that there is a drainage layer in the pot.
It is desirable to choose a pots made of light plastic. This will prevent the root system from suffering from heat and the plant will not overheat.This is what experts recommend to beginner gardeners.
About transplant
It is necessary to transplant adenium at home once a year so that the plant can continue to develop in the future. Young plants require an annual transplant, while aged adeniums are transplanted as the root system grows, when it is on the surface of the soil. This happens approximately every 2-3 years. If you do not follow this, then she can even break the pot. Young plants actively grow the root system and develop, which is why the soil becomes poorer much faster.
After removing the plant from the pot, it is worth examining the roots. Those that are rotten or deteriorated must be cut off. The central root can be cut almost to the base, the plant will calmly survive such an operation. For disinfection of the cut, coal chips and good drying are used. In addition, it is advisable to remove all leaves before replanting, leaving only the strongest ones. It is also desirable that the plant be outdoors for several hours. As a result, this will allow the roots to heal.
If overgrown roots were the reason for the transplant, then you should not water the plant for about 5-7 days. In extreme cases, this is done very carefully and in small portions, so as not to cause rotting and death of the roots due to stagnant moisture.
Under normal conditions, the transplant takes place in the spring. At first, the plant may be unstable - it is worth making a support from stones or expanded clay.
As an alternative to transplanting, you can transfer the adenium to a new pot by paper transfer, preserving the old clod of earth. This process is much less traumatic for the root system. As a result, the plant will develop at an accelerated rate if the owner uses the correct feeding and watering regime.
Pruning the branches of adenium at home
To make the adenium really beautiful and branchy, you need to make a competent pruning. This is often a harsh necessity, since in many plants of this genus, apical development predominates, which is why the lateral shoots cannot develop normally.
It is worth pruning so that the branches increase in height by only 8-12 cm. And cycotine paste is capable of provoking accelerated development. How to use it must be found out in the special instructions that come with the kit. Often adenium at home is cut and made into a kind of a kind of mangrove tree.
For this you need:
- Find a seedling with a thick trunk and cut off its root at the narrowing of the caudex.
- Root the cutting in water.
- When the plant regrows roots, transfer it to a wide pot with good, light soil.
After that, it is required to regularly water the seedling and check the position of the roots so that the tree does not die prematurely. In this case, the transplant will be required twice a year, since here it is necessary to regularly straighten the roots, as well as remove unnecessary ones. The result is very beautiful flowers.
If desired, you can make anything from adenium. The plant is loyal to any manipulations and demonstrates good vitality. The grower can remove some or almost all of the lower adenium. The main thing is to carefully handle the caudex and roots so as not to cause infection and decay, then everything will be successful.
The optimal pruning age is 1 year. But it is best to focus on the size of the flower. If the adenium is still weak, did not have time to build up a sufficiently powerful root system and caudex, then pruning would be best postponed until better times.
How adenium is propagated at home
Adenium can be propagated at home in three ways: by cuttings, seeds, layering. Layering is an unpopular method due to its complexity. With the seeds, everything is simple, first they must be soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect, and then germinated in peat tablets or gauze. The seeds will soon grow and can be placed in a pot.In the future, you will need to pinch off the central root if you want to speed up the development of the plant a little.
Pruning a succulent produces viable cuttings. They are planted directly into the substrate. After 4 days, the soil is sprayed to moisten. That's all, the cutting begins to develop and will soon become a full-fledged plant.
Layers are the most interesting and difficult way to propagate adenium. It is worth dwelling on in detail. It is effective enough to immediately make a new plant that is strong. So:
- Take a stem at least 2 cm thick and cut it, immediately spill a growth stimulator into the cut site.
- Wrap in sphagnum and cover with cling film.
- After the first roots appear (this requires at least 30 days), the cuttings are separated from the parent and planted in the ground.
Thus, the owner receives a ready-made plant, which immediately begins active development.
Diseases of adenium
It is important to know what to do if strange changes begin to occur with the adenium and suspicious external signs appear, for example:
- Leaves turn yellow. If the leaves dry out and fall off gradually, then the plant is preparing to go to rest, this is normal. But it is worth paying attention to its root system and the condition of the caudex. It is recommended to reduce the amount of moisture. An adult plant usually copes with the disease on its own, but a young one will have to be cut to healthy tissues.
- Leaves dry. The plant may have been planted in unbalanced soil. This is often due to poor quality coconut fiber (it is fortified with sea salts). The plant becomes ill due to an excess of minerals.
If your plant starts to rot, here's what you can do:
- Remove the adenium from the pot, clean and rinse from the soil.
- After drying (takes 20-30 minutes), inspect the plant for rot.
- If the caudex is soft, trim all rot down to living tissue. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the entire caudex, this is necessary, the plant survives after this.
- Dry the resulting cutting in a warm place for 1-2 days. The temperature should not be lower than + 22 ° С. If during this time even more rot has not appeared, then you can start rooting, otherwise the rot must be cut off again and the plant must be dried again. Rooting is carried out in moist, but not wet soil. Perlite or special soil can be used as soil.
Only after 10 days can the first meager watering of the plant be carried out. With proper care, the plant will be able to recover in its previous form. After a month, the adenium at home will grow roots and it can be transferred to a new pot, where it will quickly develop further.