Splits in Adenium arabicum: still unresolved! Help, please!

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nachtkrabb
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Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 7:07 pm
Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Splits in Adenium arabicum: still unresolved! Help, please!

Post by nachtkrabb »

Hi everybody,
in summer 2017 I got a really beautiful Adenium arabicum. This is a recent picture of it.
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Doesn't it look like the personalised health? :cry: :cry: :cry: But three weeks ago, when the leaves started to regrow, I found cracks or splits in the plant that were even growing during the last three weeks.
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Three weeks later:
IMG_5829 Kopie.JPG
IMG_5829 Kopie.JPG (91.31 KiB) Viewed 966 times
](*,) Is the plant doomed, or can it survive like this?
](*,) Is there anything I can do?
](*,) Other plants irritate us by "building cork" or "corking" (however do you call this process?). But they are perfectly healthy, that's their usual behaviour. Are such splits "normal" for an Adenium?
](*,) Can I still place it on the balcony, when the nights are warm enough, or would that be too dangerous? Its place is FULLEST sun with a bit of roof over it against the rain. I am convinced it loves the time outdoors.

](*,) By the way: The plant has never flowered, although it should definitely be old enough. Last summer, a dealer of flowering Adenium told me on a fair, that from "first leaves in spring" to "first leaves falling in fall" he let his plants stand in 5mm (0.2 in) water all of the time.
I never dared to do so.
Last year I raised the watering into the plant's saucer but without wet feet. It grew beautiful leaves.
This year I started with strong watering + fertiliser into its saucer, but without wet feet. It grew even more beautiful, giant leaves. Look at the first picture above!
But it doesn't flower, whether in context with those cracks or not.
Any advice how I could persuade that plant to flower?

Who could & would give me advice, PLEASE?
Nachtkrabb :cry: :cry: :cry:
Last edited by nachtkrabb on Wed May 11, 2022 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Aiko
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Re: Splits in Adenium arabicum: HELP please!

Post by Aiko »

It probably needs heat to flower. So inside the greenhouse is probably better than outside the greenhouse.

Have the cracks appeared right after watering when the plant has been dormant / dry for a long time? Maybe it has taken up way more water than it could handle, rupturing tissue as a result. A more gently watering could be better, but still this plant should like a lot of water. Just on a more regular basis, I suspect.
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Aeonium2003
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Re: Splits in Adenium arabicum: HELP please!

Post by Aeonium2003 »

My first thought would be overwatering. However, I suggest you monitor it closely, and see how the damage progresses.
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nachtkrabb
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Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Re: Splits in Adenium arabicum: HELP please!

Post by nachtkrabb »

Hallo Aiko and Evan,
thank you for your messages. According to my journal:

22.09.2021 Taken in from the balkony.
07.10.2021 Next to no leaves left, the rest is brown & dry (i.e. then I had already stopped watering for the winter dry).
17.11.2021 There are two hairline cracks in the wood!
07.03.2022 Taken into the living room with more light as there are no leaves yet.
08.04.2022 Beautiful new leaves have started to grow! Therefore started to water. The two cracks do not look good at all.

So the cracks started being visible AFTER I stopped watering and broeadened a bit during the drought. I like to look at the Adenium as I think it very beautiful, I should have noticed the splits the very latest in September when bringing it inside.
Then the plant sat totally dry in a small room or cubby hole adjacent to my living room, i.e. relatively warm (19°C/66°F to 20°C/68°F or such during day, about 15°C/59°F during night).
After restarting the watering slowly and carefully, the splits widened and possibly got deeper.

I do water it about every 2nd day now, as in contrast to that Adenium dealer I don't want to let it stand with its toes in the water. [-X This idea is too scary for me. The Adenium always empties its saucer quite quickly. So: Can it be overwatering...?

About glasshouse: I don't have such a thing nor the space for one. I can either place my plants out into sun & rain, although with different microclimates (South balkony with a small place with a roof; Western balkony; garage roof with shadow during the hottest midday). :D
Or I can keep them inside looking out (either North, full South or West). This sounds like jailhouse. :evil:

I only could build a "miniature carport", just big enough for the Adenium, to keep the rain off. It's regular summer place is the sunniest & hottest place I can provide. :-(
N.

This was a cloudy day last summer, perfect for taking pictures. Beside the clouds, there is no shadow at all from morning to evening.
The shelf is aligned exactly North-South. Temperatures here go up to 40°C/104°F and more during midday. That close to the house and sheltered under the roof, there is next to no wind.
IMG_4608 Kopie.JPG
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nachtkrabb
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Re: Splits in Adenium arabicum: HELP please!

Post by nachtkrabb »

...besides: When may I expect flowers?
:?: After experiences with the (not closely related) Pachypodium succulentum, I somehow had awaited them before or during the new growth of leaves.
:?: In the German Wikipedia, they don't know A. arabicum, but say that A. obesum flowers during the dry season (and show a picture of a plant with flower AND leaves).
:?: The English Wikipedia says nothing about the flowery season of Adenium or A. arabicum. At least it knows the species.
:?: That dealer had them flowering abundantly with leaves in October.
:?: Llifle says: "It is capable of flowering all year, even sparingly during the winter, but it is more floriferous during the dry periods of Spring and Autumn."

Now this is all very clear, precise and unambiguous. Splendid.
Do you have flowering experiences? What did your plants do? What did you provide them with to do so?

#-o :o :x :oops: 8-[ ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) N.
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