Adenium Obesum – how to care for a flower

Adenium Obesum, or Obese, belongs to the low evergreen shrubs from the Kutrov family. Grown at home as beautiful flowering species. The plant is poisonous.

Adenium Obesum – how to care for the flower

Botanical characteristic

When grown indoors, Adenium reaches a height of 0.5-1.0 m and a width of up to 0.7 m.

Description:

• the form is bushy or woody;
• the base of the trunk is thickened – caudex, which makes the plant look like a bottle, it accumulates nutrients and water;
• the stem is brownish-gray;
• the arrangement of leaves is alternate, on short petioles, up to 15 cm long, lanceolate, the edge is pointed or blunt, solid, the surface is smooth, glossy, the structure is leathery, the color is dark green with a grayish tint;
• inflorescences are large, diameter 3-7 cm, formed by bright petals, the color in the palette pink, burgundy, red, succulent-based hybrids bloom with double buds, the core is more light in comparison with the edges, funnel-shaped, the smell is weak or absent.

The flowering period occurs in early spring. On the cut, it emits poisonous juice. Pollen also has a toxic effect.

Obesum has a similar appearance – Arabicum. The difference in these varieties lies in the intensity of development: the latter is more compact, quickly gains height, but the flowering is poor, the color of the buds is not as saturated as in the classical obesum. The cost of seeds on Adenium Obesum is a little more expensive.

Purchase and adaptation

The best time to buy Adenium Fat is spring. During the summer, he will have time to adapt to the new home growing conditions and strengthen the root system before winter.

When choosing a flower culture, attention is paid to appearance.A healthy succulent:

• has a rich shade of foliage, the structure is dense;
• on the roots there are no traces of rot and damage;
• leaf plates without spots and signs of pests.

After the acquisition, the flower is quarantined, isolating from other indoor plants. The duration of the adaptation period is 2 weeks. At this time, the culture is not fed and transplanted.

Planting and transplanting

For planting, flat but wide pots are suitable, in which the diameter values ​​exceed a depth of 2-3 times. With a large volume of soil, the risk of root rotting due to over-wetting of the substrate increases.

When planting succulent in deep pot containers to grow it in the style of a bonsai tree, they are filled with ½ drainage mixture – expanded clay or brick fragments.

A young plant is transplanted up to 3 times a season. The grown ones are transplanted annually into pots, 2-3 cm in diameter larger than the previous ones.

An indoor flower at the age of 3-5 years is transplanted with a frequency of once every 2-3 years depending on the state of the root system and soil. For older specimens, they are limited to replacing the substrate to a depth of 5 cm of the surface layer.

Growing conditions

The tropical flower is not recommended for keeping in the presence of children and pets. Due to its toxic properties it poses a health hazard.

Needs a place well lit by the sun.

In the natural environment it grows on ships and low-fertility lands. Not the most nutritious soil suitable for succulents with neutral acidity is suitable for home cultivation.

In order to increase aeration, large fractions of river sand or small pebbles are added to the finished soil mixtures.

For self-preparation of the substrate often take:

• 3 parts of leafy soil;
• 1 part of expanded clay with charcoal;
• 1 part of perlite or vermiculite;
• coconut fibers (up to half the volume).

Microclimate

Flower n there is a lot of light

Adenium is not susceptible to direct sunlight and does not need shading even when placed on the southern windowsill. To maintain decorativeness, good illumination is required for over 10 hours or more.

In summer, the removal to open conditions is shown. In winter, it requires additional exposure using artificial sources.

Humidity indicators do not have a significant effect, because succulents easily tolerate overdried air. The average level is about 50-60%.

Optimum temperature:

• in summer – above 25 ° C;
• in winter – not lower than 10 ° C.

Care

Watering

Succulents can tolerate prolonged drought, consuming the accumulated water from the caudex, because when organizing watering procedures, they are guided by the rule of underfilling.

In summer, abundant watering is required with complete drying of the surface layer of the substrate, avoiding stagnation of moisture. Additionally, spraying on foliage is organized.

In winter, the number of procedures is reduced to 2 times a month. Waterlogged soil, together with cold air, causes rotting of the root system and subsequent death of the flower culture.

Fertilizing

Feed the house flower throughout the growing season from spring to autumn. When using fertilizers intended for feeding succulents, the dosage is halved.

The adenium does not fertilize the first 30 days after transplantation.

When choosing fertilizers, preference should be given to organic and mineral complexes in which nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are present. The frequency of use is every 1-1.5 months.

When winter sets in, the flower culture dormantly stops feeding.

Formation and trimming

Adenium can be formed in two ways:

• Pinch. Pinch the growth point in the upper part of the trunk. This stimulates branching and helps thicken the caudex.The procedure is carried out from the age of the plant at 3 months throughout the entire period of development.
• Pruning. In succulents, the root root, which is below the caudex, is cut. This activates the appearance of lateral fibrous roots that come to the surface, giving an unusual appearance. You can trim the rod, starting from the age of a month. Slices are powdered with cinnamon powder or charcoal.

Some flower growers practice combining the pinching of the trunk and pruning the root root.

Propagation methods

At home, Obesum is propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting.

by Seeds

You can propagate by seed all year round

Seeds are highly germinated, up to 95%. They are laid out on the surface of the moistened soil without deepening, covered with plastic wrap or a glass cover from above, creating greenhouse conditions and placed under lighting.

Before sowing, the mixture must be subjected to heat treatment to avoid further indoor greenhouse spread of mold.

Seedlings germinate 5-7 days after planting. After germination, the home greenhouse begins to air and moisten the substrate from the spray bottle daily.When sprouts from 2-3 leaves appear, the shelter is removed, the crops are dived, planted in separate potted containers and taken care of as an adult plant.

Seed propagation allows you to get a culture with a thick trunk and compactly folded crown, but does not give quick results.

When conditions are favorable, it is possible to sow seeds all year round. The most suitable time is January-February, so that by autumn the home flower will grow stronger and be ready for the formation of the crown and caudex.

Cuttings

Reproduction allows maximum transfer of the quality characteristics of the parent bush . For rooting, branches or workpieces cut off during crown formation are often used, cut from the apical part of shoots to a length of 15 cm. They are dried in the open air and placed in water.

You can root the cuttings immediately in the ground, covered with plastic on top or glass. The planted sprout is watered after 7-10 days, distributing water along the perimeter of the container, and not under the root.

When propagated by cuttings, several trunks are often spliced, forming an unusual appearance:

• from the attached parts cut the bark;
• the shoots are pressed tightly in bare places, bandaged;
• the combined workpieces are dried and planted in a pot.

To accelerate rooting, keep the temperature near 25 ° C and provide bright lighting. The first roots appear after a month.

The advantage of seed propagation is earlier onset of flowering compared to plants obtained from seeds. However, with this dilution, the trunk develops and quenches noticeably slower.

Vaccination

Adeniums are characterized by rapid wound repair, and this property is widely used by propagandists for propagation by vaccination. In an adult succulent, a hole is made in the caudex and a stalk is inserted into it with a sharp cut from another flower, the parts are fixed.

This breeding method helps to combine different varieties in one plant, create a unique composition from the mix and provide it with decorativeness.