What you need for successful growing Adeniums

1) Adenium plants - from TopTropicals Endless selection of Adeniums. We have double flower, red, purple, yellow and even black flowers!
2) A small pot with excellent drainage is a must. Position the plant in a pot, size of root system.
3) Adenium soil mix. TopTropicals Adenium Soilless Mix. Use only well-drained soil.
4) Lots of light. Adeniums need lots of light for heavy flowering. However from our own experience, in super hot climates, they look healthier in filtered bright light. After initial planting, once the plant is established and starts growing new leaves (may take a few weeks), gradually move it into brighter light.
5) Little water. Adeniums like a neutral to hard water. Acidic water tends to sour the soil too fast and may cause root rot. Water plants preferably in the early morning, and allow them to drink up throughout the day. Watering can be done daily to every few days. Do not water again until soil dries on surface. Never allow your plants to sit in a saucer of water, but don't let them to dry out too often - this causes adeniums to go into early dormancy. Adeniums do not like both over-watering or drying-out.
6) Fertilizer. To make your plant develop a large swollen base/trunk, you'll need a good quality fertilizer. Use slow-release granulated fertilizer for overall plant health, and liquid water soluble fertilizer for swelling up trunks that is also used to increase flowering. It shouldn't be too high in nitrogen, the middle number should be the highest (similar to 10-50-10). Never apply fertilizer directly on roots and do not liquid feed when a plant is thirsty: always water first slightly to avoid root burn and leaf drop. Do not wet leaves.
7) SuperFood micro-elements. Besides macro-nutrients provided by fertilizer, Adenium needs micro-elements for balanced development of root system and especially caudex: Sunshine-SuperFood.
8) SUNSHINE-BC. Spray leaves with SUNSHINE-BC once a month to encourage young growth, profuse flowering and large caudex.
9) Growing caudex. There is a secret how to create a large swollen caudex: raise the plant a bit every time you re-pot it, so that the upper part of roots will be a little exposed. The plant will form more roots that will go down.

See full list of Adeniums - plants and seeds.

When plants are ready for a meal?

Q: We have an early Spring here in Florida. All plants in my garden flushing out new leaves and buds opening. Can I start fertilizing? I have Mango, Avocado, Peach trees, many medicinal herbs and flowering shrubs: Angel trumpets, plumerias, bromeliads. I prefer mild organic fertilizers; can you suggest something that is safe for edibles and butterflies?

Q: As a rule of thumb, tropical gardeners start regular fertilizing when the minimum temperatures (at night) go above 65F. Keep in mind that Sunshine Boosters fertilizers can be applied year around because they have mild formulas and used with every watering; during cooler period, you water less frequently, so feeding is reduced accordingly. Another advantage of Sunshine Boosters - they are natural (derived from organic amino acids which is the basics of Life). They are safe for edibles as well as pollinating insects.

Here is the feeding plan for your plants:
1. The most universal solution for all plants (both potted and in-ground): get a complete set of Sunshine Boosters Pro system: Advantage-Pro for vegetative growth, BloomBoom Pro for flowering stage, and Ca-Support-Pro + Constanta-Pro as necessary daily supplements. You will need all these 4 components for your garden.
2. Start adding these liquid boosters with every watering according to dozing directions and you will notice amazing growth boost within a week.
3. Apply Sunshine Epi plant hormone every 2 weeks as a foliar spray to boost immune system and metabolism of plants and protect them from diseases. Epi makes plants (especially young plants and those "waking up" from dormancy) grow twice faster! It also enhances effect of fertilizers by increasing plant metabolism.
4. After cool winter temperatures, some plants may develop element deficiencies like chlorosis (yellowing leaves). Additional microelement boost can be provided with Sunshine Greenleaf (iron supplement) and Sunshine Superfood (micro-elements).
5. For additional boosting of flowering and setting fruit, use the following individual boosters:
Sunshine Robusta - for foliage plants and when you need rapid vegetative growth
Sunshine TotalFeed - for Plumerias and other fragrant plants
Sunshine Megaflor - for Brugmansias and other flowering heavy feeders
Sunshine C-Cibus - for improving fruit production and quality
Sunshine Honey - for sweeter fruit (must be applied 4-5 times a year)
6. For young/small plants (seedlings, rooted cuttings) as well as tender tropicals like bromeliads, and orchids - Sunshine Bombino is a perfect choice due to its mild formula.
7. To save money, order complete sets rather than individual boosters; you will be able to safe up to 40%! Sunshine Complete Nutrition System Kits: Combo Kit, and Pro Kit.

If you are a fan of organic gardening, do not use dry fertilizers. While water-soluble and granulated (smart-realease) fertilizers are popular choice in plant nurseries due to their convenience, they are not as safe as liquid boosters because they create salt build-up in soil and have a high risk of overdosing/burning plant roots, especially potted plants, plants at breaking dormancy, at establishing, and at early stages of plant development. Besides, dry fertilizers may affect the taste of your fruit and herbs. See advantages of liquid boosters over dry fertilizers.

Learn more about Sunshine Nutrition System - a Natural solution for your garden.

Synergy of SUNSHINE, biostimulants, and macro-micro

Q: I've heard that plants grow better and bigger with SUNSHINE boosters and when using Myco-Mix instead of regular soil mix. Do they work like fertilizers? If I use a Myco-mix, do I still need a fertilizer?

A: SUNSHINE boosters are not fertilizers, they are natural plant hormones, or biostimulants, as well as Myco-Mix which is a naturally occurring compound or microbes. Biostimulants are becoming increasingly attractive to folks interested in sustainable agriculture, and very popular for plant growth or pest resistance. A plant biostimulant is not a fertilizer because it provides no nutritional value to the plants. But, it can promote greater nutrient and water use efficiency, increase resistance to pests and diseases, reduce abiotic stresses, and in turn, lead to plant growth and health.

To answer your question, you can not replace regular fertilizers (NPK) and micro-elements with plant boosters and stimulants. However, fertilizers and microelements will work more efficiently when used in combination with biostimulants. Together they create a synergy, so plants use the most of fertilizer's potential, and will grow a lot better, faster, and healthier.

4 components for the best growing results

1. SUNSHINE boosters. They are a must during the juvenile stage of plant development - seedlings and cuttings. They are especially important for recovery of weak or stressed plants (boosting their immune system).
2. SuperFood microelements
3. NPK fertilizers. Select from water-soluble and smart-release types and make sure do not exceed the recommended concentration. Lower dose and more frequent use is always better for a plant.
4. Specialized soilless mixes: Myco-Mix (with biostimulant Mycorrhiza) for exclusive growing projects and special/unique plants, Professional potting mix for potted plants, and Propagation mix for seeds and cuttings.

Overwintering Adeniums outside of tropics

Q: We bought several adenium plants from you. We are moving to the Denver area of Colorado. How can we make sure the plants survive? Should we use a green house?

A: Adeniums are perfect container plants, and house plants. They can be easily grown outside of tropical climate. During winter, Adeniums drop leaves and go into dormancy which makes it easy to keep these plants in a dormant stage in a warm location of your house, or possibly even in well-lit spot of garage (with a window), with temperatures above 50-60F.
Here in South Florida, during time of cold, when chances of freeze are high, we move our own Adenium collection into lanai, with plastic sheet protection around lanai.

In colder climates, Adeniums can be kept indoors as house plants during winter. There are some requirements/tips for you:

• Temperature. Move Adeniums indoors when temperature starts dropping below 45F.
• SUNSHINE. Use SUNSHINE boosters to improve cold resistance of Adeniums, and essure healthy plant throughout winter. SUNSHINE-BC formula is specifically designed for plants with caudex, and bonsai.
• Water. Reduce watering to minimum, especially when plants drop leaves - this means they went into dormancy. Once a week light watering is enough. Water very carefully during cooler months. When it is hot (85-100F), excessive water usually won't harm adeniums: it will be partially used by a plant, and partially will evaporate. Especially be careful with water when temperatures drop below 65F - then tropical plants simply stop growing process and go dormant. Once adeniums start losing leaves, this is a sign to reduce watering to once a week to once a month, and in very small quantity (couple tablespoons per pot).
• Light. Bright light is not necessary, but do not keep them in dark either, even if all leaves dropped. Good light is necessary to maintain healthy stems and caudex. Keep in mind, the less light, the less watering too. Ideal spot is a windowsill, however if your space is limited and all windows occupied by other "leafy" plants, location close to window will be enough as long as watering is reduced, to avoid rot. We keep our big collection specimens on a roofed porch during winter, where level of light is very low. Last winter we haven't lost a single plant due to low light. They take shade pretty well considering minimum or no water. However bright light is always better - it creates healthier environment for a plant. We all know about space limitations for our large collections, especially in winter. So if you can afford a bright spot for adenium during winter - the plant will be lucky!
• Soil. Use only well drained mix with much higher content of perlite than you would use for most tropical plants. For adeniums, we use mix with 30-40% of perlite in it, while regular mix has 10-15%. Adeniums like alkaline soil, unlike most of tropical plants (hard to say what else likes alkaline... Ficus for sure!). This means, regular mix with high content of peat moss may cause root rot. To increase alkalinity, you may add dolomite. Here in Florida where we have natural supply of shell rock handy, it is easy to add some shell to a potting mix (shell sand, rather than quartz sand). We always add a few large shells on top of a pots with a big specimen. Besides increasing soil pH (making it more alkaline), shells look very decorative.
• Fertilizer. No fertilizer until Spring when plants start showing new growth and new leaves.
• Move your Adeniums outside in Spring, when chances of freeze are zero. More sunlight and air circulation is beneficial for breaking the dormancy and providing plants with a quick growth start.

Planting instructions for bare-rooted succulent plants

Q: I would like to order a few Adeniums from your selection. You website says "shipped barerooted". What do I need to know about potting these plants before I order?

A: Adeniums do not require much soil; large 4-5" wide caudex plant can be grown in 1 gal pot. After unpacking the plants, position it in a pot, size of root system. Use only well-drained soil with high content of perlite and/or sand. Cactus mix can be used too, although we recommend using our special TopTropicals professional soilless potting mix. Water once and keep in warm (75-80F) place in filtered light. Do not water again until soil dries on surface. Once the plant is established and starts growing new leaves (may take a few weeks), gradually move it into brighter light. Then you can start fertilizing it. You may place shells and lime rocks on top of adenium planting, as these plants benefit from slightly alkaline soils.

See Info sheet on Adenium care.
See full list of Adeniums.
See full list of Plumerias.
See full list of Euphorbias.

Desert rose winter care

Q: I purchased several packets of desert rose seeds last year. I now have 45 very healthy seedlings some of them in bud. Almost all of my seeds grew but I lost most of them when I rook them in during winter. I did not water them for a month , kept them in their pots and set them by the window. they either dried up and died or rotted and died. I noticed when you send me grafted specimens that you bareroot them. Is this a better way to keep them inside in winter, bareroot? I hate to lose these plants come winter time. Pls advise me. I live in Houston, Tx. where we get temps below 40 degrees and sometime a day or more of freezing temps.

A: Thank you for your question. Rot is pretty common problem with Desert Roses. We monitor our Adeniums closely and have a special set up of watering environment and schedule, in dedicated greenhouses just for them. Nevertheless - every now and then we see a rotten caudex and can't help it to say "oops! over-watered!" These plants are very sensitive to environment changes, especially when it comes to a combination of water and temperature. These are a few tips that should help you to reduce risk of plant loss to a minimum:

1) Use only well drained mix with much higher content of perlite than you would use for most tropical plants. For adeniums, we use mix with 30-40% of perlite in it, while regular mix has 10-15%.

2) Adeniums like alkaline soil, unlike most of tropical plants (hard to say what else likes alkaline... Ficus for sure!). This means, regular mix with high content of peat moss may cause root rot. To increase alkalinity, you may add dolomite. Here in Florida where we have natural supply of shell rock handy, it is easy to add some shell to a potting mix (shell sand, rather than quartz sand). We always add a few large shells on top of a pots with a big specimen. Besides increasing soil pH (making it more alkaline), shells look very decorative.

3) Water very carefully during cooler months. When it is hot (85-100F), excessive water usually won't harm adeniums: it will be partially used by a plant, and partially will evaporate. Especially be careful with water when temperatures drop below 65F - then tropical plants simply stop growing process and go dormant. Once adeniums start losing leaves, this is a sign to reduce watering to once a week to once a month, and in very small quantity (couple tablespoons per pot).

4) We do not bareroot adeniums for winter storage. They are not bulbs. Barerooting of this plant is recommended only during shipping. Adeniums can stay without soil for up to a week without hardly any stress, sometimes even longer.

5) We keep our big collection specimens on a roofed porch during winter, where level of light is very low. Last winter we haven't lost a single plant due to low light. They take shade pretty well considering minimum or no water. However bright light is always better - it creates healthier environment for a plant. We all know about space limitations for our large collections, especially in winter. So if you can afford a bright spot for adenium during winter - the plant will be lucky!

Adenium Summer Sale: 20% off plants and seeds!

Growing Exotic Adeniums

Exotic varieties of Desert Roses. Adeniums have many spectacular hybrids. The basic culture is very similar to orchids. A small pot with excellent drainage is a must. Adeniums do not like both over-watering or drying-out. There is a secret how to create a large swollen caudex: raise the plant a bit every time you re-pot it, so that the upper part of roots will be a little exposed. The plant will form more roots that will go down.

To make your plant develop a large swollen base/trunk, you'll need a good quality fertilizer. Fertilizer requirement for swelling up trunks is also used to increase flowering. It shouldn't be too high in nitrogen, the middle number should be the highest (similar to 10-50-10). Never apply fertilizer directly on roots and do not liquid feed when a plant is thirsty: always water first slightly to avoid root burn and leaf drop. Do not wet leaves. Adeniums need lots of light for heavy flowering.

Most hybrids and species start blooming in the spring when the conditions are warm and days get longer, and continue blooming through the fall and winter in warmer climates. Adeniums like a neutral to hard water. Acidic water tends to sour the soil too fast and may cause root rot. Water plants preferably in the early morning, and allow them to drink up throughout the day. Watering can be done daily to every few days. Never allow your plants to sit in a saucer of water, but don't let them to dry out too often - this causes adeniums to go into early dormancy.

Planting instructions for bare-rooted succulent plants. Position the plant in a pot, size of root system. Use only well-drained soil with high content of Perlite and/or sand (cactus mix can be used), water once and keep in warm (75-80F) place in filtered light. Do not water again until soil dries on surface. Once the plant is established and starts growing new leaves (may take a few weeks), gradually move it into brighter light. Then you can start fertilizing it.

See full list of Adeniums - plants and seeds.

When to apply super boost?

Sunshine Boosters: a breakthrough in Winter fertilizing

In the photo: plants are tough survivors. Life can't be stopped even by a brick road!

Q: Just wanted to know best time of day to apply super boost as spray and watering? Only listed to make sure night temp doesn't drop below 65F...

A: As a rule of thumb, plant's needs in fertilizers are very low in the cold season because they consume less nutrients during dormancy. For tropical plants, when minimum temperatures drop below 65F - we stop applications of dry (granulated) fertilizers until spring, to avoid root burn.
Liquid Sunshine Boosters are exceptions from this rule to a certain extent, for 2 reasons:
- they are amino-acid based which means, salts do not build up in the soil, and thus will not burn the roots even with slower plant metabolism.
- concentrations/formulas are mild and designed for as frequent as daily watering

1) When a plant goes into full dormancy (drops leaves and does not show any new growth), you may stop fertilizing with any Macro NPK products (both dry and liquid)

2) If a plant is evergreen and continues growing during the cooler period, and especially if it is a winter bloomer, mild liquid fertilizers can be applied, depending on the stage of plant development.
Robusta and TotalFeed are used for vegetative growth and pre-flower.
Megaflor and C-Cibus are used for winter flowering/ fruiting plants during the bloom stage.

See full list of liquid boosters

3) Micro-elements can be used all year round for all plants that are not dormant (do not drop leaves)

4) Always use Sunshine-Epi as a foliar spray to activate immune system and unlock protective mechanisms, BEFORE applying other boosters. It is especially important during Fall-Winter for improving cold tolerance and disease resistance.

5) Always apply foliar spray and/or drench the soil with solutions in morning hours so the plant has time to process the nutrients during daylight when metabolism is the most active.

6) Avoid any dry fertilizers during winter

Adenium: a Rose by any Other Name

New article by Jane Jordan.
"...The famous quote is often used to imply that the names of things do not affect what they really are, in the case of The Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) it is not a rose at all, rather a succulent that thrives in hot, dry and sunny conditions. These spectacular plants have no relation to the rose family, they are a species of flowering plant from the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. The naming of this plant is partly correct as they originate in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where they can grow into large trees with huge swollen trunks..."
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