Adenium Obesum - how to care for a flower
Adenium Obesum, or Fat, refers to low evergreen dwarf shrubs from the Kutrovy family. Grown at home as a flowering species. The plant is poisonous.
Adenium Obesum - how to care for a 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:
- bush or woody form;
- the base of the trunk is thickened - caudex, which makes the plant look like a bottle, it accumulates nutrients and water;
- the stem is brown-gray;
- the arrangement of the leaves is alternate, on short petioles, length up to 15 cm, lanceolate, pointed or obtuse edge, solid, smooth, glossy surface, leathery structure, dark green with a grayish tint;
- inflorescences are large, 3-7 cm in diameter, formed by bright petals, the color in the palette is pink, burgundy, red, hybrids derived from succulents bloom with double buds, the core is lighter in comparison with the edges, the shape is funnel-shaped, the smell is weak or absent.
The flowering period occurs in early spring. On the cut, it secretes poisonous juice. Pollen is also toxic.
Obesum has a similar appearance - Arabicum. The difference in these varieties lies in the intensity of development: the latter is more compact, quickly gaining height, but flowering is poor, the color of the buds is not as saturated as in the classic obesum. The cost of seeds for Adenium Obesum is slightly more expensive.
Purchase and adaptation
The best time to buy Adenium Fat is spring. Over the summer, homemade he will have time to adapt to new growing conditions and strengthen the root system before winter.
When choosing a flower culture, attention is paid to appearance. In a healthy succulent:
- rich shade of foliage, dense structure;
- there are no traces of rot and damage on the roots;
- leaf plates without spots and signs of pests.
After purchase, the flower is quarantined, isolating it from other indoor plants. The duration of the adaptation period is 2 weeks. At this time, the culture is not fed or transplanted.
Planting and transplanting
For planting, flat, but wide pots are suitable, in which the diameter indicators exceed the depth by 2-3 times. With a large volume of soil, the risk of root decay increases due to waterlogging of the substrate.
When planting a succulent in deep pot containers for growing it in the style of a bonsai tree, they are filled ½ with a drainage mixture - expanded clay or brick fragments.
A young plant is transplanted up to 3 times a season. The grown ones are subject to annual transplantation into pots, 2-3 cm larger in diameter than the previous ones.
An indoor flower at the age of 3-5 years is transplanted every 2-3 years, depending on the state of the root system and soil.For old 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 is a health hazard.
Needs a well-lit place in the sun.
In the conditions of its natural environment, it grows on ship and marginal lands. For home cultivation, not the most nutritious soil intended for succulents, with neutral acidity, is suitable.
In order to increase aeration, river sand of a coarse fraction or small pebbles is added to the finished soil mixtures.
For self-preparation of the substrate, they often take:
- 3 parts of leafy soil;
- 1 part of expanded clay with charcoal;
- 1 part perlite or vermiculite;
- coconut fibers (up to half the volume).
Microclimate
A flower needs a lot of light
Adenium is not susceptible to direct sunlight and does not need shading, even when placed on a southern windowsill. To maintain decorativeness, good illumination is required for 10 or more hours.
Taking out to open conditions is shown in summer. In winter, it requires supplementary lighting with the help of artificial sources.
Moisture indicators do not have a significant effect, because a succulent plant easily tolerates dry air. The average level is about 50-60%.
Optimum temperature:
- in summer - above 25 ° С;
- in winter - not lower than 10 ° С.
Care
Watering
A succulent plant is able to withstand prolonged drought, consuming the accumulated water from the caudex, therefore, when organizing irrigation procedures, they are guided by the underfilling rule.
In summer, abundant watering is necessary with complete drying of the surface layer of the substrate, avoiding stagnant moisture. Additionally, they organize spraying over the foliage.
In winter, the number of procedures is reduced to 2 times a month. Waterlogged soil, combined with cold air, causes decay of the root system and the subsequent death of the flower culture.
Top dressing
A home flower is fed throughout the growing season from spring to autumn. When using fertilizers intended for feeding succulents, the dosage is halved.
The first 30 days after transplantation, adenium is not fertilized.
When choosing fertilizers, preference should be given to organic and mineral complexes, which contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The frequency of application is every 1-1.5 months.
At the onset of winter, at the dormant stage of the flower culture, feeding is stopped.
Shaping and pruning
There are two ways to form adenium.
- Pinching. Pinch the growth point at the top 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 the succulent, the taproot is pruned, which is located below the caudex. This activates the appearance of lateral fibrous roots, which come to the surface, giving an unusual appearance. You can cut the rod starting from the age of a month. Sections are powdered with cinnamon powder or charcoal.
Some growers practice combining stem pinching and taproot trimming.
Reproduction methods
At home, Obesum is propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting.
Seeds
Seed can be propagated all year round.
The seeds have a high germination rate, up to 95%. They are laid out on the surface of the moistened soil, without deepening, covered with plastic wrap or glass cover on top, creating greenhouse conditions and placed under lighting.
Before sowing, the soil mixture must be subjected to heat treatment in order to avoid the spread of mold in a closed greenhouse in the future.
Seedlings germinate 5-7 days after planting. After their germination, the home greenhouse is daily ventilated and moistened with a spray bottle.When 2-3 leaves appear on the sprouts, the shelter is removed, the crops are dived, seated in separate pot containers and provide care as for an adult plant.
Seed propagation allows for a crop with a thick trunk and a compactly folded crown, but does not give quick results.
When favorable conditions are created, it is possible to sow seeds all year round. The most suitable time is January-February, so that by autumn the home flower is strong and ready for the formation of the crown and caudex.
Cuttings
Reproduction allows you to maximize the quality characteristics of the parent bush. For rooting, branches cut off during the formation of the crown are often used or blanks cut from the tip of the shoots to a length of up to 15 cm.They are dried in the open air and placed in water.
You can root the cuttings immediately in the ground, covering them with plastic or glass on top. Water the planted sprout after 7-10 days, distributing water around the perimeter of the container, and not under the root.
When propagating by cuttings, several trunks are often spliced, forming an unusual look:
- the bark is cut off from the attached parts;
- shoots are tightly pressed with bare places, bandaged;
- the combined blanks are dried and planted in a pot.
To speed up rooting, maintain a temperature of about 25 ° C and provide bright lighting. The first roots appear after a month.
The advantage of seed propagation is the early onset of flowering compared to seed-derived plants. However, with such dilution, the development and quenching of the trunk occurs noticeably slower.
Graft
Adeniums are characterized by rapid wound recovery, and this property is widely used by flower growers for propagation by grafting. In an adult succulent, a hole is made in the caudex and a stalk with a pointed cut from another flower is inserted into it, the parts are fixed.
This method of breeding helps to combine different varieties in one plant, create a unique composition from the mix and provide it with decorativeness.
Treatment of diseases and pests
Adenium is highly resistant to infectious diseases and is rarely attacked by harmful insects due to the poisonous sap and pollen.
Most often, flower growers are faced with root rot, which is caused by a violation of care - due to excessive watering and hypothermia.
| Type of defeat | Method of struggle |
| Root rot. Fungal disease occurs as a result of stagnation of moisture in the pot. Low temperature is a contributing factor. | The flower is removed from the pot. The roots are examined, the damaged fragments are cut off, the surviving areas are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or with a fungicide, dried under natural conditions and transplanted into a fresh substrate. The temperature is maintained at a level not lower than 23C. |
| Root and spider mites. Signs - small holes in the leaf plates, whitish cobweb. | A sick flower is washed with soapy water (50 g per 1 liter of water) and sprayed with an insecticide, for example, Aktara, Aktellik and the like. |
| Mealybug. Leaves behind white patches and black specks. | Controlling a pest is similar to getting rid of a tick. |