Hope you all enjoy!
Kirk

Seeds arrived on Monday, 11-19-2012 and were immediately planted. 1st pic taken 11-23-2012. First signs of 4 seeds sprouting.

2nd pic taken 11-24-2012. 9 seeds sprouted.

Kirk

tiny word of advice, take off their seed shells as soon as you safely can. like on the one in the bottom left, and the middle one in the bottom right cup. the left one in the bottom right cup also seems almost out of the shell. then remove the shells completely out of the cups, they are a fungus magnet, and if left on the seedlings quite often they will allow those fungi to attack seedling cotyledons.
you can use tweezers or a toothpick to gently slide the shell off the seedling, it is also good to spray it a little bit with water first so it softens.

Kirk

in your last picture, the one in the bottom right, so bottom container bottom right seedling, it looks like the inner membrane was left on it (happens sometimes, it tends to stick to them). you should try to remove it if the seedling doesn't manage to get free on its own in a day or two. otherwise that thing will basically strangulate the young plant by not allowing it to open it's cotyledons.
it is a bit harder to remove than the seed coat, but if wetted enough and carefully removed with tweezers it will come off.
but as i said, wait a bit to see if it will manage on its own, i can't tell from the image if the membrane is already torn or not. if yes the leaves will just lift it off, if not you'll have to help.

they are so darned cure as babies :D

I was worried about the one on top. From the get go it's leaves were messed up and I have no idea why. It wasn't from left on membrane or seed covering. But it's starting to put out what looks like a 2nd set of leaves (or at least one more) so I'm a little less worried. All the others are starting their 2nd set as well but can't really tell from these pictures.

Kirk

Looking great!!!

;-)

Laura

Thanks, Laura & Karyn. I'm totally enjoying this little project. And good luck on getting that lady to part with one of her big trees. Hopefully she's feeling generous that day for you. And I'll totally be laughing if another seedpod manages to find it's way home with you. I will then know for sure that you got some awesome adenium skills! :)

Kirk

Both pics taken this morning, Dec 8.

Fattening up nicely. Slowly but surely.

Kirk

Front and center is the runt that I was worried about losing since it's leaves were messed up when it sprouted. I've become a bit partial to it as my favorite.

Some are a bit tall but some are getting fat.

Kirk

Kirk

Enjoy!
Kirk

Getting ready to replant.

Nice fat caudex forming on this one!

Five of the nine seedlings.

The fat one looking comfortable in his new spot.

This one is really starting to show some character on the caudex.

What sort of dirt did you use to grow them ?

Clusty, I used miracle grow cactus mix and added some perlite to the mix.

Kirk

How often did you water them?

JS

Kirk

Kirk

Juneyp, I aggree with Rick. I'd try some more seeds.

Kirk

Scott

I have purchased some fresh Obesum seeds from Adenium Center on ebay USA. Luckily they ship to the UK. I've chosen Rose White Beauty and Suvarnabhumi. Hope they survive shipping.

Will they still be classed as fresh by the time they arrive here and do I need to soak them before sowing? I soaked the other seeds for 2 hours but they weren't fresh.

Kirk

Scott

So the cover can be removed after the seeds have germinated. Should the propagation mat be removed as well? How long do they normally need to be heated? My room temp is 20C (68F, I think).

Thanks.

and this is a few days ago

what i noticed:
- they are much taller when they sprout than obesums
- they have much more diverse character among seedlings, i really love them because of that! some are dark skinned, some are light, some are round and fat, some are pillar-like with a tuft of leaves on top. some branch immediately, some seem to think they're puff-fish :D
- they require more light than obesums, or they go into a sort of sleepy phase, not dormant in the sense that they drop leaves, but they just don't move much. at least they don't stretch like obesums
- other than light, care is the same

i will probably try to get my hands on some seeds again this spring, i want to see how big i can get them during our warm season. these were supposed to be sown in summer, but my supplier sent obesum seeds instead, so it took a while to get the real ones, and by then it was autumn already. i also have three bigger ones i bought from thailand, those mostly slept through winter...

Pagan

Pagan,
I have found for me that starting them in Feb-Mar. Gets them going and then by the time that April/May comes, I can usually move outside in a sunny protected area and they flourish. I started some a couple years ago in Oct. and the ones started the following spring where close to same size come fall.
I wish I could grow them outside most of the year, but I like where I live and we make it work.
Rick

Optimum germination temp is supposed to be 25C to 35C--this means ambient temperature or soil temperature? I don't want to end up cooking the seeds.

Pagan

Right now, for example, the room is 20C, the heating mat is 41C and the surface temp of the soil in my adenium seed container is 32C.

At the end of this first attempt, I may very well end up with baked seeds. Or if in their native habitat, soil temperatures soar up to 40C, then, yay!

Thank you for the time and patience, I am learning a lot.

Pagan

Scott

Marie

Marie, i will separate them when it warms up here. it snowed yesterday,though the forecast says we're in for a bit of warmer weather. i don't like transplanting in the cold, actually more like in cloudy weather. i've found they need light to better survive shock. unfortunately it's cloudy most of winter here, i am so sick of it and hope to move somewhere with more sun the first chance i get.
that is not even the most crowded tray i have, thankfully separating roots is easy in this mix!

Brian UK.

A batch of Obesum seeds arrived on Saturday and I planted them yesterday. 20 each of Triple White Beauty and Suvarnabhumi. They also sent a bonus 10 pack of something else (can't remember and I'm at work now). I've planted half of each pack and saved the other half to plant in a few weeks when I get a clear idea of how many have germinated. Should I store them in the fridge or somewhere warm?

I've planted each seed in a single cell and placed them on a heat mat with propagator lid over the top. Here's waiting!

Scott

As far as I am aware Thai adenium breeders have themselves produced the variety known as 'Thai Socotranum' as this is not a naturally occuring variety...I stand to be corrected however!
Gill from the UK.

So, the race is on and it will be interesting to find out which methods have worked best for any of us. I guess we will all do things slightly differently, be it temps, lighting, compost or whatever, the combinations are many. No doubt we will have the enevitable failures too!

This evening I have planted 3 types of obesums, arabicums and somalense also. I'll start a thread of my own to add to as and when anything happens....so far nothing has, they only went in the compost a couple of hours ago..lol!
Gill from the UK.

Thanks - Scott

I know you mentioned what kind of soils you mix together, but can you tell me how many parts of cactus soil mix and perlite you put together?

Josette

For starting my seeds I used about equal parts cactus mix and perlite. Maybe a little more on the perlite side. From what I read and understand seedlings can take the dampness well compared to adult plants. I do have to water it every 3 days so it's not a mix that really stays soggy or anything like that. Hope this information helps or gives you a better idea.

Kirk

I have announced at home that I have added Florida and California to my travel wish list so I can view Adenium Obesum growing outdoors. Eyes rolled followed by smiles. It's unlikely they would do well outdoors in the UK. Correct me if I am wrong.

I have announced at home that I have added Florida and California to my travel wish list so I can view Adenium Obesum growing outdoors. Eyes rolled followed by smiles. It's unlikely they would do well outdoors in the UK. Correct me if I am wrong.

about the UK supplier, do NOT buy from him, many people on the adenium group have reported not receiving their orders from him, and i know personally two friends who didn't listen to advice and ordered about a month and a half ago, still no seeds. so that guy is a fraud,along with having ridiculous prices.

about thai socotranum, they are only a selection of arabicums in thailand, they have no genetic relation to true socotranum, and golden crown form exists in only one seedling, meaning it is a name for that single plant, and no other can be identical to it. be careful because some sellers will claim to sell golden crown, even have tags with numbers for "special" golden crown plants, all fraud.

edit: sorry it's not afroseeds but afroplants, see link below

Glad you found the Socotra site Scott, those are some amazing images and most are the same ones I saw earlier. It does look very alien don't you think!

Josette, in adition to the compost info Kirk has given you, seeds should not be allowed to dry out completely whilst germinating. He is quite correct in saying they can tolerate more water than you think without rotting, but dont saturate them, just try to keep them moist.
Gill from the UK.

Josette

So! About them seeds....

Here is my nanonursery:

I sowed 8 seeds 10 days ago in a deep ex-food container, simple mix of 50 percent ordinary potting soil and 50 percent perlite. I used a prop mat, a 17-watt high output T5 fluorescent light (the only kind that could be retrofitted into the lamp which I had originally wired for 2 LED bulbs).

What I have learned so far:

1. You guys are spot on--they grow fast! After 3 days, I thought at first that I left a seed uncovered when I sowed it but it turned out that was what "heaving through the soil" looked like! It will look like this:

After that, it's almost visibly germinating. When the seed pushed through the top soil in the morning, by evening there is enough stem to lift it completely out, like so:

2. SEED COVER: It is easier to remove the seed cover as early as you can, before the leaves start trying to push it out. When the first leaves are still small and folded, they are literally rolled up in the shape of the seed cover which will slide right out if you are carefull. If you wait for the leaves to start pushing the cover out, it will be harder to midwife the process because the leaves are already starting to open inside and resisting your meddling. I'm impatient so I tweezed before the leaves grew any bigger.

Before:

After:

3. Note on tweezer risk: I don't know if it's just my experience but it turns out the root of days-old seedlings go down to only about a centimeter below the soil line---very easy to accidentally pull out if you're trying to remove the seed cover. After that yikes moment and the mandatory 3-second blood-curdling panic, I just poked a hole into the soil and shoved the seedling back in. It's been days, it appears to be still alive:

4. WATERING: When in doubt, spritz. Maybe it's coincidence and it was going to sprout anyway, but I forgot all about misting (instead of watering) for 3 days. When I remembered and spritzed, POP! went the first seed. Then out came the rest. 7 out of 8 seeds. I'm not giving up on the last one yet. If glaring at it doesnt work, I'll dissect it later and see what's what.

5. Fungus situation: I have a fungus gnat situation that I am only beginning to learn to control so I reminded myself to take extra precautions. I had a sheet of acetate lying around somewhere so I used that to fashion a transparent cover for my container. I cut 4 tiny holes on it to provide some circulation. I thought of covering the holes with some kind of screen but never got around to it.

Days later after half of the seeds have sprouted, I noticed bright green spots on the soil surface which I am betting are happy fungus colonies.

So the next spritz was a combination of chamomile tea and cinnamon (which happens to make me want to barf). I doubt the kind of cinnamon in my kitchen is the kind that has anti-fungal properties but I am hoping that the chamomile will at least keep seedling death at bay. Yesterday I also watered the container for the first time, first with water then I waited half an hour and watered with chamomile tea. Fingers crossed, it will work and not kill the plants.

I am tempted to pull one of the seedlings out now just to see if the roots are affected at all. I think I'll wait for some visible signs of distress because at that point, there is probably little that I can do to save it. Might as well satisfy my curiosity.

6. At Day 7 when all but one of the seeds have sprouted, I removed the cover, cut a rough square hole in the middle and taped a screen to cover it. I realize a particularly determined gnat can easily geometer its way through the screen but these bugs do not seem to want to bother. The soil surface dries out within a day in my set up but remains moist just below. I have also removed the prop mat at this point.

So here they are today:

Thank you everyone, for this incredibly useful discussion. All that is left now is the wait--maybe all 7 will survive, maybe they'll "damp off" in a few days. Or, it is entirely possible Catzilla here will march on them when I put them by the window for some sun lol

Also I just received arabicum seeds and plan to sow them this weekend. Given the limited space in my nanonursery, I am considering sowing them the Teyo way (i.e. in a tight, neat phalanx) but I am terrified by the prospect of having to separate them when it is time to repot to individual containers.

Salamat!

Pagan

The other 3 Adeniums planted months ago are not much taller, just a little fatter than they were in my last photo. The one I pulled the seed pod off too early developed mould on a leaf last week so I pinched it off and it seems to have recovered this week.

This time I planted them in individual cells in a large tray using a 50/50 mix of cactus compost and vermiculite. Covered the tray with a clear lid and invested in a heat mat and placed it all on a window sill.

Checked the soil every couple of days to ensure it didn't dry out and hey presto! So glad for all the tips I have picked up on this forum.

Ontopic:
Here are some sprouts from a bit modified paper towel method. I just used synthetic kitchen towels to which roots won't stick too much. I've now transplanted them to my usual growing mix. The one on upper left had some mold on it, i treated it with some fine rock dust that is usually used as fertilizer, but i've found it to be a mild fungicide too.

Chuy