Hi there. I didn't get a white seedling from my 2007 adenium seed sowing, but I did get an albino plumeria. It looked identical in all ways...apart from being totally white. It grew 3 sets of leaves and eventualy died. I'm afraid your chubby guy's fate is already sealed. The green colouring (chlorophyll)is needed to allow the plant to absorb light to enable it to process sugars (photosynthesis) to aid plant growth, without it the seedling will die eventually from starvation I guess. Partial albinism (variegation) allows bi-coloured leaves to support growth, a totally white leaved plant that is supported by its own root system is usually doomed. The only exception is an albino 'parasitic' plant which gets its food source from the host plant. Think I've recalled my botany details correctly!
A useful Adenium site is the one I've linked below.
You could always swap the spare Desert Roses for other plants with fellow gardening fans.
Good luck,
Gill.

Here is a link that might be useful: adenium info

These Caladiums are virtually solid white, and they live.http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/summer/productview/?sku=60-41

Gill and mark thank you veru much.
I was hopping I will have a very unique adenium? :-)

I just wonder if I give it more nitrogen it might change to green.

hello again. That was my exact same thought too, a unique plumeria that would make me ££££££'s!! Alas, it didn't and I'm still poor!! LOL! Anything is worth a try, in the meantime give it extra TLC and enjoy it while its there....you never know, you may get lucky.
Gill.

Radovan,

Would you mind sharing your method of starting adenium seeds. I just received an order and there were no planting instructions. I have searched the web but can't actually find the sowing method or if they like to be moist dry etc. Any help would be appreciated :) I hope the little gray guy makes it :)

Thanks,
plumeriastix

plumeriastix,

I have no experience with adeniums but just in last month I acquired theoretical experience, no practical at all.
I did order 20 seeds from 3 different places, four kinds and all I mean all seeds germinated. Is it luck, is it that I got good seeds, is it that I knew how to do it I don't know but everything so far is excellent. Only that little chubby white rascall might leave me.
I planted my seeds in a very moist soil in a transparent cups and or little containers. I covered seed with the soil jus a bit to hide the, do NOT put them too deep. I covered containers with transparent (seethrough) nylon bags.

Advice: be strong not to bother them until they germinate. I have that weakness pipping in to see what they do:-)
Mine were under 24 hrs lights, you do not have to do that.
Temperature was about 25*C.

I love them sooooo much now, little cutties:-)
http://web.my8d.net/ko0107144/cultivation_expeirence_english.htm

Hi radovan,

Thank you so much for sharing your method and the web page. That was the info I was looking for so I will hopefully get mine planted in the next week or so thanks to you :) I have light carts so I can provide them with a constant 80 degree temperature but I do turn the lights off for awhile each night as I have plumeria in there as well.

Thank you again for your help and I will continue to keep my fingers crossed for you little grey sprout.

plumeriastix, sorry I forgot to mention that I soaked my seeds in a luke warm water for 2.5 hours before seeding for a better and easier germination. Some seeds I ordered from this
guy. A very prompt and nicely packaged seeds. Very good.
http://www.rarexoticseeds.com/Graines_Adenium_Obesum_Seeds_Pachypodium_Seeds.html

Thanks again radovan, will let you know how it turns out :)

Hope you were able to keep your little white guy alive. Most times they are variegated Adeniums ! I spray mine with fish emolsion and epsom salt. foliage spray so it can seep threw leaves I use warm/hot water.
Yes more Nirtogen helps but I find this type foliage spray works fast and they live !
Hope I'm in time.

OH!!!! I have been looking for someone else with a little white Desert Rose!!! I planted a bunch of seeds (let's just say I got overzealous after hearing about the germination rate on seeds that are not fresh). I literally have over four hundred babies ... I love them all and will take VERY good care of them and share them around. However, out of the seeds I planted in low flats of sand/soil/perlite I ended up with only four little white babies. I also have about 12 that are light, almost translucent green.

I WANT MY WHITE BABIES TO LIVE!!! So I need every possible suggestion, every possible idea and every possible thing I can try to keep these little guys alive. I can tell you that a little bit of natural sunlight turns the stems a beautiful pink!! But I am thinking full sun for them would be bad. In my head I have been thinking of white native plants ... Indian Pipe and such. There aren't many and they grow in shaded woods. This could be a Catch 22 since they need more light than they can get in the woods. :-(

Can you please tell me the spray you are using on the leaves ... is it something you are mixing? If so, what percentages? PLEASE HELP me keep them alive!

Thank you SO much! And I am so excited to find someone else with a little white plant like mine!!

Peace ~ Ang

Okay, this might sound very "Frankensteinish" but later today I plan to take one on my white seedlings and split it from the root end up the stem. Then I will do the same with one of the green ones. At that point I will put them together at the lacerations and tape them firmly but gently. They are tiny, it will probably kill them both, but I want to try and see if that will create a sugar process to keep the white one alive. Maybe, if I can keep them from rotting they can fuse together ... has anyone tried anything like this with these types of plants? I also wondered if you scored the stem of the white one and tucked a green leaf or two from another seedling in the slash, taping it carefully to hold in place, if you could get a graft on such young plants??? Maybe that wouyld help solve the problem of no sugar?? (eace ~ Ang

Grafting adeniums is done quite often but I think they are older specimens. If you can keep an albino seedling alive long enough to put on some size you can graft it to a green rootstock. If the graft takes it should live. Good luck. Let us know how your experiment works.
Karyn

Wow! I also have a white DR...its a 'love affair of stars' seedling. Its the only white out of 41 seedlings I planted last May.
I transplanted mine in an old aquarium and acclimated them outside. I fed them acid fertilizer last week. (Desert Rose like soil a little acidic) Now the 'white' is showing a little green on the leaves....you may want to try this on yours..it may be that the whites are just a bit 'acid anemic'???

I got some seeds from Adendium Ko (google for his website or look on ebay). Out of a hundred or so, one was completely white. It's just kind of hanging on compared to the others. But I did get one that has variegated leaves! I can't wait to see how they all turn out.

I soaked mine in little plastic cups of warm water until they germinated, then just poured the "germinated seeds" over another cup with pre-moistened soil (with a nice big hole in the bottom). Then I sprinkled on about 1/4" more soil, moved them outside and let them be. When they have about 4 or 6 leaves, I'll separate them out.

Okay, so I pulled two of the four tonight, found nice strong green babies with at least three regular leaves (not including seedling leaves) to graft to and then got the shakes working with something so small! LOL! I cut and then taped carefully making sure that the cut edges were tight together. Now we wait. They are so small. But I figure if they will die anyway, why not try it now and see what happens? The only loss I will really have is the fine strapping young 'uns I chose to slice into to try to save the white ones. I really picked out the two best out of seven hundred or so.

I was spending time (obviously) looking over all of my babies with a critical eye tonight and was amazed at how much I love looking at them! Even with seven hundred to look at. I have to remind myself not to go crazy trying to pamper them and poke at them and water and water. Sometimes I worry the poor things, I am sure. I am one of those plant people who have so little patience! :-)

So ... as for grafting these little guys ... anyone want to take a stab at how long, in their tender green baby condition, it might take before I should check on the grafting process and see if it is working? Months? A week or two? I have never ever grafted anything, so I don't have a CLUE. I will of course research it, but I was just wondering if anyone had a suggestion or two?

I also wonder if the white seedlings will (if they share nutrients) turn green by picking up some chloraphyll? I kind of hope they don't. I would love for them to STAY white! :-)

Peace ~ Ang

Ang,
I would guess about 6 weeks. What did you use to secure the graftee to the graft? I recently purchased a couple of grafted ones that I picked up at HD...a Harry Potter and an unknown red, white and blue (a beauty!). Anyway...the way they seemed to graft them was to cut a split into the plant the branch was going to be grafted on to, and the end of the branch was shaved into a wedge and inserted into the split. I'm thinking something like a thin strip of panty hose would be a good way to secure it since it would allow for air flow and just degrade away eventually.

I would love to see some pictures of your babies! I may just have to give it a try too when mine get as old as yours (right now they're just a few weeks old).

When you asking for ideas, what to do with all the baby plants? I buy my plants from a gentleman who has a table set up at the farmers market. He sells them in various sizes. The common hot pink one small 6 inch pot for $5, the red and white, white, or red he sells for $7.50, the price goes up for the larger sizes, $10-$15, and so on and so on. It easier for me just to buy the plants. He raises all his plants from seeds that he buys on the internet. He sells alot of them, I buy at least 4 a year. This is my husband favorite blooming plant, he has a flowerbed, just to showcase them. We plant in full sun, and then in December, pull them up, wrap them in newspaper, and store in the garage rafters, until spring. Then we plant them back in the Island bed. Barbra,

wanna wrote - I would love to see some pictures of your babies! I may just have to give it a try too when mine get as old as yours (right now they're just a few weeks old).

I have news for you ... mine are just sporting their first primary leaves!!! :-) They are very young ... like yours, only a few weeks old. Since the little white ones are so tender and die so quickly, I didn't dare wait.

I used an extremely sharp razor, cut away from the roots up the stem about 1/4 inch and went in about 1/3rd of the thickness of the stem. Then I quickly put the cut edges together and used a surgical cloth tape that only sticks to itself, not the plants. I tested this first to make sure it was true. I didn't want the tape to stick so badly I could not get it off later. Then I replanted them, careful not to allow the dirt to touch the tape. Two days later they are still alive and look none the worse for wear.

I was thinking that, because they are so young and they are so soft and growing so quickly at this stage, I might get lucky and they will fuse relatively easily. Then again, being that they are so small and so tender, it might just kill them both off. Let's see where they are in a week's time.

I just hope, if this works, that the white one stays white. Wouldn't that be something???

BTW, what is up with these twelve very light translucent green ones I have?? Anyone else have any like that?

Peace ~ Ang

PS ... I will try to post a link to some pictures in a few days. I will let you know when and where to look!! :-)

Well, here's the picture link I said I would try to get up. The first two are pics of just a few of my little guys growing. One is the picture of the one I sliced the stem up. The last one is where I cut and tried splicing these together.

http://angsaidso.multiply.com/photos/album/8/Desert_Roses

Let me know what you think! :-)

Peace ~ Ang

Did you ever save the white babies!? i have a white one out of 12 and was hoping it would live. i know these posts are from over a decade ago but i cant find any other current topics!

I have approx 20 seedlings that have just popped up in the past week, I have approx 5 white ones. No idea if they will survive. I have never seen them before and stumbled across this feed. @HU-977488021 how did you go??