Adenium Given A Haircut

I felt bad about indirectly killing the caterpillar 'Ah Pui' that I kept as captive in order to watch its metamorphosis process. Since then, I stopped removing caterpillars that visit my garden. Call that generosity.....or guilt-ridden! Ha ha...

Last month, I had another caterpillars visit to my Adenium plant. They ate the leaves voraciously and I was left with rather ugly plants. So I trimmed all the leaves and trunks off.

In one and a half month, this is how it looks!!! Beautiful, right? With buds appearing too!

Of course lotsa organic fertilizer helped in the quick growth. I have also uprooted the plant to reveal its caudex (root). Regular uprooting of Adenium will encourage the caudex to grow bigger. In addition, I have bought some sand and add them to my soil mixture. In the previous re-potting exercise, I have added too much of peat soil. As the peat soil retains water, during continuous raining, I found some root rot. Adenium needs soil that drains well. This is also another reason why I uproot the plant, i.e. to check on the root and change the soil mix.

When my friend, Rox, who also loves growing Adenium told me that regular trimming of Adenium would make the plant looks better. I had my hesitation and doubts as it takes some time for the plant to grow, so why trim them off? After my first trimming, I never stop doing it on a regular basis! Read more about Trimming Adenium here.


I didn't take any photo of the above Adenium after its haircut. It certainly has a better styled hairdo now. Trust me!



Due to poor drainage soil, the root of this Adenium rot too! Fortunately I discovered it early and was able to salvage the plant. One of the signs of the root rot was leaves turning yellow and began to drop off.

With new leaves and buds growing, it looks much healthier. Adenium feeds on fertilizer voraciously. Another tips from Rox, she feeds her Adenium with chicken dung and they bloom non-stop. I blogged about her garden and Adenium here. Check out photos of her Adenium blooms and drool!! Ha ha...

Another lush Adenium growing after being turned bald last month!