my desert rose

just sticking this here as many would say "thats not bonsai"... (as if i gave a rip       )
and maybe some of us northerners could use an early spring warm up...

but anyways, i have had this for well over a decade... way before i got interested in bonsai...
always had it in a regular pot, but have now had it in a bonsai type pot for a few years...

i also read that these have absolutely no respect for expensive pots as they will eventually bust out of an expensive one as easily as a cheap one, so i stuck it this expendable, ugly-as-hell pot to see if thats true... so far, so good. (for scale, the pot is +/- 14" or 35cm across)

this is the most flowers i have ever let it get at once...

Pretty. And WHY isn't it a bonsai?

JimLewis wrote:Pretty.  And WHY isn't it a bonsai?

thanks, jim.

i will let those who would say that answer the question

Fragrance? Shiny green leaves fresh off the shine-box. Alright, Tommy, now go get ya' shine-box...

minimal scent... and its nice that the leaves are naturally that shiny, no kiwi needed !

Sweet, love the flowers.

I would consider this bonsai, as I do consider Kusamono bonsai, as in some Kusamono are grown to be displayed as the focal point of a display. I am not clear on proper details of the term, but this might fall into the category of Sanyasou 山野草, if Kaikaju or Dick Bendbow could comment, they might know if the term Sanyasou 山野草 would apply here.

Kusamono can be grown to be appreciated on their own. This shows age and stability, and exuberant white flowers to boot. A bit gaudy, but it wants to be the center of attention.

Leo Schordje wrote:I am not clear on proper details of the term, but this might fall into the category of Sanyasou 山野草, if Kaikaju or Dick Bendbow could comment, they might know if the term Sanyasou 山野草 would apply here.

thanks leo !
and yes !
if dick or kaikaju would elucidate that would be very beneficial...

... beneficial for leo, that is, because lawd knows that it dont matter to me whatchacallit  

i just think its purty...

beer city snake:
i recently bought a Desert Rose from a nursery down here, Same variety exactly. They could be twins. It is flowering like mad right now. But I don't know what to do with it. I want to get it out of its half gallon nursery pot. What about root pruning and bare rooting? I would really appreciate your input as you have had your Adenium for a long while.

geo wrote:beer city snake:
i recently bought a Desert Rose from a nursery down here, Same variety exactly. They could be twins. It is flowering like mad right now. But I don't know what to do with it. I want to get it out of its half gallon nursery pot. What about root pruning and bare rooting? I would really appreciate your input as you have had your Adenium for a long while.

hey geo... us being in VERY different climates means i cant really tell you the best time of year to re-pot yours, though i do mine generally in the summer as with the rest of my tropicals... i have only repotted this one a few times in its life as it does not seem to mind being a bit root bound - at least mine hasnt been showing any signs of displeasure...

as a matter of caution, i seldom totally bare root anything the first couple repots, gradually easing them out of there native soil rather than all at once (but thats just me - others will beg to differ on the necessity of that caution)

one thing i can tell you though is that they have no respect for an expensive japanese pot (kinda like me ) and they will bust out of an expensive pot as quickly as a cheap one (which explains the pot that mine is in).

re: pruning, i have begun a yearly program of allowing each stalk to grow out a bit and flower, and then cutting each one back... that seems to induce each stalk to resprout into more stalks, and so on... in that way i am hoping to build a canopy equal to or larger than the massive and bulbous base.

lets see a pic of yours !

(mods - if you see this and wanna move it to discussion i promise not to get miffed )

Hi Kevin:
I will go with that then.I think my climate gives me more latitude(no pun intended) but I will be careful with the roots.As for substrate,I thought a mixture of red lava,gravel and maybe some Coir.
Thanks for your info.
geo.

Nice bonsai, and hey I like the pot. Mail it to cow country!

geo - dont know what coir is, but mine is in diatamaceous earth, composted pine bark, pumice and chicken grit (granite chips)...
because thats what i get locally.

david... show up in north carolina in october and i will hand you the pot... seriously

Kevin:
Coir is our Mexican substitute for pine bark.Water and fertilizer retentive.

oh yeah... isnt that like coconut hair or something like that ?

Yes,it is the outer fiber of the fruit,before you get to the nut and the milk.I have to watch the amount.Very water retentive.

Thought I'd post a pic of mine and add my two cents to the discussion  
I've been growing this one for a little over 12 years now and treat it much the same way as bcs has said.
This is the first decent pot for this one, as previously it was grown in deep terracotta pots to gain girth in the caudex...which was slowly raised every couple of years at repotting. Incidently, I repot mine at the end of Autumn into a real free draining mix and water it  minimumly until Spring. Then, early Summer I prune in a similar fashion as stated.
This particular "tree" lost everything in a hailstorm about 4 years ago The large scar in front was where the main trunk extended from the caudex...the trunk now, was a back branch in the original design. It will take a while, but in time it''l fade.
It's got the primary branches where I want/need them, it's just the ramification and canopy development to take care of now. Mine, I envisage, won't be a sumo dimensioned tree...more structured in a sense.
There's a couple of great ones out there on the net that's for sure. I'll try and find a pic of the particular one that got me inspired.

                                 Cheers!
                                 Anthony

geo wrote:Yes,it is the outer fiber of the fruit,before you get to the nut and the milk.I have to watch the amount.Very water retentive.

I've not used it, but folks in S. Florida told me it didn't last in a pot for very long.