Adenium multiflorum has a toxic sap that was used as arrow poison.
Adenium multiflorum is a succulent plant native to South Africa. In its habitat, it flowers in winter with a mass of blooms. The plant defoliates before it flowers and spends much of the year without leaf or bloom. Adenium multiflorum produces a paired fruit, which carries brown, slightly furred seeds. Adenium multiflorum is quick to establish from seed but rarely flowers until the plant is 4 or 5 years of age. Does this Spark an idea?
Characteristics
Adenium multiflorum is a shrub or small tree that grows to 9 feet. The trunk forms a thickened area called a caudex when the plant is mature. The bark is silvery brown to gray and is rough and thickly textured. The flowers are red and white or occasionally all white with a fresh, sweet scent. The plant blooms from May to September followed by fruits. The fruit is classified as a follicle and is a paired, brown or gray-brown chamber. The seed inside is light colored with fine white hairs on either end.
Location
Adeniums grow in poor soil generally on savanna or forests. They are found along marshes, rivers and occasionally rocky areas. It can be found from southeastern Zambia to Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and north to KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland. The plant tends to be a shrub when grown where winds batter it. However, in a protected forested location, they become trees and grow much higher. Adenium multiflorum cannot tolerate frost and requires warm dry conditions to flower.
Sowing Adenium Multiflorum Seed
Propagate adeniums by layering, tip cuttings and grafting. In the wild, they start from seed. The seed is usually dropped near the parent plant, which eventually creates outcroppings. In cultivation, set the seeds into moist potting soil in a location that is at least 86 degrees. Germination occurs in about a week. Some growers recommend treating the seed with a fungicide to prevent rot as they are germinating.
Care
After the plants are several inches high, move them to larger pots filled with a sandy soil mixture. Keep the pots in full sun locations where the temperature is at least 85 degrees. Adenium multiflora responds well to frequent feeding and can be fertilized with a slow-release fertilizer every three months. Adeniums in pots dry out quickly and should be watered every two or three days in high-heat situations. The plants enter dormancy when the leaves turn yellow, and feeding and watering should be suspended for two or three months or until new growth is detected.
Tags: Adenium multiflorum, Adenium multiflorum, Adenium Multiflorum, every three, from seed, least degrees, three months
