Quick and Simple Steps to Hybridize Adenium

*In memory of Clark Weston

The thought of hybridizing Adeniums must have crossed ones mind at one point to another. The thrill in creating new varieties that display new and exciting colors is perhaps what makes everyone so tempted to try their hands on hybridizing adeniums ! Thats not all the process of getting the fruit to form and mature as well as raising the progeny to maturity so they bloom can be so challenging and fun. The sense of achievement one can derive from the entire process cannot be dismissed. We will leave out selfing since the experts believe you need 2 adeniums to get seedpods. You can do crossing, where you take the pollen from the flower of another plant and putting it into another plants flower. Most importantly, you need not be an expert to start crossing your Adenium plants. Following the steps detailed in this article to get started. Once you are confident, move on to the more advanced methods. Whichever method you use, they all lead to the same goal. Use the one that you are most comfortable with! After pollinating your plants, do feed them well. Plants tend to abort their fruits if they feel that they are unable to support them. A watersoluble fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 20-2020, used at 1/4 to 1/8 of the normal strength at the recommended frequency would be ideal. For Beginners: Pick a flower that has been opened for 3 to 4 days and then break it up and learn about its structure. Remember to equip yourself with a good magnifying glass! Yes. Break it up! For many of us, we admire Adenium flowers with our eyes, who would bear to break apart a flower to examine it? Using a magnifying glass, look for the three most important structures that you need to know to do hybridization pollen, gel cap and the receptive surface. Look for pollen-laden anthers that are found inside the cone of the flower. These are the structures that hold the white to light yellow, grainy, look like microscopic fish eggs in masses pollen. Some Adenium produce tons of pollen whereas some others, none. The reason we use older flowers is because the anthers would then be better separated from the stylus, making it easier to see the receptive surface.

[Fig. 1] Next, look for the gel cap in the flower. The whitish-looking gel cap is just below the anthers. It covers a structure called the stigma. It is there to block its own pollen from falling into the stigma. In short, it prevents self-pollination.

Below the gel cap is the receptive surface. It is actually the underside of the stigma. It is the structure that receives the pollen from another flower. You will need the following: a nail clipper, some toothpicks, Scotch tape, a good head lamp to put light inside the flowers while leaving your hands free.

Getting Started: 1. Pick some flowers from your favorite plants to harvest pollen. Pick up the pollen using a toothpick, which has its tip wetted. You may want to use a magnifying glass to make sure the pollen are actually on the toothpick till you can see pollen with naked eyes. 2. Open the receiving flower by cutting its corolla (throat) to or 1.5 cm and peeling it backwards. 3. Clip off or the whole anther (the side of the cone) to expose the gel cap and the receptive surface. 4. Gently tap the tip of the toothpick on the receptive surface of the receiving flower to deposit the pollen there. 5. Close the flower by taping it with sticky tape. You are done. If all went well and correct, you will see the first set of horns in 7 to 11 days. For the more experienced Hopefully you can visualize the receptive surface and the gel cap inside the cone of a flower by now. At this point, lets move on to learn more about a method commonly used by Adenium growers worldwide for decades to create thousands of hybrids. Here, people dont bother to cut the corolla, they just pull the anthers out of the way and then squeezing the base to expose the receptive surface. What you use now a small brush with fine tip, size 3/0 or 1/0, instead of toothpicks. Below are the steps you have to take

[Fig. 2 above / Fig. 3 below]

1. Prepare the flowers for pollen and make a cut that is or 1.5 cm long on the throat of the receiving flower. Wet the tip of the brush and pick up the pollen. Check for pollen with the magnifying glass. 2. Squeeze the base of the receiving flower to open up the cone. This will expose the receptive surface and the gel cap. In fresh flowers, you might have to pry open one side of the cone using the tip of a toothpick. 3. Place the tip of the brush that is laden with pollen below the receptive surface and then brush the tip up.

are five markers at the bottom of the throat of a flower.

[Fig. 5] 4. Close and tape the flower with sticky tape. Once familiar, you dont have to cut the corolla. Each of these markers lead to an opening at the base of the cone. A natural pollinator such as a butterfly, bee, moth, hummingbird will stick its proboscis through one of these openings to reach for nectar, yet at the same time, without it knowing, help to pollinate the flower. To make a proboscis, we would need a thread from the hard shade cloth. Cut the thread into pieces about 2 inches long and then taping each to a toothpick leaving 1 of the thread free at the end. Stiff horse hair or fishing line also can be used. Scrape the fishing line with a pocket knife. Acting like a pollinator

1. Hold the flower still and insert the

[Fig. 4] thread into one of the holes at the base of the cone, let it drop to the bottom (A, Fig. 6). Work the thread up and toward the center (B, Fig 6). Move the thread up and down while rotating it. After about 10 seconds, pull the thread out through

Switching on the Advanced mode Here, we are going to mimic Mother Nature! By now, you probably have noticed that there

the top of the cone and check for pollen sticking around the mark from the tip. If there are pollen, move to the receiving flower.

the seeds from flying away. Seeds must be air dried well and sowed as fresh as possible.

2. Hold the receiving flower still and

repeat the above step . This method has been pioneered at Arid Lands Nursery.

[Fig. 8] Two day old flowers seem to be best suited for hybridizing. The efficiency of any technique above is in 90-95% range if you take time and repeat the pollinating steps several times. Mark each pollinated flower with permanent markers before moving to next flowers.

[Fig. 6]

LAP HUYNH. Contact: davisplumeria@yahoo.com

Reference: Jaya Mathai: Hybridization of Adenium; ISOCS Journal, Jan-March 2005, pages 8-11. Chi-Lung Ko, Skillful Hand Garden of Taiwan, http://web.my8d.net, page 5.

[Fig. 7] Starting around week 4th, seedpods will grow very rapidly and mature in 3-4 months. When seedpods stop growing, you might want to tie them loosely with plastic coasted wire to keep

Acknowledgment :

The author would like to thank these lady and gentlemen for their expertise, time and efforts to edit this article: Mona Oman, Brunei Darussalam. Art Kavan, Tucson, AZ. Bob Jackson at Fat Plant Farm: www.fatplantfarm.com Wilson Wong, Green Culture Singapore, www.greenculturesg.com

[Fig. 9 ] one month old seedpods

[Fig. 10] Vertical cross section.