Caudex plants (for starters) and other caudex questions.

[phyllonemus]

Hello all,
I'm opening this topic because I'm realy interested in Caudex plants and because Im a beginner I have a lot to learn.

I already know that Fockea edulis, Boophone distacha and Dioscorea are good starter plants.
I realy like to Know if the following species are recommended for starters also :

Adenium obesum
Phylanthus mirabilis
Ficus abutilifolia

[Tina]

Hi
WHere abouts will you be keeping/growing them, is it a windowsill or greenhouse.
Adeniums are Ok but need extra warmth, do well on a sunny window.

I have Phylanthus mirabilis but would say it can be a little temperamental so not a beginner plant.

Ficus are good, I have palmera with red veined leaves which is nice I think it helps with these to put them in a shallow pot so the root gets lumpier.

Calibanus hookeri is another good one which is quite tough but rewarding as it has a lovely shape

[phyllonemus]

WHere abouts will you be keeping/growing them, is it a windowsill or greenhouse.
Adeniums are Ok but need extra warmth, do well on a sunny window.

Tina, I don't have a greenhouse, but I have a Living room who's very light. The front big window is facing almost East and the rear even bigger window, is facing SouthWest.
From spring untill Fall it's very light in this room, in winter time offcourse the lighting is less.
It's a good isolated house, Warm all year around nexcept for the winter nighttime, than it will be 17 Celsius minimum.

Is Adenium still recomendable ?

I have Phylanthus mirabilis but would say it can be a little temperamental so not a beginner plant.

In the Netherlands someone told me it is a beginners plant.

Ficus are good, I have palmera with red veined leaves which is nice I think it helps with these to put them in a shallow pot so the root gets lumpier.

Calibanus hookeri is another good one which is quite tough but rewarding as it has a lovely shape

Ok Thanks, I'm gonna investigate for Calibanus hookeri.
The Ficus will be an option, I'm happy about that.
Why is the root from a ficus getting bigger when potted shallow ?
Is that the case for more Ficus species ?
Do you mean a bonsai like pot for shallow potting?

Thanks in advance,
Riny

[Ospreywatcher]

I have owned an Obesum and an Arabicum for the last two years and can confirm that a minimum temperature of 17 degrees Celsius will be quite acceptable for these Adeniums. My plants are kept on a window sill indoors at this time of year and my thermostat is set at 15 degrees night time temperature. Providing the plants are not dormant they can even be watered periodically at this temperature.

[Aiko]

I have Phylanthus mirabilis but would say it can be a little temperamental so not a beginner plant.

In the Netherlands someone told me it is a beginners plant.

I haven't seen Phyllanthus mirabilis on sale very often, but last event of ELK - in Blankenberge, Belgium - there was a Czech seller selling Phyllanthus. I bought one, because it was on my wish list for quite some time. If I were you I would visit next ELK in September.

[phyllonemus]

Aiko, they are for sale, interested ?

[Tina]

Hi
Re Phyllanthus -it took my plant about two years before it rooted & actually leafed up properly but it came via post from the US.They may be more common now, there is also a red leaf form that I would like.

Some plants are more pachycaul than caudiciforms so if you restrict the root area it keeps them more compact with a caudex than allowing them to become more bottle shaped with a trunk.
I have an experiment ongoing with some Pseudobombax ellipticum ( another good plant to grow) some are in the original shallow seed tray & some in a 5" square pot. The ones in the shallow tray have much better looking caudex's, I was a little surprised as I thought the 5" potted plants would be chunkier & faster growing but they aren't.
These are all from seed sown at the same time but one seed tray was potted up after germination into the larger/deeper pot the other left untouched.
I also chop off the main stem as I want multiple growing points not a tree.

Shallow tray plants

pseudobombax ellipticum 11_13.jpg (202.23 KiB) Viewed 3995 times

The larger 5" pot

[CactusFanDan]

Jatropha podagrica is probably quite a simple plant to grow, since it seems common enough, but it might not manage cold all that well. I'll second Calibanus hookeri as well.

Sinningia leucotricha? Common enough to be easy, although I don't have one.
Okay, I don't have many caudiciforms, but here are some suggestions:
Uncarina
Rauhia peruviana
Beaucarnia recurvata
Ornithogalum (not necessarily a caudiciform, but super easy)
Some of the common caudex forming Euphorbias like stellata
Dorstenia
Avonia quinaria

[phyllonemus]

What's meant by "pachycaul" ?
Can shallow trays be used for more caudex plants then ficus
Thanks Dan, I'll check them out

[phyllonemus]

Has nobody answers to my last question ?