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Above: The original seedling of 'Arabian Ruby' when it was 8 years old.
'Arabian Ruby'
Parentage: Adenium "obesum" x "arabicum" primary hybrid. (A. "obesum" 'Black Ruby' x A. "arabicum" [unnamed Shada strain])
Creator: Dimmitt 1995
Plant form: Incredibly vigorous, spreading shrub with gigantic caudex and extremely swollen main stems. Stems become droopy in older specimens, and need occasional major pruning. Evergreen. Tetraploid
Flower: Large, round, 97 mm diameter x 36 mm petal width. Petals medium-red, fading to light red toward the throat. Throat white with faint nectar guides. Blooms nearly year-round, but rarely profusely.
Notes: This is the first arabicum-obesum hybrid, and is the most vigorous adenium clone that I've ever seen. It is the ancestor of all of my interspecific arabicum hybrids. Plants grow vigorously from cuttings and quickly develop the characteristic huge caudex. Excellent as grafting rootstock.
Above: An inflorescence of adenium 'Arabian Ruby', showing the high flower count of at least 12 flowers and buds.
Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Arabian Ruby', ten years old in a 42-inch pot.
Above: A two-year-old cutting of 'Arabian Ruby' in a 14-inch pot. Cuttings are easy to root and grow very fast. They make excellent rootstock for grafting.
Right: A 15-year-old cutting of adenium 'Arabian Ruby'in a 42-inch pot.
Left: The original seedling of adenium 'Arabian Ruby', eight years old in a 42-inch pot. It's in full bloom for this cultivar.
Above: Gene Joseph (Plants for the Southwest Nursery) demonstrates how to move a large adenium 'Arabian Ruby' (on its way from Tucson, Arizona to Singapore). It's a good idea to ask how big a cultivar can grow before you buy it!
Above left: Adenium 'Bouquet', the original seedling at 6 years of age in a 14-inch pot. Right: Grafted onto 'Arabian Ruby' rootstock in a 24-inch pot; the scion is about 15 years old.
'Bouquet'
Parentage: Adenium "obesum" x "arabicum") complex hybrid. (A. 'Arabian Ruby' x (A. "arabicum" 'Hansoti Dwarf')
Creator: Dimmitt 2002
Plant form: Vigorous, usually upright shrub with modest caudex. Can grow to 4 x 4 feet in 5 years. Evergreen, but has a short winter resting period. Tetraploid
Flower: Round, 65 mm diameter x 28 mm petal width. Petals medium red, fading to lighter red at throat. Throat white with prominent nectar guides. Inflorescence is indeterminate, producing up to 38 flowers over 3 to 4 months, with 10 or more flowers open at a time. Blooms profusely 3 to 4 times a year.
Notes: Very few adenium clones have indeterminate inflorescences. The trait is very recessive, and only a small percentage of offspring inherit it.
Above: Adenium 'Bouquet' is named not only because the inflorescences are indeterminate, but because 10 or more flowers are open at once.
Above: 'Bouquet' is very floriferous.
'Crimson Tower' (MAD403)
Parentage: Adenium ("obesum" x "arabicum") complex hybrid. ('Arabian Ruby' x (a second generation obesum-arabicum hybrid))
Creator: Dimmitt 2004
Plant form: Vigorous, erect, arborescent shrub with substantial caudex and swollen main stems. Can grow to 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide in 5 years. Evergreen or deciduous if dried out in winter; in either case it has a short winter resting period. Tetraploid.
Flower: Round, 85 mm diameter x 31 mm petal width. Petals deep red, with almost no fading toward throat. Throat light yellow with prominent nectar guides. Blooms profusely for 2 to 3 months in spring, rarely at other times.
Notes: Left to grow naturally, this clone branches freely and becomes a tall, fairly narrow shrub. It can easily be pruned into a tree that can reach more than 6 feet tall in 10 years. Cuttings are as vigorous and caudiciform as the mother plant; no need to graft.
Left: The bright red flower of 'Crimson Tower'.
Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Crimson Tower' at 5 years old. It has never been pruned.
Left: An 8-year-old cutting of 'Crimson Tower'. The ruler is 12 inches/30 cm. This clone has a naturally arborescent form. It can be pruned to produce a bush.
Left: The original seedling of adenium 'Pink Elephant' at 8 years of age. This photo fails to provide scale. See the closeup of the caudex with ruler to see how big it is (6 feet tall in a 16-inch pot.
'Pink Elephant' (MAD923)
Parentage: Adenium "obesum" x "arabicum") complex hybrid. (A. "obesum' 'Red Henny 4n' x 'Prolific Behemoth')
Creator: Dimmitt 2012
Plant form: Vigorous, upright shrub with large caudex. Can grow to 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide in 5 years. Evergreen and capable of growing year-round in tropical conditions. Tetraploid.
Flower: Large, round, 94 mm diameter x 40 mm petal width. Outer half of petals deep pink to medium-red depending on temperature, fading to pale pink near throat. Throat yellow with prominent red nectar guides. Flowers age to pink. Blooms several times a year.
Notes: This cultivar roots readily from cuttings and grows fast.
Above: Closeup of the caudex of 'Pink Elephant' at 8 years of age.
Left: The big flowers of adenium 'Pink Elephant' bloom year-round.
'Prolific Behemoth' (MAD432)
Parentage: Adenium "obesum" x "arabicum") complex hybrid. ('Arabian Ruby' x (a second generation obesum-arabicum hybrid)
Creator: Dimmitt 2004
Plant form: Vigorous, erect, arborescent shrub with substantial caudex and swollen main stems. Can grow to 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide in 5 years. Evergreen or deciduous if dried out in winter; in either case it has a short winter resting period. Tetraploid.
Flower: Large, round, 93 mm diameter x 32 mm petal width. Petals uniformly medium-red to bright pink depending on weather, fading somewhat toward the throat. Throat light yellow with prominent nectar guides. Blooms profusely throughout the warm months. The inflorescences are indeterminate with 30+ flowers.
Notes:
Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Prolific Behemoth' at 16 years of age. It's over 6 feet tall in a 16-inch pot.
Above: The seedling of adenium 'Prolific Behemoth' showed promise when it was 4 years old.
Above: Adenium 'Prolific Behemoth' is another rare clone with indeterminate inflorescences. They produce more than 30 flowers over a span of 2 to 3 months.