BOOK REVIEW By Paula Szilard Dimmitt, Mark, Gene Joseph and David Palzkill. Adenium: Sculptural Elegance and Floral Extravagance. Tucson, AZ: Scathingly Brilliant Idea, 2009. $29.95. (Address: 3620 W. Sahuaro Drive, Tucson, AZ 85742-9754. ( Available from ExoticPlantBooks.com. Amazon has it too, but usually at a much higher price) If you’ve grown adeniums or are growing them, you’ll love this beautiful little book! If you haven’t, you’ll likely be inspired to grow this very special caudex-forming succulent. An adenium in full bloom is after all one of the most gorgeous succulents on the planet! The authors bring a tremendous amount of experience to this book. Until his retirement, Dr. Mark Dimmitt, a Fellow of CSSA, was director of Natural History in the Center for Sonoran Desert Studies at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum with a side career as a plant breeder. Dr. David Palzkill is a horticulturist and plant pathologist who now operates a nursery specializing in adeniums and other succulents and Gene E. Joseph is a plant propagator who started Plants for the Southwest. Adeniums are fairly new arrivals on the horticultural scene. In the United States, plants were generally not available until the 1970’s and most plants sold were Adenium obesum. Lead author Dr. Mark Dimmitt has been focused on breeding adeniums for three decades, creating among many others, the cultivar ‘Crimson Star,’ which blooms nearly all year. In the last decade breeders and growers have been busy creating an unprecedented variety of stunning adenium cultivars, the result of conventional breeding and growing from seed and later by grafting the hybrids onto existing caudexes, mostly A. obesum. The newest cultivars come from Thailand and Taiwan and are often incredibly full doubles and singles with unusual patterning and rich colors generally grafted onto a sizable caudex. Unfortunately, the blossoms are heavy and they tend to droop. Most of these Thai and Taiwanese hybrids were released after the book was published, so are not discussed. In e-mail correspondence Dr. Dimmitt stated that many of the beautiful older hybrid singles are no longer available in the trade. The genus Adenium is in the Apocynaceae family, along with plumerias, mandevillas, oleander and pachypodiums. Adenium is occasionally confused with Adenia, a genus of caudiciform plants in the passionflower family, but other than the caudex, they have little in common. Adeniums originated in the Arabian Peninsula (specifically Yemen), but they are also found in Somalia, in parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, on the island of Socotra, in Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and in a broad band of territory across the middle of Africa (Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Mauritania). In addition to the commonly available A. obesum, there are about 10 other species or species-like groups, some of which are not available in the United States. The authors consider some of the adenium taxonomy shaky and anticipate changes will be made in the future. The book describes the different species and species-like groups and their hybrids and discuss their environments in their native habitat as well as their requirements in cultivation. There are extensive charts detailing the characteristics of each species, everything from the type of leaves, the development and shape of the caudex, dormancy, growth rate, ease of culture, characteristics of flowers, fruits and seeds. In fact, there is so much valuable information in this book, that it’s more of a reference book than a book you just read from cover to cover. And because it is so packed full of information, it doesn’t exactly read like a novel. It requires concentration and effort on the part of the reader. The general chapter on adenium culture emphasizes seasonal adjustments in watering, a very important feature of good culture. As a general rule adeniums do not grow in deserts, but in woodlands and grassland savannas as well as steppe climates, chiefly in the tropics and subtropical areas. Adeniums in tropical areas naturally do their growing in the summer rainfall season and are then dormant in the drier months of the year. Like their parent plants, most of the hybrids created from them also grow in the summer when liberally watered and then go dormant in the winter. You can water more and fertilize more liberally in the summer months when the plant is outside, but restrict water in the winter months. Interestingly, the authors say that when adeniums were first cultivated in the United Sates, the conventional wisdom was that they were very slow growing plants that would easily rot. People watered them sparingly regardless of the season and as a result the plants could never grow to their full potential. But, according to the authors the more you water outdoors in warm weather the more adeniums will grow. They also say that during the summer months outdoors it is virtually impossible to overwater these plants. The book is profusely illustrated with beautiful color photographs of species and cultivars, however, the authors do not claim to describe all of them. Many of the plants get their own bar graphs showing month-by-month data on flowering. There is information on pests, but no mention of scale, a recurring problem on my plants, and for the very serious among you, a chapter on propagation and grafting. The book has a bibliography, but alas, no index! A detailed table of contents is helpful in finding specific information. If you grow adeniums, get this beautiful, useful and highly informative book before it goes out of print! On second thought, maybe you should consider it even if you don’t grow them. Before you know it you will! Reviewers Note: According to Dr. Dimmitt, you can mail order some of the older hybrids from Living Stones Nursery & Plants for the Southwest (www.lithops.net), Arid Lands Greenhouses (www.aridlandswholesale.com) and Miles' to Go Nursery (www.miles2go.com) only for shipment within the USA. He says that these plants may not necessarily be in the companies’ plant lists. You may have to ask for them. Many of the full-flowered hybrids from Thailand and Taiwan are available from Logee’s Greenhouses (www.logees.com). Top Tropicals (www.toptropicals.com) in Florida also sells adeniums.

BOOK REVIEW

Paula Szilard

Dimmitt, Mark, Gene Joseph and David Palzkill. Adenium: Sculptural Elegance and Floral Extravagance. Tucson, AZ: Scathingly Brilliant Idea, 2009. $29.95. (Address: 3620 W. Sahuaro Drive, Tucson, AZ 85742-9754. ( Available from ExoticPlantBooks.com. Amazon has it too, but usually at a much higher price)

If you’ve grown adeniums or are growing them, you’ll love this beautiful little book! If you haven’t, you’ll likely be inspired to grow this very special caudex-forming succulent. An adenium in full bloom is after all one of the most gorgeous succulents on the planet! The authors bring a tremendous amount of experience to this book. Until his retirement, Dr. Mark Dimmitt, a Fellow of CSSA, was director of Natural History in the Center for Sonoran Desert Studies at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum with a side career as a plant breeder. Dr. David Palzkill is a horticulturist and plant pathologist who now operates a nursery specializing in adeniums and other succulents and Gene E. Joseph is a plant propagator who started Plants for the Southwest.

Adeniums are fairly new arrivals on the horticultural scene. In the United States, plants were generally not available until the 1970’s and most plants sold were Adenium obesum. Lead author Dr. Mark Dimmitt has been focused on breeding adeniums for three decades, creating among many others, the cultivar ‘Crimson Star,’ which blooms nearly all year. In the last decade breeders and growers have been busy creating an unprecedented variety of stunning adenium cultivars, the result of conventional breeding and growing from seed and later by grafting the hybrids onto existing caudexes, mostly A. obesum. The newest cultivars come from Thailand and Taiwan and are often incredibly full doubles and singles with unusual patterning and rich colors generally grafted onto a sizable caudex. Unfortunately, the blossoms are heavy and they tend to droop. Most of these Thai and Taiwanese hybrids were released after the book was published, so are not discussed. In e-mail correspondence Dr. Dimmitt stated that many of the beautiful older hybrid singles are no longer available in the trade.

The genus Adenium is in the Apocynaceae family, along with plumerias, mandevillas, oleander and pachypodiums. Adenium is occasionally confused with Adenia, a genus of caudiciform plants in the passionflower family, but other than the caudex, they have little in common.

Adeniums originated in the Arabian Peninsula (specifically Yemen), but they are also found in Somalia, in parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, on the island of Socotra, in Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and in a broad band of territory across the middle of Africa (Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Mauritania). In addition to the commonly available A. obesum, there are about 10 other species or species-like groups, some of which are not available in the United States. The authors consider some of the adenium taxonomy shaky and anticipate changes will be made in the future.

The book describes the different species and species-like groups and their hybrids and discuss their environments in their native habitat as well as their requirements in cultivation. There are extensive charts detailing the characteristics of each species, everything from the type of leaves, the development and shape of the caudex, dormancy, growth rate, ease of culture, characteristics of flowers, fruits and seeds. In fact, there is so much valuable information in this book, that it’s more of a reference book than a book you just read from cover to cover. And because it is so packed full of information, it doesn’t exactly read like a novel. It requires concentration and effort on the part of the reader.

The general chapter on adenium culture emphasizes seasonal adjustments in watering, a very important feature of good culture. As a general rule adeniums do not grow in deserts, but in woodlands and grassland savannas as well as steppe climates, chiefly in the tropics and subtropical areas. Adeniums in tropical areas naturally do their growing in the summer rainfall season and are then dormant in the drier months of the year. Like their parent plants, most of the hybrids created from them also grow in the summer when liberally watered and then go dormant in the winter. You can water more and fertilize more liberally in the summer months when the plant is outside, but restrict water in the winter months.

Interestingly, the authors say that when adeniums were first cultivated in the United Sates, the conventional wisdom was that they were very slow growing plants that would easily rot. People watered them sparingly regardless of the season and as a result the plants could never grow to their full potential. But, according to the authors the more you water outdoors in warm weather the more adeniums will grow. They also say that during the summer months outdoors it is virtually impossible to overwater these plants.

The book is profusely illustrated with beautiful color photographs of species and cultivars, however, the authors do not claim to describe all of them. Many of the plants get their own bar graphs showing month-by-month data on flowering. There is information on pests, but no mention of scale, a recurring problem on my plants, and for the very serious among you, a chapter on propagation and grafting.

The book has a bibliography, but alas, no index! A detailed table of contents is helpful in finding specific information. If you grow adeniums, get this beautiful, useful and highly informative book before it goes out of print! On second thought, maybe you should consider it even if you don’t grow them. Before you know it you will!

Reviewers Note: According to Dr. Dimmitt, you can mail order some of the older hybrids from Living Stones Nursery & Plants for the Southwest (www.lithops.net), Arid Lands Greenhouses (www.aridlandswholesale.com) and Miles' to Go Nursery (www.miles2go.com) only for shipment within the USA. He says that these plants may not necessarily be in the companies’ plant lists. You may have to ask for them. Many of the full-flowered hybrids from Thailand and Taiwan are available from Logee’s Greenhouses (www.logees.com). Top Tropicals (www.toptropicals.com) in Florida also sells adeniums.