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Repotting my Adenium Obesum 1 year 7 months ago #77617

  • TLC
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Hello!I am brand new to this site and I have questions regarding repotting my adenium obesum that is about 16 years old. I "made" her (my apologies in advance, but my adenium obesum has always been a she!) bonsái about 3 summers ago and she remained happy in the 16” ceramic pot until this summer where the branches got too long and lanky. I pruned her back and now it has since sprouted more growths and she is now putting on her annual flower show as per attached photo.
Question: I’m not sure what to do with her at this point. Should I repot her to a bigger and deeper pot (not a bonsái pot) or leave her be? Also how should I proceed from this point on with pruning? Keep pruning her like I’ve been doing every year and she makes more and more growths/branches? I feel like she’s getting unruly. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

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Repotting my Adenium Obesum 1 year 7 months ago #77627

  • Scimitarboy
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Hi TLC, and welcome to the forum.
First of all, what magnificent flowers!
I must admit that this is a species that I do not have any "first hand" experience of, but there are some general guides that may well be of use. For pot size I would instinctively say that the current one is possibly a little narrow from an aesthetics point of view, but the extra depth is serving the tree's needs perfectly (hence the abundance of regular shoot growth and flowers). Have you had a look at her roots recently to see how they have developed since she's been in that pot? As long as they are not completely jammed in tightly in there I would say you could stick with the same pot if you so wish... As for pruning, that is largely down to personal choice and styling - your current ministrations don't seem to be doing your tree any harm, just the opposite in fact! You can leave it as is, you can thin it out, or you could possibly let it grow / develop more on just one side to give an interesting asymmetric appearance. Generally speaking, bonsai with too much / too dense foliage can look more like shrubs (and inner branches can suffer from lack of light), those with more definition look more tree like. There is a saying that for a bonsai to look convincingly tree-like you should be able to imagine miniature birds being able to fly between the gaps in the branches...
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