Adenium Root decay

The root of my Adnium plant has decayed.. Its caudex is empty and hallow. Could anyone tell me how to save it? Can i cut the decayed part and apply rooting harmone and plant it in a pot?

I don't think there's much chance of saving it if it's entirely empty and hollow, but it's worth a try. Do you know if it's Adenium Obesum? I have one that is starting to hollow out too. I have had it for years and I have no idea why all of a sudden it's declining. Anyway, I am going to try to save my plant too. I love these and they are not readily available in my area. Good luck with yours.

Thank You Very Much For ur Reply!! I m sure its Adenium Obesum... I tried to cut away the decayed portion and replant it...Half of the plant was rotten.. I think it must be because of overwatering. I applied rooting harmone and planted it in a good pot mix. I ll keep my fingers crossed.

If you are able to get your plant to put on new roots, I hope you will come back and post here to let us know. I had tried in the past to grow these and had no luck at all, they would always rot quickly and be total mush! I now have 3 small plants and have finally learned to keep them out of the rain and I only water them about once a month!

Here's the link to photo's and information in Plant Files for Adenium obesum: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/527/

So far what I've learned is that you need a very well draining soil mix to have success with these plants. My first two are growing extremely well, but my mix is so well draining that it dries out in 1 day if I don't water! Rain won't be a problem unless it rains for days on end. Both of mine flower regularly and have nice caudexes. Better for them to be too dry than for them to be too wet.

LariAnn: That is so true. The first three Adenium's I killed, I had left in the soil they came in, which is unusual for me. I usually repot every plant I get into my own mix which is a combination of commercial potting soil, lots of orchid bark and some perlite ... makes for a very chunky, fast draining mix that works well for me.

LOL, that is the same thing I do with new plants I get, as I find that most plants I get have the absolute wrong soil mix for the plant. How these plants make it to the sales floor just boggles the mind! I guess the neglect they get at big box stores actually helps some of them to survive in those incredibly wrong soil mixes!!! I've seen jewel Alocasias in pure peat, which is a death sentence to them, but because they were left unwatered at the Home Depot, they looked fine!

Many years ago I had "brown thumbs" ... couldn't keep any plant alive for long, because I watered them to death, LOL. It seems that most nurseries use a very heavy soil that retains a lot of water, someone said it's to keep them from drying out in transport to the garden centers. Here in my area I find that Home Depot folks rarely water and the plants seem to be extremely dry, whereas at the local Lowes garden center, plants are always floating in water.

plantladylin - I use the exact same thing. Potting soil, perlite and orchid bark. Works for me!

plantladylin, I find it hard to believe that you ever had 2 brown thumbs. I frequently look through the pictures of your plants. They are in incredible condition all of the time.

growgirl: Thank you for that sweet compliment. I have hundreds of plants that seem to be doing pretty well and thriving nowadays, but I did have brown thumbs at one time and had difficulty with even the so called easiest of house plants! I finally learned that they don't need or want water every day so I don't drown them anymore. ^_^

Lin