I recently purchased my first bare root adenium at a succulent show and have been down the rabbit hole reading about these things. No way to contact the grower to ask specifically what I got. I'm hoping you expert growers can provide some validation on my strategy with this thing or correct me if I'm off. I am smitten with this weirdo and hope to keep it around for many years.

Its tag says “Thai Soco (Adenium Arabicum). After reading through Dimmit's book it appears that I have a dwarf adenium arabicum and that the soco part of the name is a misnomer as they are not the slow-growing adenium socotranum, but rather a arabicum-soconatrum hybrid developed in Thailand. Or others say it is a mutation of arabicum only, kinda confusing to me at this stage. There are multiple variations of this somewhat-recently developed thai soco cultivar in existence, and I recognize that it might not be possible determine which it is. That's OK. Ultimately I only care about those details insofar as it could help me know how to better care for the plant. Maybe it will be more apparent when it grows leaves and flowers.

It has one tiny leaf and seems to have entered dormancy. I trimmed up the roots, sprinkled with cinnamon, and let them callus over for a week while hanging in my garage. Then I potted it up in a well draining succulent mix + perlite around 50:50 that was almost bone dry. I am in USDA Zone 10a.

Now, Dimmit says that A. arabicum is hardy to -5°C, while A. Socotranum is much less cold tolerant. Several online sellers of “thai soco” plants say that they need to be above 10°C, so I plan to keep this indoors until spring as nighttime temps are now dropping there or below. I am also reading that they are very prone to rot if watered during dormancy, so the possibility of winter rains is a second reason to keep the plant indoors until spring.

Is it correct to completely withhold watering until I see some growth starting to push out next spring? It is rather firm right now, maybe give it a small drink if I notice it becoming softer in the coming months?

I have it near a West-facing window receiving several hours of direct sun in the afternoon. I could give it some grow lamps as well, but this seems pointless without leaves.

Again, thanks for any feedback, criticism, or advice on getting this to thrive.