Young Adenium - no leaves during summer?

[mdpillet]

My wife found a very young Adenium a few weeks ago (~1.5" tall). Funnily enough, it doesn't have leaves. Most other individuals of the same size at the nursery where she bought it do have leaves. This is curious to me as Adenium is supposed to be a summer-grower. I am guessing this particular individual decided it wasn't getting enough water, and dropped its leaves. Given that is has most of the growing season left and may not survive almost an entire year of no water if I were to wait for next growth season, I'd like to try to get it going again. How would you all handle this particular individual? Leave it alone without water or try to get it going again now? I'm in Tucson, AZ so the weather will stay quite hot for a while.

[iann]

They're weird things! Is it definitely an Adenium and not some lookalike winter-grower?

[Aiko]

Adeniums can also be rather slow at growing leaves. Mine sometimes takes its time until June to grow some leaves. I have the same experience with Cyphostemma.

[mdpillet]

They're weird things! Is it definitely an Adenium and not some lookalike winter-grower?

Definitely! A. socotranum x arabicum. Excited to see if with, you know, foliage though!

[Jo]

In any case I would definitely check the roots. Compact, heavy substrate or permanently moist soil when adenium should be growing and has no leaves might cause root rot.
Transpiration pull simply doesn't work.