Desert Rose(Adenium obesum) is a succulent plant native to Africa that can survive for many months without water by storing water inside its original stem. In spring, the desert rose is covered with extremely beautiful flowers that stay on it until autumn. See whatgrowing a desert rose looks likeand how to water and prune a desert rose to make it bloom profusely. We also advisehow to reproduce Adenium obesumand what diseases can attack this plant.
Desert rose - Adenium obesum
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Desert rose - cultivation and care
How to water a desert rose?
Properly donewatering a desert roseis one of the most important treatments in the care of this plant. It is responsible not only for the overall he alth of Adenium obesum, but also for shaping the caudex, i.e. the trunk of this plant. To obtain a nicely shaped trunk,do not water the desert rose until the substrate in the pot is completely dryThe periodic lack of water in the substrate is a signal for the desert rose to store water in order to survive the drought.
The frequency of watering Adenium obesumvaries with the age of the plant. We water young plants more often. Their growth is intense, so they need a lot of water. Moreover, they have not yet developed caudex in which to store water. The older the plant and the better developed caudex, the longer it can survive without watering.
Note!
A special period in the life of a desert rose is the flowering time.During the blooming of the desert rose, do not completely dry the substrate , because the plant needs a lot of water to feed the flowers.
The greatest danger, however, iswatering a desert rose too abundantlyUnder such conditions, root rot develops quickly. It is definitely safe to dry the desert rose excessively, because it can regenerate quickly after a drought. If you forget to water the desert rose for a long time, it is enough to place the pot with the dehydrated plant in warm water for a few hours (the water needs to be replaced from time to time with warm water, or during the heating period, put a bowl with water and plants on the heater). After approx. 6-8 hours, the plant recovers and regains its he althy appearance.
Desert rose - Adenium obesum
Fig. depositphotos.com
Desert rose cultivation station
Desert rose likes sun and heat very much It grows best on the west, east and south windows. However, you should avoid direct sunlight all day long. The optimal time of exposure to the sun is 4-5 hours. The desert rose should be grown at a relatively high temperature of 20-30 ° C. Temperature drops below 10 ° C are very detrimental to the rose of the desert.
Good to knowSome desert rose specimens retire in autumn. A signal of this is that the plant is shedding its leaves for no apparent reason. During this time, watering should be stopped and the plant should be moved to a cool (temperature 12-13 ° C) and bright room.
What land for a desert rose?
Desert rose should be grown in a light, permeable substrateSoil for cacti and succulents mixed with sand in a proportion of 3: 1 will work best. The pots for growing desert rose should have a lot of holes in the bottom so that excess water is drained from the substrate as well as possible.At the bottom of the pot, pour expanded clay to create a drainage layer. Adult plants feel best in flat pots, while young seedlings are better grown in deeper pots with greater water capacity.
How to fertilize a desert rose?
From March to August, once a weekfertilize the desert roseusing fertilizer for cacti and succulents .
Desert Rose - Trimming
The desert rose is not a plant that requires pruning, but this procedure promotes the propagation of its shoots and stimulates the plant to flower. Thereforea properly pruned desert rosewill look much better. This plant endures the pruning very well.
Trimming desert roseshould be done once every two years in the spring, preferably immediately when the plant wakes up after winter dormancy. We then trim the ends of the plant's shoots, which stimulates it to put out new shoots below the point of pruning.The plant will bloom profusely on these shoots.
Note!Before we start pruning the rose empty, be sure to put on protective gloves. The tissues of this plant contain toxic milk juice that can irritate the skin and, if it gets into the eye or mouth, cause allergies or other he alth problems.
Desert rose - reproduction
Desert rose propagationis carried out by sowing seeds. Before sowing, soak the seeds in lukewarm water for 8 hours. During this time, we prepare pots with a diameter of approx. 5-7 cm. At the bottom of each, we put a layer of expanded clay or coarse gravel, which will act as drainage. Then we fill the pots with the substrate for cacti and succulents. Sow the soakedAdenium obesum seeds individually into a moist substrateto a depth of about 1 cm, then gently sprinkle them with soil. We wrap the pots with foil to maintain the appropriate level of humidity and temperature during seed germination. The temperature during the germination of desert rose seedsshould remain in the range of 22-25 ° C.
Desert rose - Adenium obesum
Fig. Krysia, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Desert rose seeds start to sproutusually 5-7 days after sowing, but often this period extends up to 1 month. When the seedlings have two leaves each, remove the foil. After the appearance of the next pair of leaves, we gradually reduce watering. Water the young plants only when the top layer of the substrate is dry. After removing the foil, the temperature should remain at min. 20 ° C. Such conditions favor the rapid growth of young plants.
During the growth of , young seedlings of desert roseshould be protected from direct sunlight, especially in summer from 12:00 to 15:00, as they are easily burnt. When the young plants have 2 pairs of leaves well developed, we can start feeding them once a week with fertilizer for cacti and succulents.About 1.5 months after germination, young plants are ready to be transplanted to a permanent place.
Desert rose - diseases and pests
In our climate, the desert rose is rarely attacked by houseplant pests. Occasionally spider mites or mealybugs may appear, which is due to the required growing conditions of Adenium obesum (dry and warm air), which unfortunately also favor these pests.
The most commonproblems in growing a desert roseresult from improper care. Here are the most commonly observed symptoms:
- Yellowing and falling leaves of the rosedesert are the result of too abundant watering. In this case, the substrate must be dried before the next watering.
- A very dangerous signal iscurling leaves and a soft stem of a desert roseThis means rotting of the roots. In this case, we take the plant out of the pot and check the condition of the root system. The white roots are he althy, while the brown-colored roots have decayed.Remove rotting roots and replant the plant to a fresh, moist substrate and do not water it until the soil in the pot is completely dry.
- The loss of leaves by the desert rosecan also be caused by too harsh sun. The leaves of the desert rose burned by the sun turn red, slowly wither, brown spots appear on the leaf blade. In order to avoid sunburn, shade the plants that grow on the window sills of south-facing windows in the midday hours. Better not to move the desert rose to darker places, because the lack of sun makesthe desert rose does not bloom
- The desert rose does not bloomalso because we do not prune it. Every 2 years in spring the tips of the shoots should be trimmed. This treatment stimulates the plant to flourish and bloom, which I have already discussed in more detail in the section on pruning the plant.
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
