Month: March 2012

Adeniums are not your fast growing plants unless you are in the proper growing zone where you can expect noticeable caudex and branch growth over a couple month period. when using bonsai techniques on your desert rose plant (adenium) you need to take extra care to prevent branch breakage and wrapping wire too tight around the trunk and branches.  If you bonsai wire wrap the branches too tight without allowing for adenium plant growth you will get indentations on the trunks.

Adenium can be bonsai into canopy type plants over the years. the image on this post is an example of a 8 year old bonsai adenium desert rose plant with a canopy (expanded top) growing style.  Yes, it took time and extermination with wire wrapping methods to produce this result. However, it was worth the effort in learning how to bonsai adeniums in a different style than wind swept type you see all the time. The adenium bonsai has a caudex width of 10″ and dept of 8″. The canopy of the bonsai is 23″ round.  Notice most of the left growth is towards the end of the branches. This is normal with an adenium bonsai. Now I plant to work on adding branches more evenly on the canopy. It will take a couple years to achieve this on this adenium desert rose plant bonsai.

In our area, South Florida, growing season is just about year round for adenium plants. During the winter months is our dry season so with summer around the corner  with its constant daily rains now the time to check you desert rose plants condition.  If you are in a true winter area you need to do this in the fall before your rain season starts.

Do a soil drainage test to make sure it does not hold water that causes adenium root rot. Now, make sure you have plenty of air space around the container for the same reason. If water drains from the pot but puddles on the self it can cause fungus growth under the leaves of the desert rose plant from evaporation.  In our area fungus is always a problem with the summer rains and very high humidity.

When you do water try not to wet the leaves. If you have hard water consider an alternative because acidic water tends to sour the soil too fast and may cause root rot on your adenium. Water desert rose plants preferably in the early morning, and allow them to drink up throughout the day. Watering adeniums can be done daily to every few days. Never allow your desert rose plants to sit in a saucer of water and do not allow them to dry out too often which causes adeniums to go into early dormancy.

Growing adeniums is easy if  you take a few precautions. Look in previous post and Epic Grower company website for more growing information and tips. Also, if you plant to bonsai your adenium plant now is the time to wire wrap before the leaves start growing. It’s always easier to wrap when the adenium plant has less leaves.  Remember you want to do a loose wire wrap around the branches to allow room for trunk and branch growth on the desert rose plant.