This has been a busy summer with adenium plant growing and importing new hybrid
plants from Thailand. Several of the desert roses succulent flowering plants are blooming for the 2nd time this year and some for the first time since received the adeniums from Thailand. The image to the left is the patarapa dream which we received earlier this summer and they are starting to bloom. This is a great example of desert rose plant received based on an image form Thailand which was not accurate. The image on the right is the inaccurate image and the left one a picture we recently took of the flowering succulent desert rose plant at our nursery. If you have been reading our blog you will know not to trust images from Thailand or other foreign countries when buying adenium plants.
Images from Thailand and other countries are greatly enhanced and changed by the sellers to get you to buy their desert rose plants. Be careful! if you go to Epic Grower Company you will see a photo gallery of flowering adenium plants and other flowering cactus succulents. It explains what NOT PROVEN means when viewing the adenium plant flowers. We import plants from Thailand and until we see the actual flower bloom with our own eyes the image we show will say NOT PROVEN.
However, just because the adenium succulent flower does not look like the ones sent to use when we purchased the plants does not mean the their is anything wrong with them. Look at the two desert rose flower images again. The true flower type is even better because of the flower petals shape and arrangement looks better on this adenium.
Hi, I have a question. When is the best time to prune the desert rose? What is the technique? Thank you.
Its best to prune the desert rose plants is right before growing season or at least 1.5 months before you are forced to protect the adenium plant from cold weather. In South Florida you can prune the adenium desert rose plants just about any time in the year. The main thing to remember is to let the cut heal over before placing in an area that moisture can get on the trimmed part. P.S. You can taking the adenium plant trimming and grow it too.
Can I buy some adenium plants and get them sent to australia? What is the minimum amount and how much money? Do I need an import license?
Good Day:
I do not know the import rules for Australia. I would recommend that you check before importing adenium plants. In the USA we are required to get a license, have the plants properly treated prior shipment to us, upon arrival we have to go through customs and USDA inspections before the plants are released. It’s a process that takes some time to understand.
Hi! I have a question. Can I prune and repot my adenium at the same time? If not, which one do I do first, repot before pruning or prune first before repotting? How long between activities do I have to wait? Thanks for your help.
Good day:
We do not recommend pruning the branches and re-potting the adenium plant at the same time during the growing season. The re-potting shocks the plant and may cause leaves to fall on the desert rose plants. Now that said, when to do either depends upon you growing environment. We usually crop first and then wait until the new branches are at least 1″ to 2″ long with 4..5 leaves before re-potting the plant the adenium plants. If you live in the north and the adenium plants are going into dormancy then wait until the soil is completely dry and re-pot the desert rose plant. Then crop the plant after it flowers in the spring. Yes, you can crop the adenium plant before it flowers but the adenium may not flower during the season depending upon the size of your plant and f you crop all the branches.
how do i buy desert roses from you
Good Day:
Go to our website for AdeniumRose Company We are adding new plants as they flower and other cactus and succulents. Thank you
What kind of soil should i used to grow a desert rose
Thank you for your questions. We have posted several articles on soil type including adding ingredients to store purchased cactus soil which has too much peat for most growers unless you are in a desert climate. Ideally the sol shoudl have about 75% perlite, 10% core, 10% rock and 5 percent rich soil for adenium plant. However, depending upon your growing location the mix may need altering. Plus, put in the mix a time release low nitrogen fertilizer for you desert rose plant.
hello,i live in florida, i too have a desert rose plant, they are beautiful. but i am having a problem with little black( looks like)eggs on the stem of the flower and the leaves turn brown on the backside and then turn yellow,. is this a fungus and if so what can i use to get rid of it? i was told to use soap and water and spray them down with it, but that hasn’t worked. also when and how far down can i cut it back the adenium plant? i did cut it almost to the root and it came back full of flowers and it’s still blooming as we speak. but now i’m getting the eggs or bugs. can you please help me i don’t want to lose them. thank you
Just washing with soap and water will not get rid of adenium plant bugs and other problems here in Florida. You need to use a soap based insecticide so the critters that are laying the eggs on your adenium plants die after eating some of yo leaves. I have not seen black eggs on adenium plants here so if you have an image please post it. We use non-toxic insecticide and it works great on adeniums. Earth-tone is one brand that works but do not get the OIL base. You want the soap based one f your desert rose plants.
Hello. I am new and have bought adenium. I live in Kolkata, India. All most 9 monthes here the climate is hot and above 35° C. Plz tell me which type of media will i use instead of perlite and vermiculite? And when will i prune it! Thanks in advance.
We use perlite not vermiculite for adenium plants. It gives us better control of aeration of the soil and does not retail any moisture. We are a more tropical environment and its either hot or warm with high humidity 9 months of the year so our condition is different unless you are in southern India which is more tropical than desert. I would use coir as the principle agent to retain some water for your desert rose plants. Prone/cropping will depend upon the growth of the plant. Without an image it hard to say when and where to crop/prune the adenium plant.
I was wondering if you could tell me a good soil mix for very arid conditions, about 9-11 inches of water a year. Is it better tyo use a plastic or terracotta pot. If I use terra cotta should I double pot, or use a plastic pot in a terra cotta pot/
It is always better to use terra cotta clay type pots non-glazed from adenium plant growing. Plastic pots are bad for at least three reason when growing desert rose plants: 1) they retain heat 2) they retain water 3) they do not breath (allow air flow). Adeniums are desert plants but they grow great in topical climate like ours due to the soil we use. I would use the following soil mixture: 60% perlite, 25% coir, 10% soil and 5% rock when growing your adeniums. If it retains water longer than 24 hours then use less coir. Retaining water means soil moist but not soggy.
I purchased a Desert Rose for bonzai. I have cut the caudex and left roots attached. I have done nothing else with it and plan on letting it sit for a week (is that enough time) to let the caudex heal. How to I go about preparing it for replanting. This if my first desert rose and I am pretty clueless.
Good Day:
Why did you cut the caudex?? Go to our website and click on care and tips for basic instructions. On this blog you will see see several article son soil mixture and growing tips. Yes – if you cut the plants caudex you will need to let it heal over or risk rot setting in.
Thank you for your quick response. The desert rose I purchased was in a deep plastic pot, with about 3/4 of the caudex below the soil. I had no idea when I bought it that the caudex ran that deep or I would have picked out a smaller one. While the caudex that was visible was very attractive, the farther under the soil you got, the more it looked like a turnip. Anyway, that is the reason I reduced the size by about 15 to 20% and left most of the smaller roots. I wanted to bonzai this plant into a reasonably shallow container.
The caudex looks nice and healthy. I will use super thrive before replanting. Do I also need to use a fungacide root starter also?
Thanks again
Ok is see what you are doing. The appeal to the adenium desert rose plants is having a LARGE caudex (exposed root system). As the plant ages it gets fat and grow thinck roots. When the roots get big you lift up the plant (expose more root) so it gets a bonsai looking caudex system. The bigger the caudex the more valuable the plant. Do not cut the caudex – just expose more if it. You can spread out the caudex roots by wedging a ball or other object between the roots/under the roots to force them out instead of down. Be careful when spreading the root of a adenium plant so you do not break them.
When we do cut roots its the smaller ones we remove to force more growth of the fat ones. You did it the opposite. The fat roots are needed by the desert rose plant to store water and food for dry seasons.
No we do not use fungicide on our adenium plants roots at all. Yes you can spray the leaves but if you have root rot just cut it away.
If you have more questions please let me know or visit the website AdeniumRose Company.
You are a wealth of information. I wish I had found your website before I got hacking away. Oh well, luckily I didn’t cut that much off the caudex, mostly a long taper root. Hopefully it lives thru all of this and eventually comes back. I guess the most I can hope for this year are leaves.
I do have 1 more question. As long as I have it out while healing, would it be a good time to trim some of the smaller roots, or would that put too much stress on the plant.
Thank you soooo much.
It’s hard to say without images. However, it may be better to spread out the root instead of cutting more to prevent too mush stress. Re-pot in a shallow pot to force the caudex of the adenium plant to fatten up. We do cut away small roots on older plants that have several thick roots already growing.
Pl refer some book on adenium plant,which I can by from chicago.From where I can buy it?
I’m not sure if there is a dedicated book on adenium growing. On our website we have care and tips that you can print.
I HAVE MORE THAN HUMDRED ADENIUMS. I GRAFT USING THE OLD V CUT TECHNIQUE AND NOT FLAT GRAFTING WHICH IS VOGUE NOW A DAYS.MY SUCCESS RATE IS ABOUT 60%, WHICH I WANT TO IMPROVE. KINDLY GUIDE. HOW I CAN HAVE MAXIMUM FLOWERS ON ADENIUM PLANT: WHAT MICRONUTRIENT /FERTILISER I MUST USE TO GET MAXIMUM FLOWERS? I HAVE SEEN FOTOS OF ADENIUMS HAVINGALL FLOWERS AND HARDLY ANY LEAF. PLZ GUIDE ME ON THIS.
THANKS N REGARDS.
SUDHIR KHOSLA.
FARIDABAD CITY. HARYANA STATE. INDIA.
Hi Sudhir – in the search are o f this blog put in the word “fertilizer” or “fertilizing” to get information on nutrients. The more branches you have the more flowers. Different types of adenium plants produce more or less flowers than others. they adenium plants usually produce flowers in the spring and early summer. Many times you will get flower buds before you see leaves.
My adenium seedlings are 1 months old now…when shall I prune it to encourage more stems to grow… Tq
No we do not crop our adenium seedlings until the caudex is .5″ or fatter. Plus only when there is at least 3 months of growing season left.