Questions: I received my 3 pack adeniums desert rose plants and arrived in wonderful shape. I’m so pleased at how large they are already, with healthy leaves. I do have some questions about planting adenium plants:
1) Soil for desert soil plants; I;m mixing my own soil fro he adeniums. I plant to put rocks in the bottom. Do I layer the perlite & other soil, or mix it together first?
2) What’s the biggest size pot you would recommend for the desert rose plants? They are now 12″, 14″, 16″.
3) Is it better to water the desert rose plant from the top or bottom (ie; water tray)??
PS: I live in Michigan, so would I wait at least 1 week before putting outside?
I have had a previous adenium from another shop, but made the mistake of overwatering it. I plan to be more careful with them this time around, as I read your watering tips.
Answer:
I’m glad you like the adenium plants you received. We do not recommend to use a water retention tray under the adenium pot. It will create humidity and possibly mildew which will cause root rot. In our adenium plant nursery, we use overhead sprinklers because 1) it’s almost impossible to handle the number of plants any other way 2) South Florida is a tropical climate which means tons of rain and humidity during the summer so the desert rose plants are always getting wet. Over the past 48 day s our are received 4.9″ of rain already which is normal for the summer time – daily thunderstorms. We usually have to empty water out of our pool 1..2 times a week because of rain over flowing it (in ground pool). However, it’s always better to try to keep the leaves dry to prevent standing water accumulate on the adenium leaves if possible.
Adenium plant pot size: No more than 2″ beyond the adenium caudex size on each side. Shallow pots are bets fro desert roses . Use a bonsai pot. Example: 8″ adenium caudex 10..12″ pot no more than 5..6″ deep. As the caudex gets bigger (it takes time) replant it into a large pot. No plastic. All pots must have good drainage holes.
Soil for adeniums: Perlite and soil mixed together. 70 to 80 percent perlite. there are several articles on this blog about soil mixtures. Mixtures need to be adjusted bast on climate and rain/watering schedule.
My husband and I have become utterly captivated by the desert rose. We have 4 plants that we have purchased from local nurseries that were flowering and they were just beautiful! We also have purchased a 72-cell planting tray with 7″ dome and heating pad/thermostat and purchased/planted seeds. So far we have 55 sprouted and they are over 1″ tall! We’re absolutely thrilled!
We are concerned about whether to have the plants, when put in pots, in full sun with our higher heat ranges here. We feel that we should keep them under the covered patio for the hotter times of the day. Are there any concerns with our 100+ temperatures and very dry climate?
We do get some below-freezing temps during the winter so have planned to move the plants indoors to protect them when we hit those temps. Is that recommended?
We really appreciate your blog!
Sounds like you are doing great growing your adenium plants. We do not transplant our adenium seedlings until they are 6 months old and ready for 2″ pots. Also, we do not move them into full sunlight until we plant the adenium plants in their our desert rose pots. Yes, adeniums do not like freezing weather at all! I would leave them in the planting cells for at least 4 months at which time they should have 5..6 leaves and the trunk should turn from green to solid tan color with a caudex of about 1/4 inch.
I’m sorry. I forgot to mention that we live in Southern Nevada, North Las Vegas!
Have a great holiday weekend!
I live in Illinois and have a very special desert rose. I took it from my late Grandmother’s house in Florida to have a memory of the plants she loved so much. This is my plants second winter and it is dying. I replanted it this summer and after reading the other posts now believe my pot is way to deep and big, but my plant did excellent this summer. It was vibrant and bloomed very full. Now that I have moved it inside it is dying. This past week I noticed the leafs falling off which I know is normal but when I went to look at it I noticed all the branches are very Soft and are limp. I tried giving a little water and waited a day but it’s just as bad. So today I took it out of the pot to dry and I am noticing the roots are also super soft. I don’t know how to fix it since I am not a plant person but I really need this plant to live. Please help me and tell me how to fix it. Thanks.
Jennifer
You need to cut off all the rotted roots. Once you get all the rot out (EVERY LITTLE BIT) you will need to leave the plant out of soil for 1..2 weeks for the are to heal over. If you notice any new rot while its out cut it off! rot spreads like a virus. Once you are ready to plant again dip the desert rose plant in super thrive to get the roots started and then only water about once a week. Also, since you are far north I would use grow lights to get the plant to recover during the winter. Good Luck.
Thank you for all the tips. Here u mention 70-80% Perlite. This is a pretty old post what would be your updated recommendations if one is making own soil mix. Thank you again in advance.
Awaiting reply, I searched “soil” and read the posts but have several different recommendations made on the blog. I realize some are several years back. I was hoping to get your present recommendation for soil mix in S. Florida. I found bonsai mix with pumice, red lava rocks, turface and pine bark said to be well draining. Would this soil mix be good if not which formula would you recommend?
Pumice will get moldy causing rot. Stay away from porous rocks with all succulent/cactus plants. We a coir based mix (no soil) with perlite and non porous rocks. We add some time released fertilizer int he mix too.
We use a coir mix with about 65% perlite, 25% coir and 10% non porous rocks with some time released fertilizer. Remember we are in area that gets tons of rain all through summer and most of Fall. Getting a 1-2″ a day of rain is normal in SE Flroida (many days with much higher rain amounts). If you are in a desert location you may want a bit more core to retain more water.