Category: Growing desert roses Adenium plants

       It’s time for your adenium dormancy procedures to kick start.  Depending upon the part of the USA you are located your adenium plants will go into dormancy during winter. In some areas it means 100% of all leaves will drop and very slow or no growth until late winter/spring time will occur.

The southern states experience shorter desert rose plant dormancy but you still need to start your winter growing procedures.

Adenium dormancy plant care

First, you need to greatly reduce the watering of your adenium plant during dormancy. Make sure the soil is 100% dry between watering. Water 1 to 2 times a month depending upon your desert rose plant growing environment. Give the adeniums as much light as possible. Make sure you protect them from cold weather below 40 degrees.  If you have lamps/lights switch the bulbs out with grow lights to give the plants 4..5 hours of good light per day.

Grow bulbs have greatly come down in price and you can even get LED lights to conserve electrical power costs.  No you do not need a special fixture to for grow lights/bulbs.  Yes, we have used LED grows lights with success. Make sure you are using a full spectrum grow light

Fertilize your Desert Rose Plant

Even during dormancy we recommend some liquid fertilizer.    These are desert plants and in the wild they do not go into 100% dormancy.  Use Dyna-Gro Grow diluted 1/2 potency  during the winter once a month with you water.  In late winter you may want to switch to Dyna-gro Bloom right before you expect to see new leaves or unit you see desert rose plant flower buds.

If you have time released fertilizer hold off until spring before adding more.  You do not want to over fertilize the adenium plant during lower water consumption months.

Final Adenium Dormancy Notes

Unlike some other types on plants this is NOT the time to crop branches or roots.  Yes, you can repot your adenium plant but be careful not to break the roots. Once you repot the desert rose plant wait 3 weeks before watering.

The main exception to this rule are people in my area where the plants have a very mild adenium dormancy. Here is southeast Florida the plants will lose leaves and the growth will slow down. However, 90% of the time the plants start growing new leaves within a couple weeks so you can crop branches and roots during this period.

Have a great Thanksgivings!

  Question: On our adenium pot we are getting a crusty white substance.  I am concerned about the health of my adenium. I know root rot is a potential problem, so I want to make sure I shouldn’t be doing something to protect my plant. I purchased two other adeniums from a local green house and the caudex(s) of them seem firmer than my original.

Upon receiving my adenium plant I let it sit for about 3 weeks. Then my pot arrived. I followed the desert rose planting included sheet of instructions:

• Created a soil mix based on information from your site: perlite, silica sand, your fertilizer, coco fiber
• I Soaked the plant for 20 minutes in Dyna-Gro K-L-N

The very few leaves that were on the plant have fallen off (which I understand is normal form shipping, etc.) but nothing new has grown.  Areas of caudex is green which means it in good health.

I’m also not sure what the crusty white substance is that appeared on the outside of the bonsai pots after I watered them (24 hours after potting). They’ve been watered only once a week since and seem to drain well. I wonder if it is from the Dyna-Grow K-L-N?

Looking for any advice you may have.

Adenium pot Answer 

I would think the minerals deposit on your adenium pot is from the water seeping though the pot or type of deposit from something outside the pot.  The pot is porous so as the water evaporates it leaves behind mineral deposits. When you choose a pot, select one that is glazed around the side, but not on the bottom.  The bottom should have a least two holes and no glazing.  Glazing will prevent water evaporation on the sides.

You left the plant out for three weeks after receiving it (so almost 4 weeks) it will take a while to recover in addition it is close to dormant season.  When the plant is out of adenium pot over 7..10 days it will drop all its leaves to conserve water (normal desert plant trait) .

In your area (Northern USA) its the start of adenium plant dormancy. If you want new growth you need to give the adenium plant 8-10 hours of full sun light a day. Plus, warmth above 70 degrees  to make it think it’s still spring/summer. Otherwise you will get very little or no growth until next spring.   Adeniums go dormant during the winter months and drop leaves (usually all leaves in your area).

Dormancy period length  of your desert rose plant depends upon your growing area (amount of light, temperatures, humidity, etc).  Do not water your adenium pot more than 1 time every 7..10 days during dormancy.  Make sure the soil dries out completely between watering your desert rose plant.  The caudex (see image) has a good color and shows recent growth (green areas).  When you potted it do you make sure at 2 Inches of smaller fine roots are under the soil?

AdeniumRose Company is doing a early release of adenium arabicum plants. If you are not familiar with this variety check them out. Adenium arabicum plants grow extremely fat bases and tons and tons of branches.   They are not grown for their standard adenium type flowers but when they bloom its a site to see due to the great number of flowering branches and thickness of the plant.

These are not hybrid plants. Hybrids plants cannot compete with adenium arabicum plant branches and thickness. It’s the most sought after adenium plants to train for show competitions. The image to the right is with a bit higher caudex. Notice the many branches.

Award Winning adenium arabicum

The second image is one that was grow by a Thailand grower and you will notice the similarities. Notice how the branches fan out low on the plant.  See how wide and thick the adenium caudex gets.  If you google arabicum plants you will see many more examples of super wide based and half moon/ canopy shape plant.   The next image is a great example of and adenium arabicum plant that needs to be cropped.

The image to the right is one of several arabicum plants AdeniumRose Company is offering with even lower branching!  The more the branching – the thicker the caudex will become to support the growth.  Notice how long the branches are getting. Whoever gets this arabicum plant will need to crop the branches next growing season.

I would crop the outer branches at about 6..7″ and the inner branches at about 8..10 inches.  You want the inner branches higher than the outside branches of the adenium arabicum.  This will force more branching in a umbrella/canopy shape.

Now it the time for Arabicums training

Now is a great time to get the adenium arabicum plants to be ready for next spring growing season. Yes, adeniums in some areas of the USA are already in the dormant cycle. Here in tropical southeast Florida they are still growing well with all branches leafed out. We do not expect to see dormancy in our area until mid-December time frame.  Our spring starts in late February. Sometimes in our area the plants do not go into full dormancy if due to warm winters and tons of sun.

Q; I received my order last Friday, and all the adenium seedlings plants are in great shape, thank you very much for your quick shipping of my order. I noted there are total of 7 instead of 6 plants, and I believed the 7th plant was a surprise gift from you and its shape also looks different than the other 6. My wife told me she likes the shape of the extra plant better than the 6 that I ordered because it looks like a bonsai type of Desert Rose that she loves. My curiosity was what is the name of that Desert rose that you sent us as a gift.  Do you have a sample picture of the flowers it produces?  We are just Desert Rose newbies. We also have another plant which is much more mature and we plan to re-pot and to crop it to a shorter shape with a hope it will produce more branches next year.  Should we crop and re-pot at the same time or we should do them in two separate times?  How long should we wait if we have to crop and re-pot at two separate times.

Growing adenium seedlings questions answers

Answer:  The larger adenium seedling you received is the splash seedling (see image to the left).   Its really not a seedling anymore due to age and size but all seedling orders get at least one of those.

Answer two (large adenium):    If you have more than 2 months of growing season left then crop the desert rose plant BEFORE re-potting.  Adenium plants (desert roses) will grow fine in a crowded pot so its OK to leave them in a while longer to give time for the cropped branches to sprout more branches.  Once the new adenium plant branches are one inch or longer then repot.

Fertilizer is not just to replenish depleted soil. It also protects your plants by giving then the right nutrients.  Now is a great time to review your fertilization schedule of your adenium, hoya, plumeria and other plants.  Summer rains drain the soil of nutrients the plants need and the only way to replenish the soil is by fertilizing.  Now is the time to use the time release 7-7-7 fertilizer (good for 3 months) and Dyna-Gro Grow (twice a month) unless you just potted the plants.  When potting plants give the adenium, hoya or plumeria plants a root rich nutrient fertilizer such as Dyna-Grow K-L-N. Give another dose of the root fertilizer (hormone) two weeks later and then 4 weeks after planting. After a month add the plants to your regular fertilizing schedule.

Adenium Seedling and fertilizer for seedlings

AdeniumRose Company just release a new batch of seedlings (red, white, Picohee and splash). If you are an experienced grower of adeniums or want to try your hand in growing young plants this is a great time to get them.  Three discount specials were just added to www.adeniumrose.com for the 6, 12 and 18 packs of adenium desert rose seedlings.  Also, if you have never grafted an adenium plant these seedlings will make a great base in a couple years or graft them on your already existing desert rose plant.  One seedlings we use Dyna-Gro Grow fertilizer every watering. Also, we do set aside a few and use Dyna-gro bloom fertilizer once they are 6 months old to check he flower type consistency.  Yes, seedling as young as 7 months can bloom if you give them fertilizer a boost!

Are you a hoya collector?  They make great in-door or covered patio house plants. Hoyas have a wide variety of leaf colors, shapes and very interesting flowers.  The hoya plants are easy to grow and the 3 pack is a great way to start a collection!

Plant Auctions

Many clients know that we do offer plants on Etsy, Bonanza, EBay beyond the Adeniumrose.com site.  The Adeniumrose.com site has the widest variety of plants and you can use coupons. However, on eBay we do Hoya auctions of special plants that are extra large or very limited in availability.   We are growing over 70 different varieties of hoyas and continually seek out new rare varieties.   Yes, we trade hoyas too if its something we can propagate for future release.  Send us your wish list and we will try to source them.

If you have questions please visited just post the question below one of the articles and we will reply.  Please do not send questions to our email address.

From all of us have a great July!

AdeniumRose Company LLC

Adenium spider mites problem

Q:   I have a question about spider mites. I have about 50 desert roses some I received from you and some from other growers. They are all dropping leaves and I can’t figure it out. At first I thought maybe it was because I wintered them in my plant house with a constant 70 degree temperature and they are now shedding their leaves. But I’m noticing that even the new leaves coming out are turning yellow and dropping off. I’ve pulled several out of their pots to check for rot rot, but all looks good. I pay special attention to how much water they get and check them weekly. I’ve had an issue with keeping spider mites off them (which is a constant challenge). I know that they can cause leaf drop. Is there a soil drench that can be used to help with that? What do you use? So, with this information, what do you suppose is going on? Thanks

Problem resolution

A:   We rarely have problems at our Epic Grower LLC nursery with spider mites on the adeniums.  Usually leaf drop off is due to watering and/or nutrient problems in the soil.  Mites will suck nutrients out of the adenium leaves and cause drop. We use Bryer and Nutra products on the desert roses when we see a problem.

If you suspect mites to be a problem I would remove all dirt and leaves to start fresh on all plants. Use a paint brush or similar brush to remove dirt from the adeniums roots. Spry them (roots and all) with Bryer for 3 days before potting.  Then give them a boost using Dyna-Gro K-L-N at time of potting (dip them for 30 minutes) and then add K-L-N to the water for the adeniums 2 weeks once potted.  Also, spray the desert roses branches and trunk with the Bryer once every 5 days for 3 weeks to make sure no eggs hatch or get laid down.  Remember spider mites travel so you may get rid of them on the adeniums but what about other plants in the area? 30 days after re-potting start them on Dyna-gro Grow once a month.

Spider mites are hard to get rid of unless you start fresh because the eggs are microscopic.

The adenium plant seedlings are doing great. The desert rose plant in the image to the left is 6 to 8 months old and grown from seeds.   Presently, we have 3..4 different flower types available as seedlings from Epic Grower LLC.   Many of these adenium plants are blooming.   We use Dyna-Gro Bloom to get them to bloom earlier than normal to make sure the flower type on these seedlings are correct. There are some minor difference from plant to plant such as the stripe being wider on some (see next image).

Seedlings Flower Consistency

The Pico desert rose seedling are 98% constant and the red to violet edge ones are 97% consistent. These plants are the same ones sold to a TV shopping network show. The shopping network orders thousands of seedlings each year but charge a bunch more. The striped adeniums are 93% consistent and the white adeniums are 98%.

The desert rose plants seedlings are from the same grower for the TV network received earlier this  year.  AdeniumRose company staff is in the process of transplanting some of the desert rose plants into larger 3″ pots to fatten up the caudex to be offered as individual larger plants in the future.

The remaining fat adenium seedlings not transplanted will left in their current growing trays for the next month to keep the costs lower and value high for AdeniumRose Company clients.

    Adenium Variations

The image to the left is an example of the stripe adenium seedling but with a bit thinner stripe. Also, the petal shape is a bit different.  On the average only 20% of hybrid adeniums plants grown from seeds will produce flowers exactly like the parent plant. There are always variations.

Adeniums in their natural environment do not offer a wide range of colors as in the hybrid desert roses. These are about as consistent as they get except if you are growing non-hybrid adeniums.

Now is the time to get the seedlings while you still have several months of the growing season left.  If you are an experienced grower with the right setup or if you live in the Southern most states (South Florida, South Arizona, South Texas,..)  then you can grow adeniums just about year round.

The non-transplanted adenium seedlings receive  80% sun strength at the AdeniumRose Company nursery and the desert rose transplanted are 100% out side without any cover.  Once young adenium plants reach the 3″ pot size they can handle full sun.

When creating an adenium bonsai plant in a particular style you need to have a plan of attack and patience. Desert rose plants are not fast growing plants, however, they are very forgiving when creating an adenium bonsai.  Do you need formal bonsai training or special tools? No – just follow a few simple steps.  If you like the shape of the plant as-is (natural adenium bonsai)  then just do nothing like many collectors. However, if you want to create a windswept look, canopy or other bonsai style then you will need to do a few things including wiring branches.

Shaping Adenium Bonsai Plant Canopy Style

Adenium branches are soft and easy to break so you must wait for the branches to thicken up a bit before wiring.  If the branches get too long crop (trim) them back to force thickening of the main branches.  If you are creating a canopy style adenium bonsai then wiring is not needed.  See the image to the right with many branches. This adenium plant was trimmed/cropped/pruned (whatever word you want to use) to force more branches to grow.  We wanted three or more branches to come out for each main branch cropped. The thicker the main branch the more branches will pop out of the side below the cut.

This adenium bonsai branches were cropped three times before 3 or more branches developed for each branch cropped.   Look at the thick branches of this desert rose bonsai. There are four main branches and each has several smaller new branches coming out. The over-all height of the total plant above the soil line is below 12″.  The caudex is 5″ across and 5″ deep (5 yr old plant).  This adenium Bonsai we just listed and sold today (less than 3 hours on the AdeniumRose website).  AdeniumRose Company plans to create bonsai started plants  and listed them as Adenium Bonsai on the website. Due to the nature of creating a bonsai I do not have a time frame of when ones will be listed.

More Adenium Branches = Larger Caudex

Once each of the new branches thickens up we will crop them. The whole idea is to have a wide canopy with tons of short thick branches. The great part about making a canopy type adenium bonsai is the more branches you have to fatter the caudex will become!  Keep the plant short and remember to arrange the root system to spread out (see previous article).

Do not worry about flowers are this time. Your main goal is to create a bunch of branches with leaves.  If the plant flowers it take energy away form the branch and leaf growing process.  The leaves need nutrients so use the proper fertilizer on a bi-weekly basis during growing season.

Several people have requested more information on how to grow wider caudex which is the exposed root system that makes adenium plants special.   There are several steps and methods to create wider caudexes and create great desert rose plants.  First, you need to use the right type of pot, soil and provide the proper nutrients for your adenium plant.

The Pot and soil

There are several articles in this blog concerning the soil.  Instead of rewriting articles for the correct desert rose soil please use the top search and insert the keyword soil.  Needless to say, if you do not use the right soil and nutrients, the adenium plant will suffer.  Make sure you fertilize on a regular basis to prevent shock.

In order to grow your adenium caudex wide you need to use a shallow pot if at all possible. If your pot is deep you can fill the bottom of the pot with rocks except for the top 3…5 inches depending upon the size of your adenium plant.  Our jumbo plants are grown in 12” to 18” wide pots that are 5” to 8” deep.  In the deeper pots we fill the first 3 inches with rocks and then put weed block/Gardner cloth above the rocks.   Then we plant the adenium above the cloth. The cloth helps retain the soil. If you use this method you will need to repot every year because the cloth will decompose.

Wide caudex – Spread out the roots

When you pot your desert rose plant spread out the roots. Yes you can use bonsai wire to assist.  Be careful not break the roots. If you do break roots or cut the roots let the plant set out for 7 days before planting for the cuts to heal. If you have a nice ball of roots put a large rock or ball (ping pong ball?) in the pot and then arrange the adenium plant roots around the ball to force the roots outwards.

Nonporous rocks work great too.  In 6 months repot the desert rose plant and use a larger rock or ball.  The advantage to using rocks it that you can find different shapes to sculpture the roots in particular arrangement. Remember the roots below the soil now will be exposed to the air in the future as you grow your caudex larger.

Q:  Pruning and cropping is the same thing right? When you have a adenium plant that’s a little leggy and the graft lines are high, how do you prune them to let the trunk catch up.  Thank you for your help

Answer: Pruning or cropping adenium plant branches is need to grow fatter plants. Adenium plant leaf and branch growth mostly occurs are the end of the branches. Sometimes you may get a stray branch that pops out on an older branch below the current leaves but not often.  More branches/leaves means faster growth. Faster adenium plant growth requires more roots to grow which results in a larger caudex on the desert rose plant.

Here are the general rules we use to force the desert rose plant caudex to grow wider and to grow more branches:

1. Use a bonsai pot so the roots do not grow deep but wide
2. After each growing season repot the plant (use same post if wide enough) but expose a bit more of the roots/caudex.  Do the repotting when you still have at least 30 days of your growing season let and after you see new branches below the cropping on your desert rose plant.
3. Do not crop until the plant is in a new growing season and once you see new growth. Many types of plants you can crop while they are dormant, however, cropping an adenium plant produces the best results (not rot, no branch die back) during the spring  after you already notices some growth.
4. Crop above the graft about 2″ to 3″.
5. Once your crop / prune the adenium plant you must let it heal over for 5 to 10 days depending upon your growing environment.

There are several other articles on this blog about cropping your adenium plant.  make sure you are using the correct soil, proving enough sunlight and use a root growth hormone such as Dyna-gro K-L-N each time you re-pot the plant.  These are the procedures Epic Grower LLC uses on the plants at their nursery.