Category: Growing desert roses Adenium plants

Question: Ok, thanks for that info, now one more question: should I order the Dyna-Gro Grow liquid fertilizer or the time release granular?  Thanks  Rose

Answer:   The two things most adeniums growers use is the time released or Dyna-Gro grow for after flowering and K-L-N when planting, transplanting, re-potting.  The K-L-N and Dyna-gro Grow is good for all plant types when planting, re-potting, etc.   Some client even use the K-L-N for two watering in January/February to promote root growth when cactus or succulent plants starting to get out of dormancy (we start in December in South Florida and northern areas do this in Feb/March once weather is above 50 degrees).

 If you are in a heavy rain area use the time released after flowering a 1 month before dormancy and K-L-N.  Otherwise use Dyna-Gro (one week of watering in June, July and August after flowering)  and K-L-N.

Miami is considered tropical and during the summer we can get 1” to 4” of rain every day from thunderstorms so the soil is leeched of it nutrients fast.  If we just use liquid we would need to constantly fertilize to get the plants to grow well.  We use the time released fertilizer for the adeniums twice a year,  K-L-N when planting/re-potting/etc (dip the plants into for about 20..30 minutes) and then Dyna-Grow grow on all out plants (I mean all types of plants) in December thru February our dry months when they come out of dormancy before they start to bud and bloom. Not everybody fertilizes like we do but the more consistent you are the faster and larger the cactus, succulents and your other plants will grow.

P.S.  I grow vegetables for family use (not to sell) and use Dyan-Grow 100% of the time. The vegetable plants consistently out perform my neighbors in yield, problem resistance and duration of season. Its the Micro and Macro nutrients that does it better than other products on the market.

Question:  I have an adenium, desert rose, which is about 30 inches tall in a 15 inch clay pot in full sun within our screened pool area.  We live in the Sarasota FL area and for the most part it stays outside all year long.  About a year ago I repotted the plant and used a miracle grow cactus soil, however, at no time have I had any luck keeping a lot of leaves on the plant although it would flower profusely.  I have provided it with biological products as well as N P K with micros. with out luck.  This leads me to believe that there something wrong with my choice of soil.  Any guaranteed suggestions?   – Gary

Answer:  We are located in south Florida about 280 miles southeast of your location and we already had two periods of growth since December and two periods of leaf fall. The possible answer is the weather going from cold to warm to cool to warm and then to cool and now getting warm/hot again.   Also, I would need to know about your watering cycle and what fertilizer you used.  Miracle-Gro, Scotts, Peters, and several other fertilizers with micro minerals are lacking some minerals needed by succulents, cactus plants and other plants.  Miracle-Gro cactus soil which has Miracle-Gro fertilizer has too much peat in it so you need to be careful with your watering. All soil gets depleted which is why people fertilize their plants so changing the soil will not solve the problem.

You may need silicon for your desert rose pant  which is a mineral needed by the plant to absorb the nutrients. It makes the adenium and other plants stems and leaves stronger and more tolerant to weather changes too. Benefits of silicon include greater tolerance of environmental stresses and mineral toxicity or deficiency. Silicon deposited in cell walls forms a protective barrier, defending your plants from water loss due to high temperatures. Dyna-Gro designed TekT product (this is what we use at AdeniumRose Company) to increase the strength of cell walls also results in drastic improvement of stem and branch strength. Since, silicon is rapidly bound in leaf tissue and deposited in a non-translocatable form within 24 hours of uptake, a continuous source of soluble silicon throughout the plant’s life is very important.

Now about guarantee resolution of your adenium plant problem – with plants just like nature there are no guarantees of what will work to solve the problem but the above is our best guess based on the information received. People collect adeniums fro the caudex style and flower types,  desert rose plants are not bushy leafy plants. Most of the leaves and flowers grow toward the end of the branches.

Question: Which plants can grow in full sun in Phoenix, Arizona?  – Linda

Answer: You are in the perfect place to grow any of the plants on the AdeniumRose site.  All the adeniums, Echeverias, prickly pear and other succulents/cactus will do great in your area in pots or in the grown – they are all desert plants.

Are you creating a cactus/succulent garden in the grown or do you plan to put them in ceramic pots? If you plant to use pots make sure you use the right soil and pots so the roots get plenty and water them well twice a week during the summer. You are in a desert which means the plants when kept in pots will get very hot during the summer. In your area I would stick to light color glazed pots (they must be unglazed on the bottom and have good size holes) or non-glazed ceramic pots.

Do not use plastic pots for the cactus and succulents in your area.  Stay away from dark colors to help keep the succulent roots cooler. Check out the bonsai pots on the Epic Grower site or your area. I would get a bit oversized ceramic pot one to give you more room for soil which will help keep the roots a bit further away from the ceramic so they stay cooler.

If you plan to pant the cactus and succulents in the ground I dig a hold about twice the size needed. Put weed control fabric in the bottom of the hold and then 3” of rock and another layer of weed control fabric on top of the rocks first. Then add the proper cactus soil and pots. The first layer of fabric will keep the rocks from sinking into the ground and the 2^nd layer keeps the soil above the rocks. The rocks allow air to flow up and make sure water drains well from the cactus planting area.

Question: Hello, I am looking to buy cactus and succulents for our home and office. I
would like to know which plants are better indoor and which survive well
outdoors. We have had a large succulent collection before moving to Florida
but unfortunately many died when changing climate and moving indoor to
outdoor. I hope to keep healthy plants going in our new house and office. We
are in Tampa Florida. I am also looking for large aloe plants. I hope to
hear back from you and I appreciate your time. Thank you! -Carlos

Answer: The Echeveria’s, adeniums and other succulents are great for your purpose and so are many cactus plants. I need to know a more details about what happed.  Rot root? Bugs? Etc.  AdeniumRose Company has clients in just about all states except for Alaska. As long as you take proper care including using the right soil and fertilizers they will grow anywhere. Here in South Florida adn yoru area (Mid-west Florida) our main concern is too much water when growing succulents outside which is 100% controllable using the right soil.  Off the shelf cactus soil contains too much moss which retains water which is bad for Florida tropical climate. You need a coir based soil (see our blog www.adeniumrose.com/blog for proper mix). Yes we offer soil on our site which is the exact soil we use on our succulents and cactus.

Since you are moving plants from indoors to outdoors (rotating them) I suggest that you keep three sets of cactus/succulent pants unless you are using grow lights in-doors. Cactus and succulents need good light. They will survive indoors with low light for a couple months before they start having problems.  First the cactus and succulents plants will go dormant and then start losing their leaves if they have leave

s.   If you can replace regular light bulbs with grow light bulbs so when they are in your office they still get some of the proper light they need woudl help.

Once you have three sets of cactus and succulent plants rotate them in 3 month cycles so no plant is left in low light for more than 3 months out of 9.  When in-doors reduce watering make sure the soil is dry between watering. Remember the cactus and succulents plants will assume that winter is coming. so they will start to go dormant if kept in-doors too long with not enough light. The problem is that cactus plants here are use to hot and wet and them you are taking them into a dry cool climate. Also you may want get Dyan-Grow Tekt to help strengthen the plants against disease and help the plant to take in nutrients. Also use a a good time release fertilizer 6-6-10 or liquid Dyna-Gro Grow.

Q: I purchased nine adeniums Nov 2013. All were in great shape. I planted them up and have had them indoors in front of a window and all have stayed dormant with very little watering. But one Dang Dream has begun to rot from the top down to near the caudex now. I lifted it out of the soil to see if the roots are effected and they are in good shape. Can I save the plant at this stage or will it continue to rot. This is all new to me and certainly may have caused this problem.

Answer:  It’s call tip rot and doesn’t happen usually in the winter on adeniums unless they get too cold.  I wish you caught it before it progressed down towards the caudex.  It can be caused by too much cold and/or too much moisture on the leaves/branches with not enough light.  You need to get rid of all the rot.  Many times the desert rose plants will survive even if you go down to the caudex area. Did you use superthrive before planting?   By any chance do you have a lamp near the plants?  Maybe give the adenium plants a boost (more light) – get a growing light on eBay for a few dollars and give them stronger light if you can so they leaf out.  What part of the country are you in?  If you are in the north where you get freezing temperatures then the window maybe too cold  for too long for the adenium plants.  Once the adeniums are established in an area (go through one good growing season)  they have less problems.

Q: I  just purchased 2 adeniums and fertilizer from AdeniumRose Company.  One large mystery and one large not proven. I live in Phoenix, AZ. Can you send me instructions on how to care for my new plants?  Should I dip them in root thrive before planting them?  Should I not fertilize until the fall?  Also, I have another “rescue”an adenium at home that I have not seen flower.  I have re-potted and watered once.  When can I prune it?

 Thank you so much for your help.  Very excited to receive my new plants!

A: Good Morning:Yes we received the order and instructions sheets will be in the shipping packet.  First, I assume the one that has not bloom is at least 3 years old. I would recommend to give it a bloom booster liquid fertilizer starting next month.  In your area they should bloom in April to June time frame depending upon your winter weather. If you are having a longer winter wait until March. Make sure you do not water it for a week before you give it the bloom booster.

Yes we recommend using super thrive when you re-pot the desert rose plants. Soak then in the liquid for 20 to 3 minutes.  Follow the directions on how to mix super thrive.  We just received a new shipment from Thailand two weeks ago and they are already starting to leaf. If we did not use super thrive it would take twice as long for the adenium plants to recover from the shipping and re-potting.  Also, when you re-pot its a great time to check the adenium bonsai root look and make adjustments.

After the adenium obesum pants bloom give them a time released fertilizer low nitrogen and phosphate such as the one you ordered time released 8-9 on our website.  Do not prune the desert rose plants until after flowering season or you will not get flowers in spring.  If you prune the adenium plants now it will take time for the to recover, grow new branches and then flower.

Recently several people asked about how to create interesting adenium plant exposed roots (caudex) on their desert rose plants.  First, the adenium plants will grow interesting caudex over time, however, they look can be approved by using standard bonsai methods.  The best time to work on your adeniums plants root structure is when you re-pot the plant.

The first step when re-potting a adenium plant is to force the roots to spread out. Your desert rose bonsai plant roots are flexible but be careful not to break them. Since the roots will be under ground do not use bonsai wire because you will be able to tell if they are causing damage. Instead cut a ping ball in half to be placed under the roots you want to spread out. The roots will not be able to go straight down and will be forced to go around the plastic ball.  You can use other plastic objects besides ping pong balls for your adenium plant bonsai shaping.

Make sure your pot is not too large but give roots of the adenium plant have around 2″ to spread out as they grow until the next re-potting.  Depending upon your growing environment you should re-pot at least once a year to check the growth of the roots of the desert rose plants.

To help the growing of the caudex you will need to crop your branches to keep them shorter.  When you crop a branch,the cropped branch of the desert rose plant  will be replaced by 2..3 branches 95% of the time if the plant is getting enough light.  As more branches grow so does the roots which makes the plant grow faster too!  Make sure you use the right adenium plant fertilizer and soil mix.

Question: December19, 2013 – The Desert Rose plant what size container will they be shipped in and do they have buds are flowers now? If not when will they be blooming.

Answer:  The desert rose plants is a spring to early summer bloomer depending upon your climate. The adenium plants are not shipped in a container. They are shipped barefoot which means no soil.  Desert rose, Adenium, plants are succulents that are desert water thrifty plants.  Cactus and succulents are dormant during the winter months and then leaf out during spring (in southern states they leaf out late winter) before they flower. However, many times Desert Rose plants will flower before leafs develope depending upon the amount of water they receive and nutrients in the soil.

People grow adenium plants throughout the USA and people in the North learn that they need to be protected from cold. If you are familiar with growing other succulents or cactus type plants then you will do well with these desert rose plants.

  During the winter months AdeniumRose Company LLC ships the adenium plants with 72 hour warmers to help protect them from the freezing cold weather.  They are not flowering now and if they were they would lose the flowers during shipment.  Most collectors obtain their desert rose plants in fall and late winter so the plants are ready for blooming in a couple months if treated right.  Customers in the southern states (FL, GA, Al, MS, LS, TX, NM, AZ, Southern CA) buy year round due to their more temperate climates.

     AdeniumRose Company is based in Miami Florida which is a topical climate. The plants do go semi-dormant (grow slower) and lose some of their leaves but not all because of our extreme southern location.  Our tropical  location makes it a great place to grow desert rose plants for our USA clients. example: We obtain a shipment of adenium plants in late September (potted last week of September) and all the adenium plants have tons of leafs. Plus, two of the adenium plants varieties flowered already.

    The plants in the AdeniumRose Company nursery are grown in open are not under nursery nets which makes the adenium plants stronger (weak ones die) but we have less control of when they bloom. In most areas the USA, the adenium plants will start going dormant in October – November time frame and lose their leaves but not in south Florida.

P.S: We are receiving another shipment this weekend from Thailand ans should be ready in 3 months just in time for spring!

Question: Do you have the 10-30-20 fertilizer at Adeniumrose Company

  We use a time release 8-9 month formula yearlong for the adenium plants and use 10-30-20 liquid soluble when we want to induce blooms.  the time released used as our adenium fertilizer (solid pellets the releases nutrients over a period of time) controls the release of nutrients of a period of 3 months and its is the perfect all around low nitrogen fertilizer for adeniums and in the future we will offer the water soluble to induce blooming.

 When you want desert rose plants to bloom in Spring you want to use a liquid adenium fertilizer BEFORE THEY HAVE BUDS (around January/Feb in your area). Use a mix like Dyna-Gro Bloom starting 1 month before the adenium plants comes out of dormancy and continue it until you see either small buds growing or until you see 4..5 new leaves on the desert rose plant.