Growing Exotic Adeniums

Exotic varieties of Desert Roses. Adeniums have many spectacular hybrids. The basic culture is very similar to orchids. A small pot with excellent drainage is a must. Adeniums do not like both over-watering or drying-out. There is a secret how to create a large swollen caudex: raise the plant a bit every time you re-pot it, so that the upper part of roots will be a little exposed. The plant will form more roots that will go down.

To make your plant develop a large swollen base/trunk, you'll need a good quality fertilizer. Fertilizer requirement for swelling up trunks is also used to increase flowering. It shouldn't be too high in nitrogen, the middle number should be the highest (similar to 10-50-10). Never apply fertilizer directly on roots and do not liquid feed when a plant is thirsty: always water first slightly to avoid root burn and leaf drop. Do not wet leaves. Adeniums need lots of light for heavy flowering.

Most hybrids and species start blooming in the spring when the conditions are warm and days get longer, and continue blooming through the fall and winter in warmer climates. Adeniums like a neutral to hard water. Acidic water tends to sour the soil too fast and may cause root rot. Water plants preferably in the early morning, and allow them to drink up throughout the day. Watering can be done daily to every few days. Never allow your plants to sit in a saucer of water, but don't let them to dry out too often - this causes adeniums to go into early dormancy.

Planting instructions for bare-rooted succulent plants. Position the plant in a pot, size of root system. Use only well-drained soil with high content of Perlite and/or sand (cactus mix can be used), water once and keep in warm (75-80F) place in filtered light. Do not water again until soil dries on surface. Once the plant is established and starts growing new leaves (may take a few weeks), gradually move it into brighter light. Then you can start fertilizing it.

See full list of Adeniums - plants and seeds

Follow on

Pin

Share

Desert rose winter care

Q: I purchased several packets of desert rose seeds last year. I now have 45 very healthy seedlings some of them in bud. Almost all of my seeds grew but I lost most of them when I rook them in during winter. I did not water them for a month , kept them in their pots and set them by the window. they either dried up and died or rotted and died. I noticed when you send me grafted specimens that you bareroot them. Is this a better way to keep them inside in winter, bareroot? I hate to lose these plants come winter time. Pls advise me. I live in Houston, Tx. where we get temps below 40 degrees and sometime a day or more of freezing temps.

A: Thank you for your question. Rot is pretty common problem with Desert Roses. We monitor our Adeniums closely and have a special set up of watering environment and schedule, in dedicated greenhouses just for them. Nevertheless - every now and then we see a rotten caudex and can't help it to say "oops! over-watered!" These plants are very sensitive to environment changes, especially when it comes to a combination of water and temperature. These are a few tips that should help you to reduce risk of plant loss to a minimum:

1) Use only well drained mix with much higher content of perlite than you would use for most tropical plants. For adeniums, we use mix with 30-40% of perlite in it, while regular mix has 10-15%.

2) Adeniums like alkaline soil, unlike most of tropical plants (hard to say what else likes alkaline... Ficus for sure!). This means, regular mix with high content of peat moss may cause root rot. To increase alkalinity, you may add dolomite. Here in Florida where we have natural supply of shell rock handy, it is easy to add some shell to a potting mix (shell sand, rather than quartz sand). We always add a few large shells on top of a pots with a big specimen. Besides increasing soil pH (making it more alkaline), shells look very decorative.

3) Water very carefully during cooler months. When it is hot (85-100F), excessive water usually won't harm adeniums: it will be partially used by a plant, and partially will evaporate. Especially be careful with water when temperatures drop below 65F - then tropical plants simply stop growing process and go dormant. Once adeniums start losing leaves, this is a sign to reduce watering to once a week to once a month, and in very small quantity (couple tablespoons per pot).

4) We do not bareroot adeniums for winter storage. They are not bulbs. Barerooting of this plant is recommended only during shipping. Adeniums can stay without soil for up to a week without hardly any stress, sometimes even longer.

5) We keep our big collection specimens on a roofed porch during winter, where level of light is very low. Last winter we haven't lost a single plant due to low light. They take shade pretty well considering minimum or no water. However bright light is always better - it creates healthier environment for a plant. We all know about space limitations for our large collections, especially in winter. So if you can afford a bright spot for adenium during winter - the plant will be lucky!

Adenium Summer Sale:

Follow on

Pin

Share