Desert rose is scientifically known as Adenium obesum, or the fat adenium, which refers to its very thick trunk, is long cultivated by succulent plant enthusiasts due to its strange shape, beautiful flowers in colors that range from deep red pure white, and his tolerance for occasional abandonment.
The Adenium are rapidly becoming popular horticultural themes and houseplants throughout the world.
1. Origin of Adenium
The Adenium obesum is very widespread and variable in its natural habitat. It occurs in broadband across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and Mauritania in the west to the east to Sudan and Kenya.
2. Description
This is a drought tolerant plant. It must have a well drained place; otherwise, planting in a container is your best option.
In fact, this is one of the few plants on this site that sometimes works best in a pot, where you can control drainage.
Perfectly happy to live in a large pot for years, the plant is easy to maintain and will bloom very well.
flowers
Blooms appear during the warm months, and throughout the year if winter is mild. The colors of the flowers range from red to pink to white.
Foliage
The Adeno tree ordinarily loses its foliage in the winter. However, even in summer, the plant has more stems and flowers than foliage.
Trunk
Each one is unique: it forms a fleshy trunk with a fat base that supports its "head" of branches. The appearance is that of a blooming bonsai.
The sap of these succulent plants contains toxins, so wear gloves when handling if you have sensitive skin.
3. Varieties of Adenium
Experts disagree about what constitutes a species of the genus Adenium. What is clear is that there are a variety of quite different forms that occur in different parts of Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula and the adjacent island of Socotra. Most nurseries recognize various species and forms.
Its variability in nature is reflected in its variability in the crop. The types are shown below:
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Adenium multiflorum
It often appears as a variety of A. obesum, but it is quite different in many ways. It is probably the second most commonly available form.
It usually has a thinner trunk than A. obesum, and has a mandatory winter latency, expires. It usually blooms for 3-4 months in winter, without leaves. The flowers are abundant and possibly the most striking of the whole group.
The petals are bordered in a bright red band of different widths that is clearly defined by the white inner parts. It comes from Mozambique and neighboring countries of Southeast Africa.
Adenium swazicum
It is commonly available in specialized nurseries. It comes from Swaziland and adjacent areas in eastern South Africa and Mozambique. It is easy to grow but is very susceptible to mites.
The flowers are uniform in color, ranging from pale to deep pink to pinkish purple. Flowering is usually for a few months at the end of summer and fall, but cultivating ‘PerpetualPink’ has a longer flowering period.
Soft succulent stems tend to fall, especially on plants that are too shaded. Larger plants have massive roots and thick trunks.
Adenium somalense
On Lake Bogorio in the Rift Valley in western Kenya. In old age, this species can become a small and truncated tree. Keep in mind the lush vegetation in the rainy season, which indicates that it can tolerate a lot of rain during growth. But the ground is rocky and well drained.
Adenium crispum
It is also known as a subspecies of A. somalense, but recent authorities believe they are quite different species. It is native to the sandy desert soils along the coast of Somalia.
It is a dwarf species off the coast of Somalia. This plant is in a pot of 7 and is shown during its period of winter inactivity. The great basal caudex is actually part of the root system that in nature would be totally underground.
In culture, caudex is raised for aesthetic purposes and to reduce the possibility of root rot. This particular plant is from a population in Tanzania and has a somewhat different flower than the Somali form.
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4. How Adenium is grown
Adenium is relatively easy to care for as long as you think that your plant is actually two quite different plants with different requirements at different times of the year. In the heat of summer, while they are growing, they should be treated as a tropical plant, watered abundantly and frequently and fertilized with a good amount of generosity.
In winter they need a dry rest, and should be treated like a cactus, with occasional light waterings during warm and bright days.
Garden Cultivation
Established plants thrive outdoors in the summer. They love our summer storms and full sunlight throughout the day is ideal. If it remains too shaded during the growing season, the adenians will develop weak and unnatural growth and will not flourish.
All adenios are very sensitive to frost and cold weather. As the afternoons begin to cool in the fall, the plants should be taken back inside and placed in a bright place where the temperature stays above 50F. Full sun is not necessary for inactive plants.
Potted
Like most succulents, the Adenos, especially when they are inactive, are susceptible to root rot (which can quickly kill the entire plant) caused by prolonged and too wet soils.
Therefore, they should be in pots in a well drained soil mixture. Any light commercial mixture can start as a base, but it should be increased with approximately 1/3 to ½ drainage material, such as coarse sand (filtered and washed), clean bird sand, gravel or spongy rock (such as Perlite).
If you use a peat-based mixture, you should transplant it to fresh soil approximately every two years. Any type of pot (clay, plastic or ceramic) is acceptable, but it must have good drainage (make sure the dish does not retain water).
5. Care of the Adenium
Below are the care you should provide to your Adenium plant:
Increase
When the ideal conditions exist, a lot of space for the roots and a long growing season, some Adenium can grow quite and be colorful. But their size can be kept under control by keeping them under pots.
Irrigation
Provides plenty of water during the growing season. If your soil is well drained and the weather is warm and sunny, the roots quickly absorb soil moisture that is lost through normal perspiration.
In well-drained soils during active growth in the heat of midsummer, plants can be literally watered daily. The Adenium are becoming favorite landscape plants in tropical parts of the world, such as Asia and South Florida, where rains can be strong and almost daily during the summer; Plants thrive under these conditions.
Size and pruning control
In nature, Adenium obesum can assume the proportions of a large bush or a small tree. However, they live quite happily if their size is restricted, and they will flourish faithfully. The size can be restricted below the pot as discussed above.
Many Adenium plants branch fairly sparingly and, even when they grow strongly, they may seem long after a while. Judicious pruning will result in better branching and a more complete looking plant. Because the flowers develop at the ends of the stems, a more branched plant will also produce more flowers.
Propagation
The Adenium tree is generally not self-fertile; It usually requires two separate clones to produce viable seeds. They have a complex floral structure and are a bit difficult to pollinate by hand until you learn the trick. However, fresh seeds germinate rapidly, usually in 3 to 7 days, and seedlings tend to be vigorous.
Adenium cuttings can be rooted, and this is the only way to get hybrids that are true to their name. Cuttings should be immersed in the rooting hormone and placed in a well-drained rooting medium (such as plant beads) and kept watered. The results are better in a closed area of high humidity or a fog chamber
Plagues and diseases
Mites and mealybugs are the worst problems, but they are easily treated with normal remedies. These pests are more problematic if plants are grown indoors or in a greenhouse than if grown outside where natural controls (predators, rain) are so important.
The mite plague can be particularly harmful in some species and cultivars, since they accumulate very quickly and cause a total fall of the leaves. Affected plants will leaf through quickly once the mites are controlled.
Plants that grow outdoors during the summer can occasionally get colonies of large yellow aphids with black legs. This is the same aphid that commonly attacks wild and garden milkweed.
6. Properties and benefits
Below are some benefits and properties of this plant:
Food uses
The Adenium plant is highly toxic for animal and human consumption.
This plant is not edible.
Other uses
Desert rose is popular as an ornamental plant, but is not usually seen as a bonsai. It is vigorous and healthy in the right conditions and with proper care.
7. Curiosidades of Adenium
All Adenium have highly toxic sap. In Africa, the sap has been used to make poison arrows for the hunting game. On the island of Socotra, where the introduced goats have decimated much of the native vegetation, the adenians remain completely intact.
Be careful when handling and pruning plants. Do not take sap into your eyes. If you get sap on your skin, wash immediately.
Commercial propagators handle hundreds of plants daily without problems; However, precautions are prudent.
If you have pets that are prone to chew your plants, they are likely to ignore them forever after the first experimental taste, but to be sure, keep Adenium 'pets and plants separate.
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( text source Plantas & Flores )
