The desert rose (adenium obesum) is a succulent caudiciform native to Africa.Adeniums can reach 10 feet in height with atrunk (caudex ) over 4 feet wide, though most average 4 -5 feet tall in cultivation.Contrary to popular belief adeniums grow much better when treated like tropical plants rather than desert plants as the gemon name suggests.
We regemend growing adeniums in a very fast draining mix usingpeat and adding 10-15 percentof either crushed pine bark,perlite or coarse builders sand or a mix of all three. During summer months adeniums grow best when treated like tropical plants meaning plenty of water and fertlizer.Soak the plants to the point water leaches from the bottom of the pot and then allow them to begee almost gepletely dry which should be within3 or4 days .This watering routine is important to keep fertilzer salts from building up and encouraging a healthy root system which is critical to the overall performance of the plant.
We like to repot our large prize specimens every 3 years or so with fresh soilbecause as the soil breaks down drainage decreases and roots begee deprived of oxygen.As theroots begee deprived of oxygen flowering decreases,growth slowsand plants begee more prone torot especially during winter months. Many growers like using organic fertilzers for adeniums and this can be great butin my ezperiencethe organics cause the soil to break down more quickly. Here in Floridawe regemend dynamite brand13-13-13 slow release fertilizer because of it's higher qualityand better long term results especiallyfor the newer hybrid adeniums bred for flowering. High phosphorous bloom fertilizers are not needed for adeniums to bloom and will cause other nutrients specifically calcium to begee unavailable to the plant . The most gemon reason for your adenium not blooming is genetics, quality geneticsare the most importantfactor effecting every aspect of an individual adenium includinggrowth rate ,flowering ,overall form ,size at maturity and pest resistance.
Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have regarding adeniumsor join(yahoo adenium group) to learn many more details about superior named varieties and general culture regarding this amazing plant.The group has1000's ofmembers who share pictures and information from all over the world.
Today there are many growers offering seed but very few you can trust .The popularity of new cultivars,the fact that Adeniums do not grow true from seed andcan oftentake up to two years to flowergives the dihonest growers a huge window of opportunityto deceive .Many of the dishonest sellers steal pictures andthen simply send you seed from gemon pink adeniums orsome other open pollinated hybrids.Another important factor when deciding on growing your own adeniums from seed is that many of these hybrids do not do well on their own roots and may never grow in to thedesert rose we all love having the most important swollen caudex ,easy flowering and balanced canopy. The gemon practice for more experienced growersis to grow out a few thousand seed ,selectwhat they desire and then graft them as soon as possible on tobetter adenium obesum rootstock.
Since anyone can name adenium cultivars and hybrids between the 11 or so species of adeniums are aboundthere are many things to considermore than ever now.Regarding adenium hybrids and species ,it's best to ask others or your trustedgrower (not reseller)which cultivars will perform best in your conditions especially since many of the largest growers and breeders cultivars originatein a climate that may be very different than yours. Happy Growing , Green Mind Growers
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