Desert Rose -- Adenium Obesum

Desert Rose (Adenium Obesum)

I bought this desert rose in August last year, not long after we moved to the current house.  It kept blooming for months until the winter time. 

Here is how it looked like back in August last year.

August 2009

Some people grow the desert rose as house plant, but mine is in a full sun area outdoor.  It is said that it likes to be a little root bound, so I kept mine in its original 10 inch pot.  It seems quite happy in it even it has grown quite a bit now.  I then put the container in another decorative urn to hide the ugly plastic pot.

Here is how it looks like now.  I has grown about twice bigger since last August.  When it grows taller, the lower part of the leaves fall off.  The flowers then show in cluster at the new growth of the leaves, at the tips of the branches.

May 2010

The desert rose is an evergreen succulent native to the tropical regions of Africa and Arabia. It likes the hot humid weather of South Florida. 

I water it every other day in the summer, but maybe only once a week in the winter.  It should be brought indoor if the temperature drops to below 40.  This past winter, I brought it indoor only for those nights that close to the freeze point.  For other cold nights, I just kept it on the covered patio, close to the house wall.  It did just fine, and even started flowering as early as in February.

Now the weather has reached the optimum condition that this plant loves.  The recent heat and humidity has brought prolific blooming time of this plant!  Everyday I check it, it seems opening more flowers and have more buds on the way.

This is an easy plant to grow in Florida in my opinion. Except the water, I also put some slow released fertilizer in the container, that is about it. It seems have no pest problem so far. The only thing needs to be careful is not to over water it since it could cause root rot. I once tried to root a cutting. The cutting was able to grow one set of leaves, but it eventually died due to the root rot maybe because I watered a little bit too much than it needs, especially when the root system is not fulled developed.

I love the different shade of the pink on its flower petals, dark pink on the edge, and pastel pink in the inner side, and a touch of yellow in the center.  Sometimes it reminds of Chinese water color painting. 

Do you also grow desert rose in your garden?