Desert Rose

One of my favourite plants are Adenium Obesums, commonly known as 'Desert Rose' and 'Fu Kuai Fa' here. Currently, I have 5 of these lovelies in the garden :)

Grown from stem cutting

As alluded to by its name, they thrive in hot and sunny weather and bloom all year round. Succulent plants, they don't require regular watering but need proper drainage; have thick branches; grow slowly; have leaves that are glossy and leathery; flowers tend to be pink and reds clustering at the tips of branches and are especially prized for their fleshy base known as a caudex.

 

  

The bigger and more swollen the caudex the better; an older plant with a big caudex & lots of branches & flowers can command a handsome sum in the re-sale market.

I just LOVE to look at the caudexes (?) as they tend to grow into funny looking shapes and with a bit of imagination, may resemble a man in mid kung-fu stance or an elephant's head interchangeably :D

Adeniums can be grown from seeds, stem cuttings or by grafting. Interestingly, my sole plant grown from seed did not have the same coloured flowers as its parents.

Parent plant-pinkish flowers with white mid-section

Progeny-reddish flowers with pink mid-section

Plants grown from seed tend to have obvious caudexes while those grown from stem-cuttings may develop a caudex years later...or not as is the case with my 1st picture above. 

Seedling with swollen trunk

Seed-grown young plant

Seeds are borne in a single long tube-like receptacle emerging from the tip of a branch. Its goes from green to red to brown before splitting apart and releasing the seeds. The seeds are so tiny that they have 'wings' on either sides to help it float and carried by the wind. I was really surprised to see the seeds the 1st time :)

Adeniums should be re-potted often, feed with fertiliser that are not too high in nitrogen and need to be trimmed regularly preferably during hot and dry weather to ensure healthy growth of caudex, new branches and fresh blooms.

However, my plants are extremely susceptible to green caterpillar attacks! These pests can completely de-nude my plants in a matter of days...leaves, flowers & flower buds!

the HATED pest!!  >_<

Other than this pest, the plants are relatively problem free.

I'm thinking of getting myself some hybrids soon as they produce really pretty & showy flowers! Have a look at some of these beautiful hybrid flowers here and here.
 

I hope you will try planting an Adenium 'rose' next :)