PlantFiles: Desert Rose
Adenium obesum subsp. boehmianum

I had a desert rose that i dearly loved and was appalled when i noticed a "bean pod" sprouting from it...i researched this and found that it was a seed pod. It opens as it dries and you can keep the seeds for the following year to plant.

I live in North Fla.- have some trouble with scale in winter which responds to insecticidal soap. If temp drops to 50 degrees they come in the house,this plant is moved in and out all winter.Which is at times more work than my dogs. They come when you call. Love the looks of plant and blooms. However my friends in south Fla don't have near the issues of finding the sun and the correct temp in the winter. I have had my mother plant for 3 yrs and have a baby that sprouted the first year. I love my adeniums but then I'm nutty enough to have dreams about plants too!

I have had two Adenium obesum for two years, and only one has bloomed for me, and it was bright red. The other that has never bloomed put on very large leaves, but I am still waiting for it to bloom. I also purchased one bare root from a store in the Garden Watchdog called "Buried Treasures". I was sent a lovely plant, and all of the business I have done with Buried Treasures has always been very positive. Anyone who wanted an Anenium obesum should consider purchasing a plant from them. Even though I live in Florida, I bring in my Desert Rose in during the Winter. They go dormant during that time, lose all of their leaves and don't take much water until the weather warms up again in Spring. Let these plants go dry between waterings. They store a lot of water in their large caudex, where their stems grow from, and too much water causes root rot very quickly.