How to Grow & Care for Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ (2023)

How interesting is the name “Desert Rose”? Is it me only who find it or do you also? Trust me, when I came to know about this plant I was so curious to know more and wanted to plant them in my garden.

To execute the plan I research them to know what they need to grow such as water, light, soil, fertilizer, and temperature so that I can manage them to thrive best in my house. Are you interested? Why not give them a try? For that, you need to continue reading the article.

Quick takeaways:

Common Name:	Desert rose flower or Elephant’s Foot Plant
Scientific Name	Adenium arabicum
Type	Succulent
Origin	Yemen and Saudi Arabia
Habitat	It can grow in deserted areas that are hot, dry, and with limited water and nutrients.
Size	2 to 5 meters tall; 1 to 2 meters wide
Toxicity	Toxic to dogs, cats, humans
Colors	Green
Blooms	Pink to Reddish Pink

How to Grow Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’?

Let’s learn how to grow Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ using the seeds.

• The best time for sowing the plant is during the spring.
• For growing the plant you need to first get a well-draining potting mix containing perlite and soil mix.
• Now soak the seeds of the plant a few hours before and then place each seed every 2 inches of the growing medium.
• At last cover the mix with a thin layer of soil mix.
• Now you need to water it thoroughly and keep the plant in a location where it maintains warmness.
• You can also try to mist the soil or the water from the container below and make sure that the soil does not get waterlogged.
• You will see the seedlings sprout within a week to 10 days but then you can easily move them to the container to a sunny spot.

Growing by a stem cutting:

You can grow Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ by stem cutting such as:

• First, there are some basic items you need to collect such as garden gloves, sterilized pruners, rooting hormone, a clean pot, and a well-draining potting mix.
• Before cutting you should wear garden gloves so that you dont get in touch with toxic sap on your skin.
• Keep the cutting as and Let it dry out.
• Now dip the cutting end into the rooting hormone.
• After this, you need to plant the end of the cut into a soil mix such as perlite or sand mixed with potting soil.
• You need to water the cutting daily and also make sure the water drains out completely.
• You will notice that the cutting will take root within two or six weeks.

Interesting facts:

1. As the name suggests many think they belong to the rose family but they are classified as a succulent plant. 2. The botanical name of the plant is referred as Adenium Obesum. 3. The Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ is native to regions of Africa, the Middle East, and Madagascar so it means the plant prefers drier conditions to grow in a healthy way like other succulent plants. 4. The plants do contain thick trunks, dark green foliage, and beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers.

How to  Care for Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’?

Light:

• For growing Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ you need to provide it with bright light.
• You need to give the plant bright light for its optimum growth and flowering.
• In the case of keeping plants indoors, you need to find a spot where the plant gets the brightest spot in the room, especially in its growing stage.
• According to me, full daylight is much preferred.
• Avoid lighting insufficiency which will make the plant grow weak and spindly.

Watering:

• As the plant is categorized as a succulent plant they can store moisture so watering the plant is very tough.
• Remember not to overwater the Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ as doing this will cause root rot.
• In case of dry season, you need to water them twice a week.
• During winter you need to lower the frequency of watering them which can be once a month.
• For watering, you need to drench the pot in well-saturated water. 
• Always make sure the excess water is drained out of the pot. 
• The larger the plant is the more frequent you need to water the plant than the smaller plants. 

Temperature:

• As per the native area, the plant loves dry and warm climates.
• You need to avoid the conditions of freezing temperatures as that will damage the plant.
• You need to maintain the temperature always above the critical level which is 10C.
• Make sure to keep the plant indoors during the winter season and place the plant in a bright spot where it can warm itself or you can also provide them with artificial sources of light.
• The Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ plant does belong to  USDA Zones 10a to 11b which is the best location for growing them.

Air Humidity:

• According to the originated area  Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ won’t like high humidity as they contain plenty of moisture stored in their roots.
• You should provide the plant with an environment where the humidity is low that is around 30%.
• You need to keep the plant in a humidity-low location where it does not get in contact with much moisture around like placing the pot in kitchens or bathrooms.

Soil:

• You need to protect the Adenium Arabicum from root rot conditions for that you need to prepare a well-draining potting mix.
• You can apply to provide the plant with commercial succulent mixes by adding draining materials such as perlite, vermiculite, or sand.
• Also, you can mix in the organic matter that will help in improving the soil’s structure and fertility. 
• If you find that the soil drains within a mixture after pouring water into the pot that is a sign of good drainage. 
• The pH level of the soil ranges from 5.0 to 5.8. 

Fertilizing:

• The Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ is able to survive even with little nutrients.
• You need to just sprinkle the plant with a diluted balanced fertilizer once a month and make sure that the fertilizer goes directly to the soil, not into the leaves.
• During the blooming stage, you need to increase the content of the phosphorus fertilizer and it will help induce the plant flowering. 

Re-Potting:

• The repotting of the plant should be preferred in an active growing stage which is in spring or summer.
• During the growing stage, the plant roost tends to grow faster which makes them easily settle down in a new container.
• As per the growth of the plant, you won’t need to repot them every year.
• If you see that the roots of the plant have started to come out of the pot it is high time to repot the plant in at least a few inches bigger container.
• Use a pot that is sturdy enough to hold the bigger plant.

Pruning:

• The pruning of Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ is done to keep the plant in shape.
• In pruning, you cut the undesirable branches so that the plant is able to follow a specific structure.
• The pruning makes the plant helps regulate the height and size of the Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’.
• Pruning of the plant entirely depends on the growth rate of the plant and the outcome you see after pruning it.
• By pruning the plant to need to remove dead and diseased leaves and flowers.

Conclusion:

Planting the Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’ plant with the above-mentioned steps will make the plant grow healthy and faster without wasting your money and time. the following video link will make it clearer how to grow and care for Adenium Arabicum ‘Desert Rose’.