Desert Rose (Adenium Obesum)

Desert Rose is a succulent, drought-tolerant plant, native to Africa & the Arabian Peninsula. They thrive in bright sunlight and warm temperatures and require well-drained, sandy soil. A member of the dogbane family, it is poisonous to humans & pets. (The sap was historically used as an arrow-poison)

Purchased : June 25 - $8.00 

Potted him, first, in a small terra-cotta bowl (pic) but the pot was too shallow for his height, making him slightly top-heavy, so after a few days of worrying about him falling over, I decided the risk of re-re-potting was worth doing, rationalizing that he IS a SUCCULENT, which are damn near indestructible..

I had drilled & painted a cement oval-shaped bowl I found at GoodWill, that was no more than 3 inches deep & a couple  inches wider than the terra-cotta bowl & what I thought was a good fit, so another repot, as shown in the pics, below. All of this took place within just a couple of weeks, but the plant showed no sign of stress, and I felt relieved that he seemed happy & stable in his new home.

Regardless of how much I thought that my GoodWill reclamation project was "cool", the Desert Rose hated it. Whether it  was inadequate drainage (just 1 drain hole) or the paint-primer I had used to re-finish the pot, I noticed a yellowing leaf, then another & finally lost one of the "baby buds". (notice that earlier pics show 3) And so a 3rd re-pot of a now, not-so-healthy specimen.

The re-re-re-pot took; the plant survived & over the next few days, actually returned to good health;  it was just a few days after this that "the accident" occured. I will post a complete account of what, when, how, but basically a misuse of an organic fertilizer burned this plant, along with several others..there's a lesson learned, but it was almost fatal to this tough, rugged plant.. he lost all his leaves & I thought he would die, but, against the odds, once again, he recovered & seems none the worse for the experience. 

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