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. 









Mar 22, 2026
The Desert Rose has been dormant for several months now, but its waking-up from it's hibernation. I continued to water him, but sparsely, when I thought it was appropriate & he looks like he had a good sleep & is ready for the new growing season.











April 19, 2026

I wish I had measured the Desert Rose before he went into dormancy, because it seems like he grew, as inconsistent as that sounds. The 'S' curve is more pronounced & I can only attribute that to increased height.




Regardless, I decided to freshen-up the "soil" (added potting mix) & since I had some lava rock, used that as top dressing.

July 26, 2026

Our Desert Rose has had an uneventful year, compared to last year when he was re-potted multiple times, endured a chemical spill & root reduction surgery, so this year, he has been very quiet & gone about his business without much fanfare. So, you can imagine the surprise when I watered him yesterday & discovered that he is about to bloom!

I am told, that it is somewhat unusual & rare for this plant to bloom 'in captivity'. So far, I can see 2 blossoms & possibly a 3rd. I'll keep this page up to date on his progress & am looking forward to seeing him in full bloom.

July 30, 2026

1st bloom opened today..he has multiple buds, so I expect we will see more over the next few days.

I've never seen one in bloom before & I understand more now why people talk about this plant & regard it so highly. I posted one of the photos (above) to a bulletin board (do they still call them that?) that I frequent & an individual from New Zealand commented that he still remembered seeing his first Desert Rose 35 years ago & never forgot it.

I will post more photos as the blooms progress, over the next few days, I expect. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a vibrant red...