Desert roses require careful water management, sunlight, and a pH of around 6.0. They thrive in free-draining, sandy soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH, and can tolerate full sun or partial shade. To encourage blooming, provide at least six hours of sunlight and fertilizer at least once a month during spring. Place the plant directly in a South or West-facing window and prune it in early spring before new growth appears.
During the prime growing months of spring and summer, move the desert rose houseplants outside in spring where they thrive in full or partial sun. Grow the desert rose in a potting mix designed for succulents and cacti, and ensure the soil is well-drained, well-drained, and pest-resistant.
To ensure the best care for desert rose plants, choose the right location, avoid overwatering, get the soil right, fight off pests, and propagate them. Adenium plants are commonly grown in pots, so soil should be carefully selected for good water retention, drainage, and airing. Propagate the soil mixture to ensure good water retention, drainage, and airing.
📹 “Desert Roses 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing and Caring for Adeniums”
We’ll cover everything you need to know to successfully grow and care for your own desert rose plant, from choosing the right soil …
📹 Desert Rose Growing Tips – 2023
Nothing can compete with the glamor of the Desert Rose! This super long lived plant can be tricky to get to bloom at times so I …
Devin, I have coveted adeniums for many years but only last year did I finally cave and buy my first one and I am never looking back! I love these beauties! I have five now and just ordered a sixth plus some seeds. I’m in love with these plants even more so than my beloved orchids and African Violets. I am beyond grateful to have your knowledge, skill, and expertise to draw from to help me with my newest obsession. Thank you and keep up the good work!!! Adeniums rule! 💚
Thanks for that information. I recently got 2 of them and have been perusal utubes on growing tips, but they said that they needed a lot of water. 🤔 So I have been watering them as soon as the soil gets dry. I live in Louisiana, so they’re definitely getting the sun and heat they need, but I ‘m going to cut back on the watering! Thanks again.
Thanks for the tips! I live in South Florida we’ve had a pink one in various sized pots as it grew right on our front walkway for 31 years (I’m 27) it’s my favorite plant – and omg we have a massive amount of plants. It’s about 5 feet tall and always has tons of pink flowers in spring and summer but it looks absolutely bare in fall/winter. I recently got two white desert roses and 2 more hot pinks and they’re blooming like mad with all this sun and rain lately! Such an easy plant for hot climates! I recommend a cactus soil/fertilizer they love it ❤️
Thanks!! To hear that stressing and needing full sun, not watering much helped me a lot. I was worried since the leaves were turning yellow and falling off, but I stopped watering it for awhile, and just watered today, but I see that there’s new baby leaves forming everywhere…so my plant will be ok.
You are on the right track for sure! I have a 23 yr old one and she is way happy. Just a bit of advice if you don’t mind… When inside never water. Once outside, I suggest full sun and water watering once every 4-6 weeks. Also let the moths live on your plant and don’t remove the caterpillars and let them eat their fill. Your DR will love it and come back stronger. Really stress her out! I also trim mine way back every year.
I don’t have any problem getting my Desert rose to bloom. I live in South Florida and give my 20 yr. old plant Miracle Gro about every 3 weeks. I get it to bloom all the time. It may just be the way I’ve watered and fed my plant from the beginning. It has a big bottom but I’ve never put it in a pot bigger than 12 inches. Perhaps it’s time I start to put it in bigger pots every year. Thank you for the article. Very informative.
Great information! Just got one today and so to come across your article was timely. I was wondering how long to wait before repotting? I usually leave plants alone to acclaim to my home but a few blooms have already dropped on the drive home and also I would like to switch out the plastic pot for a shallow terracotta one. Would July or Aug be too soon? 🤗🙏
Thank you!!! Oh my goodness I have been searching for really good care tips because I’ve been stressing out trying to figure out how to handle this plant! After all the same redundant tips online, never I have I heard it like this! It had blooms when I got it and then…none! This whole summer, no blooms! I’m not giving it that hard love haha! I’m taking your advise, hoping for at least one bloom! lol
great job! we have a sad desert rose that has been holding on for several years and after your article we now realize the plant needs to be in Florida and we just happened to have bought a place there earlier this year. Do you suggest we plant it in the ground immediately when we bring it next month? How do we best prepare the soil prior to planting?
Devin so goad i found your website. First time Arizona owner of 2 DR. One is doing pretty well and other one seem to die. I bought them last summer. I haven’t purn but will this time. The one that died i had in a larger pot, so your explanation on size of pots was greatly appreciated. Now my one that died had rotted root. Any way i can possible safe it? I did take it out to dry out for a week now. Should i try to replant after cutting off rooten roots?
Hi Devin! I enjoyed your article a lot. you had great info. I live in Zone 6A. I love, love Desert Roses. I had a beautiful one for 7 years and one stormy day the storm flipped the pot sideways and it broke several branches of the plant; after that, little by litlle it started dying and got root rot eventually and I couldn’t saved it! I was sooo sad…It looked like yours “like a mini tree” Anyway I have bought sinve then several ones through Etsy, but they don’t want to grow. I keep them in my sunroom under grow lights. I’m afraid to put them out because it rains too frequently at times where I live. They are over 2 years old and not bigger than 4 to 6 inches. No blooms at all. What do you recommend? Your help will be much appreciated.
I need help with my Adenium Obesum. Quick back info. I am a plant enthusiast. I grew up with plants but only recently have I been able to grow them myself and I love it. I still struggle sometimes with anything new and from over caring for them. I recently spotted the Adenium on accident at Walmart on clearance and I knew it was struggling and strange shaped and it had sun scorched leaves and some sad little nubs that looked improperly cut but I really had no idea what to do for it. I Only knew that I wanted it to live and it sounded special. Now I’ve been studying a lot and in so glad I have it. I never would have guessed I found such an interesting plant. But.. I really am just hesitant to know the best move here.. I dried it out for over a week and I took it out if it’s little planter, and the roots looked to be in great condition! White, strong, firm caudex. I cleaned them and there was this very strange large hole directly in the main root swell..I left it to dry out during a period of almost 6 days while I went back and forth with what to do and all the new info just made me even more unsure of what to do and I never found anything to explain the hole. Finallyvi just realized I had to do something or it was better off at Walmart. I went with my gut.. I cut the two main thick roots back about an inch, and all of the slim ones back to about half their size, leaving a couple inches of everything. I put Neem in the hole, with cinnamon, dipped all the cut roots in it as well, and put it in a new pot, (cloth 5″x5″)because I didn’t have a clay one that wasn’t huge. Good draining mixed soil with sand, terracotta pieces, perlite and stone. Now I’ve got it in front of me and I know I need to cut back it’s very long imbalanced 3 branches but one has buds and I think i understand that I should prune at same time as the repotting. I’m sorry for the short novel but I’m afraid I’m doing something wrong and I just finished putting soil around it. Did I miss something?, am I doing right so far? Is that hole in the roots going to kill it because I couldn’t find a single thing advising on that. It was a half inch and went about 3/4″ inside it but I never found a bug or any rot. I did all of this before I saw your articles. But when looking to prune I realized I found the person to ask as your instructions were easy to follow, all the things I did, you covered in one article and it took me 2 weeks to find that info. Please if you would tell me what to do, or how I should proceed, I would be so grateful and so would this desert rose… Anything is appreciated. >_<. I have pictures if that helps. One branch is a a foot long with just a handful of leaves att the end. The center branch is like the first except it has a couple leaves at the base of where it comes out the causex but it has some small buds at the top. And the 3rd one is about 7" and has leaves all the way up it. Two branches were cut before I got it, and I don't know when but right at the caudex.. Thank you and I'm so sorry for putting this in comment. I just don't know who to ask or where. (Sitting patiently staring at plant, eye twitching) -panicked plant lover, Laura.
Devin, I just started to repot my desert rose and several of my roots were soft and I cut a piece out of each soft root to make sure it wasn’t root rot and it wasn’t. What or how do I help with this soft root situation. It’s an older plant I’ve had it for probably 25 years and I don’t want to loose it. I would appreciate any advice that you may have on dealing with soft roots. Thanks Ken!
Hi D. I actually was gifted one of these and it’s small and still in it’s nursery pot. I live in southern Florida and the temps are already getting up in the high 80’s low 90’s. Currently have it on my window sill. Question is should I let it sit outdoors now even though we are still in March? And water every ten days ? Also should I leave the potting mixture in came in until it’s time to repot? Thanks in advance
I bought two desert rose a few months ago. They are still in the pots the came in. When should I transplant them and which soil should I use? Of the two, one is doing fine and the other lost all of its leaves, even though I watered them the same. Any thoughts as to why that would happen? I continue to keep hope it will recover so I water when the soil pulls away from the pot edges.
I just received one as a gift .. what kind of soil do they like.. I have seen many articles, Some say a mixture of potting soil Peat Moss Perlite and Coco Peat then some say on timberline mini nuggets with potting soil I’m really confused on what to put on put in this plant I don’t wanna kill it, can you please help. Thank you so much
I have had 2 desert roses and the first one rotted and died. The one I bought last year was full of flowers but as soon as I got it home all the flowers fell off and it hasnt bloomed again. Im in australia so we get pretty warm summers. I did have it inside this winter and its now outside in the sun but the leaves are going yellow and falling off. I only watered it once or twice over winter and now I water about once a week. No buds yet. Im so new to gardening and dont know what im doing. Should I repot into a shallow pot. Its still in the pot I bought it in from the hardware store last year. Please help.
Idk if it’s because I live in south Florida but I have 4 dessert rose trees and when I don’t water them they don’t flower, maybe because it’s 100 here almost everyday during the summer but they only flower for me when I do water them once or twice a week and only when they don’t have green foliage? Idk why but that’s how mine act lol.
I love those plants but sadly I can’t use them in my area.. I’m in zone 10, which it should be perfect but the issue I have is that there’s too many of those bugs that eat the leaves of the plants and the destroys it. They’re like a moth type butterfly fly but black. And I’m trying to avoid using chemicals. I would’ve loved to have them as outdoor plants. I don’t want them potted.
What can you do when the branches get too long ans skinny? I tried to cut it hoping that two branches will come out of it, but usually there’s just one. And usually when the branch grow long, the leaves at the bottom part will fall and not grow again. Leaving my plant spare but with uncontrollable limbs.