Adenium or desert rose is a very attractive plant, although few growers manage to achieve its flowering. But adenium can also reveal its decorative qualities at home, especially if you use the following tips in caring for it.
Optimal conditions for room adenium
Adenium is a small indoor tree or shrub that able to pull up only to 35 cm. The trunk can be very thick, the leaves are also rather large, velvety. The flowers are very large, may be white or raspberry color. The similarity of flowers with a rose allowed to christen it "desert rose". If you are going to grow it at home, then immediately note that it needs a number of mandatory conditions for growth.
Location and lighting
In order to find out when the flower of adenium with the example of its own flower, it is important to grow it with the right light. Adenium is often referred to as a solar plant, since it takes root best on the southern windowsills. but An overabundance of light is also not always beneficial for a plant:
- after winter, Adenium is better to shade and not allow direct rays of the sun to fall on its trunk, which can cause burns from it; but when the flower gradually gets used to the intense light, the sun will stop threatening it;
- if the duration of exposure to sunlight on the window sill, where there is adenium, exceeds five hours, the plant is also better to shade so that it does not dry out.
Important! Many flower growers are interested in the question why adenium does not bloom. In this lies a small feature of the plant - the first bloom it appears only in the second year of growth. But note that if you do not comply with all the rules of growing adenium, you are also unlikely to be able to observe its flowering.
Temperature conditions: summer-winter
Adenium has two vegetative states - a period of active growth and a period of sleep. It is logical that the first comes in spring and summer, when the plant for good growth needs high enough temperatures - from +25 to + 30˚С. It will be nice if in the summer you take out the flower on the terrace, protected from moisture.
But as soon as the temperature and the duration of daylight decrease, get ready for the fact that adenium will start to dry up a little and go into a period of rest.
So that he can have a good rest and prepare for another period of growth and flowering - it is important keep temperature regime for it not higher than + 15˚С, but not lower than + 10˚С. It is also unacceptable that the root system of the adenium is supercooled, since this may cause its death.
Adenium belongs to succulent plants. In addition to him, this group includes: aihrizone, agave, Lithops, Haworthia, young, Fatty, cacti, Kalanchoe, Echeveria, Nolin.
Features care "desert rose" at home
The peculiarity of adenium care is that it will vary significantly depending on the season. It is important to take into account this factor with regard to watering and fertilizing, the excessive application of which can stimulate the flower to grow even during the rest period.
Watering mode: summer-winter
Summer adenium needs plenty of moisturewhich is important to make immediately after the drying of the topsoil. It is very neat to water the plant at the time of spring awakening: it will need the first watering only two or three weeks after the appearance of the first buds.
If in winter you have the opportunity to keep adenium at a temperature below + 15˚С, then it is extremely rare to water it - no more than once every two months, although many water it only once during sleep. If adenium winters at a higher temperature, then it should be watered more often, but only when the soil is completely dry in a pot.
Did you know? Among the representatives of adenium there are real trees that can reach up to a height of 2.5 meters (adenium many-flowered), as well as spread shoots up to 10 meters long (adenium obessum) on the sides. There are among them species that differ in the color of flowers - lilac-pink with purple corollas (adenium bohmianium).
Air humidity
Since the hot habitats of adenium are the hot and tropical countries of southern and central Africa, the plant loves high humidity. To support it, the flower must be regularly sprayed from a small sprayer. This should be done throughout the entire growth period, although during the flowering period moisture should in no way fall on the buds and blooming flowers.
In winter, adenium does not need spraying, but the humidity in the room where it will stand must also be high. If he lacks moisture, he will die.
Top dressing
The question of how to feed adenium is very important, it is necessary use only special mineral fertilizersintended for flowering houseplants. Top dressings are carried out in the spring, summer, and at the very beginning of autumn, until the flower begins to die. Feed no more than once a month.
It is also worth noting that for feeding plants it is very important to use low-concentrated solutions of not more than 1.5-2%. Otherwise, you risk to burn the roots of adenium or cause its excessive growth, which will lead to the loss of decoration.
Did you know? Some species of adenium are able to ignore the rest period and continue the growing season even in winter. These include adenium obese.
Precautionary measures
Not everyone knows that Adenium - a poisonous plant. He is poisonous juice of leaves, which can remain on the hands. So that this does not lead to poisoning, after spraying, pruning or transplanting plants, be sure to wash your hands with soap and water.
In no case do not allow children and animals to contact with adenium, as poisoning with flower juice can have very serious consequences for them. In this regard, it is better to grow adenium on high windowsills or special supports.
Pruning
Pruning adenium at home is equally important, as it allows you to create an attractive plant shape - tree or shrub.
To remove side shoots or shorten them only in early spring, so that the plant can cope with injuries and prepare for a rest period. Consider that the growth process in adenium is rather slow, therefore excessive shortening of shoots is contraindicated.
Correct transplant
Young plants adenium transplantation is required annually, while adults can grow for several years in one pot. It is worth noting that only with prolonged growth in one pot and full enveloping of the roots of an earthy coma, its flowering is possible. That is, before seeing the beautiful flowers of adenium, it is necessary to give him time to adapt.
In choosing a pot for adenium, you should follow these rules:
- The color of the pot is better to choose light - it will not be excessively heated under the influence of sunlight.
- The depth of the pot should be small, but it is better if it is wide enough in diameter. Otherwise, with the growth of adenium, the pot will turn over on the weight and volume of the plant.
- leaf soil;
- turf ground;
- coarse sand.
In order to make it easier to replant adenium, it is watered abundantly, so that the soil itself will fall off the roots of the plant. However, after a transplant, it is better not to water it for 4-7 days to give the root system the opportunity to dry out a bit.
Methods of reproduction of adenium at home
Planting adenium can be carried out in different ways - from the seed and before the use of layers. However, in order to achieve good flower growth, it is important to use each of them correctly.
Learn how to propagate properly chefleru, orchid, dieffenbachia, zamiokulkas, dracaena, azalea, cacti, chrysanthemum, plumeria.
Seeds
When breeding this flower in the first place is to figure out how to plant adenium from seeds. This should be done from late February to early March. To make the seeds grow faster, it is important to soak them in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, then wash and hold in a warm zircon solution for another four hours.
Important! If adenium seeds do not germinate, they may be expired. The fact is that their suitability for germination lasts only for one year, so when buying seeds in a store, be sure to check the date of packaging.
When sowing the seeds are just scattered over the soil and sprinkled with a thin layer of it. If the temperature in the room stays at a level not lower than + 33-35 ˚С, the first shoots will appear for a week already. If you do not take into account the requirement regarding temperature, seedlings can not only stretch out, but in general disappear.
In order for young shoots to become healthy seedlings, they will need to be highlighted with fluorescent lamps. It is also important to adhere to the temperature regime (+ 18˚С) and regularly ventilate the room where the seedling box is located.
When the first two leaves appear, young adeniums will need the same care as adult plants. When four leaves appear, they dive into separate pots and continue to grow as an independent plant.
Cuttings
The reproduction of adenium by cuttings presupposes the presence of a plant at home or among friends, from which these cuttings could be prepared. Making the stalk take root is not so easy, as they often simply rot.
For this kind of breeding spring or summer time is best. The cutting for this purpose is cut off with a length of 12-15 cm and slightly dried with pretreatment with charcoal.
For direct rooting, it should prepare a soil mixture of charcoal and sand, which can also be diluted with perlite or small pieces of expanded clay. To the base of the stem does not wilt, when planting it is important to sprinkle the root collar with charcoal or sand.
Also, for cutting to germinate, it will be necessary to maintain the temperature at + 25 ° C and bright lighting. He will not need frequent watering. If conditions are met, rooting should occur within 4-5 weeks.
Layering
On any adenium during growth, air slips are formed that can be used for propagation. For this purpose, an escape is chosen with a thickness of at least 2 cm and a shallow incision is made along its circumference.
This place should be slightly dried, treated with special root growth stimulants and wrapped in sphagnum and opaque polyethylene. For 100% formation of sphagnum roots, it is important to periodically wet (but not abundantly).
Approximately within a week, the first roots appear on the cuttings, after which it must be cut off with a sharp knife from the main plant and planted in a pot with soil mixture as for an adult adenium.
Inoculation
For grafting, cuts are made on the part of the plant that will be grafted, and on the part to which they will be grafted. Consider that it is possible to inoculate adenium not only to the representative of its own species, but even to the oleander plant. To fasten the two parts of the plant, you can use either just pieces of cloth, or a special spray.
Consider that adenium shows a good survival rate only in cases when, after grafting, it is kept at a temperature not lower than + 30˚С, good lighting and high humidity. Remember: direct sunlight can leave burns on the plant.
Diseases and pests of adenium, how to get rid of them?
In growing adenium with diseases and pests virtually no encounter, because this plant is poisonous and pests rarely attack it. Only occasionally can one observe a shield, ticks or mealybugs on it.
To get rid of them, you must individually collect each pest on wet cotton swabs, as well as spray the flower with special biologically active drugs. Consider that such a pest as a spider mite settles on indoor plants only when the air in the room is dry.
But when growing adenium, one may encounter such a problem as yellowing and leaf fall. Often this happens under the wrong growing conditions, when the flower is drastically transferred from a room with a cold climate to a hot one and vice versa.
In addition, the leaves on adenium can turn yellow due to drafts and excessively cold temperatures during the growing season. If a similar situation is observed in the fall, then the plant is preparing for a period of calm.
The most dangerous enemy of adenium is rot of caudexable to completely destroy the entire inner part of the stem of the plant. To protect adenium from this, it is important to observe the correct temperature and maintain a stable high humidity.
It is not easy to get blooming adenium on your windowsill, as this plant is very demanding for temperature conditions and lighting. However, if you wish and try, you can grow a very large and blooming adenium, which will become a real decoration of your window sill.
