Known for their vibrant flowers and swollen caudex trunks Desert Rose plants are rising stars in the world of unique succulents. Their popularity is soaring, but sourcing these striking plants can be confusing. This guide will teach you all about Desert Rose care and where to find the best Desert Rose plants for sale.
What is a Desert Rose Plant?
Desert Rose is the common name for Adenium obesum. These succulents are native to the arid regions of Africa and Arabia. Their thick caudices act like water storage tanks to survive hot, dry conditions. Desert Rose plants produce showy flowers in several colors like red, pink, white, yellow, and orange. Blossoms may be single or double.
These resilient plants thrive indoors and outdoors in warm climates (USDA Zones 10-12). They make excellent container and bonsai specimens. With proper Adenium plant care, Desert Rose can live for decades, reaching up to 6 feet tall.
Desert Rose Varieties
There are around 10 species of Adenium found in the wild. However, most Desert Rose plants today are hybrid cultivars bred for enhanced flower traits and colors. Here are some popular varieties to consider:
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Red formats ‘Crimson Star’. ‘Sangria’
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Pinks: ‘Confetti’, ‘Dainty Pink’
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Whites ‘Ice Pink’
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Yellows: ‘Sundance’, ‘Desert Pearl’
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Oranges: ‘Orange Sherbet’, ‘Sunkist’
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Doubles: ‘Peach Double’, ‘Pretty in Pink’
Growing Desert Rose Plants
Here are some key tips for successfully growing Desert Rose plants:
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Sun: Needs full sun, at least 6 hours daily
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Soil: Very fast-draining mix like cactus potting soil
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Water: Allow soil to partially dry out between waterings
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Temperature: Average 65-75°F, avoid under 50°F
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Feeding: Liquid fertilizer every 2-4 weeks in growth season
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Pruning: Trim to shape caudex, pinch buds to encourage branching
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Repotting: Every 2-3 years in spring, needs excellent drainage
With the right care, Desert Rose plants will repay you with unique textures and fabulous blooms!
Where to Find Desert Rose Plants For Sale
Desert Rose plants are sold at some garden centers, but selection is often limited. Buying online opens up many more Adenium varieties and sizes to choose from. Here are top recommendations for sourcing these special succulents:
Logee’s Online Nursery
This family-owned nursery offers mail order plants nation-wide. Their Desert Rose collection includes standards like Desert Rose ‘Carnation’ along with harder-to-find picks like Desert Rose ‘Little Panda’. Logee’s plants arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Etsy Shops
Many Etsy sellers offer great Desert Rose deals. Search for vendors with pictures of actual plants, not stock photos. Mountain Crest Gardens and Succulent Depot have great feedback and healthy plants.
Local Nurseries
Independent nurseries may carry young Desert Rose plants seasonally. Visit stores in your area to scout for hidden gems. Ask about ordering special varieties. Building relationships with small businesses ensures you get first pick of new stock.
Facebook Groups
JOIN groups like ‘Adenium Addicts’ to connect with hobbyists trading cuttings and divisions. Members often post sales and trades. Just be sure to check feedback and deal with established members.
What Size Desert Rose Plant to Buy
Desert Rose plants are sold in a wide range of sizes:
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Seedlings: Under 1 inch caudex, affordable option for patience.
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2-3 inch caudex: Produce blooms in a few years, ideal indoor size.
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6 inch caudex: Forms flowers quicker, best for patios or landscape focal points. Size refers to caudex diameter, not plant height.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better. Start small if you want to train plant shape through pruning. Larger caudices can mean leggy growth. Judge health by plump caudex, not just size.
Desert Rose Plant Prices
Expect to pay:
- Small seedlings: $5 to $15
- 2-3 inch caudex: $15 to $45
- 6-12 inch caudex: $45 to $150
Rarer hybrids and unusual forms can cost more. Shopping online offers the widest price ranges. Set price alerts on Etsy for deals.
Consider group orders to share shipping costs. Trading cuttings locally helps limit expenses too. Desert Rose are slow growers, so starting small and being patient yields big rewards!
Key Takeaways
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Desert Rose offer fabulous flowers and sculptural caudices.
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Growing conditions are bright light, warm temps, and fast drainage.
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Many stunning hybrids are available beyond the standard red.
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Logee’s, Etsy, and facebook groups offer mail order plants.
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Choose small starter sizes for shaping flexibility.
Add these iconic succulents to your collection! With proper care, Desert Rose plants will thrive and delight for years to come.
FAQs – Desert Rose Plant
The duration of desert rose flowers can vary depending on various factors, such as environmental conditions and care. On average, the flowers of a desert rose plant typically last for about one to two weeks.
But if you take good care of them and the weather is right, some desert rose flowers can last up to three weeks or even longer.
What is the difference between the desert rose obesum and arabicum varieties?
Both Adenium obesum and Adenium Arabicum varieties, known as desert roses, are flowering plants in the Apocynaceae family. They grow in different ways and are different sizes. The Arabicum variety has leaves with fine hairs and a wider, thicker caudex.
This large caudex trunk of the desert rose creates a great bonsai tree. While the obesum variety grows more closely together and roundly, and its leaves are narrow, pointy, and shiny on both the top and bottom. Both varieties are beautiful, but Arabicums thicker caudex sets it apart.
- Description
- Key Plant Features
Get ready for the stunning desert rose, also known as Adenium obesum, which comes from Southwestern Africa to light up your garden! It’s easy to fall in love with this stunning beauty; it’s not really a rose but has beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers that people love.
The leaves of Adenium obesum fall off in the fall, and its caudex is smaller than that of Adenium arabicum, which is usually used as a desert rose bonsai plant. With its long, narrow, and pointy leaves, Adenium obesum grows in groups at the ends of the branches.
To tell them apart from the arabicum (desert rose), the leaves are usually bright green, waxy, and have reddish edges. They are also shiny on both the top and bottom. It can get up to 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide, which makes it stand out from other succulents.
The low-maintenance desert rose plant has trumpet-shaped bright pink, red, and white flowers that bloom in spring and summer and smell sweet. The flowers can last for a few weeks. This desert rose can be pruned to produce a compact canopy of leaves and flowers.
You can’t go wrong when you grow these pretty succulents as long as you keep them at the right temperature.
The desert rose plant can easily go a month or more without water. Because they don’t get enough water, the stems will start to turn different colors and then start to shrink.
You can notice this and then give them more water. The stems will swell up again as the Adenium obesum desert rose starts to take in more water.
This succulent desert rose needs a lot of light and should be grown in either full sun or some shade. Since new plants were probably grown in a greenhouse, they can get burned in full sun. To protect them, slowly expose them to more sunlight.
If your plant’s leaves are getting burned by the sun, you might want to buy a sunshade or move the plant to a more shady spot.
Desert roses where to buy them in the USA
FAQ
How many years does it take a desert rose to bloom?
Do desert roses grow better in pots or ground?
Where should I plant a desert rose?
Is a desert rose a cactus or succulent?
What is a desert rose plant?
Shipping calculated at checkout. Desert Rose Plants (Adenium obesum) are bright light-loving, drought-tolerant, flowering houseplants that serve as a focal point or accent indoors. Before you buy a Desert Rose Plant, make sure to read about the recommended care instructions to keep this plant healthy and thriving.
Where can I buy Desert Rose adeniums online?
Logee’s has an extensive selection of Desert Rose adeniums for sale online. While a full selection of all our Desert Rose plants can be found here, below are a few of our more popular customer favorites: Desert Rose ‘Black Window’ is a new hybrid with sensational double flowers that are maroon-black.
Are desert roses drought tolerant?
Desert Rose thrives in sunny, well-draining environments, making them suitable for container gardening or as striking focal points in rock gardens. They’re low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, and pest-resistant, which adds to their appeal. See all of our Desert Rose plants for sale at Logee’s below. ( View Adenium plant care information.)
Are Desert Rose adeniums good house plants?
They are highly sought-after house plants, and can remain a manageable size for years making them valuable container plants. (See below for information on how to grow and care for Desert Rose Adenium plants .) Logee’s has an extensive selection of Desert Rose adeniums for sale online.