What is adenium arabicum or "desert rose"? Growing and caring for a flower
Adenium Arabicum is a species of the genus Adenium of the large Kutrov family.
The flower belongs to wood succulents. Natural varieties grow in Africa, on the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen. At home, the flower is called a desert rose.
Among the indoor plants, one flower is remarkable, similar to a small baobab, covered with flowers resembling roses.
This is the adenium, which got its name from the habitat - Aden, where Europeans first discovered a flowering tree. The care of adenium at home will be discussed in this article.
Botanical Description
Adenium Arabicum is conditionally divided into the Saudi form and Yemeni, the main distinguishing feature is the shape of the structure of the trunk and stems.- Saudi varieties are tall, in nature the height of this exotica reaches up to 4 m. The branches of this variety are dense, massive, up to 4 - 5 cm in diameter. The leaves are preserved all year round, reproduce only in the warm season - spring - early summer.
- Yemeni varieties of Arabicum fall into a state of dormancy in the fall, drops leaves for the winter. Bloom at the very end of winter. Lush flowering, lasts until the summer.
The trunk grows to 1 m, the branches are more massive than those of the Saudi Arabenicum varieties, grow up to 8 - 9 cm in diameter. Adenium Arabicum is a fairly unpretentious species, it can bloom at the age of 2-3 years.
Caudex - a decorative trunk of the Arabicum, has intricate, bizarre forms, forms early, has a wide base.
Caudex is gray, the trunk can be tinted with lighter or darker stripes.
Caudex meets:
- white
- beige;
- pink;
- dark brown;
- black tint.
Fleshy arabicum roots, may be:
- Underground - all processes grow underground, the trunk is wide, cone-shaped.
- Elevated - roots - octopuses.
Branches well branch in groups and individually, the stems are dense, thick at the base, form a crown shape. The leaves of adenium Arabicum are green, can be light and dark colors. The structure is leathery, velvety, can be smooth. voluminous, dense, fleshy.
Come in various shapes:
- round;
- oblong;
- lamellar, depending on the variety.
In length, some varieties grow up to 20 cm, in width - 12 - 15 cm. Crohn adenium arabicum can be lush, thick, and may take the form of a sprawling rare bush.
The flowers are diverse in shape, most often simple, terry petals and even along the edges, there are colorful colors of several colors.
Important: flowering occurs in adults, three-year-old adenium arabicum.There are compact, dwarf species - the variety "Ding Don", "Brazilian", there are larger sprawling bushes with thin graceful branches - the variety "Desert Night Rose".
Photo
Next, you can see the photo of the plant:
Home Care
Lighting
Adenium arabicum loves bright, direct sunlight, even in the midday heat in summer does not require shading.
In the summer, it is recommended to take out the pots on open verandas, installing them in well-lit places.Seedlings and seedlings during germination and rooting often require additional lighting with special lamps.
Watering
During growth, water stagnation must not be allowed.. Adenium Arabicum prefers plentiful watering every day in the summer and in the spring. Only with sufficient watering does a healthy root, powerful caudex and strong branches form.
In summer, the flower should be sprayed, air and substrate should not be allowed to dry. In autumn and winter, watering is reduced by 2 times.
Water for irrigation should be soft, settled, without salt content. At each watering, it is advisable to acidify a little with citric acid.
Temperature
Adenium Arabicum in summer is able to withstand temperature increases up to 25 - 35 ° C. In the hot season, it is desirable to lower the temperature by morning irrigation of the bush.
Heat-loving flower, sharp cooling is unacceptable. In winter, the air temperature should not drop to 15 - 12 ° C. The flower can be affected by infectious and fungal diseases and viruses.
Priming
Adenium Arabicum prefers neutral, salt-free, light, well-moistened soils. The finished mixture can be bought in special stores. This is usually a humus substratum for cacti or a mixture of cactus peat, charcoal and baking powder.
You can prepare the soil mixture yourself. The required composition of the soil mixture for adenium Arabicum:
- Coconut fiber or shavings - 1 hour.
- Vermiculite -1 h.
- Steamed sand - 1 hour.
- Drainage - large expanded clay.
You can make peat mix:
- Peat - 5 hours
- Deciduous - humus soil - 2 hours
- Coarse sand - 1 hour.
- Perlite - 2 hours
- Drainage layer.
The substrate must be water and moisture permeable, resistant to temperature extremes.
Pot
Adenium Arabicum is best planted for home cultivation in ceramic pots. Ceramics - well retains heat and slowly gives it to the root system, which prevents the emergence of various putrefactive processes.
Important: when using ceramic containers, watering should be moderate, since ceramics perfectly absorb moisture, and part of the vermiculite in the soil is halved.You can use plastic pots, but plastic can overheat in the sun - additional watering is required.
Growing a flower in plastic pots requires special care. - water evaporates slowly, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the substrate, especially if the pot is in a cool place.
Top dressing
Adenium Arabicum needs fertilizers for flowering succulents and cacti in the spring, when the flower leaves its dormant state. You can use complex mineral fertilizers. Adenium Arabicum responds well to organic fertilizers, especially in early spring. Top dressing is applied 1 time in 12-14 days during the period of active flower growth.
Pruning
Adenium Arabicum branches well, it is often used to create a tree in the style of bonsai. Variety can do without pinching and pruning.
Usually, long branches are cut for cuttings or sections of branches damaged after winter rest are cut. Pruning is carried out most often in the spring after transplantation, after 3-4 weeks.
Pinching seedlings is carried out at the age of 3 months. The first pruning is preferably carried out after 1 - 1, 5 years after planting a young seedling.
Features of outdoor care
Young seedlings of adenium Arabicum are transplanted every year in neutral or slightly acidic soil. Adult bushes are best replanted no more than 1 time in 3 to 4 years. Further, "disturbing" the bush is not recommended because of the fragility and fragility of the overgrown root system.
Here, flower updating is required through pruning and updating, soil enrichment: the top layer of the substrate is removed, replaced by a layer of fertilized new soil.
Adenium Arabicum in open ground can only be grown in areas with a dry and hot climate. In cooler climates, the flower is grown only as an indoor crop.
Diseases inherent in this flower
With a low air temperature and wet soil, adenium Arabicum may develop a fungal infection. It is necessary to create optimal conditions for keeping the flower - to reduce watering, add lighting or rearrange the flowers in a warmer and brighter place.
Adenium Arabicum with low humidity can be affected by a spider mite. Treatment with phytoerm or neoron is required. For prophylaxis, the procedure is repeated 2 to 3 times with an interval of 10 to 14 days. From all kinds of worms, the treatment of the substrate and bushes with an actel will help. Pests are collected manually.
To disinfect the soil, it is recommended to add crushed charcoal to the planting soil.Growing
Seeds
To get a powerful tree trunk and a well-developed Adenium Arabicum, you need to grow seedlings yourself from seeds. Most preferred varieties: Beat the Bull, Saudi Bull, Black Knight. Sowing is preferably done in the warm season. Before planting, seed preparation is required - washing, sterilization in a manganese solution, soaking for 5-6 hours in a growth stimulator.
The flower is poisonous, all manipulations associated with planting and growing need to be carried out with gloves.
The process of growing seedlings is quite laborious, it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions, heating seedlings, timely diving of seedlings, the necessary humidity of air and soil should be maintained.
Planting seeds and proper care of seedlings requires knowledge, conditions, time and skill - the procedure is complex and painstaking, only an experienced grower can do.
Cuttings
Adenium Arabicum propagates after pruning by cuttings. This method is simple and affordable, does not require much time and effort. Rooted cuttings in water. But this method is not always effective - cuttings may not let down roots. Specialists from the Netherlands and Israel have mastered the method of rooting hybrid varieties in the soil substrate.
Create the necessary conditions for rooting - maintaining the right level of temperature, humidity and light.The substrate for rooting cuttings must be special - a mixture of perlite, moss, peat, coconut fiber. The basis of the soil is sand.
Hybrid varieties of adenium Arabicum have become very popular among gardeners. Only with proper maintenance can flowering greenhouses of exotic flowers be obtained.