Adenium oleifolium, the smallest of the desert roses
Adenium oleifolium
- Exposure
- Sun
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 11b (7.2°C ≤ T° < 10°C)
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Desert rose Adenium
- Species
- Adenium oleifolium
Other names:Adenium lugardiae, Adenium obesum subsp. oleifolium, Adenium oleifolium var. angustifolium, Adenium somalense var. angustifolium
With its leaves resembling those of the olive tree and its flowers that serve as reminders of the oleander, Adenium oleifolium could be mistaken for a Mediterranean plant. Nothing could be further from the truth! This variety of desert rose comes from southern Africa and belongs to the Apocynaceae family.
How can you identify the desert rose (Adenium oleifolium)?
Adenium oleifolium is a semi-succulent shrub with an upright, bushy growth habit. Smaller than adenium boehmianum or adenium obesum, this desert rose reaches a height of barely 60 centimeters when mature.
The plant has a buried caudex from which slender, stringy, or rigid semi-aerial stems emerge. The trunk branches out and bears branches with green or brown bark at the top.
The simple leaves grow in a spiral pattern at the tips of the branches. Some are sessile, while others have a short petiole. Linear and narrow, they measure up to ten centimeters long and only 1.5 centimeters wide. The gray-green leaf blades are covered with a fine fuzz. Adenium oleifolium is a deciduous plant. In early winter, the leaves fall to limit evaporation.
In early spring, flowers bloom in corymbs. The five petals are fused together, forming a tube in the center. Their open lobes give the flower a star-like shape.
The color of the petals varies depending on the hybrids and cultivars. Specimens sold commercially often have pale pink or red flowers. In the wild, they can be purple, magenta, or bicolored. But regardless of the variety, the throat of the flower is always a darker color than the petals and striped with yellow.
Adenium oleifolium produces fruits consisting of two fused follicles. These fruits have bristles at their tips that aid in seed dispersal.
Adenium oleifolium is toxic. The desert rose contains alkaloids, substances that are very dangerous to animals if ingested and irritating to the skin. Keep your plant out of reach of your pets and wear gloves when pruning it.
Our care tips
You can propagate your Adenium oleifolium by sowing or cutting. Sowing produces a plant identical to the mother plant. With cuttings, your new specimen will not develop a caudex.
Watering
The Adenium oleifolium are the enemy of excess water. Before giving your specimen a drink, always make sure the soil is at least five centimetres dry.
Like many plants, the plant prefers rainwater. But it's fine with tap water. Just make sure it's at room temperature.
Remove any water stagnating in the cup under the pot. It can rot the roots.
Misting
Your Adenium oleifolium hates wet foliage. Don't mist the plant.
Repotting
In spring, transfer your Adenium oleifolium to a larger pot, so that it can continue to grow.
Get a pot with holes larger than the root ball of your Adenium oleifolium.
The Adenium oleifolium appreciate a light, draining substrate. You can plant your specimen in potting soil for cacti and succulents. You can also make your own growing medium by mixing equal parts potting soil and a draining material such as sand, perlite or pozzolan.
Place a layer of substrate at the bottom of the pot. Plant your Adenium oleifolium in the center. Then add potting soil. In young plants, the caudex grows better when buried. If your plant is less than four years old, bury two-thirds of it. If it's older, you can leave it on the surface.
Water generously to facilitate rooting.
Fertilization
You can stimulate the development of your plant during its growth phase, in spring and summer, with fertilizer.
Use a cactus and succulent or Mediterranean plant fertilizer to encourage the growth of your Adenium oleifolium.
Prune
Remove wilted flowers. If you can't cut the flower stem with your hands, you can use pruning shears. Remember to clean your tool beforehand to prevent disease transmission.
Sowing
Once the risk of frost has passed, you can sow your Adenium oleifolium seeds.
Prepare a light, draining substrate, for example 50% potting soil for cacti and succulents, 25% pozzolana and 25% sand. Pour your mixture into plastic cups.
Plant your seeds, covering them with two to three centimetres of substrate. You can put several seeds in the same pot.
Sowing is done in the air. Place your pots in a mini-greenhouse or cover them with a bottle or translucent plastic bag.
Mist the substrate regularly to keep it moist. Don't forget to air the pots a few minutes a day.
Taking cuttings
Propagation by cuttings is carried out during the strong growth phase, generally in spring and early summer.
Locate a healthy, flowerless branch. Cut a section with several leaves about 10 centimetres long. Use a clean, sharp tool to facilitate healing.
Leave your cutting to dry for 24 to 72 hours, until a callus forms.
In a pierced terracotta pot, pour a bed of clay balls or gravel to optimize drainage.
Prepare a mixture of one-third potting soil, one-third garden soil and one-third sand. Pour it into your pot, on top of the drainage layer. Plant your cutting and tamp it down.
Place the pot in a room where the temperature is always above 18 degrees. The location should be bright and out of direct sunlight. You can, for example, place your cutting behind a curtained window.
To avoid drowning the roots, always check the condition of the substrate before watering: the surface must be dry.
Diseases / Threats
Information
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Exposure
- Sun
- Substrates
- Calcareous earthHumus soilSandy soil
- Planting methods
- In potsIn tubsSeedling pot
- Tags
- FloweryCold-sensitiveToxic
- Origin
- South Africa
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 11b (7.2°C ≤ T° < 10°C)
- Leaf color
- Green-gray
- Flower colors
- RedRoseViolet
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