My Poor Old Neglected Desert Rose! What to do?
I bought my Desert Rose in February 2004. Such a sweet little thing amongst a tray full of others:
Five and a half years later it was looking pretty good:
Even earlier this year it wasn't too bad:
But now? Oh dear:
The sheer weight of leaves and flowers has made the branches droop.
So, what to do? I think what am saying is "how much to prune?"
I live in Phuket, Thailand, so it is hot here all year round - no need to wait for any particular season, but should I prune when the flowers are not present, when the leaves are plentiful, etc., and most importantly "how much?"
Any help gratefully received.
Comments (20)
roger_phuket
9 years agoRelated Discussions
30+ year old .. neglected . what now?
Comments (4)I second brhgm's suggestion. Jeri will give you great advice. A garden of that age may have some rare treasures and local rosarians may be very interested in seeing the collection. Also, they should be able to guide you in how to gift your roses to others. Condolences on the loss of your father. Veronica...See MoreUpdate on my neglected rose bed
Comments (5)Thank you for the update, Cara! You've done a pretty amazing job of taming those monsters. But they all look quite healthy. I agree with Michael, try and spread the canes sideways as much as possible to get more side shoots (called laterals) and hence more blooms. It should give you a spectacular spring display! Yeah, I come in looking like I had a fight with an alley cat all the time! Most times while I'm working I don't even notice I got scratched because I'm so intent on what I'm doing. It's later when I come in to clean up that I find all the damage. I've tried all kinds of gloves but I just don't like them. They make me clumsy and reduce my sense of touch. Snipped right through my glove and into my finger tip one time before I even realized I was that close to my fingers with the pruners. No gloves for me any more. I just tough it out....See MoreMy poor pathetic desert roses
Comments (10)Tis the season for adeniums to look bare and sad, if you can keep them in a greenhouse and above 50 degrees, many (hybrids) will keep some leaves and scatter a few flowers. But if your plants are 'al fresco' then just keep them dry until warm weather returns and they'll be happy, cold temps and wet roots equal lots of rot. ALL of my pachypodiums are bare, and most of my adeniums are leafless... I do see some tips getting ready to explode... Remember that dormant plants usually needs minimal, if any, water....See MoreWhat is wrong with my desert rose?
Comments (16)As Gill mentions, the skin of the Adenium is a natural process as it ages. There does not look to be any issues to me with scale. The Yellowing of the leaves is even and it is on the lower part of the branches, which could just be a case of old leaves shedding. Aslo, could be the soil and water retention. Most of the big box stores receive their plants growing in a peat or coco peat based mix. This would be the first thing I would change as it holds water too long and no aeration to the root zone. Where you reside is definitely much warmer than many of us and you could probably use a good cactus mix with added perlite or something similar. I like the Gritty Mix. The only thing in your climate that you would need to become familiar with the watering requirements. They would need to be monitored just to get used to that the Gritty Mix dries back quicker than any fine particle soil will. Checking for water needs is a basic need which is required no matter what soil we decide to go with. The dark ends with the bark looking as it is rolling back a bit. This is from an old pruning site and is normal as the cut edges callus up at cambium layer edges. Part of the issue here is that whomever pruned it did not make the cuts at a 45 degree angle which is best to keep any moisture from collecting at this site. I would definitely re pot this tree and give it a good pruning to give it more stabililty and better shape. You are in a climate that has a good length growing season. The branches are quite long and would definitely give it more strength to support blooms later on. It will push out more blooms after a pruning. Rick...See Moreroger_phuket
9 years agoThanks everyone for your replies. I will give it a go tomorrow and cut each branch to about the length they were in the second picture above.
While we are talking about pruning cacti, is it OK for me to mention another one?
I have this one (whose name I don't know) that also needs fixing. It was bought at the same time as the Desert Rose about 11 years ago. Here it is when it was about 8" tall:
Then it grew beautifully:
Then I moved house twice before moving back to the original house. Each time the cactus faced the sun from a different direction and the poor thing started growing in all sorts of directions until it has now reached this sad state:
I think the situation is unrecoverable, but if anyone has any good ideas I'm open to suggestions.
rcharles_gw (Canada)
9 years agoroger_phuket
9 years agoroger_phuket
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago@Rick: Well spotted! I was always confused about this cactus until I realised that there were two cacti in the original pot!
Here's another picture of the pot from 11 years ago:
That single "vertical cactus" on the left is now the 6 foot tall straggly mess! The spiky one on the right is what you have identified as the Cristate. I didn't know that name but have Googled it and I'm sure you are correct.
While I was Googling, I decided to try "Google Images" to search for my "vertical cactus" and have discovered that it is almost certainly Euphorbia
lactea. Here is a picture of one:
http://www.cactuspedia.info/schede/EUPHORBIA/Euphorbia_lactea/Euphorbia_lactea/Euphorbia_lactea_03_810.jpgSo I guess the question now is how much to chop this one back to re-vitalise it. I think re-potting it is out of the question as it weighs a ton - the last time I moved house I nearly did my back in moving it!
So, again, any advice will be gratefully received.
roger_phuket
9 years ago@Rick
I now understand what you have been saying to me! I didn't understand what you meant by "Cristate" so have done some research. So, yes, it looks like it was originally a Cristate form of euphorbia with a single vertical non-Cristate stem.
I also see now the Cristate formation at the ends of some of the branches.
In February 2008, the non-Cristate stem was about as tall as the Cristate part, but in May the non-Cristate stem had started to overtake it:
Rick, could you explain your last sentence please? Do you mean that I should cut it back and leave only the Cristate form?I'm afraid I'm new to this and also don't understand what you mean by "callus some of the branches to root up."
Thanks again for all your advice.
roger_phuket
9 years agoroger_phuket
8 years ago@Paul MI: Thanks for your comments. I have already pruned the Desert Rose and will be posting pictures of it later as it recovers and re-grows. Each day I am spraying the plant with water from a hose pipe to wash off any insects that may be attracted to the cuts. I spray horizontally and only a little so as to not soak the dirt in which the plant is sitting.
With regards to the Euphorbia, I am still deciding how much and where to prune it. I understand about the milky sap. Months ago, when I tied up the drooping branches to an eye-bolt in the wall, if any branch touched another white sap would come out immediately from the puncture wounds.
So I am very aware of the problems of plant sap :) . In fact, just tonight I cut a rack of bananas from one of my trees and had to be very careful about the sap dripping on anything:
I washed the cuts using water from a hose pipe and left them to drain for a while before wrapping them with kitchen paper to absorb any sap that may ooze out, as even my kitchen work surface can get stained by the sticky stuff!
roger_phuket
8 years agoAn update on my Desert Rose - pictures before and after pruning, and today. It is looking fantastic!
Here it is on 11th May before pruning:
And after pruning:
I left a couple of small branches alone - not sure why, and will probably cut them off later.
And today, 3rd June:
Such healthy looking buds growing:
Thanks again for giving me the knowledge & courage to do this!roger_phuket
8 years agoYes, Tracy - Rick, Tony, Marie... all have been very helpful. I was a bit worried for the first couple of weeks after pruning until I saw some buds appearing. Now I can see it growing a little bit every day. I can't wait until it is back to its former glory of about 7 years ago:
I take pictures of it nearly every day, so I'll be sure to post another update in a few weeks! :)
rcharles_gw (Canada)
8 years agoroger_phuket
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHi Rick - sorry, no! There must be another Roger who did that and knows Cheryl from Australia. :)
All I know about Adeniums is what I've learned watching this one grow over the last 11 years and from the posts on this forum, for which I'm very grateful.
Edit:
You have reminded me that I once tried to grow Adeniums from seeds. But it was a total failure. :(
On 16th Feb 2013 I noticed a strange growth at the end of one of the branches:
It grew bigger and the two sides opened up so it was straighter. At that time (18th March 2013) I had no idea what it was:
And then it exploded! (7th April):
I took a close-up of one of the seeds:
And eventually the wind blew them all away:
I collected and kept many of the seeds and planted them in about 20 different pots of earth. Some I kept dry, some I watered a little and others a lot. But after several months there was no noticeable growth.
I am curious as to why they didn't germinate and if Cheryl from Australia - or anyone - has any recommendations I would like to try again as I have kept many of the seeds.
Marie Tran