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Cacti & Succulents

Adenium desert rose losing its leaves?

8 years ago

I recently purchased a desert rose, and it keeps dropping leaves. I've done a bunch of Googling, and so far have failed to do anything to stop this worrying behavior. Its roots/trunk don't seem to be soft or squishy, so I am fairly confident it's not rot or fungus.
My current hypothesis is that bringing it to my apartment from wherever it was grown (probably some kind of greenhouse, I live in New York City) may have shocked it into its winter hibernation mode? My apartment isn't particularly cold, but it's definitely not desert-hot, either.
Basically, I would love to know if there's anything I can do to help my poor adenium out. I stopped watering it when I realized that it may be hibernating, because I read that they're supposed to be pretty dry in the winter. Up until that point I had been watering every few days, plus two pumps of fertilizer weekly. It has a high-output fluorescent bulb focused on it most of the day (my apartment doesn't get enough natural light to satisfy its needs), but that doesn't generate warmth. Would putting the pot on a heating pad (set to a low setting, of course) help coax it out of hibernation, if that is the case?

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Comments (6)

hookilau
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'm on Long Island and grow adenium. Can we see a picture of it & please include the soil.

It could just be adjusting to it's new digs.

What is the light situation? (Other than the fluorescent bulb) which I find works great to keep them from going dormant in the winter time.

I grow mine in a gritty mix which is mostly inorganic. The heating pad will warm up the potting medium and dry it out, which may not be a bad thing if it's water-logged.
oddballs22348
8 years ago
It may be adjusting to its new home but I would check the underside of the leaves for spider mites. My adeniums are attacked every year by spider mites.If that's the case, it would be best to take care of it right away because they can do a lot of damage in a relatively short time. One other thing that you should check is that it's in a fast draining soil because adeniums should be allowed to dry out before they are watered again.
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rooftopbklyn (zone 7a)
8 years ago
It will definitely appreciate bottom heat, especially if your apartment is chilly.

How close is the flourescent bulb to the plant? What size/type? Flourescents give off a decent amount of heat, and it should be as close to the plant as you can get it - inches not feet.
Max Batchelder
Original Author
8 years ago
Here's a photo of the plant. The light is less than 9" from the closest leaves, currently. I don't think spider mites are involved, I haven't seen anything that looks like that.

My guess is that I need a different soil (though this one was billed as a cactus & succulent mix, so I figured it would be fine), and the heating pad wouldn't be a bad idea either. The dark line at her base is where she used to be buried - the plastic pot she came in was a little deeper than this one. She started dropping leaves before I repotted her, so I don't think that's the problem.
hookilau
8 years ago
I can't tell if the leaves appear to be turning yellow or it's just the cast of the light above, but mine do that all the time :)

Generally when I move from one environment to another, say from inside to out, from under lights, to a window etc. is when it happens.

As long as you see new little green nubbies poking out to replace them, I'd say it isn't a problem per se.

My guess is that it's acclimating to your home. I would repot into a gritty mix as soon as I got a chance, especially if you can't send her to camp patio, deck or balcony for the summer.

The amount of water it can use is directly related to the amount of sun it gets.
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Has the pot got drainage holes in it? Commercially bought cactus and succ mix can often be the death knell for Adeniums, ideally, it needs to be mixed with at least 50% perlite. Many of us Adenium growers use it in far less quantities than that. Some of us grow our plants in totally inorganic mixes. The peat content of a c/s mix holds onto too much water. A mix of equal parts of either horticultural grit/aquarium gravel/chicken grit, perlite and cactus mix is what I use. With watering your plant every few days you may well have started root rot problems. Advise you unpot, inspect the rootball and repot in a better mix.....and also check out the wealth of info on the Adenium forum here on Houzz. Two pumps of fertiliser a week......not sure what this equates too, please explain. Sounds like too much fert being used, is it water based.....so there's even more water being added????

Gill UK

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