Inherited Daddy's Desert Rose(s)
My aging parents in Jacksonville, Florida, shipped me their DR as all their tropicals are getting to be too much for my dad.
So today, I picked up the box from UPS, unpacked, and excitedly found 4 little DR's in addition to the one big Momma! I had no idea these little ones were coming too, so it was a wonderful surprise!
Since I'm in NJ and normally bring in all my tropicals mid October before the first frost advisory, these DR's only have about a month outside once I pot them.
I am thinking of potting the big one in a clay pot with gritty mix after I rinse the remaining soil off of it.
Only one of the four little ones has some roots, so I will probably put the little rooted one in gritty mix too. The other 3 must have broken off while being handled prior to packaging and have no roots.
What is the best way to root these 3 little ones? Right in gritty mix too? Can I put all 4 of these little ones in the same pot too for now or keep them separate?
Would it be smart or not to mix the gritty mix with some cactus/succulent soil or straight gritty mix? If so, what ratio? I prefer to stay away from soil, which reduces a lot of problems (bugs, mold, root rot).
I plan on keeping them outside under an overhang, that no longer gets direct sunlight due to our shorter days already! :(
Any and all advice would really be appreciated. These little babies mean the world to me...a piece of my dad from so many miles away! Thanks so much!
Comments (9)
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Comments (23)Thanks for the kind words Hoovb and walkin. I too love pomegranate and we have three varieties, you just can't beat pom. jelly. I love high country gardens and have been ordering plants from them every spring for fifteen years. If you are in the high desert most of their selection should be great but we are lower and hotter and not all of it is good for us here but it never hurts to try something new out. At both our houses we started out with bad trees dirt with burmuda naturalized in it. Getting rid of that beast has been our biggest challange but is doable. If you have a running grass lawn changing over a section at a time might be hard but if it is a fescue it can be done that way. Make sure you have some negative space in your plan. If you end up with a solid glob of plants it won't be attractive. Lawn does the job in wet climates but in dry areas hardscape and gravel can do the same thing. If you do have a hard to get rid of grass like burmuda persistance is key. I've dug it out, covered with black plastic to exclude light, and sprayed with roundup. The main thing is to keep after it. Here's another pic of two great desert plants almost as showy as roses and more heat and drought tolerant, cassia nemophylla and penstemon parryi(and my daughter). Maria...See More2005 'AEN' Supplement Rose List, January 2006
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Comments (16)Leslie, how nice of you to offer to help! Such a nice kindred spirit! JerseyGirl - I am loathe to offer suggestions for your DR because our growing conditions are so different! For starters, I don't have to bring my plants in for the winter. And they really don't go dormant. These have been a really easy plant for me. They are in gritty mix. I have one in a clay pot and two in plastic. I plunked them into the sun - after acclimating, of course - and water during the winter when it is dry. Summers are so wet that I don't usually water from June thru Sept. I fertilize with dilute MG (I still have a ton of it left!) when I do my other succulents. That's pretty much it! I am very bad about pruning. In fact, this plant is the first I have pruned. So now I have decided to prune my others as well. My main problem with this plant is mealies. They seem to show up with flowers but are easily treated with rubbing alcohol. I would love to see Dad's plant. Take some photos when it arrives and after you unpot and let us see the roots and caudex. (you said you are going to repot) You may have questions, or maybe Dad will fill you in on all you need to know. You can start a new thread on Dad's Desert Rose on this forum or you can go to the Adenium forum. (I think you'll get better traffic and responses with a new thread. Many folks have already read this one and moved on.) http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/adenium Good luck!...See More
Marie Tran
7 years agoJerseyGirl (aka iheartorchids.com)
7 years agoJerseyGirl (aka iheartorchids.com)
7 years ago
Maria Elena (Caribbean - USDA Zone 13a)
7 years agoJerseyGirl (aka iheartorchids.com)
7 years agoMaria, Gill, Marie and Rick....thanks so much again for replying and for all the great information! I did pot the DR last night, pictures below, and I'm going to pot up the COT's today in gritty mix. My Jade cuttings have done very well rooting in gritty mix.
I just hope the leaves straighten out a bit...but I'm anticipating they may fall off, especially with the drastic change in temperature from FL to NJ. I hope not! :(
It should warm up to low 80's today...then I will lightly water the media.
I'm thinking a very weak solution of KLN will help ease the stress a bit. I've had great success with KLN for my other tropicals, succulents and Orchids!
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a