Desert Rose – Four Spectacular High Heat Plants for Summer
By Laurelynn Martin
Some plants are perfect for the hot days of summer and actually thrive under high heat and full sun. The Desert Rose, or Adenium, has the ability to store water in its attractive swollen stem, or caudex. The larger the plant, the bigger the caudex becomes. There are numerous hybrids of Desert Rose, some with single or double flowers in shades of many colors. They are easy plants to grow under the right conditions. They like it hot and dry, low humidity is fine and they require low amounts of fertilizer. Their blooms appear from spring through late summer but given optimal conditions, adeniums can flower intermittently year-round. Here are some of our favorite Desert Rose Adeniums:
Desert Rose ‘Golden Carrot’
Desert Rose ‘Golden Carrot’ is a beautiful adenium with yellowish-orange double flowers that have red highlights throughout the petals. The flowers are slightly pointed at the terminal end of each petal, creating a stunning specimen when in full bloom. This grafted, two-year-old plant is ready-to-bloom and comes in a 5” clay pot.
Desert Rose ‘Black Swirl’
When in bloom, ‘Black Swirl’ leads your eye into a rotating color palette of red petals and black edges. And, since it has double flowers, the kaleidoscope of color seems like it never ends. ‘Black Swirl’ is a ready-to-bloom, two-year-old specimen with a thickened caudex.
Desert Rose ‘Plum Beauty’
A prolific bloomer during the warm summer months, ‘Plum Beauty’ has flowers that emerge bright red and darken to reddish-purple as they age. The heart of the flower and petal edges remain red. ‘Plum Beauty’ is a ready-to-bloom, one-year-old plant with a thickened caudex.
Desert Rose ‘Red’
Desert Rose ‘Red’ is one of the original Desert Roses that we have had in our collection for many years. It is grown true from seed as a stabilized red. Seed grown adeniums take longer to bloom and the caudex will develop over time, but the deep red flowers make it worth the wait.
Adeniums make ideal house plants for those with limited space. If you live in a place with high heat conditions and dry periods, grow your adenium outside, and prepare to be amazed at the prolific show of blooms and the spectacular caudex.
Thanks for visiting Logee’s. Before you go, please be sure to request your free Logee’s catalog. You can learn more about the Adenium plants mentioned in this article below: