Adenium obesumDesert Rose

Few plants carry drought and display in the same frame as well as the Adenium obesum. Known as the Desert Rose, it is a succulent shrub from the dry country of the Sahel and southern Arabia, built around a swollen woody caudex that stores water through the long dry season. Mature plants reach 1 to 3 metres and carry trumpet flowers in pink, rose and deep crimson above sparse, glossy foliage.

It is used where the planting has to look deliberate on very little water, in raised beds, gravel courtyards, container groupings and rockeries.

Specifications

• Height1 to 3 metres, occasionally to 4 metres on old plants
• Width1 to 2 metres
• Native toThe Sahel belt of Africa, East Africa, and the southern Arabian Peninsula
• FoliageObovate, leathery, glossy green leaves clustered at the branch tips; shed in the dry season
• Growth rateSlow

Conditions

• SoilRequires sharply drained sandy or gritty soils; rots in heavy or waterlogged ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; drought-tolerant once established and best kept dry through dormancy
• ClimateThrives in arid, semi-arid, and tropical regions

Additional Features

• FormSwollen bottle-shaped caudex tapering to short, thick branches
• FlowersTrumpet-shaped flowers in pink, rose, crimson and white, carried over a long warm season
• UsesIdeal for gravel and xeric gardens, raised planters, rockeries and container feature planting
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart in beds or display singly in containers
• Low MaintenanceRequires very little attention; prune lightly after flowering to keep the form compact
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient, with scale and mealybug the only common concerns
• Drought ToleranceStores water in the caudex and performs well on minimal irrigation
• ToxicityThe milky sap is toxic; site away from unsupervised play areas and wash hands after pruning

The Desert Rose brings sculptural weight and long-season colour to arid schemes that have almost no water to give.