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        • Buchanan’s Native Plants has been serving Houston gardeners since 1986. Located in the historic Houston Heights, the garden center is dedicated to native plants and organic gardening.  You will find the best selections of hardy natives as well as perennials, herbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs & roses — all suited to the Houston climate.

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Home » Plant Library » Succulents and Cacti » Desert Rose
Desert Rose | Adenium obesum

Desert Rose

Botanical name: Adenium obesum

A striking succulent plant with interesting swollen stems and highly attractive blooms; will be deciduous during drought or cooler weather; best grown in containers that can be moved indoors during winter; sap is highly toxic, avoid contact.

Other names: Mock Azalea, Impala Lily, Sabi Star

  • Characteristics
  • Features and Attributes
  • Planting and Growing

Characteristics

Hardiness zone 10b
Flower color red
Foliage type evergreen
Plant form upright spreading
Mature height 6 feet
Spread 4 feet
Light requirements

full sun to partial shade

Moisture requirements

dry to average

Plant origin import

Ornamental Features

Desert Rose features showy clusters of red trumpet-shaped flowers with pink overtones and white centers at the ends of the branches from early spring to early summer. It has green foliage. The glossy narrow leaves remain green throughout the winter. The fruit is not ornamentally significant. The smooth gray bark and brown branches are extremely showy and add significant winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Desert Rose is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

Insects

Desert Rose is recommended for the following landscape applications;

Rock/Alpine Gardens, General Garden Use, Container Planting

Planting and Growing

Desert Rose will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets..

Desert Rose makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.

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Buchanan’s Native Plants
611 East 11th Street
Houston, Texas 77008

713-861-5702

Hours: 9 am – 6 pm
Open Every Day – Monday – Sunday

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