Desert Rose Adenium for Gardening and Bonsai

Thinking about the appearance of Adenium Obesum, one might wonder where it got this name.

Adenium comes from the word Aden, an Arabic port city named Aden , a plant from such a city in Arabian Peninsula was termed Adenium. It is a native shrub also found in Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The Adenium shrub loves warm climates and is a slow growing plant. With their exotic blooms, less maintenance and trunk structure similar to Bonsai, they are becoming very popular with amateur as well as experienced gardeners. It is an ornamental plant that requires ample sunshine. Its presence is dominated by unusual thick trunks, twisted branches and stems.

It can be grown with both cuttings and seeds. It grows 6 to 10 feet tall in a light well drain soil and can withstand drought and dry winds. This heat tolerant plant requires moderate watering to ensure year round blossoms. It can hibernate in cold weather and remain dormant for quite some time before producing leaves and new blossoms.

Natural hybrids of many plants can be found in wild. The hybrids of Cactus and succulents among many others have given rise to a new species of plants. Hybrids in Nature are sterile and unable to propagate through seeds. The outcome of such plants are different from the parents and sometimes it is difficult to identify its real Botanical parents.

Adenium Hybrids have become popular due to the wide array of spectacular flowers, the cross species produces.

Countries such as Kenya, Arabian Peninsula, Zimbabwe and Tanzania have Adenium species bloom towards the winter in warmth with tubular flowers that look similar to the Frangipani and Oleander and Plumeria blooms.

Adenium can be grown vertical or slanting style medium size Bonsai. An Adenium shrub can grow to lush Bonsai with pink or white flowers in a huge pot if proper care is taken.

In Zimbabwe and South African countries, the milky white sap from the root and stem latex is used in preparing poison arrows. The latex  is toxic and used in shooting big games like animals and fish.  It is also used along with other poisons to treat snake bites.