Desert Rose in Pot Outside

Greetings all,

I bought a desert rose at HD and put it in a larger pot with a good drainage hole. The tag on the pot calls for filtered sun and once-a-week watering. I situated the pot between two taller in-ground hibiscus plants against a wall with eastern-exposure. It gets direct sunlight at one point in the morning, whereafter the sun gets filtered by a large tree to its immediate NE as well as by its two hibiscus neighbors.
I was wondering if a couple hours of direct morning to mid-morning sun will be O.K. for this plant before the light gets filtered. Also, though we are going through a dry spell at the moment (hasn't rained in over a week), we are known for long periods of heavy rain as well. Will this rain be O.K. in a plant found in the desert and is recommended one-a-week watering, provided that it has good drainage at the bottom of the pot, or should I move it under cover during these periods?
Thanks!

Hi Grantman....I have Adenium (Desert Roses) planted both in pots and in the ground. I am no expert on them by any means but I'll share what I know. I think yours will benefit from more sun than you described....a couple of hours in the a.m.? I have one that's under a yellow Poinciana tree....the tree leafs out later than most in the spring.....and after it leafs out the D.R. gets much less direct light. It's mostly all filtered light, and it pretty much quits blooming during the shady months. I have 2, a pink and a red that I grew from cuttings, that are in mostly full sun all day. One is potted, one in the ground, and they bloom off and on all the time. A sister to the pink one is in the ground but gets mostly shade and it rarely blooms....I need to move it.

I purchased my first D.R. plant a couple of mos. ago, online, and the instruction sheet stressed the importance of putting it in FULL SUN......with a note to that which read: 'And yes, that means FULL SUN for you people in TX, FL and AZ!'. When I read that I moved 3 babies that I grew from seed into the full sun too, and they are looking much better.

I also know you have to put them in well draining potting medium too, as they are susceptible to root and trunk rot.....where they get soft and eventually die if the problem isn't fixed. Don't overwater them either, for that reason. All in all, they are one of those plants that seem to thrive on neglect! I'll stick my potted ones somewhere and forget about them, and next thing I know they'll be covered with flowers! This red one gets mostly full sun....gets filtered sun later on in the afternoon.....and it's on it's 4th 'bloom burst' this yr.

Hope this helps some and happy gardening :-) Becky

Awesome information Becky. Thanks a bunch. I'm going to move it from its current location to a spot that gets full sun most of the day. It has plenty of blooms and open flowers and I'd like to keep it that way! I chose it because of its awesomely-funky trunk and beautiful flowers and foliage. Yours looks very nice!
On a side note, have you had any pest problems? I'd like to be preventative in case these plants are prone to bugs or disease. Also, did you put pebble or anything else on top of the soil in the pot? Thanks again...

My climate's not the same as yours obviously, but we have very hot spells periodically every summer and I have mine in full sun so I would agree that yours could use more sun than they're getting. I would also recommend if you do get a long rainy spell that you move it under something to protect it from all the water--if you get a rainy day here and there it's not going to be a big deal, but if you get multiple days in a row of rain it'll probably be happier if it's protected from some of it. I also wouldn't necessarily trust the once a week watering directions on the label--watering frequency depends on a multitude of variables (amt of sun, temperatures, humidity, relative size of the roots vs the soil volume, etc) so watering is definitely not a "one size fits all" thing. It may turn out that once a week is OK, but I'd doublecheck either by testing the weight of the pot or doing the finger test where you stick your finger down a couple inches into the soil and see how it's feeling--if it's still wet down there then you don't need to water.

they do get a tiny leaf scale once in a while. it will appear as small dark dots on the leaves. i just pick the leaf off. they are prone to aphds on the flower buds, which can be washed off with some soapy water in a spray bottle. they also get a caterpillar similar to the oleander caterpillar and you can use Bt for that. these are the only pests i've ever seen on mine and it's rare. they are pretty care free. one thing you don't want to use is any harsh pesticides or anything with oil in it. they are touchy about non-organics and even a few organics.

mine is in full sun for the first half of the day and then filtered sun the rest of the day...i have found that it appreciates a good drink about every two weeks if we haven't had rain and i have to bring mine in in the winter but i barely water when it's inside. the leaves will all fall and i let it go semi-dormant. even in west palm, you will notice a semi-dormant period. don't worry. sometimes all the leaves will yellow and fall for apparently no reason, but then it is beautiful again in no time. i keep mine in a clay pot, no plastic and no bottom saucer!

edited to add that we had 18+ inches of rain in one week a couple of months ago and it never looked better. go figure. i do have perfect drainage obviously! lol

This message was edited Aug 3, 2009 3:44 PM

Great information ecrane and my Florida buddy trackin - thanks a bunch! I noticed a few yellowing leaves that have been dropping, but based on your comments, I'm not too worried. I moved it to better sunlight where it will have full sun until the early afternoon, whereafter it will get filtered light. I'll keep an eye on the soil and on those pesky pests. I have some BT I've been using around my hibiscus, so I'll keep it on hand at first sign of something eating my leaves. Will thuricide be too harsh in case I get some caterpillars?
Trackin - since you have a clay potted specimin, do you keep any sort of mulch or pea gravel on top of the soil for moisture retention, or would that be a bad thing for these roots? Thanks again...

Bt will be perfect. Bt is thuricide. i keep pea gravel on top of most of my potted plants, even roses (it seems to cut down on blackspot), and drought loving plants included. this particular plant does not have the pea gravel but only because it is not in totally full sun all day and because i have to lug it inside for winter. it is pretty large and the pot is heavy enough!

it's the one with the pale pink flowers.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2009 9:10 AM

Trackin - that desert-xeriscape-type arrangement is absolutely beautiful. I see the one in question in the back there. It looks great! I'm going to line the top layer of soil with some small gravel, since it's going to be taking some direct and serious sun/heat here in Wellington. I was getting BT and sluggo mixed up. I have both, but is this plant susceptible to snails/slugs as well? As always, thanks for the pic and the info.

no, being a white sap plant, slugs don't like it. yay!

you should get yourself some Bulbine. it's a great heat tolerant plant that blooms year round. it's that grassy looking stuff sticking out all over the place.

ah, wellington-horse country!
thank you!

I was wondering what that grass was. It would look nice around the pot. Tempting...
We do have our fair share of horses and shows around town. It sure helps the local economy! It's kind of a strange town - we have one of the largest malls in the county, and developers scrambled to cover every inch of grass with shopping plazas, yet in the SW corner of town you still see horses walking along the roads. It's actually quite sad how developed it's become.

i know. i feel the same way. horses still walk down our road here but for how long, i can't say.

i tried to get a picture of the Bulbine for you. it's kind of a hard plant to photograph. it looks best in large sweeps. individual plants look weedy.

close up

I like it. It would make a nice edger. I was thinking of placing the pot between some other well-spaced plants on a better Eastern-exposure portion of my tiny yard. I could set it on the mulch and plant a circle of Bulbine around the pot. Great, another idea to add to the growing list! Too bad the yard doesn't grow with the aspiration...

I don't recall ever having any pest problems with my Adeniums and I rarely ever use pesticides. Even last yr. when I ended up with a bad mealy bug infestation (I ended up having to use some spray then)....a friend had been bringing me a bunch of plants because she was moving and I didn't notice that her stuff had the mealy bugs, until they had practically taken over! None got on the Desert Roses though.
Becky