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Adenium Obesum ( Desert Rose )

Taken for Saturday Self Challenge 28/03/2020 - Indoor Still Life .

 

I took this shot for the challenge just a few hours before our world was turned upside down with a bereavement , I have put it on for SSC , but forgive me if I do not get round to many comments .

 

Had thought of taking a shot of this pot full for some time now and this was the motivation . The main plant is the Adenium Obesum , the globular looking plant is a form of Sedum that I grabbed from the greenhouse to make up the display in the pot but the plant on the left I am blowed if I can remember what that was !!

Adenium obesum is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, that is native to the Sahel regions, south of the Sahara (from Mauritania and Senegal to Sudan), and tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and Arabia. Common names include Sabi star, kudu, mock azalea, impala lily and desert rose.

It is an evergreen or drought-deciduous succulent shrub (which can also lose its leaves during cold spells, or according to the subspecies or cultivar). It can grow to 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) in height, with pachycaul stems and a stout, swollen basal caudex. The leaves are spirally arranged, clustered toward the tips of the shoots, simple entire, leathery in texture, 5–15 cm (2.0–5.9 in) long and 1–8 cm (0.39–3.15 in) broad. The flowers are tubular, 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) long, with the outer portion 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) diameter with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as Plumeria and Nerium. The flowers tend to red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat.

Adenium obesum is a popular houseplant and bonsai in temperate regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of 10 °C (50 °F). It thrives on a xeric watering regime as required by cacti. A. obesum is typically propagated by seed or stem cuttings. The numerous hybrids are propagated mainly by grafting on to seedling rootstock. While plants grown from seed are more likely to have the swollen caudex at a young age, with time many cutting-grown plants cannot be distinguished from seedlings. Like many plants, Adenium obesum can also be propagated in vitro using plant tissue culture.

 

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Adenium Obesum is a plant I have liked since my days in the BCSS ( British Catus and Succulent Society ) and I found caudiciform plants a particular interest .

Caudiciform plants form a caudex—a fat, swollen stem, trunk, or aboveground roots. Plants in this category sport colorful names like elephant’s foot, Buddha belly, pregnant onion, and turtle back. Caudiciform plants number in the hundreds, and almost as many gardening clubs are devoted to their unusual architectural forms.

As for the flowers - I had a previous plant and never got it to flower and this one has a bit longer until it would be ready .

Not sure of posting a Desert Rose song , but a Green Desert is a different matter ----

youtu.be/KKgWUh0x7y8

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Uploaded on March 24, 2020
Taken on March 24, 2020