Adenium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, containing a few species, best known being Adenium obesum, also known as Sabi Star, Kudu or Desert-rose. It is native to tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and Arabia.
It is an evergreen succulent shrub in tropical climates and semi-deciduous to deciduous in colder climates, is also dependent on the subspecies or cultivar. They are stem succulents with thickened tuberous stems and thick branches not to mention lovely flowers.
Growing to 1–3 m 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 long and 1–8 cm broad. The flowers are tubular, 2–5 cm long, with the outer portion 4–6 cm diameter with five petals.
The plant exudes a highly toxic sap which is used by some peoples, such as the Akie and Hadza in Tanzania, to coat arrow-tips for hunting.. Be careful if you are pruning the plant not to get the sap in your eyes or on your skin!!!!
Cultivation Adenium is a popular houseplant in temperate regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of 7 °C. It thrives on a xeric watering regime as required by cacti. Adenium is typically propagated by seed or stem cuttings. The numerous hybrids are propagated mainly by grafting onto 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.
Adeniums hate wet feet. Make sure the soil is loose and well draining so it can dry out within a reasonable amount of time. On the other hand if the plants are allowed to go totally dry for too long they could be forced into dormancy and begin to drop their leaves.
In winter when the plants are resting, give a little water occasionally so the roots don't die off.
Adeniums prefer warmth year round. They can freeze in a cold greenhouse. These plants can burn if they have too much sun. Provide a little shade for protection. They can freeze too. Do not let temperature go below 45F (7C). It is advisable to keep them at a minimum of 55F (12C) year round. Adeniums require high light intensity .They tend to grow spindly in climates with cloudy summers or if they receive sun less than half the day.
To encourage the biggest possible caudex (base of the plant), leave the caudex below the soil and when it is a nice size raise it a little every now and again to expose more root. You can cut off sucker roots around the caudex but not those at the very bottom of the root system. And do not cut off large roots. They are needed to take up nutrients and water.
To keep the plants bushy, in spring cut back half of all branches. This will make those branches produce more branches and hopefully more flowers.
If adeniums refuse to flower, try using a high phosphorous fertilizer.
Cuttings will root but resulting new plants will not have a caudex (fat bottom).
You must have two plants to set seed.
Potting Adeniums need ample root-space for rapid growth. Root-bound plants greatly curtail their growth even if watered and fed generously Plants should be repotted frequently until they attain their desired size.
