Beautiful! Mine is blooming now, too...started about a week ago. It even looks like the same color as yours!

Nancy

Very nice. Both of my big desert roses have been dropping their buds all summer. I've gotten a couple blooms on my small plants.
Karyn

Wow, I had one for years & it never bloomed....now I know what I missed......sniff, sniff

Hello Dave, here's my baby DR from some eBay seeds I won earlier on this season. It's around 5inches from soil level to the top of the growing point and the stem is swelling quite nicely I think. Adenium Obesum is my variety, it looks similar to yours. It was planted on April 17th and is the lone survivor of 6 or so that germinated. They sprouted easily and within a couple of days only to then get nobbled by bugs and others rotted in the early seedling stage...however, this one looks to be a 'little fighter' and hopefully will overwinter successfully for me. Now for some ??'s for you... hope you don't mind!
#During our winter I think I need to keep it dry...what about temp during the winter, any tips?
#As it's small, will it drop it's leaves?
# Would you pinch out the growing point to encourage the branches to sprout more?
# What else can you tell me as you are far more likely to know than me?
These DR's are definately not common over here, only seen them once and the plants were around 10inches high and cost £20!!! Just hope mine survives else it's eBayUK here I come...again!
Cheers, Gill, oh here's the pic before I forget....

Scaldude, I got a DR in 2000 and it never bloomed. I didn't even really know what it was, just some plant that didn't really grow just stayed alive. Then about a year ago, poof, it bloomed! And it hasn't really stopped since. So DO NOT give up hope on yours. They love sun. Unlike Daves which has a really nice shape, mine is tall and spindly. But I love it just the same.
Lauri

Here it is in bloom now...
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Gill your baby looks great! I still have about 10 that I started from seed but only 1 looks really good. The rest are kind of pathetic looking but are still alive. I'd put them outside only to find that the critters thought they were a tasty snack so back in they went.
Karyn

Hi Gill,

#During our winter I think I need to keep it dry...what about temp during the winter, any tips?
I would keep it at temps similar to your plumerias. I've not had all that much experience with them, but I would think winter temps around 45F/7.3C and below will hurt them..especially if they are wet. And yes, keep them on the dry side in winter. In summer they LOVE sun and heat. If we have a wet period in summer, I'll move mine under the eave. I winter mine in a sunny window. I once tried to winter-over one in darkness like the plumeria and it died.

#As it's small, will it drop it's leaves?
It will likely drop some of its lower leaves but keep the ones on the tips. I've never grown them from seed so don't know if they are similar to plumeria seedlings in that respect.

# Would you pinch out the growing point to encourage the branches to sprout more?
I probably would not pinch it if it's just a seedling. Just let it get some size to it before you cut it back.

# What else can you tell me as you are far more likely to know than me?
Use a very well-draining media. I use lots of Perlite. And I use a slow-release fertilizer in summer. When they are actively growing in warm weather, I don't let the soil ever dry out completely. As Fall approaches, back off on watering a bit. Be very careful about watering in winter. If you have them in a warm sunny window, you can water a bit more. But make sure medium dries out completely before watering again. If there's a growth spurt in winter, you can boost watering a bit. Let the plant tell you when needs water.

With all the pictures of the Desert Rose on this forum I thought you might like to see my oddity. Some have suggested that this plant has been grafted, BUT, no one can find a graft line of any kind. Its been taken to several nurseries and to the University Horticultural Sciences School. None of these "experts" can find that its been grated in any way, and all say that its a Chimera. The only way to get further confirmation would be to do a DNA test. This is rather expensive just to prove a point. I have been asked to sell the plant or parts there of, but for now I think I will just keep my little oddity and see what it does each year. It bloomed all red last year but I can't remember if this particular branch bloomed at all. It makes for a great conversation piece when its in bloom. I hope you enjoy my piece of Mother Natures beauties.

For those of you that see the broken area at the base of the branch. This was a branch that broke and the white branch grew off the side of it. This is the same as the branching of the Plumeria when you cut the tip off.
Andi

That is so cool. I'd leave it just the way it is.

Thanks Dave, Lauri, Gill and Andi for posting photos of your Desert Rose. This reminds me that my seedlings that I bought from Phil(padsnow) need to be repotted. The freeze did a doozy on my large plant. Oh well, pick up and start over.

Kasie

Hi Dave, thanks for the info, will bear that all in mind this coming winter...shiver, what a thought!
Karyn, hope your DR's survive, I lost all my others to a varied list of bugs/conditions, but so glad this one is progressing well...at the moment anyway!
Andi, your plant is really ineresting to say the least, a real oddity for sure! I would not cut one inch from it for fear of losing its ability to do this.
I have a fuchsia in the garden called 'Beacon' that has red flowers on some stems and pink on others but only has the one rootstock, it was definately never grafted as I grew it from a single cutting from a named Beacon plant. Believe it is called a 'sport' when this happens, the pink flowered stems being known here as 'Beacon Rosa' and can be propagated into pink flowering plants of that name. Amazing isn't it what mother nature can do?
Regards, Gill.