How to grow and care for desert rose potted plants
The desert rose flower is shaped like a small trumpet, rose-red and very beautiful. The umbel-like inflorescences come in clusters of three to five, brilliant as brocade, and bloom continuously through all four seasons. It is named desert rose because its place of origin is close to the desert and its flowers are red like a rose. The desert rose has alternate single leaves, obovate, with an acute tip, 8 cm to 10 cm long and 2 cm to 4 cm wide, leathery, glossy, dark green on the upper surface and grayish-green on the underside, with entire margins. The raceme is terminal, bearing more than 10 flowers, trumpet-shaped, 6 cm to 8 cm long; the corolla has 5 lobes and comes in rose red, pink, white and bicolor forms. May to December is the flowering period of the desert rose, and the flowers come in red, rose red, pink, white and other colors. It sets seed relatively easily when grown in greenhouses in the south. The seeds have white fine hairs that help them fly and disperse.
Potted plants need plenty of sunlight and good drainage. A fertile, loose mixed soil of sand and leaf mold is best. During the growing period it should be kept dry rather than wet; in summer high temperatures water once a day, and at other times once every 2-3 days. Fertilize 2-3 times a year. In winter, during the dry dormant period, it normally drops its leaves. Plant in spring or repot in spring. In southern regions it can be planted in the ground and overwinter outdoors.
In northern regions it should be grown in pots and overwintered indoors. The potting soil can be an equal-parts mix of leaf mold and coarse sand, plus a small amount of decomposed dry bone meal. Before planting, put some broken tile pieces at the bottom of the pot to aid drainage. Repot every spring, replacing with fresh potting soil. Newly planted and newly repotted plants can be kept indoors or in a shaded place for care, watered sparingly, and brought into normal management after they recover. During the growing period, place them outdoors in full sunlight, or grow them in a greenhouse, as they need ample light. In winter they must be brought indoors and sheltered in a sunny spot; growing them in a greenhouse is even better. In winter keep the indoor temperature above 12°C; if the potting soil is dry, it can also overwinter safely at 7-8°C.
Spring and autumn are the vigorous growing periods; water thoroughly to keep the potting soil moist, but not overly wet. Water according to the principle of watering when dry and keeping it dry between waterings, and watering thoroughly once the soil has dried out. In early spring and late autumn, when temperatures are lower, watering should be restrained. In winter reduce watering and keep the potting soil dry, but water it if it becomes too dry. It does not need much fertilizer; during the growing period apply a dilute liquid fertilizer 1-2 times a month, and stop fertilizing in winter.
The desert rose, like other succulents, likes sandy soil with good drainage. Therefore, when repotting, it is best to add more river sand or small gravel to ordinary soil, which improves the drainage of the potting soil; this is generally only needed once the plant has grown quite luxuriant. Desert roses at the seedling stage, however, should be repotted every year. The repotting method is very simple: first stop watering before repotting, then once the potting soil is completely dry, tip the plant out, clear away the old potting soil and prune the roots, then replant it.
It is commonly propagated by cuttings, grafting and layering, and can also be grown from seed. For cuttings, summer is best; select 1-2 year old branches, preferably the top branches, cut them into 10 cm lengths, let the cut surface dry, then insert them into a sand bed; they root about 3-4 weeks after insertion. For grafting, use oleander as the rootstock and use the cleft grafting method in summer; after surviving, the plant grows robustly and flowers easily. For layering, air layering is often used in summer; cut away 2/3 of a robust branch, first fill it with moss, then wrap it with plastic film; it roots in about 25 days, and after 45 days it can be cut off and potted. Sow in summer; the germination temperature is 21°C.