If you like a lot of color and a crazy looking trunk look no further than the Adenium Obesum also known as the Desert Rose.

 I have been growing stuff for most of my adult life, right now i'm big into tomatoes and hydroponics but there was a time when I had several Desert Rose plants around the house. They are quite the show stopper when they are in full bloom, but beware, they are toxic so probably not a good choice for folks with pets or small children. 

 Some Info On the Desert Rose

 These plants are in the family Apocynaceae and are native to southern Africa and Arabia. they are succulents which means they store water in their fleshy stems and base. These plants should be planted in loose, fast draining soil that doesn't hold water and watered carefully in the warm season, and then only when the soil has completely dried out, over watering will lead to root rot and the loss of the plant. When the plant has gone dormant or in cooler weather no watering should be done, this will lead to rot quicker than anything else. 

 All part's of the plant are considered toxic, so small children and pets should be kept away from them. 

 Here is a close up view of the stem, known in these plants a caudex, this is typical of most members of the adenium genus. I have this one planted in a 75/25 mix of perlite and cactus soil.

 This is a grafted plant, you can see the graft right were the caudex starts to narrow, I'm not sure of the variety that is grafted but it has narrower leaves than a regular Adenium. The flower of this particular plant differs from the regular Adenium which is normally white at the base of the flower and red towards the end.

 You can see in this photo the difference in the leaf structure, this was a shoot that came from below the graft line of the plant, the leaves are wider, darker and have a glossy appearance. 

 Here is an up close of the foliage of the grafted plant, it's leaves are narrow and lighter green, they also have a more "matte" look to them.

 But Those Blooms!

The star of the show has to be the blooms! They are just vibrant. These plants grow well in tropical climates where the temps never dip below 50 degrees F. In many Asian countries Adeniums will grow to three feet tall in pots and put out spectacular blooms.

In my part of the world, I'm lucky to get a flush of blooms twice a year.  

 

 I will see if I can nurse this one thru the winter in the house, I would put it in the greenhouse with the tomatoes but I am afraid I would introduce some bugs...Which I don't need!!!

 Well there you have it, I wanted to change it up a bit, this time, I don't want to bore you with the same old greenhouse post all the time. I'll see if this makes it thru the winter and let you know how she looks come spring time! Maybe I can get some seeds out of this and send a few to @papa-pepper and see what he can do with one!

As always , thanks for stopping by to look follow me for more updates on the tomatoes, should be hitting the markets soon so that will be interesting!

 Awesome Handcrafted @jed78 logo kindly donated by @papa-pepper - Thank you!   

Keep Growing, until next time!