Desert Rose - First Flower

ChrisM

this is a pic of a desert rose i picked up last year,

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sm_desidarata.jpg (19.4 KB, 129 views)

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A bonsai is like a good marriage.You commit, for better or for worse, till death do you part. I DO!!!

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ChrisM

and this year with its first flower, taken today,

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sm_im000666.jpg (9.2 KB, 122 views)

__________________
A bonsai is like a good marriage.You commit, for better or for worse, till death do you part. I DO!!!

ChrisM

sorry about the poor photo quality, seems the batteries in my digital are dying. the leaves are a nice deep green tone and the flower is white with pink edges. if anyone knows anything about these or can provide a link about pruning and such it would be appreciated, i have another which is about the same size but would like to prune it down, make it a short fat looking thing!! but i am unsure if it will damage the tree. any help would be great.


chris

__________________
A bonsai is like a good marriage.You commit, for better or for worse, till death do you part. I DO!!!

Attila

Hi Chris,

There is only one thing that can kill these plants: overwatering.
It will cause root rot before you even notice any change above the surface.

So, you must have a totally freely draining soil (pumice, bark, coarse sand should constitute most of it). You should let the soil ALMOST dry out between watering during the growing season and COMPLETETELY dry out between watering during winter.

I got three plants four years ago, and by the time I figured out how to care for them I was left with one (to the present day).
The one left is doing great now.

The other two died when I planted them into the ground during summer and watered them normally like the rest of my trees. You can't mix these with the rest of the temperate trees.

As far as pruning, they can take heavy pruning during the growing season (think jade plant). I wouldn't do heavy pruning in the winter since when they don't grow they are slow to heal.


Regards,
Attila

susieq

Chris, the plant will form seed at the flower site too. A friend of mine has several very large plants. (they get huge) He had one go to seed after blooming (they don't die after forming seeds) and planted a bunch of the seed. They all grew and he was giving away desert rose to anyone who would take them. I have several. I don't put them in bonsai pots but just keep them in large nursery pots and pretty much ignore them. They seem to be happier that way. You can prune them back heavily during the growing season. They also start from cuttings, but the difference in the plants are that the ones started from cuttings don't get the huge, very fat base that the seedlings do....so I was told by my friend. I did do some cuttings and it seems to be so. I also have been warned that the "milk" they ooze when cut, is very poisonus. So wash your hands good and becareful.
Sincerely, Susieq