Desert rose bright flowers

Starfox

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I finally found a place that has them locally, picked a couple up and they have more with other colours so will definitely be heading back.
 

Starfox

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So I have a question about repotting and cutting the roots, I really would like to get mine out of the nursery soil they are in.
Aside from wearing gloves and disposing of the cuttings correctly can I just cut and repot normally, one site I read stated to bareroot then let them air dry for a few days. I don't really want to do that but presumably they can handle chopping back enough to go in a bonsai pot?

Would you use a normal pot or a bit of a deeper one?
 

CamdenJim

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So I have a question about repotting and cutting the roots, ... .
... one site I read stated to bareroot then let them air dry for a few days. I don't really want to do that but presumably they can handle chopping back enough to go in a bonsai pot?

Would you use a normal pot or a bit of a deeper one?
I've had one for several years. When I got it and took it out of the nursery can, it had several thick roots going straight down. They were the size and shape of carrots. I cut them off almost flush with the caudex.
It's the sap you have to stay away from. Allowing the roots to dry prevents rot to a degree. Wrap the caudex in paper towels while it dries if you worry about people/children/pets getting in the caustic sap while it dries.
I tossed the roots and let the stubs dry for several days.IMG_1644.JPG Then I planted it in a regular bonsai pot.
This year I took it out of the mokko pot it was in, and the only thing I had that looked the right size was this 10" bright blue round. Not a good choice, I'm afraid, but it was available.
It had large roots again, this time sort of potato-looking things growing down and to the side of the base. Scary looking, but I left them on this time.
IMG_1646.JPG
By the way -- if you want it to keep some sort of shape, be careful of the sap when you trim it. Those "twigs" are just as caustic as the roots.
 

Hack Yeah!

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Yes, it does suck, since almost everything I have I bought specifically because it has flowers of some sort. The shade part is interesting, because thinking "desert rose" mine is in full sun almost all day. Maybe that's the problem?
How do you over winter the plant? I've just picked one up last year and noticed the blooms took forever to develop into flowers. Maybe you need to extend your growing season somehow??
 

c54fun

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How do you over winter the plant? I've just picked one up last year and noticed the blooms took forever to develop into flowers. Maybe you need to extend your growing season somehow??
I put mine in a small greenhouse. Keeps it around 65 degrees.
 

Giga

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Very pretty just watch out for the sap, it's pretty toxic
 

Carol 83

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How do you over winter the plant? I've just picked one up last year and noticed the blooms took forever to develop into flowers. Maybe you need to extend your growing season somehow??
Overwinters in a very sunny southern exposure. Sunny enough to cause a reddish tint to the leaves on a jade.
 

c54fun

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This desert rose was starting to push itself out of the pot so I re potted it today. Dont know if the timing was good or not but its in a new pot now. One I had laying around. Just starting to flower real well.
To me this thing only looks good when in full flower mode.
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Hyn Patty

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You can cut roots or branches back just about any time, winter or summer. Usually they will bloom in the spring though so cutting back mid summer is a good time. It allows you to graft or root the cuttings while it is hot and allows time for new budding. It is ideal to seal all cuts with superglue to prevent drying out and die back. Drying also works if the plant is large enough versus the cut sizes.

I have several hundred of these and I love them. Grown from seed mostly but also about a dozen grafted plants I imported.
 

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Hyn Patty

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A couple more I happen to have on my phone. I also have yellows, reds, whites, and lots of seedlings I have not seen bloom yet. While the sap is toxic you can handle them with bare hands as most of us who grow them do. Simply wash up after and do not eat the plants. The sap has is boiled down into concentrate to be lethal unless you injest the plant.
 

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Hyn Patty

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How do you over winter the plant? I've just picked one up last year and noticed the blooms took forever to develop into flowers. Maybe you need to extend your growing season somehow??
Mine over winter on steel racks under high output T5 lights and get south exposure sunlight. I do water seedlings that dry out fast if temperatures are in the sixties or higher. Larger plants in deeper pots are safer to allow to go fully dormant until warm weather returns. Autumn and spring chilly nights are the trickiest. I over winter several thousand plants in the house each winter as I hybridize many tropicals.

Spring through early autumn mine are outside in full sun.
 
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