DESERT ROSE Adenium multiflorum
Adenium multiflorum is small, succulent tree, typically 0.5-3 m tall. The flowers, which appear in winter, are typically 5-petaled and may be red, pink, white, or bi-color. The two-capsuled fruits contain long, grooved, hairy brown seeds.
Sometimes called the impala lily, A. multiflorum requires full sun and excellent drainage. It is extremely drought tolerant. Though frequently used as a bonsai plant indoors, it may be grown outside in USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11.
It is a poisonous species of flowering plant. Adenium multiflorum produces a sap in its roots and stems that contains cardiac glycosides. This sap is used as arrow poison for hunting large game throughout much of Africa and as a fish toxin.
Adenium multiflorum is a popular houseplant and bonsai in temperate regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of 10 °C (50 °F). It thrives on a xeric watering regime as required by cacti. Adenium multiflorum is commonly propagated by seed.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Seeds per pack: 5
Germination: Your planting container should have holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Use a sterile seed-start mix, with 50% sand. Place the seeds just barely under the surface of your growing medium. Place the container on a heating pad and keep the temperature of the growing medium at between 80 and 85 F (27-29 C). Watering should be done from a bottom tray, allowing the water to wick upwards, as to not disturb the seeds.
