Adenium obesum - Desert Rose Flowering

Looks like a bonsai .......

Its impressive. They must be long lived in Saudi Arabia and other climates its native to. Still- I think the bottle shaped in habitat can form early. Something cultural. Its like blowing as hard as you can on a balloon that won't inflate...but in nature their is some kind of trigger to make it swell.
But that one at the SD zoo would be the largest I've seen planted out. On Agaveville.com they once posted some large potted plants in Phoenix- even then they are kept in a coldframe for a couple of months in winter.

Soucal..pushing farther into a subtropical climate by the year.

DD2:

It's commonly used as a bonsai.

Stan,

There's another one almost as large above this one. It's in an area that's not accessible. It's located by the entrance to the new section Africa Rocks.

I may post the other pic which show part of the other Desert Rose. It'll be nice when they both flower.

Thats a nice February bloom. I imagine by April it can be covered in blooms. A good time to re take a photo!
75f today Andy. I was doing some spot watering- the front porch plants.
Feels like summer out there.

Stan,

Actually, desert rose doesn't usually flower until summer. May is the earliest my plant will flower. It's extremely unusual to see flowers on this plant in winter (it's a real oddity). However, with the really hot winter weather so many plants are flowering early.

I saw it was 75ºF there in Hayward. Wow! I was so surprised! It was warmer there than here in San Diego. It was only 70ºF here (where I live) compared to 87ºF on Sunday. Today low-to-mid-80's, though.

The local news is all about SF- OAK-SJ all breaking records day after day ( ah,I love that Badfinger song!) here in the bay area.

That's great! It was 83ºF (28ºC) here today...not sure what the temps was in downtown S.D., though.

That's a lovely looking plant! I remember you talking about your Desert rose & that you would put a photo up when it did. Perhaps you'll remember when your plant starts to bloom.

I might try again. But if I do? I'm making some kind of mini greenhouse in the winter. Even then..I wonder if it would still be too cold?

Balcony,

I have many photos of my Desert Rose over the many years on GoY. My desert rose is 14 years old...it was small originally when I posted it on GoY 10 years ago.

Stan,

Most likely it would have to be take indoors during winter, up there. Definitely, try another one.

In Singapore ( or tropical Asia) they cant really Bonsai "clouds" out of the limbs...but they do some bizarre root prunings. One I see is...to grow the roots in a tube..then later,remove all the soil so its on stilts. Then,it replanted like that. They also graft roots..to get an octopus like wheel of large roots.
They can do that because the growing season is every day.

I don't know what "clouds" mean.

Yes, Singapore is in the torrid tropical zone, very hot and humid every day. I'm not sure if I could live in such a hot, sweaty climate! Yuck! lol!