desert rose

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: adenium
species: obesum

First Story

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14 february 2012

This is also a plant i already knew at my parents' place. As i said, i try to recollect my childhood memories. So this plant has a special meaning to me. Meanwhile there are so many different varieties in the market. However the one with classic flower colour speaks to me most. Which way makes it classic? I call the one with deep pink petals that fades in classic and consider the rest mutations or hybrids.

It's very rare that you find it in stores in germany. One that I saw at a garden centre wasn't looking good and was selling at around 30 eur, which was a bit too high for a price for me. The other one I saw was in a diy store. This one has been raised from a cutting and thus is lacking the caudex, which is the thickened part of the stem. Of course I want mine to have a caudex. Otherwise it doesn't correspond to its name "obesum". I got mine on ebay for a bit more than 20 eur. Poor plant, it had to sit in the dark delivery box for 3 days. The gardener who sold it to me wet the soil before shipping, which he shouldn't have done. Because of that the plant got some rotten roots. Fortunately, it's still alive.

Adenium hasn't gained much fame in Germany, the reason of which, I think, lies in that, it's somewhat difficult to grow. It needs warmth to do well. After the research I did, I can summarise the result as followed:

Temperature: In summer, there's no worries. In colder days, you have to watch out. The plant is in active growth above 25 °C. Below 25 °C there's little growth if any. It sheds its leaves if the temperature drops below 15 °C. Let's set 10 °C as the minimum survival temperature. I keep my adenium above 16 °C. On a sunny day, the room temperature could also rise up to 21 °C, but this has little effect on its growth. If you can afford to heat up a bit more, then I would recommend 20 °C on cloudy days and 25 °C on sunny days.

Water: In summer you may need to water the plant, depending on your soil, every other day or every day. If it's not too rainy outdoor, you can also place it in the open. Adeniums get rootrot easily if the soil is too wet for a long time. In winter if there's no growth, the plant doesn't need any water. However a little water shouldn't be too bad, as long as it evaporates within a few hours. If temperature stays above 20 °C consistently, you can also resume with moderate watering, provided there's also enough sunshine.

Light: As a thumb of rule, the plant is in active growth when the days are longer than 12 hours. It slows down when days get shorter. Since it's very common to expose its thickened roots over time, it's recommended to give the newly exposed roots shade from direct sunlight. Avoid scorching midday sun, because occasionally leaves also get burnt.

The plant has an internalised calendar that tells it when to switch to "slow growth" mode and when to switch back to "active growth". None of the above factors governs this cycle though.

Update

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2012

June 2012

Strangely this new bloom has become red rather than pink. Either it has mutated or the ones before this didn't get enough nutrition to become this red.

Top view

Update

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6 september 2014

july 2014 flower

If it hasn't been for the mealy bugs that were so persistently clinging onto the plant, I would have been able to capture a moment with over 20 flowers. Instead many flower buds were dropped after the sap sucking beasts greedily fed on the plants.

R.I.P

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31 march 2015

I went to Asia for a month in February and left my plants to the care of a friend. Unfortunately I didn't communicate my instructions well enough this time, and the plant which wasn't supposed to be watered at all, ended up being drowned in cold water. When I arrived home, its caudex had already turned yellow and soggy. Rotting had already reached the branches, so there was nothing left to salvage.

I had always thought I'd be devastated if this ever happened. But I was surprised how calm I was when I discovered my dead adenium. Note to my self: the next time you are travelling, make sure to use "do not water" tags on plants like this.

natal plum // large num-num

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: carissa
species: macrocarpa

first posted on 08/01/2013:

natal plum in late autumn 2012.

This is yet another plant from my dogbane (apocynaceae) collection. The species is said to be native to South Africa, where it is also widely cultivated for its plum-looking, edible fruits. Other species from the Carissa genus bearing similar fruits include C. spinarum (conkerberry // currant bush) and C. carandas (karanda). All of these fruits have been used in different geographical areas as food. Although caution should be taken, as all other parts of the plants are said to be poisonous  According to the description found on different sources, the plant has spines, but I haven't discovered any on my plant. The flowers are white and looking like stars. Their fragrance is much like that of a gardenia plant and is said to be more intense at night to attract nocturnal pollinators. My plant dealer didn't specify if this is of a particular cultivar, so I assume its characters should be close to those of the wild species. Although I cannot rule out the possibility of any of the cultivars I've come across on the internet. The list of the cultivars goes on and on. This includes 'Tuttlei', 'Tomlinson', 'Green Carpet', 'Boxwood Beauty', 'horizontalis' etc. My intention is to grow it into a sizeable bush or a small tree, so I hope I haven't got myself a prostrate cultivar.

In my "care notes", it says the plant can withstand cold down to 5°C with no problem and it is tolerant of shades. So that makes overwintering it quite convenient. Whenever the temperature outside drops below 5°C, I'd move it into the stairwell, where it takes up a corner, that is otherwise less than ideal, lighting-wise, for other plants. The soil that comes with the plant looks fresh and airy. I can tell that it has been repotted very recently. In spite of this, I intend to transplant it into a proper pot in the next possible appointment. All this while, I have too many plants growing in plastic containers. With them scattered all around, the garden can hardly look fetching. A friend of mine actually made a comment on this during her visit. But for now, the weather is still too cold and there's nothing going on with the plant. So I guess I'd just lie in wait to see its flowers and plums.

>>Update (25.12.2013):

in flower july 2013.

My lovely num-num bush bloomed so beautifully this summer. It turned out that the fragrance wasn't as strong as I had expected. Its faint citrus-like note could only be sensed if the flowers are pressed tight against the nose. As pretty as they are, the flowers are unfortunately short-lived. I didn't get to see any fruit, the reason of which probably being that there isn't any colibri around.

star jasmine

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: trachelospermum
species: jasminoides

star jasmine in flower 2013.

This is another dogbane member that I acquired at the off-season sale at the end of 2012. 5 Euros was what it was worth. I quickly carried it home. It's a vigorous climber that is frost-resistant to about -5°C. It was in flower for a couple of months in the spring this year, during which the white stars filled the balcony with its sweet citrus-like scent. I must say that we were really happy to have planted it right next to our breakfast table.

As we went to Italy earlier this year, we got to see a huge storey-high specimen of star jasmine with trunks bigger than my wrist hugging the stone walls at the locanda where we rented a house for a week. That got me very ambitious in growing this thing into something of that size. I realise that it's going to take forever for this to happen. But since the plant is easy to grow and not as easy to kill as many other plants, I'm confident that it will one day grow that massive trunk that I admire.

It should be quite easy to propagate the plant with cuttings. I don't want to try that, unless a friend asks for it. Winter storage is a problem for me, because this thing will need some protection from cold. The only place I can offer it is our narrow stairwell, which is less than ideally lit. I need to worry about how my upstair neighbours will react to all the green plants I move into the stairwell over the winter. I hope they don't mind too much.

frangipani

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: plumeria
species: alba

First published on 06/05/2012:

I finally obtained a frangipani from a bonsai shop that also happened to have some rare exotic plants. It wasn't cheap, but it's worth the money. I actually wanted to have a red frangipani, but for some reason the gardener was reluctant to give it to me. So there a common white frangipani.

After winter the plant is still looking awkward. It'll need some time to revive its beauty. I hope it's going to give me some blooms this year. The gardener mentioned that in Germany, this plant, like apple trees, may bloom plentifully in a year and not in the next. He also mentioned that they drop their leaves in winter. The moment I heard that I thought it's probably like adeniums, given ample warmth they could retain their leaves. Frankly, I think his frangipanis don't thrive well in his greenhouse. But again, I think it's a question of heating cost. However respectfully, he managed to keep all the exotic tropical plants, like the warmth-loving gingers, at the temperature of as low as 14 °C. I know he loves frangipanis. He'd been keeping this plant for some time, so it was difficult for him as he said "bye, my baby!"

This plant is heavily infested by spider mites and scale insects. The gardener applied a spray on it before handing it to me. Back at home I thought things were going to be fine and so just left it there for a few days. On a sunnier day I moved it closer to the window for inspection and was terrified by the sight of hundreds of tiny red creatures crawling up and down the plant's large foliage and their eggs sticking on it. I immediately moved it outside and sprayed with jet of water and wiped off with tissue paper. I managed to clear the topside of the leaves, but didn't do the job as neatly for the underside. Besides scales insects are visible on the underside. On the next sunny day I'll carry out a second inspection and further treatment.



>>Update (August 2012):

Frangi in its prospective new pot Aug 2012.

There are more than twenty new leaves this year, and it's still growing. But July went by without any flower to be seen on this plant. I had been using a liquid fertiliser with 8-8-6 macronutrients, which didn't help. Later I got a bloom booster fertiliser with 10-52-10. Two applications so far, and too late. I don't think it's going to flower this year.
Insects come and go. Well, they don't go on their own. I shoo them on their way. I have seen ants, bees and flies crawling about axils of leaves, as if there's something irresistible to be found there. Other insects bite on the leaves and the growing tip causing them to bleed white milky sap. I found an insect dead in a dried up mass of milky sap. It's either trapped or poisoned to death. Also after heavy rains, the plant usually ended up bleeding. I wonder how they survive in the tropical area known for their award-winning downpours. One other phenomenon I noticed is that, when the tree is shaken, especially in the evening, its upper leaves tend to tilt upwards, going back to their earlier position. Also new young leaves like to curl on the longitudinal margin in response to changing wetness in the soil.

I found a pot for the frangipani but I'm not very happy with it. It is the simplest I could find so far. However the pot gives me the impression of being overly massive, which weighs the plant's slender stem down. I would prefer something lighter. Also the colour is too much of a contrast to the foliage. Brown or even grey would be calmer.



>>Update (7/10/2013):

On the last days of 2012. Flower stalk with a cluster of buds.

Who says frangipani doesn't grow in the winter? As opposed to common belief, my frangipani has kept its leaves throughout the winter. When it moved deep into winter, the 2 year-old leaves were shed and new ones emerged on three new shoots around the flower stalk that by now was full of buds that had fully developed. The new shoots kept on elongating, but the flowers only came into show as late as mid-summer. As this was happening, the tree actually dropped leaves close to the cluster of flowers to make room for them to open, and probably also make them more visible to the pollinators. The flowers were initially a vibrant pink which, as they opened up, became white with faint pink taint that is difficult to capture with a camera. Also, the gradient of their yellow centre is less concentrated than it appears on photos I've taken. When the flowers have worn off, it set abscission zones on the flower stalk branches. Each one dried up and dropped to the ground leaving no scar despite their sizeable cross-sections. This year's leaves have reduced in size by half as compared to last year. At the end of the growing season outside, new shoots have reached 25 cm. With that my little frangipani tree is standing close to 1 metre tall now. I should start worrying about how I can move it in and out after another year's growth. At the moment, there's no sign of new flower stalks on the new shoots. We shall see if these are coming still between now and next summer.

Frangipani in flower in early August 2013.

common gardenia // cape jasmine

order: gentianales
family: rubiaceae
genus: gardenia
species: jasminoides
cultivar: ?

Gardenia turned out to be the most fragrant plant in my garden this spring and summer when it's in flower. While watering it every morning, I'd draw a deep breath with the flowers close to my nose. Ah, that's so heavenly. I enjoy them as much as I enjoy roses. different fragrance, differently nice.

The leaves are dark green and very glossy. They grow in whorls and I must add that I'm very astounded how compact they grow. Some leaves that are hidden inside often have some brown patches or they just dry off if they don't get the amount of light they need. So you'll want to check periodically and remove them so light can reach other leaves. The white flowers are double. Actually, I'd rather describe the colour as ivory which turns creamy as the flower ages. The flower buds take a few days to swell and open. The green tepals unfold revealing the white petals. The flowers last a few days. When they turn light beige, the petals become loose and you can easily remove them with a twisting motion. You can also remove the flower stalk together, but I usually wait until they come off by themselves.

When keeping this plant, it's important to use an ericaceous soil. For my case, I mix the standard ericaceous compost with the japanese kanuma soil to improve airiness. I have my plant sitting on a north-facing windowsill outside, so it doesn't get too much direct sunlight while it's still sufficiently bright. While it's good to keep the plant above 15°C all year round, it doesn't like it too hot. The optimum temperature, according to the result of my research, is in the range of 21-24°C during the day and 15-18°C at night. I feed my plant with organic fertiliser exclusively, because it resents the accumulation of salts. Gardenias can grow to be many metres tall but that will take many years.

There are many interesting species in this genus, which I may or may not want to collect in the future, depending on the availability of space and time I have.

purple allamanda

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: allamanda
species: blanchetii

allamanda blanchetii on the last days of 2012.

Another plant in my dogbane (apocynaceae) collection, this allamanda is a non-twining climber, growing to be a shrub taller than human. New stems and leaf veins are hairy. Whorls of mostly 3 or 4 obovate leaves are arranged along the stem, which becomes greyish as it hardens with age. Like its relatives adenium, mandevilla and plumeria, its flowers are trumpet-shaped with 5 petals. The colour of my purple allamanda's flower is actually more burgundy than purple, with the throat having deeper tone.

This plant can be successfully grown indoors in a bright room, where temperature doesn't drop below 10°C. Optimum temperature during winter is around 18°C. In the room where I keep my tropical plants, the temperature stays pretty constantly in the range of 16-18°C throughout the coldest months. After the summer season, my allamanda plant continues to grow and even bear flowers here.

I obtained my allamanda from www.flora-toskana.de for quite a high price. However, considering that the plant came in good condition and with good, airy substrate, I think it's worth it. Its slender stems of barely half a centimetre in diameter in the bottom section will need to put on a lot more mass before they can support the growth above. This means that I will first let the new shoots grow freely with the support of bamboo canes before trimming them back.

madagascar palm

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: pachypodium
species: lamerei

Madagascar palm seems to be quite a favourite plant in Germany. I have seen them pressing against the windows in many houses. This is also a plant that you won't miss when visiting a botanical garden, where they have tall specimens over 10 metres tall and blooming. The salver forming flowers are similar to those of a desert rose or an oleander. They are usually white. For me the more interesting features of a Madagascar palm are its silvery spiny trunk(s) and its shiny narrowly lanceolate leaves.

I knew that a single-stem Madagascar palm seldom branches out at the top before it reaches a certain height. Therefore I took a young plant that was already having multiple basal side shoots, so I can be sure to have a fuller looking plant, even before the plant outgrows the ceiling of my room. After acquiring the Pachypodium lamerei, I also became interested in other Pachypodium species, especially the smaller ones.

For my plant, I use a very light mix of pumice, finely shredded lava stones, the Japanese akadama soil (a clay-based soil) and the common humus-rich gardening compost. The airy mix is good for succulent plants; it dries out fast. In summer I would water the plant every other day. In the autumn I only water the plant once a week. With the akadama soil part, I can easily see when the soil dries out. That's when I water the plant. On warmer days in the summer, I leave the plant outside and bring it back inside when night temperature drops below 15°C. My room has a minimum temperature of 16°C in the colder months, which is good for the plant. Like all dogbane species, many parts are highly toxic. So avoid touching its sap.

>> stolen on the 27th August 2013. had a really hard time knowing that it's no longer there. how will it be treated in the future?

hearts on a string

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: ceropegia
species: linearis subsp. woodii

One of the first summer days outdoor.

This is another plant from my dogbane family (Apocynaceae) collection, belonging to the subfamily Asclepiadoidea, earlier a separate family. Heart-shaped leaves hang on the thin pendent stem in pairs. They have grey-green marble marking above and are purple beneath. Bulbils form at leaf axils. Lantern-like flowers are likewise borne in pairs (one earlier than the other) at leaf axils and are spent when pollinated. This can happen in a few days to a few months.

It's an undemanding succulent, that can be kept indoor all year round as long as it gets a bit of sunlight each day. I grow it in a small clay pot with a standard potting soil which dries up rather quickly. Once completely dried, the soil doesn't absorb much water. I find it very practical this way, because I can just go ahead and water the plant freely everyday without having to worry about rootrot which very often causes the death of succulent plants. Although it can tolerate temperature down to 10°C, I'd keep it above 15°C.

I find pendent plants as troublesome as climbers. What I do now is, I let the plant hang down from the pot. When the bulbils grow bigger I'll move some of the them onto the pot so that they can root. Old bulbils will eventually die. How long they live, I don't know. But before they die, there will be enough offspring.

Blooming in August 2012.

brazilian jasmine // mandevilla

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: mandevilla
species: sanderi

first published on 03.05.2012:

I love mandevillas. The first one I've ever seen was two hybrid plants with very bright red blooms placed on both sides of the entrance to a japanese restaurant. They were beautiful. I learned that this genus also belongs to dogbane family, one that I like to collect.

I've got this plant in April for a fair price. It wasn't as expensive as those patented hybrids. One thing that I'm concerned with the purchase is that the pot comes with 3 plants. Every time I have multiple plants in a pot I hope that a friend will be willing to take some away, because I'm really having problem with space. So I'm hoping someone is going to ask me for this plant soon.

Both foliage and bloom are similar to those of a desert rose, a related genus. Although mandevilla's leaves are significantly larger and more rounded. Moreover I notice that, there aren't visible male and female sexual organs in mandevilla's flowers. Newly open flowers have intense pink colour that fades over a couple of weeks.

Care instructions? Moist soil (not soggy), bright, sunny site. It's normal that they drop their lower leaves. So in order to have a fuller appearance, it's advisable to prune back to where it should branch out new. To save space, fall would be a good time to do this, while moving the plant indoor.

>>Update:

By September 2012.

By September 2012, my mandevilla has grown to be three times the size it was as I got it. Despite its climbing habit I did not provide it support, hoping that it can be trained to support itself this way. As for now I'm still quite happy with the result. New shoots that emerged from the trunk base are more vine-like with very long internodes. This could be the result of the frequent feeding with 8-8-6 fertiliser in the past few months. I've switched to 4-6.5-8 fertiliser beginning this month to encourage wood development. I hope this will stabilise the plant a bit. In one or two weeks when night temperature gets below 10°C, the plant will come back into the house. Depending on how much space I have, I might need to prune back longer stems.