How to recover a desert rose?

The desert rose is one of the succulent plants that bloom during the summer, and one of the few that have such large flowers. In fact, theirs can measure about five centimeters in diameter, and since they are brightly colored, they contrast very well with the leaves, which are green. These characteristics make it a very ornamental species and, therefore, it is difficult not to buy it. And is that, who does not want to have one at home?

However, being originally from tropical Africa, we have to be aware that its care is complicated. Moreover, sometimes they are so much so that it is not at all strange that we do not finish watering it as much as it needs, or that we do not pay it at a time when its growth is nil. Consequently, there comes a time when our plant becomes ill, and that is when we ask ourselves how to recover a desert rose

What happens to the desert rose?

First of all, you have to first know what's wrong with your Adenium obesum, because the treatment you have to give it later will depend on what happens to it. Therefore, it is important that you know how to identify the symptoms that it presents, for example:

• The trunk is soft: It is normal for it to soften if it does not receive a single drop of water for weeks, but beware: if it softens quickly, the roots may be drowning. Check the humidity of the soil, because if it is very high, then it has received more water than necessary. In addition, if it is in a pot that does not have holes, no matter how much the irrigation is controlled, the roots have a hard time, because the water cannot get out and remains stagnant.
• The leaves turn yellow and fall: the yellowing of the leaves can be due to multiple causes, such as these:
  • Lack of water: when a desert rose dries up, it will begin to lose leaves, starting with the young ones.
  • Excess water: if, on the contrary, the soil remains wet for a long time, it will be the oldest leaves that lose first.
  • Drafts: When a desert rose is grown indoors, drafts from air conditioning or heating dry out the environment. As a consequence, the leaves fall.
  • Natural aging: the leaves have a limited life expectancy. If your plant is healthy, with a hard trunk, you will see that it loses leaves that are replaced by others in a short time.
• has pests: the desert rose is a plant that resists pests well, but aphids are insects that can weaken it. These are very small, since they measure half a centimeter long. The problem is that they feed on the sap of leaves and flowers, and also multiply quickly, so you have to be alert.

How can it be recovered?

When the symptoms have been identified, it is time to think about treatment. But, as we have seen, the desert rose can get sick for different reasons, so let's see what we have to do in each case:

The trunk is soft

Our protagonist can have an increasingly soft trunk at very different times: when the earth remains dry for a long time, or when, on the contrary, it is wet.

In the first case, it is not something that we have to worry about excessively, since it is completely normal that, to avoid dying of thirst, the plant absorbs the water it has in its trunk. In addition, when the climate is temperate and not tropical, it is important to water it as little as possible in winter, because during this season not only does it not grow, but the soil remains moist longer than in summer.

However in the second the roots are having a particularly bad time, and that is when we will have to take the plant out of the pot or garden, remove the earth that we can -without damaging the root system-. If we see any root that is black, we will cut it, but if not, we will plant it directly in a pot that has holes in its base with substrate for succulents (for sale here). Likewise, we will have to treat it with a systemic fungicide such as this and reduce the frequency of irrigation.

The leaves turn yellow and fall

If the plant begins to have yellow leaves, we have to see if it is thirsty, in which case we will notice that the soil is very dry; if you are suffering from too much water in your roots; if they fall because they are exposed to drafts, or if they fall because their time has simply come.

The most serious problem that the desert rose can have is that it has received a lot of water, either from rain or through irrigation, as it does not support waterlogging. And in fact, his trunk rots easily when he's in that situation. To avoid it, we have to do what we have discussed above.

But if you're thirsty, all you have to do is water; and if we have it at home near the air conditioner, just moving it to another place solves the problem.

has pests

Aphids are insects that are very active in spring and summer. That's why, I recommend inspecting desert rose leaves and flowers at least two to three times a week., and if we see any, treat it with an anti-aphid insecticide such as this, or with diatomaceous earth (for sale here), which is a natural insecticide of which we leave you a video:

I hope these tips are useful and you can save your plant.