I'm no lover of desert rose. I can find so many of this plant grown by most of my neighbours around my house. I guess it is believe to bring luck and may have some feng shui elements.
The plant is loved for the swollen roots and the beautiful flowers. Often it is considered graceful when the leaves falls off and the whole plant is just branches and flowers.
Stem cut plants will not have the swollen root effect. It can only be done thru seed planting.
Somehow I noticed that the swollen roots are very much sought after compared to the flowers.
There are now many variegated types of different coloured flowers and I had found all of them are very expensive. The smallest pot is sold for RM32.00 (which I consider it quite ridiculous)
I had managed to get 2 of the desert rose from my mum, the one in the middle was an experiment plant - planted by stem cutting. I had about 10 branches, only 2 survived.
Planting tips:
Too much water may kill the plant. Less water is good. Water after the soil dries up.
To plant using stem cutting, allow the stem to dry out in a day or two and plant it in a easy drain soil.
I had replanted this desert rose recently, obtained from my mum's garden.
When I got it, it was in a small pot and the whole "globe" root was fully grown and there was no soil in that tiny pot. But after planting, the leaves started to wither.
Hope it will rejuvenate and start afresh.
The bird nest fern leaves from my neighbour's house had grown and now covering my desert rose plant.
The round one is really cute. The stem cutting is unique. It looks like a letter 'K'. Why not cut away a few of the bird nest fern leaves?
ReplyDeleteThanks One. But currently I had relocated all these desert rose due to the raining season as the water seemed to pour from the sides. One of my desert rose died rotten because of this.
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