Flower of Prosperity

A bloom from one of my Adenium obesum plants.

Adenium obesum is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family. It is also known as desert rose. Over here they are known Prosperity Flower or Flower of Prosperity. Due to its resemblance to a miniature frangipani tree and its popularity in bonsai, it is also sometimes known as Japanese frangipani.

It is an evergreen, or drought-deciduous succulent shrub. The leaves are clustered toward the tips of the shoots. The flowers are tubular, with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as Plumeria and Nerium. The flowers tend to be red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat. 

Adenium obesum is a popular houseplant and bonsai in temperate regions. It likes the sun, and doesn’t like it when there is too much water. I have killed quite a few of them by not realizing this earlier. Luckily they are easy to grow. Just cut a section of the stem off the plant, stick it in the pot, and it will grow. 

They can grow from seeds or grafting too. But, it is easier to just snip a section of the stem and stick it in a pot. That’s what I usually do.

Adeniums are appreciated for their colorful flowers, and also for their unusual, thick caudices. This happens over time. Just keep trimming, and over time, the caudices will grow thicker. They can be grown for many years in a pot. 

The sap of the Adenium obesum plant is toxic, and apparently, it is used as arrow poison throughout Africa for hunting large game. It would not be a good idea to plant this if you keep dogs at home.

There are usually about five flowers in a bloom, but in this instance, there was only one flower. Although there were buds in the early stages, they didn’t mature to bloom. Maybe it had something to do with it being a new plant and this is the first bloom. 

This is a plant grown from a stem I snipped off another plant. I just stick the section of the stem into the pot and it grew two branches. 

This was a bloom from some time ago.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers!