Scientific name: adenium obesum
Popular Names: Desert Rose, Adenium, Impala Lily
Family: Apocynaceae
Climate: Continental, Equatorial, Mediterranean, Semi-arid, Subtropical, Tropical
Origin: Africa,  Middle East
Height: 1.2 to 1.8 meters
Luminosity: Full Sun
Life cycle: Perennial
 
The desert rose is a herbaceous, succulent plant with a sculptural appearance and exuberant flowering. Its stem (called Caudex) is thickened at the base, an adaptation to store water and nutrients in arid places. It reaches 1 to 3 meters in height if left to grow freely. It has leaves arranged in a spiral and grouped at the tips of the branches. They are entire, leathery, simple,  elliptical to spatulate green, with a cream-colored midrib. Very rare varieties have variegations, with cream leaves, dotted with green.
 
Blooms can be obtained on young plants, only 15 cm high. Flowering usually occurs in spring, with the possibility of successive flowering in summer and autumn. The flowers are tubular, simple, with five petals and resemble others of the same family as Alamanda. The colors are varied, ranging from white to dark embroidered, passing through different shades of pink and red. Many varieties show blends and degrades from the center towards the tips of the petals. There are even varieties of double flowers.
 
One of the secrets to make the base of the stem interesting is to lift the plant a little, leaving the upper part of the roots exposed with each repotting, which should be done every 2 or 3 years. The plant will root normally. To obtain a thickened appearance and intense flowering, the use of a good quality fertilizer is fundamental. She is not very demanding on nitrogen, so a flowering specific formula, which contains more phosphorus is indicated. Never fertilize a plant without first irrigating it, under penalty of burning the roots and causing the leaves to fall.
 
It should be cultivated in full sun or partial shade, in perfectly draining soil neutral, sandy, enriched with organic matter and irrigated at sparse and regular intervals. Does not tolerate cold below 10ºC or waterlogging. Despite these demands on drainage it is not good to leave it too long without watering. In zones of temperate and cold climate it becomes semi-deciduous and should be placed indoors or in heated greenhouses during the winter. Although it tolerates semi-shade, abundant blooms will only be obtained in full sun.
 
Training pruning must be careful not to form unnatural deformities and ugly scars on the plant, and for this you should wear gloves, as its sap is highly toxic.