I have been waiting to write about my Adenium or Desert Rose because it was having some trouble with bugs throughout the winter and spring. The leaves were curled and malformed due to the critters and I even tried Neem on the plant numerous times to get rid of them. I suppose I shouldn't have but it did survive. However, the bugs survived as well. Finally, I found some information on a website to suggest how to get rid of them and to start with, it told me to remove all the leaves! Whew! By looking at the picture to the right, you can imagine how desperate I was to get this plant looking better! I pinched every last leaf off the plant. I suppose I did know that this plant reproduced leaves rapidly and that losing its leaves was something that the adenium does when it gets overwatered, too. So, in the back of my mind, I knew that removing its leaves was not going to kill it. ... Still...!
I began spraying the plant every day with water. Apparently, the critters don't like to be wet. (Ahh, too bad.) It wasn't long before leaf buds began appearing on all the limbs. Most limbs had two or three starters. I was holding my breath as to whether the leaves would form normally or not. I just kept spraying it down with the water trying to get every last millimeter of surface wet.
It may have only taken a month for the plant to reproduce all of its leaves. As you can see, they are normal for the most part. (I'm still spraying it every day.) If I have to go through the process again, I will. But, for now, I'm pretty happy! I will be even more happy if this bloomer would start producing some beautiful desert roses. I'll keep you informed.
I have been waiting to write about my Adenium or Desert Rose because it was having some trouble with bugs throughout the winter and spring. The leaves were curled and malformed due to the critters and I even tried Neem on the plant numerous times to get rid of them. I suppose I shouldn't have but it did survive. However, the bugs survived as well. Finally, I found some information on a website to suggest how to get rid of them and to start with, it told me to remove all the leaves! Whew! By looking at the picture to the right, you can imagine how desperate I was to get this plant looking better! I pinched every last leaf off the plant. I suppose I did know that this plant reproduced leaves rapidly and that losing its leaves was something that the adenium does when it gets overwatered, too. So, in the back of my mind, I knew that removing its leaves was not going to kill it. ... Still...!
I began spraying the plant every day with water. Apparently, the critters don't like to be wet. (Ahh, too bad.) It wasn't long before leaf buds began appearing on all the limbs. Most limbs had two or three starters. I was holding my breath as to whether the leaves would form normally or not. I just kept spraying it down with the water trying to get every last millimeter of surface wet.
It may have only taken a month for the plant to reproduce all of its leaves. As you can see, they are normal for the most part. (I'm still spraying it every day.) If I have to go through the process again, I will. But, for now, I'm pretty happy! I will be even more happy if this bloomer would start producing some beautiful desert roses. I'll keep you informed.
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