How do you Kill em!!!!!

This isn't  actually a post on how to kill these wonderful plants, but more a post on what kills them and how we prevent it from happening.

Pests

They have very few natural pests, at least here in Florida. Every year i tend to get an aphid invasion on the new flower buds which are easily killed with an Ivory soap and water spray, or I catch any ladybugs I might find in my daily travels and release them on my plants. I've also found some types of caterpillars eating the soft terminal ends of my seedling, which I remove by hand when I find them. Some info on the web mentions stink bug sucking from seed pods and fresh flower buds and other bugs getting into them, but I've yet to find them on my plants. I try to "wash" my plants with soapy water in a spray bottle which I use liberally any time some critters start to invade my collection and that tends to do the trick.

Outside of other critters it seems the only thing that I've ever done to kill my Desert Roses is to be overly generous with the water. Adenium are very susceptible to root rot, fungus and molds if you allow their feet to stay wet for too long, and once the rot starts there is little chance of reversing the effects, so a well draining potting mix is a must. I personally mix my own instead of buying a pre-made potting soil. I've included my recipe below:

    * 1 part organic compost (I use Black Kow composted cow manure)
    * 2 parts course aragonite sand (any course sand will work though)
    * 1 part crushed perlite


Clay unglazed pots also help with drainage and evaporation, although I do have a few of my plants in glazed ones, and make sure there are plenty of drainage holes.

I've found that fungus and molds tend to be the main cause of my seedlings demise, since until seedlings get the second set of cotyledons (seed leaves) have sprouted the soil needs to stay moist. It's best to prevent these problems before they begin. I've found that standard household cinnamon powder sprinkeled over the soil around the base of the caudex of the plant to work very well at preventing mold/fungus growth. I then water my seedling with a spray bottle of strong chamomile tea (4 teabags to 32 oz. of water, steeped for a couple of hours) and this prevents and/or stops fungal problems such as damping off. I also use the tea to spray on damaged areas of mature plants as a prophylactic measure.

(As you may have noticed I try to only use organic / non-toxic means to take care of my Desert Roses, I do have a bottle of copper and neem oil and other pesticides in just in case, but fortunately have never had to use them)

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
- Abraham Lincoln