The desert rose is truly exotic. No wonder you can't get enough of looking at them. If you feel the same way, just multiply them.
If you want to propagate the desert rose (addendums obesum), you have two options. You can propagate the plant by sowing and cuttings. Both variants work and are easy to carry out. However, there is a difference.
If you're growing the desert rose from cuttings, you need to know that this specimen doesn't have that typically thick stem. But if you don't want to do without it, you have to propagate by sowing.
Sowing requires a lot of patience
The sowing of desert roses is quite a tedious business. It can take a few months for the first seedlings to develop from the seeds. Also, in the case of variegated breeding forms, it is by no means certain that the new desert roses will adopt the flower color of the parental generation.
» Time
The time of sowing in the year is arbitrary. A flat bowl is recommended as a cultivation vessel and a mixture of garden soil and sand with a high proportion of sand is used as the substrate. Distribute the seeds loosely in the bowl and sprinkle only a thin layer of soil on top.
» Temperatures
Keep the planter warm. 18 °C is acceptable in a pinch, the ideal temperature range is slightly higher, namely between 22 °C and 25 °C. In autumn or winter, the window sill above the heating or a place directly in front of the radiator is a good location. In summer you can also take the seed tray to a warm place in the garden.
» Casting
Unlike adult desert roses, you need to continually keep the seeds and seedlings moist. Leave the young seedlings in the tray until they are at least four inches tall. Only then do you select the most beautiful specimens and convert them into individual pots.
Propagation by cuttings
The propagation of the desert rose by cuttings is much faster than sowing. However, you achieve a visibly different result: the water reservoir of the caudex, i.e. the base of the trunk, only increasessown plants its characteristic tuber-like shape. Desert roses propagated from cuttings remain comparatively slender.
The difference has a significant impact on the water needs of mature plants. Sowed specimens with a developed caudex are true masters of water storage and need to be watered much less often. If you decide to propagate with cuttings, proceed as follows:
- take ten centimeter long top cuttings from the mother plant in spring
- use shoots with at least four leaves
- cut off any existing buds
- Store cuttings in a dry place until the edges no longer feel moist
- Fill the seed tray with substrate (mixture of garden soil and sand)
- Insert the cuttings five centimeters deep and press down on the substrate
- Keep the cuttings warm and moderately moist