Variegated Desert Rose — close relative of your Pachypodium, same family (Apocynaceae), similar care rules
✨ Key Traits
- Caudex: Thick, swollen bottle base, stores water
- Leaves: Green + cream/yellow/white marbled/edged; more light = brighter variegation
- Flowers: Trumpet-shaped, pink/red/white, blooms summer; often grafted (true variegated seed rare)
- Growth: Slow-moderate; stays compact in pots
- Note: Sap toxic — irritates skin/eyes, keep away from pets/kids
🪴 UK Care (Sheffield)
✅ Light: Full sun 6+hrs/day — south/west window; outdoors May–Sep, harden off slowly
✅ Soil: Very free-draining — 30% cactus mix + 40% grit/pumice + 30% coarse sand; add limestone chips
✅ Water:
- Spring–Summer: Soak only when bone dry
- Autumn: Cut back sharply from Sep
- Winter: Stop watering completely below 12°C/54°F — dry dormancy = no rot
✅ Temp: Min 10°C/50°F; bring indoors/greenhouse before frost
✅ Feed: Low‑nitrogen, high‑phosphate feed every 3–4 weeks Mar–Sep
✅ Pests: Mealybugs & scale
⚠️ Critical Differences vs Standard Adenium
- Less vigorous: Slower growth, more prone to leaf burn in extreme sun
- Grafted = most common: Buy grafted for reliability; cutting‑grown often reverts
- Reversion: Too little light → leaves turn all‑green; fix with brighter spot
Plant sent bare rooted
Photo taken June 2026
Approx 9cm wide and 23cm tall
Variegated Desert Rose — close relative of your Pachypodium, same family (Apocynaceae), similar care rules
✨ Key Traits
- Caudex: Thick, swollen bottle base, stores water
- Leaves: Green + cream/yellow/white marbled/edged; more light = brighter variegation
- Flowers: Trumpet-shaped, pink/red/white, blooms summer; often grafted (true variegated seed rare)
- Growth: Slow-moderate; stays compact in pots
- Note: Sap toxic — irritates skin/eyes, keep away from pets/kids
🪴 UK Care (Sheffield)
✅ Light: Full sun 6+hrs/day — south/west window; outdoors May–Sep, harden off slowly
✅ Soil: Very free-draining — 30% cactus mix + 40% grit/pumice + 30% coarse sand; add limestone chips
✅ Water:
- Spring–Summer: Soak only when bone dry
- Autumn: Cut back sharply from Sep
- Winter: Stop watering completely below 12°C/54°F — dry dormancy = no rot
✅ Temp: Min 10°C/50°F; bring indoors/greenhouse before frost
✅ Feed: Low‑nitrogen, high‑phosphate feed every 3–4 weeks Mar–Sep
✅ Pests: Mealybugs & scale
⚠️ Critical Differences vs Standard Adenium
- Less vigorous: Slower growth, more prone to leaf burn in extreme sun
- Grafted = most common: Buy grafted for reliability; cutting‑grown often reverts
- Reversion: Too little light → leaves turn all‑green; fix with brighter spot
Plant sent bare rooted
Photo taken June 2026
Approx 9cm wide and 23cm tall