Adenium multiflorum
| Light | Full sun; as much bright direct light as you can give it |
|---|---|
| Water | Regular in active summer growth; keep dry through the leafless winter rest |
| Soil | Very free-draining gritty mineral mix (see Soil and potting mix) |
| Temperature | Frost-tender; keep above about 10 °C, USDA zones 10–11 |
| Propagation | Seed (keeps the swollen caudex); cuttings root but rarely form a good caudex |
| Toxicity | Toxic if ingested; sap contains cardiac glycosides — keep away from pets and children |
Adenium multiflorum, the impala lily, is a winter-flowering, caudex-forming succulent shrub from southern Africa, prized for the masses of white flowers edged in crimson that it throws while leafless and dormant. It belongs to the Adenium group of desert roses in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), and is distinguished from its more familiar relative Adenium obesum by its stark, showy winter bloom on bare stems.
Description
Adenium multiflorum is a stout, slow-growing succulent that builds a swollen, water-storing base (a caudex) and branches into a small shrub or, in age, a low tree. The grey, smooth stems arise from a partly buried, tuberous rootstock and carry glossy green leaves clustered toward the branch tips during the growing season.
The plant is at its most spectacular in winter, when it drops its leaves and covers the bare branches with flowers. Each bloom is a five-lobed star, typically white to pale pink with a bold red or crimson margin and a contrasting throat, giving the "impala lily" its reputation as one of the finest of the desert roses. Like many members of the family, the plant carries a milky latex sap.
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to southern Africa, ranging through the lowveld and dry woodland of countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and neighbouring regions. It favours hot, seasonally dry bushveld, often growing in rocky ground or well-drained sandy soils among scrub, where it endures a long dry winter by resting leafless.
This strongly seasonal habitat — hot wet summers and cool dry winters — explains its garden behaviour: growth and watering in summer, a hard dry rest in winter, and flowering timed to the dry season.
Cultivation
Grow Adenium multiflorum much as you would other desert roses: in full sun, in a very free-draining, mostly mineral mix, in a pot that drains freely. It is emphatically a warm-climate plant and is intolerant of frost, so in cool regions it must be kept above about 10 °C and brought under cover for winter.
Water generously while the plant is in leaf and actively growing through the warm months, always letting the mix approach dryness between drinks. As the plant begins to drop its leaves in autumn, taper watering off and keep it nearly dry through its winter rest — this dry dormancy is what triggers the celebrated bare-stem flowering and prevents rot. See Watering and Repotting for general technique. Overwatering, especially in cold conditions, is the main cause of loss.
Propagation
Seed is the preferred method and the only reliable way to produce a plant with a naturally swollen, symmetrical caudex. Sow fresh seed onto a warm, gritty surface kept lightly moist; germination is usually quick in heat. Cuttings will root, but they tend to grow on their own roots without developing the fat basal caudex that gives the plant its character, so they are used mainly to preserve a particular clone. See Propagation — seed and Propagation — cuttings.
Common problems
- Rot — the usual killer, brought on by wet soil in winter or by watering a dormant, cool plant; the caudex or stem base goes soft and brown.
- Frost damage — even a light frost blackens the soft growth; protect from cold well before temperatures fall.
- Pests — mealybugs (white fluff in leaf axils and on roots) and the occasional aphid infestation on tender new growth and buds; spider mites can appear in hot, dry, still air. See Pests and diseases.
See also
- Adenium — the genus overview
- Adenium obesum — the common desert rose
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Propagation — seed · Propagation — cuttings · Repotting