My grandmother gifted me a desert rose late last year. I'm in the military and I recently moved out to Nevada, which was a difficult trip for the plant. I had to completely trim it's long branches, as they were yellowing and extremely shriveled. Once I trimmed the branches to the base of the caudex, the plant seemed to slowly regain its firmness and strength. A few weeks ago it even produced some vibrant leaves. Though, things quickly changed after the most recent watering.

I have been using a "soaking" method to water the Desert Rose. This method has been working for me since I moved here, however this last watering really did some damage to the plant. I must have watered it too soon (I typically wait until the surface soil is very dry) and I noticed over the past few days that the plant turned yellowish and became very soft. After some quick research, I discovered that this may be a case of root rot. After pulling the plant from the pot, I began to cut off areas that were mushy. The inside of these areas were dark brown (almost gooey) and black, indicating that it has been completely ruined. I attempted to trim the plant all the way up to the exposed position of the caudex. As I came closer to the top, the plant began to fall apart, rendering the entire "visible" portion completely ruined as well. Luckily, I found a few roots that were either unaffected or beginning the process of root rot.

Basically, I attempted to salvage any root that had a firm, white interior. After trimming each root, I covered all exposures with cinnamon to heal the wounds. I'm going to wait 4-5 days for the wounds to self-mend and hopefully I can find a strategic way to plant the roots, promoting any form of growth.

What can I do at this point? Is this a lost cause or will I be able to propagate from these exposed roots?

(Attached are pictures of the plant after I performed "emergency surgery.")

First - Thank you for your service ....and second - Welcome to the forums

My initial reaction after viewing your pic, was that your adenium is a goner -
With that said - I like to give every plant a chance before it gets tossed into the mulch-pile

I would let everything dry out for at least 10 days .... in the meantime gather new potting supply's ...a pot with a sizable drainage hole -

then mix together

2 Part: Coconut Coir -
1 Part: Poultry Grit (chicken grit) /or Pea Gravel
1 Part: Sand - coarse Builder's Sand, or Leveling Sand, or Horticultural Sand (sift out fine silt)
1 Part:: Lump Charcoal - Break-up (crush larger pieces) (sift out fine silt)
1 Part: Lava-rock – (volcanic cinders or pumice) (crush larger pieces) (sift out fine silt)

Optional: mix with above

1 Part: Redwood Bark / Orchid (Phalaenopsis) Mix - Break-up, cut or crush larger stems & bark
1 Part: Perlite - coarse

Unable to find Coconut Coir ?? - substitute with regular Soil Mix

If unable to locate the ingredients above:
Use a half and half mixture of Orchid / Phalaenopsis Soil Mix (mostly bark and rocks)
mixed with Cactus / Palm Mix

repot your plant (parts) ...

once re-potted ... wait a day ...then give the pot a good drenching - you want to see water running out of the bottom almost as fast as it is being poured on ....

elevate the pot on something like 3 rocks, 3 bricks, 3 - 1 inch bushings, or 3 wheel lug nuts ...anything to lift the pot up ...so water will drain away freely - never let an adenium sit in water - this will cause root rot faster than over watering -

water about every 5 days ...every 3 days if temps are over 100°F

Put out in 1/4 day sunlight or under filtered sun, for a few days ...then note any new growth ...if new growth, ease the plant under full sun gradually

ah yeah ....adenium take forever to respond to the most basic of changes ... this isn't basic, might take awhile

report back if you notice anything different

deepsouth,

Thank you for the quick response and good word.

Another question stemming from your comment... how should I plant these roots in the new soil? Should I leave them 1/3 exposed on the surface? Fully covered? Or fully exposed?

exposed - the cut end, just on the surface ....

do you remember which way was up ?

the 2 sections (at bottom of pic) with roots attached or roots pointed downward ....

the "y" shape with top and bottom cut off should maybe be planted with the "2 legs" of the "y" pointing downward, but just resting on top of the soil mixture - cut side down

the rooted section planted maybe up to that crease, before it widens out ....judging from the pic, that would be less than an inch

the longest section, top right .... the bottom is more than likely the wider of the 2 ends ... this section - again, just resting on top of the soil mixture - cut side down

the top left, dunno, cant tell .... if you recall which end is up ...it too just resting on top of the soil mixture - cut side down

"resting on top" - means keeping the top few inches of the soil mixture moist - but not dripping wet ....
and warm is essential ...but cool lights in the desert wont help
also try to keep any movement of "container" to a minimum

in about 14 days - peek under sections "resting on top" and see if any roots have sprouted or re growing ...if so, give that section a little more water and perhaps some liquid fertilizer at half strength (miracle gro will work just fine)
and maybe a little more light

if nothing, give it all a little more time

deepsouth said:
exposed - the cut end, just on the surface ....

Sounds great. I'm glad I joined this forum and asked for help. I truly appreciate it and i'll keep you posted on the progress of my Adenium.

Who knows, if this works out I might just have three or four new plants. A blessing in disguise? I hope so.