You probably want to have desert roses with more flowers that grow longer and are healthier. And in this article, I will teach you how to fertilize desert roses and which fertilizers to use.
Desert roses are plants that go into dormancy in the autumn and winter, so you should take advantage of the spring months to fertilize your plant.
I usually only recommend using natural fertilizers; however, with desert roses, I will prefer chemicals, and by reading this article, you will understand why.
Desert Rose Nutrient Requirements
Native to the arid regions of Africa, the desert rose is a succulent shrub usually grown in bonsai pots.
Although the desert rose is a plant that grew in poor soil, it does benefit from fertilizer.
Desert roses are slow-growing plants. When outdoors, they grow rapidly for the first four years and then slow down by increasing by 1.8 meters every 15 years.
To get them to grow as much as possible in these three years, keep watering constantly and fertilize the soil with nitrogen.
To learn how to make fertilizer for homemade desert roses rich in nitrogen, use a recipe for manure diluted in water.
Although we do not recommend it, the use of chemical fertilizers is also possible. The NPK is the most used in plants. The acronym stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in the same order.
20-10-10 fertilizers have a higher nitrogen level than other compounds, making this an ideal fertilizer for growth and foliage.
5-20-20 fertilizers are an example of low nitrogen and high phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. This type of fertilizer is perfect for flowering plants.
Selection of Fertilizers
Even though fertilizers with a high nitrogen level are suitable for your plants, they shouldn’t be used too often.
The idea is to balance fertilizers as balanced as a 10-10-10 and 20-10-10 between fertilizers.
Desert roses also use slow-release fertilizers. There are two types: sulfur-coated fertilizers that release their nutrients in 8 weeks and polymer-coated fertilizers that release in 12 weeks.
The fertilizers should preferably be applied at the beginning of the growing season, which is spring, at the end of September.
List of fertilizers for desert roses:
- 10-10-10 for casual wear;
- 20-10-10 for more nitrogen;
- 20-20-20 pair for huge desert roses;
- 13-13-13 also for common use;
How to Fertilize Desert Rose to Bloom;
I said at the beginning of this article that phosphorus and potassium-rich fertilizers are suitable for flowering. However, for desert roses, balanced fertilizers are also the best for making your desert rose bloom.
Why did I recommend the Use of Chemical Fertilizers?
As I said, I don’t usually recommend using chemical fertilizers; however, desert roses are a little special. As I said, desert roses are like balanced fertilizers.
Making a balanced fertilizer naturally is almost impossible, as the materials have different levels of nutrients and release times.
Summary
How to fertilize desert roses correctly will take a bit of effort. Start using a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 and see if the result is visible. To grow your desert rose, use a 20-10-10 fertilizer with a higher nitrogen level. It helps in the formation of the stem and leaves.
Also read: How to repot Desert rose plant
Do you still have any doubts about fertilizing desert roses? If yes, leave it in the comments!
