Learn from a master gardener to create amazing multi-colored desert roses
Known locally as rosa del desierto, or desert rose, adeniums are one of Yucatán’s most popular decorative flowering plants.

This popularity stems at least in part due to the fact that the Peninsula’s hot and humid weather makes them easier to grow than in other regions.

Because adeniums have evolved to require very little water and are extremely resilient to large amounts of heat and sunlight, it’s more common for things to go wrong from over-watering rather than the opposite.

Another attractive feature of the adenium is the fact that different plants can be grafted together to create some truly amazing multi-colored combinations.

Grafting is a horticultural technique used to join parts from two or more plants so that they grow as a single plant, mixing characteristics such as color.

One of Yucatán’s best-known experts when it comes to adeniums is Guadalupe Colli, of the greenhouse Vivero Colli, on the highway connecting Valladolid with Chichén Itzá.

“The process of grafting separate adenium plans to create new colors is not exactly difficult, but rather tricky if you don’t know exactly what you are doing,” says Guadalupe Colli.
A few years ago Vivero Colli launched its YouTube channel and made Guadalupe Colli a local celebrity, with his tutorial video on how to graft adeniums quickly surpassing over one million views.
Because not everyone has a thumb quite as green as Guadalupe Colli, the process outlined in the video may not sound quite as simple to some of us.
For that reason, Vivero Colli has decided to offer an “adenium grafting master class,” featuring Guadalupe Colli this coming Saturday, May 7 at 10 a.m. The cost of the class is 350 pesos per participant.

The masterclass will be offered at Vivero Colli will be offered in Spanish, but interpreters will be on hand to assist English speakers.

For more information, message Vivero Colli on Facebook or call 985-129-8456.

Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.