Passion for the African bonsai tree

Ever heard of the African bonsai tree? They really exist! They are sometimes known as desert roses, a nickname for the Trichodiadema bulbosum. It is a plant that was discovered in Africa almost one hundred years ago. Once you have seen it, you can’t stop looking at it. Oddly enough it is appearing in the first trendy Dutch webshops only now thanks to the painstaking work of the passionate Dutch grower, Paul Gorren. Behind the scenes, he alone on the European continent has been devoting himself to the little plant over the past two years. When it reaches the store, it is already an estimated five years old.

Because of its large and capricious tuber the Trichodiadema bulbosum is quite special. None is the same. So each plant is exclusive, but maybe that is also the problem for the mass market that swears by uniformity. Paul Gorren: "That is difficult to achieve with this plant. Each one has a unique shape. That’s simply how nature works. But for enthusiasts this is really the fun part." In fact for himself as well. He is thrilled with the patience requiring cultivation in his greenhouse in Reuver, in North Limburg. "These plants are my passion and my life," he says. "I am looking forward to seeing and getting back to work with them every morning."

Like with Japanese bonsai trees, the trunk is also the most eye-catching part of these African bonsai. And the older the plant, the more beautiful the trunk. If you see a couple of them together, they look like small sculptures of nature. As if you recognized male shapes intertwined in each trunk, having adopted complicated poses, as if they were petrified in a game of Twister. Or females with children on their arm, dogs jumping up to each other or a miniature mangrove forest. You keep looking at them!

The green crown, consisting of fleshy leaves with soft white hairs, can be trimmed to your own taste and discretion as often as you like. Paul: "Some like them bright green and short. Others like it more if the crown looks a little feral and grows to all sides. If you just let it do its own thing, the branches in the crown will eventually hang down and take root next to the main root. Eventually there will be a whole slab with a widely branched root system."

The little plant was discovered somewhere in an African desert in the early twentieth century, by one Martin Heinrich Gustav Schwantes (1881-1960). This German archaeologist and botanist had specialized in the so-called aizoaceae and he was looking for new variants in the African heat and drought in countries like Namibia and South Africa. In those extreme circumstances they appeared to thrive, like other fleshy herbs or shrubs including the living stones belonging to the same family. Some members of the aizoaceae have psychoactive substances and other variants are even eaten as a leaf vegetable. Of the Trichodiadema bulbosum this is unknown. Schwantes discovered the plant and also gave it its name. Trichodiadema is derived from ancient Greek and means something like: hairy crown. Bulbosum means tuber.

Enthusiasts also call the sap saving desert plant, formally a succulent, succulent bonsai. The flowers that appear in spring and last until autumn have a diameter of up to two centimeters. The flower petals are similar in shape to those of daisies, but because of the dark purple color and bright yellow floral heart this plant is also affectionately called desert rose.

A few years ago Paul Gorren from the well-known CactusWereld, like Martin Schwantes, was also looking for something special. He found a new passion to which he could devote himself, a new direction for his company. CactusWereld was founded in 1995 and in no time acquired a reputation at home and abroad with an old collection of cacti that was unique in Europe. Gorren made the collection accessible for the public by displaying the most gigantic and fantastic specimens in an attractive desert garden. Enthusiasts could stroll through it, with explanation from a guide, if desired. It became a resounding success. It attracted not only experts and enthusiasts, but cacti also suddenly seemed in demand by the general public. On a weekly, no; daily basis, whole busloads of people were delivered to CactusWereld, both domestic and international.

Over time conditions and the economy changed. Initially CactusWereld was the sole attraction for miles around open on Sundays. Later the cactus garden had to compete with garden centers, for example, the outlet center in Roermond. But perhaps more importantly, Gorren began to resent the predominantly commercial and touristic character of his own company more and more. "I liked working with plants from the beginning, but because of the crowds I got to do less and less of it," he says.

He decided to change course and rigorously distanced himself from the touristic garden in 2008. It wasn’t doing it for him, hard Mexican music the entire day to create the much needed South American atmosphere, and all those people who sometimes seemed to find the coffee with Limburger vlaai (pie) more important than what it actually was all about: the cacti. Behind the scenes, hidden from the eyes of the general public, in silence, he started all over again. He initially chose a handful of cacti with special properties but eventually fell in love with the unique and quirky look of the Trichodiadema bulbosum.

Desert roses are easy to keep at home and they are not demanding. In summer they are best kept outside, on a balcony or in a greenhouse. Bottom line: lots of light. Then there’s not much that can go wrong. They don’t blame you if you occasionally forget to water them; they are used to it in the desert. They do need a permeable soil, so it can dry between waterings. They need less water in winter than in summer and during mild winters they can even stay outside, because they endure four degrees of frost.