In north-west Queensland, hardy desert roses are rising in popularity, as gardeners can grow colourful, rare flowers in the hot dry summers.

Key points: Succulent varieties of desert roses come in brilliant colours and are proving hardy for drought regions

Succulent varieties of desert roses come in brilliant colours and are proving hardy for drought regions Of the two Australian varieties of Gossypium, the Sturt desert rose is the floral emblem of the NT

Of the two Australian varieties of Gossypium, the Sturt desert rose is the floral emblem of the NT Native desert roses have deep roots and fewer stomata on the leaves that reduce water loss

Australia has two native species of desert rose, including Sturt desert rose the emblem of the Northern Territory.

But the succulent Adenium, desert roses originated in sub-Saharan Africa and are suited to our climate.

Kevin McGregor grows desert roses to sell in his Mount Isa nursery and he can not keep up with local demand.

"We put up a [social media] post and the response is pretty good — the more unusual ones go straight away," he said.

Kevin McGregor with the ever-popular Desert Rose at his nursery in Mount Isa. ( ABC North West Queensland: Kemii Maguire )

Popular now are varieties called Sunny Days and Painted Lady: The first being a quadruple flowering variety, and the second a stunning white flower with orange stripes.

Mr McGregor said the plant has become something of a local "collectors item".

"The black, everyone wants the black one," he said.

"But certainly if you get an unusual colour, in particular the Painted Lady … it's sold out in minutes.

"That's the attraction, they want to get those outlandish and unusual colours."

Desert Roses come in vibrant and exciting colours, this one is grown by Cathryn Carlisle ( Supplied: Cathryn Carlisle )

Mr McGregor said ten years ago it was a yellow desert rose, now seen to be common, which was the unusual and stunning variety.

"The yellows used to be a blandish white, now with Zara it's a yellow. You don't have to use your imagination anymore, you have a yellow desert rose," he said.

"The yellow, once upon a time, was like asking for a blue rose."

Cathryn Carlisle is growing Desert Roses to sell in the booming market. ( Supplied: Cathryn Carlisle )

Cashing in on the trend

Mount Isa local Cathryn Carlisle has joined the trend and is growing her desert roses from seed to give as gifts or to sell.

"The market is booming, the more unique colours disappear quickly and I'm interested in filling that need," she said.

"They're pretty forgiving plants, flowering regularly with little effort."

Ms Carlisle said learning how to treat the plant took some trial and error.

"They grow pretty well in Mount Isa in soil with easy drainage, as they can tolerate full sun and high temperatures," she said.

"They have hundreds of colours and petal types across many different species to suit personal tastes.

"They're a bit prone to fungal infections in their roots but your beginner gardener would be able to manage treatment, and you can also graft an adult plant onto a root stock which can give you a plant with multiple flower colours."

Resistant to drought, insects

The Atlas of Living Australia lists two Australian varieties of the desert rose: the rarer Gossypium sturtianum variety nandewarense (Derera) Fryxell which is found only in north-eastern New South Wales, around Narrabri and the Expedition Range in central Queensland, and the G. sturtianum var. sturtianum which is the more common of the two.

Colleen Keena from the Australian Native Hibiscus Society, which also included desert roses, sang the praises of the hardy Australian plant.

The Sturt Desert Rose, or Gossypium sturtianum, is the floral emblem of the NT ( Supplied: Wikimedia Commons )