Tropicals & Tender Perennials: AZ Grown Plumerias II, 0 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
Beautiful pics, Davie. Red is brought out by heat so, when the heat is gone, the base colors are left. Hurricane is often missing its red pigment in cooler weather, but its base color are pretty too.

We're having a heat wave at the moment. I love it. There are lots of flowers still blooming.

To answer your question, it doesn't drop much below 40 normally during the winter here, and my plumies don't drop their leaves. They don't do much blooming or growing outside the greenhouse though. Occasionally, it will drop into the mid- to high-30's for a few hours before the sun comes up, and that can last for a week or more. Last winter, we had record cold temps, but that was unusual. Last winter, it got down to 32 several times and 28 once for two hours. That is when I had damage.

Now, the ones in the greenhouses bloom and grow lall winter long. It doesn't drop much below 40 in the greenhouses, and the daytime highs are usually in the 90's or 100's. I believe that it is the high daytime temps which keep the plants growing and blooming throughout the winter despite low's in the 40's. I don't have time to study the effect of the heat on the soil in the containers, but I suspect that soil that stays warm at night is beneficial. The plants also receive plenty of water.

I have a theory that -- and I could be wrong -- the reduced daylight, coupled with the withholding of water and nutrients, brings on dormancy and that dormancy is a survival mechanism to protect the trees from drought, not cold. I water when the soil looks dry, even in winter. That could be why my plumies don't drop their leaves in winter.

Thanks for the compliment about my seedling;-) I like it too.