Tropicals & Tender Perennials: what's wrong?, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
Andidandi, tell us a little bit about what colors you were trying to root and when you were trying to root them and what soil mix you used and where you got your cuttings from. It is important to start with healthy cuttings to begin with. Then heat is the next most important element in my opinion. Did your cuttings dry up or rot? If they rotted, the soil was too wet. If they dried up, the cuttings were old and not healthy.

Winter is the hardest time to try to root plumerias. They need lots of heat to root so spring and summer are better suited for rooting plumeria cuttings. That may have been the first problem. I lost a few this winter too even though I used a heat pad, rooting hormone, and greenhouse. I did manage to root about 40 other cuttings though. Plumerias need to be rooted in soil that drains well. Some people use 100 percent Perlite or 100 percent sand. They must be kept very dry until the appears of leaves. Plumeria 101 site tells us not to water at all until the appearance of leaves.

It is best not to move a cutting while it is rooting because the roots are fragile and will break. If a plumeria cutting is firm, then it is healthy and should not be disturbed. If a cutting is wrinkled, soft, or squishy to the touch, then it is rotting.

If you can post a picture of your cuttings, we can have a look to see if they look healthy. Here's a link about rooting cuttings: http://www.plumeria101.com/cuttings101.html

Here are some of my rooted and unrooted cuttings below.