Tropicals & Tender Perennials: plumerias and dormancy, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
Chantell, you are so good, girlfriend! I've got you trained well! LOL!

Hi David, I wrote an article on how I grow plumerias if you are interested in reading it. It is at http://www.plumerias.com Look for Clare's Garden link at the bottom. Here in various portions of Southern California, some claim there are three places that are Zone 11. I'm in Zone 10b. Most of my plumies did not go dormant last winter, and plumerias in fact don't need to go dormant. They do so as a survival mechanism when water and food are withheld in addition to the reduced light, but reduced light by itself won't induce dormancy. Most of my plumies are outside all year in the elements, and about 95 percent of mine kept their leaves and kept growing last winter. They may have entered a pre-dormancy state because growth was slowed, but many developed inflo's, and I had to water about twice a week when the soil became dry.

Your plumie will be fine in the greenhouse and may even flower for you this winter. Many growers who have large plumerias that they have to protect in the winter prune both the roots and the tops before taking them in from being outside. They take a saw and saw off about half the roots and then trim the top branches and store the tree on its side or upright in the garage. In the spring, they replant or repot. Here are some pictures to show you.

I hope you don't feel any tension here. We're all friends here. I can get a little tense when I'm answering posts when I really should be doing other things that need my attention, but I try not to let that tension show!

Here is Scott root pruning before planting in the spring.

Edited to fix grammar.

This message was edited Aug 14, 2006 10:18 PM