Tropicals & Tender Perennials: New to this Plumeria froum and wanted to say hi!!!, 1 by loveplants2VB

loveplants2VB wrote:
Hi Belle,

What a wonderful time to be sharing this great news with your GS. I know you and your family are so pround!! Congratulations!!!!

Enjoy your time with your family!!!

I agree that it is a pain to keep picking up the leaves, but it does keep me close to the trees and keep a watch on what is happening with them. Sometimes ii think i am doing the "mother hen thing" to much. This isnt good for most plants if we keep fussing over them, but i really enjoy keeping ann eye on them. I just have to make sure dont kill them with kindness! : )

Hi Susan,

That is wonderful that you had success with rooting a piece that was only 3 inches? WOW!!! COngratulations. Most would never even try to root something that small. I did root one piece from a Lavender Plumie that broke off from my tree and i was so upset about the break. I did root it and it did great!!! It was a very special tree and i gave it to my best friend!!! : ) It is doing quite well now!!! SOme say that 6 inches is the limit, but i always will give it a try... i say.. "Why not!!"

As far as cutting your 3 1/2 foot tree. You could always cut the tree down by half and force branching, yes.. But you will also loose that chance for an inflo on a tree with some age and on the older stem. Once you have an inflo, it will naturally form other branches. Some times it can be two, three tips. i have seen one of mine bloom and not form another tip. Only to continue the single stem. Usually i have three to four tips occur when an inflo forms. If it were me, i would not cut the stem and wait until summer to see if you might have a beautiful inflo. Does it bother you that it is tall and skinny? Do you support it when it has all of the leaves? I have some trees that are around 7 feet tall and have multiple branches. I stagger prune these because of the chances of seeing inflos. They do grow tall, remember they are trees!! : ) The ones that i have in the backroom I will trim in early March. Just before they are ready to head back outside for the spring. I dont let them see tems below 45*. So i wait until the nights can be above those temps. Others will let them go down to lower temps, but i dont like to take that chance. That's just me!!!

Those are a bunch in the backroom, they are still showing sign of activity as well. I keep that room closed off from the rest of the house and keep the heat off in that room. The blinds are closed as well. The others that i have are still active. They are dropping some leaves, but they are more alert than the others. I have to watch the ones under llights for the mites.

If you do decide to cut the stem down and try to root this. You may even have an inflo form from the cutting while rooting. If it is ready to start to push an inflo before you cut the tree, it will continue to bloom. Some decide to cut the inflo off of the cutting to let the energy focus on rooting. Some leave it there if lleaves and forming at the same time as the inflo.

It is a big decision to cut you tree if it is large, but IMO.... i would let it be and give it the chance to put on a beautiful show for you this summer!!!

Hope this helps...

Sun, heat, soil, water , fertilizer all play a large roll in the production of inflos.

Happy New Year!!!

Laura