I'll try to not be long winded on this one:)Plumeria was the next plant I wanted to get involved with.The plan was to buy a fair size rooted tree in the spring.I happened to notice an elderly neighbor of mine has an ENORMOUS(best she can figure 40 year old tree)that needs pruning.In return she sai i could help myself to clippings to try and root myself.I've done some homework on the subject and I'm ready to get the clippings rooted.My question is are there any specifics about the pruning part.Obviously I'll get rid of the dead branches.Any other pointers?Or am i making to much of this:) P.S. it has white blooms and I'll be offering rooted cuttings for trade as I'm not in the garden hobby for $$.I'd love to get a nice Euphorbia in a color I don't already have.Thanks in advance Jonnie
Some pruning/clippimg advice
Jonnie welcome to this group. You are not a million miles from here.
The peak time for rooting plumeria (spring and early summer)is well and truly over and you might want to consider postponing your puning efforts to that time since you will likely lose a bunch of those cuttings now that we are pretty wet down here and it's getting cooler.
But - it can be done safely until November at least with some forethought.
The sticky at the top of this forum will give you plenty of detailed information.
Thanks a bunch.I had read on another site that clippings rooted over winter would produce bigger,better develpoed root balls for spring planting.The clippings I intend to root would winter in the lanai or house as needed depending on weather.What do you think?I don't wanna goof this up:)
I agree 100% with Hetty. It is best to root cuttings in the warm growing season than the cold dormant season. Cuttings are difficult to root in the winter even in a greenhouse on a heating pad. I've lost my share of cuttings in the winter, and I'm not a novice at rooting cuttings. You will have the best success if you prune in the summer and root the cuttings then. What you were told about cuttings producing bigger, better root balls in the winter is simply not true.
As for how to prune and where to cut, read up on pruning trees in general before you cut. There are rules that serve the trees well such as: never cut more than a third of the tree at a time; eliminate branches that cross each other; prune branches that turn inward to increase air circulation in the middle of the tree; cut weak branches that are likely to be broken by the wind; etc. You can find all you need either in the FAQ's thread or by Googling "tree pruning."
Wow thanks so much I'm gonna take a look at that bad info I got and pass it along.Between now and spring I'll have plenty of time to do more homework:)
OK I found where I read about rooting in winter.I'll not broadcast the name of site but I will quote what I read.
" Rooting Instructions-By rooting your Plumeria in the winter,you will have a good strong root ball for spring blooms"
This info is from a site that only grows Plumeria.Dmail me for a link.It does go on to detail the need for heat pads or indoors if below 60 degrees and several other steps.
OK I believe what they are essentially saying is that you can get a head start on spring by rooting in the winter, which is essentially true IF YOU CAN GET THEM TO ROOT.
For me it is still too problematic. Do not forget that plumeria naturally go dormant in the winter months, so no active cell growth is taking place.
I agree with Hetty. If you have cuttings in the fall (when many people cut their trees back to bring them inside), then you can get a head start on spring if you root them in the winter on a heating pad as opposed to waiting and rooting them in the spring. In that case, I would use a heating pad, overhead lights, and a greenhouse to root them. However, rooting them in the winter does not necessarily mean that you will have spring blooms. It is more likely that you will have one season of growth after rooting cuttings and not blooms the first year. I think most growers find it undesireable to root cuttings in the winter unless it is unavoidable.
From what I know about fishkeeping/reptiles you can rarely trick things into not doing what they are programmed to do.It'll be a spring project.Again thanks so much for the advice:)