Not sure what I should do with cutting

Someone gave some plumeria cuttings in September and told me to just put them on a shelf and forget about them until spring. I left them outdoors till mid Octoberish and brought them in an put them on my plant stand where I keep my indoor plants for the winter because I do not have anywhere else to put them. I noticed about 3 weeks ago one of the cuttings was growing and the stem was becoming increasingly wrinkly. Then it started to bloom. I am assuming this is not supposed to be happening at this time of the year. I would like to keep them alive. What if anything should I do? Is this normal?

A closer pic of the stem

I'm dieing to see an answer to this one, myself. I would cut off the inflo, dip the cut end in rooting hormone, and stick it in a pot to root...but I'd like to hear from one of the more experienced growers.

dagnabbit! i probably could have been almost rooted by now but the person probably didn't know any better.

the cutting is most likely responding to being outside after being cut and then being brought inside to your winter growing area. at this point i would just try and root it in your growing area. i would cut of the inflo to conserve energy and cut off the dried out part at the bottom. how warm is the growing area? i assume that there are lights.

It is averages about 75° inside. I have another cutting from the same plant that has not sprouted flowers but the leaves have grown a bit, should I try and root that one to? I have lights I can put them under and bright windows if one is better than the other.

To root them I know I should use a loose porous mix and I think I recall reading that I should use bottom heat? Is radiant heating from the floor adequate or should I use a heating pad if it is necessary?

i would root them both. a loose porous mix would be good and i would not go larger than 1-gal. in fact, you do not need to use the entire 1-gal pot. have your rooted them before? i would put my mix together mist it and stir it to make it uniformly moist. then, pot up the plumies. you can just let it sit in the room w/o a heat mat.

you are after root growth at this point. i would not give it too much light. this can force the top to grow faster than rooting. you could use a heat mat but i wouldn't. they'll need consistent watering then because the soil dries out readily and the heat can cook the roots. too much fuss for me. you just want them to hang out right now and root and chill. lol well, that what i want during the winter. i do not like to deal with bushy plumies because then there could be spider mites and gnats to pester you. i do have some under light but i keep them on the dry side to keep the growth to a minimum.

i hope this helps and does not confuse you.

Thanks you so much for your advice Tuscon. I have not rooted Plumerias but I have experience rooting brugs, cacti and succulents. When I cut off the dried ends of the cutting should I cut to green wood or just cut the majority of the dried part off? If I cut to the green wood should I let it callous over before potting it up?

oh, well you are well on your way having roots other succulent type plants. i would not bother cutting into fresh tissue. just cut off the dried up part as close as you can. would you be able to post a close pic of the dried up part?

I can see the dried up part at the bottom. Just cut it off below the green tissue. I can see that that is a Celadine or Celadine hybrid, which is pretty easy to root. The wrinkles show that it is dehydrated, and dehydrated cuttings can be difficult to root. When I have a cutting like that, I put it it in a glass vase with the bottom three inches in water, which I change every day. I would do that for a few days until you seem the stems fill out a bit. Cooler (not cold) is better here because heat will only dehydrate the cutting further. Warm humidity would be the best if you have a greenhouse, but since this is the only place that you can keep it, then your plant stand is fine. 75 is pretty warm; 70 would be better. After you've attempted to rehydrate your cutting, I would let the cutting rest in a couple of inches of well-draining potting soil until you can finish rooting it in the spring. Remove any inflo's and leaves on unrooted cuttings to reduce water loss.

This message was edited Dec 4, 2011 12:13 PM

how are the cuttings coming along?

i knew a freeze would eventually come. somehow, i still was not prepared. haha!

Hello Everyone,

I just want to say hello to everyone!!! Nice to see other Plumeria Lovers here on Daves!!!

My two cents to this thread, would be to try and rehydrate the stem, if it dosent want to cooperate, then i would cut the stem (discard old parts of the stem) and rehydrate the stem for a few hours. Then i would let it sit and callas over when you cut. Place it in a cool semi dark area ( i like to wrap in newspaper) and then wait until spring to root. The cutting can go for 4-5 months waiting for spring to root. Then i would pot up using a very light mix and put the cuttings in a clear water bottle. Then place on the hot concrete or some other area that has bottom heat. Water once, and then protect from rain until you have 4-6 inch leaves appearing. It can take 6-8 weeks to root...

You will probably have better success in the spring!!! IMO of course!!!

I have some Hong Kong cutting that were sent to me to root for someone...I have them wrapped up and i will wait to root them until March!!!

Take care,

Laura

I cut the dried tissue off the cuttings as well as the larger leaves and the inflorescence. I then tried re-hydrating the cuttings in water but after several days I did not see any improvement and the ends in the water started to turn brown and I worried about rot so I pulled them out and let them dry out for a day. While doing some googling I came across a way to root them in bags and so I am trying that. They are currently just hanging out and I have not seen any change one way or the other at this point. I am keeping my fingers crossed they will root up and last through the winter.

i have never been able to rehydrate them. the only time i dunk them in water is when i am watering rooting. i have tried the bag method. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1161437/ keep us posted.

I hope you have luck with the bag method...

My best time is the spring to root, i really dont like to root during the winter, it seems that the percentages drop way to much for success for me. Even when i use my light set up and heating mat. It is frustrating to say the least... I have lost several this winter to rot. The ones tht i lost were so special to me too! I lost a California Sally and a Mary Moragne. What a dissapointment for me...

I will wait until spring to root.

Good luck with your cuttings, i hope they root for you!! : )


Take care,

Laura

I just wanted to say that after thinking about how long it has been for your cuttings... You said that they were cut in the spring and you had them around until September? IMO, i would try and root now like you are. You dont have anything to loose, easpecially since the cuttings will be almost a year old if you wait until spring. That is way to long. Please let us know how they do and what is happening to them.

Here is a grafted cutting that i wanted for a long time... It is a Makaha Sunn. When i finally found these cuttings, i bought two. I sent them to be grafted and one took and the other one didnt.

There is a wonderful story behind the name Makaha Sunn and the gentleman that named this variety!!! : )

Im showing you this Plexippus just to give you some hope.

My grafted Makaha Sunn looked like it was totally dead. The top part of the graft which was the MS cutting was rotten and i thought that it was finished.

Yesterday i was cleaning up here in my greatroom and checked my active trees and gave a quick look at my dormant MS and the ugly dead looking one. I had to do a double take and look close at this remarable tree.

Much to my surprise, i saw that the bottom part of the tree ( root stock) was pushing out new stems. This was crazy...especially this time of the year!!

I thought to myself that this little cutie really wants to live.

It is very ugly, but remember...this was my special Makaha Sunn and i couldnt just throw it away, not just yet. When i saw these buds, i was just thrilled. Even though it will not be the named variety that i purchased, it still is a Plumie that wants to live..

Here is the sad picture, but this picture also shows that life can comeback in many different ways!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Laura

Today i went and cut off the rotten top part of the grafted cutting. I cut back to the graft line and there was still damage. I cut back even more until i found no other signs of rot and then waited for an hour and sealed.

Here is the updated picture from this sad little Noid Plumie that was to be a very special tree. It actually will be a special tree anyway, just because of this story!!!

I like the ones that really want to live!!!

Take Care,

Laura

that graft union looked good. i wonder what happened. i have seen that before, too. fortunately, the root stock takes on a life of its own when the scion goes south. i really like grafting because it helps get the cuttings going quicker than rooting.

The cuttings I bag rooted have grown roots! The one at the beginning of the thread that bloomed put out roots first and I have potted that up. It is putting out leaves and while it has not plumped up completely it is not as dessicated as before. The one that did not produce flowers took longer to root and it is still in the bag until the roots become more substantial. Now if I can keep them going for another 3 months indoors they should make it :)

Is it possible to plant Plumerias in ground for the warm season and dig them up to bring indoors over the winter? I do this with my Brugs without problem but I was not sure if Plumerias would take kindly to that.

woo hoo! glad to hear that the plumies are doing well and rooting for you.

yes, you can do that with plumies. however, i always recommend this instead of storing them bare root during the winter. http://www.plumeria101.com/plunging.html