A few questions

I have some cuttings of plumies, and also I started some from seed, I got lucky, and all germinated. My questions are...
I have the cuttings, and the larger seedlings in cactus soil... is this ok?
My cuttings are doing NOTHING as far as growing leaves. I did get brave and check, and seems they are all rooted. They have been in the dirt since July of last year, and there is no growth. Any ideas?
My seedlings get leaves, but as soon as there are 3-4 leaves, the spidermites attack. I rinse them with pretty warm water, and a mix of tea tree oil, liquid soap, neem oil, and water. They seem to attack them pretty fast. One day I will see the leaves nice, green and shiney, and the next they are silvery, and webby.
I have them in a south facing window, and the room during the day never is below 80, and 70 at night.
Any help would be appreciated!

they may still be dormant right now. cuttings seem to take forever to do anything.

mine havent been picky about soil types . mine is in miracle grow pottimg mix right now. 2 yrs old

being in the house spidermites and aphids are more likely even in greenhouses they are a fighting situation. once you put them outside mother nature will fight them for you.

here are a few great sites to read ::

http://www.io.com/~jrm/plumeria.html

http://www.plumeria101.com/index.html

http://www.alohatropicals.com/plumeria.html

hope this helps. marie

The soil should be fine....it just may not be warm and bright enough for them yet. It's still early in the season....................

I have growth coming on mine, but I have then on a grow mat, and have a light for them. I need all the help I can get here. ;)

mine are still looking like sticks. when it gets warm they should perk up.

Mine has 6 leaves on each branch so far. Heat from a radiator they love ......human skin doesn't take kindly to it tho (very dry).

Oh Lilypon, isn't it wonderful, now you have your own Forum!!!!! *giggle*
Pati

LOLOLOL....methinks I'll have to share it Pati! But yes it is very exciting! Ü
I think PlumeriaGod is the one we should be thanking. :)

Thanks for the tips! Will go look at the sites now!

Thanks to all of you for helping get this forum on here. I promise to be very active on this forum as well as the others! I've been propogating plumerias for 12 years now and last year was my first attempt at growing from seed.
My collection consists of 46 hybrid plumerias and 188 plumeria seedlings. Shelly, I too have had too fight the spider mites off! I never have a problem outdoors, but this year I built a greenhouse in my garage and they attacked like no one's business. I lost about 90-100 plumeria seedlings, before I conquered those nasty critters. I used a mixture of "rubbing alcohol" and water. I mix 1 part "rubbing alcohol" to 3 parts water. The "rubbing alcohol" fry's them almost on contact! HAHA:) Then I wipe the leaves with a clean paper towel. Always use a different towel on each plant. Even some of the spider mites can be alive and you can transfer them to another plant very easily. Also spray under each leaf, I sometimes forget their under there too! The rubbing alcohol may be to strong if you have your plants indoors. Just add a few drops of vanilla to the mixture to aleviate the smell.

My plumerias are still in a dormancy period too. Some gardeners want them to go into a dormancy period. They believe that during their dormancy period they become stronger plants and blooms are more heavy and vigorous!
I think it's just up to the individual gardener. If I lived in zone 10 or higher, I wouldn't let them go into a dormancy period. I would be to tempted to make them bloom all year!! LOL:)
I've found that over the years, the "rainbow's" or multi-colored plumerias are harder to root than others. It's not always the rule, but I've found it more difficult and time consuming.
Well, I can't wait to share tips, photos, and advice with everyone!!! I think it's going to be an exciting spring and summer.

Randy

(picture) "Sunset Heaven" plumeria. It smells like sweet butter and fresh coconuts!

Thank you Randy! Will start using the alcohol and water! Thats a beautiful bloom.. and the description of the scent just sounds wonderful!

Randy,
I am so happy to see we have a plumeria forum. I have a handful of plumeria , and I am looking forward to learning more about them. Thanks to all that made this forum possible.
Patti

So good to have you here Randy! Ü

My Plumeria went into dormancy about 3 months ago but with the increased daylight and a rather warm location (not on the rad) it woke up. Do you think that a 2 1/2 month long sleep is long enough? Or should I put it up on the third floor (not heated but above freezing ~50F) for the winter.

Thanks, Shelly. Try the rubbing alcohol and just make sure to get both sides of every leaf. That's probably the biggest mistake I made with applying the solution. The ran and hid on the bottom leaves and were never affected.
Clare just informed me of a product that Bayer puts out to control spider mites. She said it was in a blue plastic container and was granulated. She said that the plant absorbs the chemical and when the spider mites feed they die!!! YEAH!!! When using the "alcohol/water" solution, it may burn the leaves slighty. It's not any worse than whate those horrible little bugs do to them! If a plant is BADLY infected with them, I've whacked off all of the leaves and dispose of them. The spider mites can spread to other plants and the damage may not be seen for a while. Sometimes, it's good to "quarantine" the infected plants in another place away from "non-infected" plants! (Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling any infected plants!!!) I think it's like one female spider mite can hatch 10,000 babies!!! Really scary!!!

Hey, Patti. I'm so glad for your support and help. I think were all going to have fun this summer with sharing ideas and photos. I can't wait, not only for my plumies to bloom, but for other members to post their photos as well!:)

Thank you for your help and support too, Lilypon!:) I would think that 2-3 months is a long enough dormancy period. It's all about experimenting! I know that it helps if they're allowed a dormancy period. I had all of my plumerias go through a dormancy period last year and all but one bloomed. I stressed it out by taking large cuttings from it last year. It wasn't very happy with me.:(

Thanks again for all of ya'lls interest and support,
Randy

Thank you for your help as well! :) Just so you understand why Pati is so happy for me here is a thread I started last year:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/430057/ I was just a *wee* bit excited getting a Plumeria in Saskatchewan. ;)

This message was edited Mar 17, 2005 11:57 PM

Randy, do you ever trade/share cuttings from your plants?

Donna
down in Alice

Wow!! Randy that sunset heaven is beautiful and must smell like heaven, too!! I think I may be jumping on the plumeria craze as well. I have one, it is 4 -5 feet tall and has never bloomed, so I don't know the color.
Janet

Lilypon, I went back and read that thread...what fun, and such great pictures! It was a little bittersweet also. After the hurricanes the lone survivor was my "Singapore White" that came from the nursery. He rode out the storms in the bathroom with the Cane Begonias, the others were between the sheds and the fence, and the fence fell down on them...bummer!

I felt a little discouraged about starting more container plants, but with this new Forum I'm going to start collecting cuttings and start all over!

PLUMIES ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pati

LOLOL.......Pati you are a Southern Gem! I'm sorry to hear about your other Plumies and am so happy you are starting over again. Ü I hope the class 3 and higher 'canes stay far away from Florida for a loooooooooong time to come!

NEWS FLASH!!!!! The mailman just delivered Plumie cuttings from a wonderful, generous man....who also has an interesting art collection. I'll try to find the Forum thread I met him on later. I have to get in whirlwind gear now....feed the Doxies, clean the house for guests, manicure my nails, etc., etc,.etc.

My son's getting married in the morning,
Ding, dong the bells are going to ring!

To top that off, I LOVE my new DIL!

BTW, I received (1) Teresa Wilder 3' tall with 3 nobs, and (2) smaller cuttings of a White with leaves!

Life just doesn't get any better!!!!!!!!!
Pati

This message was edited Mar 18, 2005 11:38 AM

Pati, Congrats on the new DIL! I have 2 sons and 2 wonderful DILs. I really am lucky that I have such a good relationship with them.
I am expecting an order of Plumeria this week. I haven't tried growing them yet. Hope we don't have any more hurricanes! I am just beginning to get my yard looking decent again!
BTW your "Doxies" are cuties! Melba

Hi Melba, I'm sure your Plumies will do well here. My neighbor just cuts them and sticks them in the ground any old place, and they grow like crazy. We have a lot of sand in our soil here, it must suit them.

The plants you delivered from the RU are growing so fast! Thanks again for the "curb service" *grin* The only other things I have going are the cane Begonias, blooming so heavy!
Pati

Pati, what was that beautiful orange plant growing up the tre at your house? I know you told me , but DH had me in such a hurry, I forgot. Melba

Congratulations Pati.........I'm so excited and happy for you!!!!!!!! Ü And for your son as well! ;)

We are also looking forward to seeing your new beauties bloom!

Hi fellow plumie lovers! I can see I am in good company.

I have 42 seedlings, which are a year and four months old, and I have 56 hybrids, most of which are recently rooted hybrids. These plants can definitely get addicting! My established plumerias stay outside all year long, and most of them didn't lose any leaves at all. They do stop blooming though. My Duke was the only one to lose all its leaves, and it just dropped the last of its leaves the other day. This year, I erected a portable greenhouse for my tropicals and semi tropicals, and I put my plumerias seedlings in there as well. I also put all the cuttings that I am trying to root. The cuttings are on a heat pad as bottom heat aids with root formation. There is also a radiant heater in there and a grow lite.

Randy, the name of the product is Bayer Advanced Garden 2 in 1 Systemic Rose and Flower Care. You add about a capful of granules to the soil and water it in. It smells nasty but it works well, and it does not harm the plants. I use it on my brugmansias too. I also use a product called Avid for Spider Mites. It can be found here: http://rosemania.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/index.html under Miticides.

Here is a picture of some of my seedlings earlier this year:

Here is a closeup of my seedlings:

Here is what they looked like in December after I removed most of their leaves. I did that because they were getting infested with aphids and whiteflies, and the ants were farming the aphids so I figured this was the easiest route to go. I did spray the remaining leaves with insecticidal soap. I don't have a fan in the greenhouse, but I do open it up on a daily basis. It does get very humid in there.

wow clare that is awesome, good luck with all of them and may you have beautiful blooms

Sure you won't come for a visit to Canada Clare??? ;)

Your collection looks wonderful!!! Ü

Thanks mns and Lilypon! It will probably another couple years until I see blooms, but I can't wait to see what they turn out to be.

Oh great! another addiction, as if brugs weren't enough. LOL I only have 2 so far, but there's always room for another, maybe, depending on how I arrange everything. LOL

LOL, MG, if Brugs are your only other addiction, then you definitely need some more addictions!

But brugs take up so much room! I am so impressed Clare. They all look so lovely. So how long from seed to bloom?

Thanks, Kell. LOL! Yes, that is true! Plumerias actually do too when they get bigger. They can turn into massive trees, but you can always prune drastically to keep them in bounds. If one is lucky, it takes about three years for a seedling to bloom. I've heard of seedlings flowering sooner, but it is rare. I've also heard of seedlings taking much, much longer to bloom, but I hope that is rare too. I've heard of some people waiting 20 years for a seedling to bloom.

I will be dead in 20 years.

You must be a patient soul. But I would think when you first see that bud, you must be in such ecstasy after such a long wait. That thrill would make it worth it. I prefer instant gratificaiton. LOL.

LOL, Kell, no you won't. Twenty years is rare, I'm sure. If I get a bunch of blooms next year from my seedlings, I'll be happy. I'm sort of an instant gratification person too:-)

Shelly, have you tried the alcohol yet? You might try that Bayer product too; although, you may want to bring them outdoors to water it in because it is pretty stinky. Also try using insecticidal soap to spray the leaves on both sides and work it in with your fingers. Do you have a greenhouse? I think they might do better in a greenhouse during the winter than indoors. If you have a bad spider mite infestation, I would just remove all the leaves. They will grow back, and you can spray the new leaves as they come in.

GordonHawk (New York) had a seedling bloom in ~9 months. I belong to another Plumeria group and they figured his was the earliest they've known of a seedling to bloom. He grows his up on a roof where he's recorded temps of 145F (he believes in keeping his warm and he didn't let the seedling go into dormancy)....not sure what he does with his cuttings tho.

Wow, that's impressive! My seedlings didn't go dormant inside my greenhouse either. Maybe that heat really helped!

I know he strongly believes it does when it comes to growing the seedlings.

Interesting! My greenhouse gets over 100 inside when I can't open it up until mid-afternoon so maybe that will help the seedlings to bloom early:-)