A few questions

ALOHA...
Well thanks Pam.. for letting me know they were kicking off a plumeria group.. I'd heard on tropicals they were thinking of it...
Yes.. I grow the plumerias in NYC... a bit on the cool side for them in the winter ..
I grow m plumerias ..and everything else on my roof top there... abut as much as I can get to grow together in 1500 sq. ft . the home takes the over flow.. as does the street trees and a planter on the sidewalk.. and the hallway...
I have as Pam mentioned taken a seed to a flowering plumeria in about 9 months... this tree is now about 21/2 and stands 8' tall.. and hangs over the dinning room table now.. awaiting a trip upstairs in another month or more..
In my limited space on the roof I have a multitude of diverse and extreame microclimates I use for diffrent plants.. in diffrent was and times... first I grow mostly right on the roof surface... a black rubber membrane which early last summer when the air temps 15' off the roof were at 11 am about 80* F .. the roof surface was as measured by my 16" mercury cordon blu cooking thermometer was 145* F.. this gives my area a zone 4 through and including zone 14 .. as I don't know where has a growing temp of 145* to check this.. and i use the areas in front of the skylight glass for some plants ..that allows sun from the front and reflected from the back at the same time.. so there are quite favorable varrying conditions up there.. full sun on the entire place is from 6 am through 8 pm in the summer
I feed all of the time .. bloomboosters... supplemented with applications of SPRAY-N-GROW .. which I've been useing for over 25 years.. .. I foliar spray the ferts.. Bills perfect.. the s-n-g with a seaweed concentrate called MaxiCrop.. and their wetting agent..along with other ferts and additives I find about.. at diffrent times .. it's all they can do not to flower all of ther time.. why they don't is a mystery to me... Plumerias can tollerate a high root zone temps... but not as high on the leaves and limbs.. particularly.. a high greenhouse temperature is not quite as welcome.. but bottom heat hotter than one might imagine if quite welcome.. putting them on such a hot surface will indeed get them to grow and flower... potted and placed on a hot driveway is a real help to them..
I water through a drip irrigation system.. 4-5 times a day... they do dry out quite fast for me.. and they cycle through wet to dry a few times a day... so it's in a way like condencing time for them.. they get a few days of cycleing in to a few each day.. I water as much to lower the temperatures as to provide moisture.. my soil mix is mostly a bunch of diffrent potting soils.. with some compost and loam and perhaps a heavier wetter mix than most would recomend.. but again a real unique bunch of extream microclimes I work up there.. oh I do have a high wind problem...[ a high evaporation rate off the soil and through the transporation ] but it's helpful to have in other ways
I could never understand why the others I'd hear of were having so much trouble... withthe plumerias.. getting them to root.. grow .. flower .. and where they were getting their rot and other problems from.. It became apparent that it was the high bottom heat I was able to provide... which at first I was working to minimise .. in my growing.. but now try and use to my further advantage.. so my advice is to keep the rooot zone as hot as possible.. the tops cool ... and feed all ofthe time... and there will be fewer problems and greater growth...
Oh first winters... I bring my plumerias and other tropicals inside about Thanksgiveing.. and they stay in my house with me till about tax day.. of shortly after .. inside is warm and I'm unable to get them to go tooo dormant there... so I keep them alive and perhaps flowering all year long... they do loose their leaves on being brought in and going out.. as the light levels are so diffrent in the diffrent laces .. I've had them growing and flowering nicely for years with no detrimental effect of this... I'd like to have a cool greenhouse or a basement... [ ours is hotter with two furnaces and three water heaters going all of the wintertime] to let them do dormant.. if just to relieve me of the spydermite battles and watering considerations.. but I don't.. but do benefit from plumeria flowers in January when there is snow outside the windows... I do supplemeent light ... alll of the regular house lightiong is 7 color corrected spots... made in Finland ...Chromolux.. [ used there to combat cabin fever during their long winters ] 150w. spots... and there are 7 additional 150w. spots of the same type above some of the luckier ones.. and a new 6 bulb bank of the new T-5 type grow florescents above the sprouting bench... [ my 1000 w metal halide/HPS is too much to live with.. but the best for a dedicated growing area..]
well thoes are the conditions here... OK a picture to start off with.. I've inflos now but no plumerias blooming inside just now.. so a general picture from last year..... hope this has been of some help.. I took the time to write it last evening about 3 am.. but lost it trying to get a picture so I've tried again today .. hope I can get the picture in without loosing it like before ... guesss I should save it before I try to go further

Gordon thanks so much for all the information. I always look forward to see what you can do on a roof top in NYC. I'm glad that your post/picture worked this time.




This message was edited Mar 20, 2005 1:48 PM

Hi Everybody! I just found out we got this forum! YAAAAAY!

Clare, your seedlings look wonderful! I didn't know you had all those seedlings!

I've never had mites on my plumeria, but had enough on my brugs to sink a ship.

I've been hooked on them before, and that darned Clare has just about got me going again! LOL

The pros: In the winter they require no care at all. In the summer, stick them back in a pot and they take off like nothing ever happened. They have beautiful foliage as well as beautiful flowers. All they need is water, food and heat.

The cons: I can't think of any.

Three cheers, Dave, for the plumeria forum!

Kay

This message was edited Mar 20, 2005 4:39 PM

Oh, I forgot this picture!

HILO BEAUTY

Beautiful picture, GordonHawk! It is amazing what you grow on your roof! Thanks for the description of what you have to do to grow them.

Hi Kay! Hilo Beauty is a beauty:-) My seedlings are getting huge and won't have a place in the greenhouse next year and will have to remain outside with the rest of my plumies. I probably won't root cuttings over next winter either. It is too much work! So, next year, I'll only need the greenhouse for my tropicals and subtropicals. I'm going to have to repot those 42 seedlings to five-gallon containers soon, and I have no idea where I'm going to put them all! Once I see them bloom, I'm probably going to keep the special ones and sell the rest to a local nursery.

Oh, my God, Kay! I've never even considered growing plumerias until I saw your picture. Now I feel an obsession coming on. That's positively gorgeous. Any tips on where I should look in case I want to start a collection?

Zuzu, I highly recommend Florida Colors Nursery. They carry a really nice selection at very reasonable prices. I have ordered many times from them and have always been thrilled with their cuttings and their grafted plants. Here's a link:

Florida Colors: http://www.floridacolors.com/

Other places:

Botanic Treasures: http://www.botanictreasures.com/
Dole: http://mgrsti5481a.seamlesstech.biz/Merchant/
Maui Plumeria Gardens: http://www.mauiplumeriagardens.com/
Just Plumerias: http://www.justplumerias.com/
Tropic Nature: http://www.tropicnature.net/
Aloha Palms: http://www.alohapalms.com/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi

Also, check your local Home Depot because sometimes they carry some during the summer in one-gallon containers for about $10 each.

Clare, thanks so much for all of the links. I went to all of them and I naturally have some questions. How can Aloha Palms charge so little in comparison with the rest? Why is there such a small difference between the prices of cuttings and plants on the Florida Colors site? How on earth do you decide which plant (or which 10 plants is more like it) to start with? They are all so gorgeous! If there's no good (meaning bad) reason for Aloha Palms' low prices, I'll probably start with 5 or 10 of theirs. Let me know. Also, I am no stranger to Home Depot so I certainly will keep an eye out for them there.

Zuzu,

Aloha Palms sells unnamed varieties in a few colors whereas the other places sell named varieties. The named ones are (usually registered) and easily recognizable cultivars, which are commonly recognized for their attributes and characteristics and are considered much more desirable than unnamed varieties so the named varieties are more expensive. Named varieties usually have one or more distinct characteristic or feature which makes them special such as: a distinctive fragrance, large inflo's, long-blooming inflo's, large flower size, curved petals, unique color and color patterns, etc. That being said, I started with cuttings from Aloha Palms, and the ones that I got from them turned out to be fantastic. I gave several away as gifts too. I think it is a great way to start out one's collection because you can practice rooting the cuttings, and if one happens to rot, you're only out $1.99.

Plumerias are very easy to root as cuttings, but Florida Colors will root the cutting for you for a small fee, and they also will graft the cultivar to a rooting stock for you for a little extra. This is wise to do for certain ones which have a reputation of being difficult to root. Reds, rainbows, and certain cultivars are notoriously difficult to root. Luc grafts many plumerias and is considered one of the country's experts at grafting plumerias. The process takes a couple of months to be complete.

The ones at Home Depot are from a local grower called C-Stars nursery. They have white, yellow, pink, and red and are very nice. Their pink one has been known to have six or more petals in each flower.

This is not my picture, but it is supposed to be a pink from Home Depot:

Zuzu, as for how do you know which ones to get, go with the colors and fragrance which is the most appealing to you. Peruse the pictures and read the description of fragrances and see which ones leap out at you. Here are a few links:

Florida Colors: http://www.floridacolors.com/

Botanic Treasures Gallery: http://www.botanictreasures.com/PlumImage.html

Also, here is a partial list of fragrant plumerias, which I just posted for Vi and which I compiled based on recommendations last summer from the members over at Maui Plumeria Gardens. Since I am mostly driven by scent, other people's recommendations of fragrance helped me in choosing the ones to add to my collection.

Here's the list so far:

[b]Lemon/Citrus/Fruity Scent:[/b]
Lemon Drop - lemon scent
Thornton Lemon Drop - lemon scent
Celadine - Citrus Scent
Aztec Gold - peaches
Singapore - lemon, bitter lemon
Keane - lemon
Apricot Delight - lemon
Dwarf Deciduous - lemon, strong citrus
Kimo - lime
Bill Moragne - grape koolaid
Pink Pansy - grape koolaid
Lemon Chiffon - strong lemon, sweeter than Singapore
Intense Rainbow - peaches
Pink Kiss - Apricots, Sweet Olive, Osmanthus fragrans


Classic Plumeria Scent:
Celadine
Singapore
Slaughter Pink
Emerson's Pink Nova - very, very mild

Gardenia Scent:
Gardenia Plumeria
Charlotte Ebert
Tahitian Sunset
Dieudonne

Floral Scent:
Aloha
Dean Conklin - carnation
Nassau
OZ plumie-Gold Coast Peach
San Germain - lhoneysuckle
Just Peachy
Yolanda's White - Night Blooming Jesamine, Cestrum nocturnum

Rose Scent:
Vera Cruz Rose, stronger than Guillot's Sunset
Guillot's Sunset
Brittney
Charlotte Ebert
Jeannie Moragne

Coconut Scent:
Miami Rose
Charlotte Ebert
Scott Pratt - spicy coconut
Nellie's White - jasmine to coconut
Hurricane

Spicy Scent
India - nutmeg
Grove Farm - nutmeg
Negril - cloves
Kauka Wilder
Josua
Cancun Pink - cinnamon
Scott Pratt - spicy coconut
Carmen

Strong Unique Scent:
White
Grove Farm
Mele PA Bowman
Nassau
San Germain - like honeysuckle
Lemon Chiffon - strong lemon
Bali Whirl

Most desireable plumerias for fragrance:
Singapore
Miami Rose
Mele PA Bowman, like Singapore but stronger
Grove Farm
Charlotte Ebert - hint of almond
Nassau
OZ plumie-Gold Coast Peach (previously 'Seldom Seen')
Bali Whirl
Loretta - exotic tropical
Espinda - exotic tropical
Aztec Gold
Celadine

No scent or very little scent:
Pudica - no scent

Thank you so much, Clare, for your detailed answers and for the wonderful extensive list of varieties categorized by scent. I will get started on plumerias right away. I'll get some cuttings from Aloha Palms and splurge on a couple of rooted or grafted beauties from Florida Colors. Thanks again. I'll give you a progress report at some point in the future.

My pleasure:-) I look forward to your progress report and to pictures of your flowers!

The progress report will come long before the pictures. I always seem to spend all my disposable income on plants and I've never acquired a camera. I'll have to coax my neighbor to take some pictures of plants. She's always over here taking pictures of the cats anyway.

Wow Clare! Thats a great list of scents! Thank you for taking the time to post that all out!

Certainly:-) Remember that it is based on some people's opinions and perceptions, and what smells like one thing to one person could smell different to another. I've taken a leap of faith on some of these and ordered them just based on people's reaction to the fragrance.

Clare, here you go hooking some more innocent people! LOL! I've never seen a list of the scents before. That is worth keeping to help determine my next acquisition! And if I make another acquistition, I don't know where I can keep it. I'll agree with Shelly that you really went to a lot of trouble to make out that list. Thanks!

And now, the one I really, really, really need......although it is not available......is Sobriety! Oh it is just gorgeous!

See how these addicitions make one talk nonsense?

Hugs,
Kay

LOL, Kay! That is funny. Really, the list was no trouble at all. I just asked on a thread for people to tell me what their favorites scents were and what they smelled like, and I made the list from that.

LOL, you might have to start drinking to get Sobriety! LOL! There are some beautiful purples being grown in Thailand, and I bet they will be here in the United States in another year or two.

Here is a picture of one:

Here is another site with a list of plumerias and their fragrance: http://www.kimisplumeria.com/page_8.htm