Germinating Plumerias From Seed :)

Here's how I germinated plumerias from seed last year. I bought about 30 clear plastic salad bowls with lids from the dollar store. I had some floral oasis laying around (don't really know why!) I filled the bowls with water and cut my oasis into little rectangles. I then took the oasis rectangles and took a sharp pearing knife and cut little tiny crescents into the oasis. Make sure the holes are just big enough to hold the seeds in place. I usually had about 10-15 seeds per oasis. The seeds need to be "wing" side up in the oasis! When you get your plumeria seeds you can see the "wing" end. Just make sure that the tip of the seed stays in the water and the wing is up out of the water. Next, I placed the oasis seeds in the bowls of water and placed them outdoors in the sun. The oasis will stay affloat and you can watch through the bowl for seed growth.
Here's a photo of the seeds rooting in the salad bowl.

Randy

Sometimes, I'll wait for the leaves to pop the shell off and then I will plant them in a good potting soil. It's a good idea to change the water in the bowls every few days! The seed growing in the picture above has already put out a root. You can then cut it out of the oasis and pot it up. Once the seed is planted, I always mist it with Super Thrive! I grew the seedlings in 4-5 hours of direct sunlight.
The picture below shows the seedlings about 4-6 weeks old.

Here's a picture of the root system of a seedling just over a year old. This seedling is being stepped up to a larger container.

Randy

Another great way to germinate plumeria seeds is to place paper towels in a clear plastic container. Then place your seeds on top of the paper towel and mist the paper towel with warm water. Take another paper towel and place over the top of the seeds and mist it good with water. Just make sure that the entire paper towel is dampened really good with water. Place the lid onto the clear plastic container, put it in a brightly lit and warm area and check every few days or so. You should notice root growth in a week or two. Some species may take a little longer to root.
I've had great success with this method as well.

Randy

re: Plumeria seeds 101

Randy:

Great job of explaining. But, where do the seeds appear in the plant. My blossoms have just fallen of -- and nothing!

that's great information Randy, thanks

Great explanation, Randy, and how creative of you! I germinated my seeds in a wet paper towel, like you mentioned, except I put the paper towel in a plastic sandwich bag and laid the bag on the stove top. I potted them up into two-inch containers as soon as I could see root growth.

Brad, you only get seed pods if the flowers are pollinated with the pollen of a different flower!

Here are mine. I have them under lights. Would they be better out in direct sunlight? The picture is actually from a week ago but they look pretty much the same.

Nightowl, they look great! If you can put them outside during the day, they would probably like that a lot! See that mine are on a cookie sheet, and I would put them outside during the day and bring them in at night. I think the direct sun and fresh air is good for them and toughens them up!

They all look great!!! Thanks for the advice Clare. I'm going to use cookie sheets tomorrow!!! HEHE :)

As soon as we get rid of this cool, rainy, windy spell I'll try that Clare. Thanks so much for the tips. My computer was giving me problems so I couldn't thank you sooner.

Here they are today. Should I transplant them when their first set of true leaves have finished growing? One of them seems to have two stems coming from one seed. Does that happen very often? Should I just leave them together or separate them? I'm not sure whether two trunks can grow well that close together.

Sandy

Sure, Sandy! They look even better today! You can wait until they get their second set of true leaves before you transplant them if you wish. The warmer it is when you transplant them, the easier they will adjust to their new containers. If you have some Superthrive, put a couple of drops in the water that you use to water them in. This will help to alleviate transplant shock.

I have seen that before, but it doesn't happen very often. I would not separate them unless there is truly two separate plants coming up with their own separate root systems. If they share one root system, let it grow as a two-trunked tree. They will grow fine that way, and you can always cut one off later and root it for two separate plants if you wish. If you separate the two now when they share a root system, you take the chance that they might not survive that shock.

Good idea to wait until warm sunny weather before putting them outside. They'll be fine inside until the weather cooperates:-)

Okay, I'm going to do that, thanks so much Clare. It's so nice to have someone to answer a question or two. *Ü*

My pleasure:-) Let us know how they are progressing. You should see some nice growth this summer.

Hello Randy!

I'm going to pot my seedlings up individually tomorrow. Is there any special potting mix I should use? I went to take a picture of them and I dropped my camera. :-( Now it doesn't work anymore. I am most upset.

Sandy

Sorry about your camera, Sandy! Any good potting mix that doesn't stay too moist will work. You can add Perlite to the potting soil mix for better drainage. Some people add Perlite to Supersoil or Miracle Grow. Some people mix 1/3 cactus mix, 1/3 potting mix, and 1/3 Perlite or Pumus.

Thanks Clare. I didn't get a chance to plant them today but very soon. I was thinking that I should put them in soil that doesn't stay too wet.

Clare_CA

Clare:

I just caught up with explanation of where the plumeria seeds come from. I'm going to take a Q-tip and swap pollen betwen my white and my TW. Do I have to hum some suggested music while I do this?

Now -- if you obviously know so much, what does one plant in order to grow "seedless" watermelons?

I have 5 plumerias but they do not grow or bloom but do get leaves on them. What are the one, two, threes of taking care of them? Plumeriagod thank you for taking the time to help all of us out. Joan

You got me, Brad! Actually, I know very little, but I'm learning like the rest of us:-)

Joan, full sun, fertilizer, well-draining soil are probably the three must-have's for growth and blooming. See this link for more information: http://www.plumeria101.com/ Here are some good articles for you to read: http://www.plumeria101.com/general.html

Clare, Thank you so much I just read 101 and it was wonderful. I am going out rignt now and do it right. Joan

how long did you leave them in the bowl before you potted the seeds up??

All the dramae involved here. I just floated mine in water with some H202, the same way I do hem seeds. Guess I was lucky to have 3 out of 10 germinate.
Inanda

inanda
thanks for letting me know how you did yours,

I just stuck my seeds in some sterile seed starting mix. The come up anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. I've already tranplanted these little ones to one-gallon containers.

Thanks Clare, guess all the ways that people are starting these up work,,

Dillpickle, yes, they are easy to start. Sometimes, they start on their own while still in the seedpod!