last fall I planted a plumie inground outside and told it to fend for itself. Then we had the 20 second snow storm at Christmas and I was heartbroken and sorry I was so cruel to my plumie. Well today I saw what I believe are the beginning of leaves. woohoo! she forgave me, she forgave me! The trunk is about 2.5ft tall, I did notice that the top 6" are kinda black and dried up. should I cut this off or wait a little longer?
Clare, the cutting still looks bad, but if mama made it, I better not give up on this one yet.
my plumie forgave me!
Nery, congrats on your plumie's survival. Plumerias, once established, are hardier than given credit for. I've heard of large plumeria trees taking temperatures well below freezing with little or no damage. Someone with an outdoor tree reported that damage started around 22 degrees, but, of course, it takes a little while for damage to show up so it could have been caused by a temp warmer than that. You can cut the damaged part off, or it will fall off, and branches will form beneath the damaged area.
Yay!!! Please post a photograph of your survivor.
I had a similiar situation (no snow, just a sudden unexpected cold snap) with my first Plumeria. The top of my well rooted cutting blackened but the stalk stayed nice and firm. Now three branches have come out just below the dried up black tip and all look healthy. However, these branches are all curving towards the middle and all the new leaves are jumbled together. Is this typical? If not, what should I do? Thanks.
I think so, Ardesia, but please contact Clare_CA, that lady knows EVERYTHING about plumies and is the nicest human being you could ever find to chat about gardening. I wish I could see a pix of what you describe. I think mine have kind grown inward as you describe, but they straighten out over time. As far as the black part, I know you can cut it off. I haven't cut mine off, I'm waiting to see if I can just "tug it off".
Please do contact Clare, she is the absolute best.
Delecie, sorry I just noticed your comment. I will post a pic of forgiving plumie in the next couple of days. It is absolute choke full of leaves. Have been fert. with bloom booster.
regards, nery
Nery, you are so sweet! Come here right now so that I can hug you. ((Computer hug)) You give me much too much credit. I've only been growing plumerias for a couple of years, but I do love them. Thank you so much for the vote of confidence:-)
Ardesia, it sounds like you had Black Tip Fungus, which can actually kill a plumeria. It occurs during cold, damp conditions, usually in the winter and spring. If the sun dries it up or if you cut the tip off and treat with a fungicide, then new branches will form below the damaged area. I wouldn't worry about the leaves being together. As the plumeria grows, those leaves will fall off. You can remove some now if you like. You can also prune off any branches that you don't want growing. Nery is right that they could relax a bit over time as they grow and get heavier. Some plumerias are more susceptible to Black Tip Fungus than others. Singapores are famous for getting it. This is one of the reason why Singapores are so well-branched plumerias. In the future, you can spray your plumeria tips in the fall with a fungicide to ward off Black Tip Fungus. Here's a link: http://www.plumeria101.com/problems/black_tip.html
Here is my Dwarf Singapore White. It got Black Tip Fungus within a day or two of being inside my humid portable greenhouse. I immediately cut the ends off and sprayed with a fungicide and moved it to a warm, dry location inside my house. It is now outside and growing branches around the cut areas.
Thanks Clare and Nery, I feel better now. The fungus seems to be completely dry and it is only about 1/4" so I won't chance an injury cutting it off - especially when those new branches are so carefully guarding it. Hopefully the new branches will "relax" as they get longer. One seems to be dominant right now with leaves reaching 8" long. This one is called 'Francoise' and I believe it is pink.
Here is "forgiving plumie" as of today. Today she's getting some bloom booster.
Ardesia, perhaps you can see the top of this plumie. This is the part that look pretty ugly in the winter and I didn't cut. Today I went to "tug it off" and it was hard as a rock. I'm gonna leave it alone.
This message was edited Jun 7, 2005 1:02 PM
Nery, I would cut off the damaged part right above where the new branches start.
Ardesia, that is a pretty one. Here is a picture of 'Francoise': http://www.tucsongardener.com/Year04/Plumeriaphotos/Dfrancoise[1].jpg
Ooooooo, now I can't wait for mine to bloom.
Ardesia, I just found this picture that I had forgotten about. This seedling also got Black Tip Fungus this past winter in the humid portable greenhouse. I just rubbed it out with my finger and sprayed with a fungicide. Now I have lots of branches which formed around the tip. They are upright too, and I'm sure they will relax a bit eventually. If not, I can one or two branches off and start new plants with them!
Clare, it wasn't until today that I got around to cutting the ugly part of the trunk of this plumie. I cut everything that was gray/black but guess what: the trunk is hollow. Can I fill it with something? I should have measured how hollow it was using a stick , but I didn't think of it then. I know I'm in trouble if it starts raining. your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
By the way, the Irma Bryan looks so fine. I took a pix of the full bloom but it looks pink. I hate that. My neighbors are stopping and asking what it is.
Nery, what do you mean "the trunk is hollow"? The whole trunk or just the tip? If it healed over and there is a little depression at the top, that is no big deal. You can leave it or recut it or cut off the top walls of the depression so water will run off. If you recut it, cut it at a slight slant. Some people use a pruning sealer after they cut or wax or lime paste, but it isn't necessary.
Nery, I just looked at your picture again. Cut off all that dead wood. Is that the hollow part you were talking about. All that should come off. Cut right down to just above where the new branches start and cut at a slant.
Clare, I'll take a pix. I'm not explaining well. There's a 40% rain chance (we should be so lucky) so I will put a paper up as a precaution.
ta ta
Clare, here is a bad pic of what I'm trying to describe. I stuck a pencil into the hollow part and figured it is about 3". If I cut that much I will taking the top two branches. what to do?
here is a full pix of the plant. looking good tho no inflos yet. geez, I soon as I get off this computer I need to water!
Nery, you've got to cut that dead tissue off. If those branches are surviving now, they are doing so with the energy that they contain, but they won't be doing well for long if indeed they are attached to the area which has a rotten core. Chances are that the rot stops just above them if you are lucky. If you are unlucky, the rot is traveling downward. I would cut by an inch at a time until you reach clean white wood and then let it heal over in the sun. If the rot is traveling downward, the only way to stop it is to cut down to clean wood. Chop, chop.
About your Irma looking pink, it is true that it is a moderate red. The darkest reds are Scott Pratt and Hilo Beauty. I think you will like those better. Everyone says that Duke is red, but it looks pink to me.
If I had only done this when you told me to back in june. thanks Sure seems like I'm doing everything earthly possible to prevent this little plant from making it, doesn't it?
It should be okay, Nery, once you get rid of that dead wood.
Clare, I would call it deep red. Do you see the flowers in your pix that have not unfolded? The opened flower in the Irma are as dark as the unponed in your pix. I tried to take another pix while I was taking the one of the hollow trunk, but, again, it came pink. I will try tomorrow.
Clare I should have listened to you and trimmed hollow part back in June. Today I had the sad task to cut 3 of the 4 branches so that I could get to "all white" trunk. While the hollow section was about 3", it was already partly black about 2" further down. The branches look great. I'm gonna let them dry 3-4 and try to root them.
Nery, I hope you can root those branches. They look like they might be a tad thin, but it doesn't hurt to try. You did the right thing by cutting down to clean wood. Now the sun needs to shine on it to dry it and close it. You probably saved your plumeria by doing this; otherwise, the rot might have kept on travelling downward until the whole plant was gone. I know it was painful to do, but you did good.