Plumeria from the Gambia

A friendly gardener from Bakau botanical garden in Gambia (West Africa) gave me a cutting of a yellow-flowered Plumeria during our two-week trip there in February-March. I kept it in water for some time and some roots started to emerge, until the part of the cutting in the water started to rot, and I decided to cut it off. I did it, then took some powder rooting hormone and gently rubbed the cutting with it, and planted it in a big pot. After some weeks I noticed slow growth on the plant and noticed it was flowebuds.
I am so excited as the buds are finally starting to open! They have grown during the week we were in Romania, and the buds look red, but the flowers should be yellow. It really took a long time for them to grow to this stage and I have really been worrying if they dry and drop off or something, but luckily not.

Here they are.. Seems to like the hot weather here.

And here is the plant itself

That is a nice inflo, Evert. Since you don't have leaves yet, your plant is either just coming out of dormancy, or it is possible that it is still rooting. You should water sparingly until you see leaves. Once you have leaves then you can be sure that you have roots.

Red cuttings in particular can be difficult to root and succumb to rot easily, especially if planted in a big pot! Clay tends to breathe well so that probably helped to keep the soil on the dry sidel. You may want to repot to a plastic pot though once it is rooted as plumerias usually don't like clay pots.

I think you might have a red or a pink. There aren't too many yellows with a red stripe on the back.

It could be a rainbow: yellow with a red stripe on the front and back like this one:

Here's a better picture of the bloom. This one is the cultivar called 'Intense Rainbow.'

It actually has a few leaves starting to grow :) And the flowers are bright yellow, I just think the leaves and buds are so red because it is in full sun, could it be the reason?

Here is the mother plant in Gambia, Feb 28th..

That is a beautiful yellow flower Evert. You have something great to look forward to.

Hi Evert! Wow, those yellow flowers are beautiful! And the inflo looks pendulous? Double wow! I think the only pendulous one we have here is called Japanese Lantern.

It could be yellow, but I don't think it is. I don't think you have the yellow-flowered one that you just posted a picture of. Look at the buds in the most recent picture and see how they are light-colored? There is no trace of red on those mature buds. Full sun would not affect the color of the mature buds.

What you have is a flower with a very strong red stripe on the back of the petals. Nebel's Rainbow, also called Lei Rainbow, is a yellow with a strong red stripe on the back of the petals and on the front. I guess we'll know for sure when it opens. I'm sure it will be lovely what ever it is.

I forgot to add that I can't see the new leaves in your picture, but if they are red, that is another indication that you have a red or pink plumie:-) Generally, the darker the new leaves, the darker the flower color.

I just don't understand how it could be something else as I clearly saw how the gardener took the cutting from the yellow plant :/
I will post a picture once the first flower opens.

Evert
Mother plant is really very beautiful, save the seeds of your plant. Also share photos when buds will open.
Kaleem

Evert, I apologize. If you clearly saw the gardener take a cutting from the yellow plant, then it has to be a genetic replica of that plant. That is my mistake. Perhaps there is a red stripe beneath the yellow flowers that fades really quickly and can't be seen in your yellow flower picture. That must be it. Also, it is true that the first flowers on a newly rooted cutting can be slightly different at first than the eventual flowers will be. I am looking forward to seeing your lovely yellow flowers:-)

Do Plumerias usually produce seeds?

Yes, the fading red stripe theory sounds good, I was looking at the mother plant picture too.
Are pendulous varieties rare?

it's possible, but not very easy to do: http://www.io.com/~jrm/plum006.htm

that is a beautiful flower, you're lucky to have it!

Hi Evert, plumerias will produce seed pods if pollinated with the pollen of a different plumeria. Some hybrids are more prolific seedpod producers than others. It is difficult to pollinate them by hand so it is usually left to the natural pollinators.

Yes, pendulous varieties are rare and unusual. I've never seen a yellow one. The cultivar called "Japanese Lantern," also known as "Flower Basket," is the only one that I am familiar with. It has red pendulous infloresences. Here are a couple of links: http://www.plumeria101.com/master_gallery/japanese_lantern.html and: http://www.theplumeriasociety.org/files/pdfs/psa_JapaneseLantern.pdf

Evert, any more pictures? did it bloom Yellow and how did it smell?

The flower turned out to be red-yellow. Very interesting.. Smells ok, a bit like coconut or how would I say.

Here it is, July 18, 5 days ago.

I'll take another picture later



This message was edited Jul 22, 2005 6:37 AM

it's lovely, and congrats to you for being able to grow it in your zone. That'a quite an acomplishment.

How in the world? I am very curious! I love that color too! Wonder how that happened though? I have 2 plumerias but that's about all I know about them. Can they hybridize? Wow!

Nicole

Here it is - yesterday. :)

Congratulations.........It's breathtaking Evert! Ü

It's just gets better and better, and you have more to come! You must be thrilled.

That's a beautiful flower! I like it even better than the yellow one you posted.

Nicole, no, they can only become hybrids through seeds. Evert received a cutting which is an exact genetic duplicate of the parent. He said he clearly saw the gardener take a cutting from the yellow tree, but somewhere along the line that cutting got switched with another because it is impossible for a flower to change blooms from yellow to red. Even though it fades to a nice rainbow, it is considered a red flower. There is no way that that red flower could have come from that yellow tree.

The buds have been hanging there since early Spring, could that be the reason? They had no signs of growth until I brought the plant outside to full sun. We will see how the flowers look next year, if they'd be yellow already.. Remember, I am growing this plant in totally different conditions than you guys ;)

Evert, I belong to a plumeria group which has growers from all over the world. It is not possible for a flower to change from a yellow to a red or from a red to a yellow -- no matter what the growing conditions. The flowers will not be yellow next year. You have a red plumeria. The cutting that you saw the gardener take was not the same cutting that you received. Now, your flower can be a lighter red if you change the growing conditions, or it can be a darker red if you add more heat and humidity, but it will never be a yellow. I am surprised that you are a Uber gardener and do not realize this:-(

Höpöhöpö, I still don't believe the cutting would've "changed to a red one" as I held the same cutting in my hand all the time as we walked in the garden with the gardener after he had cut it.

See, there it is in my hand

Evert, the proof is in your new bloom. You are right that it is impossible for a yellow cutting to have changed to a red one. I have an idea what might have happened. Were there many large trees growing close together? Maybe your cutting was taken from a branch that the gardener thought was the yellow tree, but it was really from the red tree right next to it? Branches can be mixed up when they weave together if they are planted too closely together.

That is what I was thinking too - but the only Plumeria near it (that I noticed/was blooming at that time) was white.
This is getting really interesting :D

I'll keep you posted..

Yes, please keep us posted. Either way, it is lovely and special.

Evert:

Your flower is beautiful. Another way the mix up could have happened is if different colors of plumerias have been grafted onto one tree. Some collectors will do this with different flowers, fruits, etc. These trees/plants make beautiful and interesting conversation pieces.

Delecie,

I have been following this discussion for a while, but never though about grafting.......Good catch....and I have been hearing about grafted plumerias a lot recently.

Great idea! Now if I just knew how! LOL!!

I think I read something about Florida Colors....something about the owner giving grafting instrucions at plumeria society meetings. I bet if you contact them or the Plumeria Society they would be able to give you more info.

Thanks! Like a lot of things I probably will get around to it in the next 5 years or so! LOL!!! One day.....

Nicole

Luc from Florida Colors speaks often at Plumeria Society meetings and was just here in San Diego last week. He does all the grafting at Florida Colors and is an expert at it. He is usually willing to show you how to graft if you stop by his nursery in Florida. I've tried grafting a few times but have not been successful yet, but it is easy to do. Here is one link about grafting: http://www.mauiplumeriagardens.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=379&st=0

I do not think this is the case in Gambia. I think that the gardener probably cut from the wrong tree, thinking that it was the yellow-flowered tree.

Hi txgrdngeek. Welcome to Dave's Garden.

Luc at Florida Colors nursery is a great guy. When I visit the nursery he and I usually end up traipsing around looking at other plants in addition to plumerias. He told me that I should be doing a lot of grafting since he taught me how to do it but I haven't tried yet. The plumerias with different flowers grafted on are really beautiful. With your mind's eye, imagine one plumeria tree with hot pink, deep yellow, rainbow, and white flowers growing together. Gorgeous!

Are you growing any plumerias?

Veronica :-)

Veronica that's an incredible image. If I had the climate, I'd be working on that.

Get working on it girl! You've got the climate, and the expertise, then you can show us the real thing.

Linda in Victoria BC

Linda:

I have the desire to try my hand at grafting but unfortunately not the time! For now I'll have to be content with seeing the image in my mind's eye. Maybe I'll get around to it one of these years...LOL

Veronica

cool,
I use to live in The Gambia. Banjul. I remember it was quite a Holiday spot for Scandanavia. It was Liberia and The Gambia that first started my interest in plants and animals. My parents were Missionaries.
Rj