Success! Here's the most advanced of my Aloha Palms cuttings.
Look, Clare (and everyone else)
I think I can safely assume that these three are not going to make it. Do you agree?
Still, that leaves the viable seven in the front row, and that's nothing to sneeze at, especially in view of the fact that I paid only $28.45 (shipping included) for all 10 cuttings and never had to do anything for them after I plunked them into these pots back in May or June.
I guess now, though, I'll have to start doing something for them. Right? Should I repot them and start watering and fertilizing them now, or wait until the leaves on all seven are bigger?
Thanks again for the recommendation.
hmmm, I see you're starting your own little plumeria army, just like Clare. LOL
Zuzu, way to go! Congratulations! That first one looks like it has leaves which have a red rim to them. Which one is the first one?
The three don't look great, but how do they feel? If they are still firm, there is a chance still that they will root. If they are soft and squishy, then they are goners. Which three are those? If they are Rainbows or Reds, don't feel bad. Been there; done that. Rot can happen easily with those.
Are you misting? It wouldn't be a bad idea to mist those cuttings, especially if you are having a great deal of heat like we are down here. The one that has leaves should be watered now and regularly. If it has leaves, it has roots and needs water. You can also put it out in full sun if you are going to water it regularly. In fact, the soil looks pretty dry so I would give them all a little bit of water.
Nope! Don't do anything! No repotting -- not until next spring. No fertilizing -- not while they are rooting. You can either keep them in filtered sun/part sun and keep them dryer, or you can put them in full sun and mist them often and water them about once a week. I have my cuttings in full sun, but I water often and mist regularly.
You've done great! Congrats!
LOL, Nery! I do have an army, don't I?
Here are some of my cuttings which are rooting below. They are up on the wall.
Clare, if that's not an army, it's at least a regiment, and those are only the cuttings. Your garden must look like a veritable paradise.
I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't keep track of which ones they were, so I don't know which ones are growing and which are failing. I just bought one of each Plumeria offered on the Website, and now I guess I'll just have to be surprised when I find out which ones they are. Anyway, you know how that Website is: No names, just colors.
They are in full sun, so I'll mist regularly and water sparingly. So far, so good. I'm so delighted!
Well, good news. Of the three that looked like "goners," two are still quite dense and sturdy, so maybe they're just being slow. One is positively hollow inside (probably the Rainbow).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming these will have to spend the winter in a dark spot without water. Is that right? I have a solarium, but it gets a lot of sun, even in winter, so it actually makes a great home for hibiscus and other things that never go dormant. I'm assuming the Plumeria would rather live in a closet than in the solarium.
Zuzu, it's true that I have an army! Thanks for the compliment:-)
Don't be embarrassed. I didn't keep track of the colors of my AP cuttings either, but now that I'm paying big bucks for named cultivars, every plumeria gets an aluminum tag. I still have an unknown from AP that hasn't bloomed yet. I think it might be their apricot.
I hope your two make it. The one in the upper right corner looks for sure like a goner. You're right that it is probably the Rainbow.
If your cuttings are in full sun, you can feel free to water a bit more. I keep the soil pretty moist right now since there is so much heat and direct strong sun.
Your plumeria will be delighted in a solarium! Wow! They would much rather have sun and heat and keep growing than be dormant. Here in my Zone 10, they stay outside all year, and I have some areas where there are warm microclimates, and most of my plumies in those areas don't lose their leaves at all. I might get a yellow leaf here and there, but they don't go dormant here. They get full sun during the day, and I water about every other day or three times a week. You'll be able to water a little less in the winter, but if you have a lot of sunlight and heat in there, you'll need to water regularly, and you could conceivably get blooms this winter and for sure in the spring.
Well, that's great news. I'd much rather keep them growing than dormant. Does this mean I should repot them before spring, maybe in fall? It's pretty hard to keep the soil moist when there's almost no soil in the pots. It's a mixture of grit, aquarium sand, and cactus mix. The water runs right through.
Yes, you're right. The hollow one was the one at upper right. Too bad.
Oh, well, if there is no soil in the pot then, that is a different matter. The problem is that roots are just starting and are very fragile, and you will have to be very gentle with them so as not to break them. I suspect that there are hardly any roots right now, and if there are, you may break them off when you transplant. It is really too soon if you just started your cuttings a couple of months ago.
It really depends upon the cultivar. Some root really fast, and some don't. Your first one has a red rim to the leaves. I wonder which one that is. It could be a red or a rainbow. Anyway, you could go to a two-gallon container for the one that has leaves only. Personally, I would wait until next spring and just water often or daily if you need to in order to keep the soil moist. Water lthe ones which don't have leaves yet less often. You should repot when the leaves look like the picture at the bottom on the far right: http://www.plumeria101.com/cuttings101.html
Oh boy, does this ring a bell. Thanks, Clare. You provided me with this link earlier, and this is the soil mixture I used, although I omitted the gravel on top, because it's already so hot here (102 degrees today) and because we were still getting freak rain showers when I planted the cuttings. I didn't want the gravel to hold in the heat or the rain. The other soil mixture I mentioned was the one I used for my new alpine plants. Talk about zone pushing, huh? Alpines and Plumeria in the same garden?
I will water according to your instructions and not repot until my cuttings resemble the plant in the picture. Thanks so much for all of your help.
My pleasure, Zuzu. You've got to love this heat! Well, the plumerias love it anyway:-) It's fine that you didn't use gravel. I don't either, and I don't like it on the top of the soil. Your garden sounds lovely!
I can't tell you how many times I've broken off roots when transplanting. Sometimes, it is unavoidable, but the more roots you have, the faster it will recover so I'm glad you will wait until next spring.