Most plumeria care sites talk about storing plumies dormant through the winter. I recently ran across a recommendation that freshly rooted plumies should be kept growing under lights for their first winter.
What has everyone else done? Recommendation, please?
Recently rooted plumies
I have heard that with seedlings however not with rooted cuttings, but hey if you can keep them going under lights....go for it!!!!! I wish I had room, but ...maybe I will just have to make room (my husband will just love that)
Nat, if a good root system has developed, they can and will go dormant if given the right conditions. If they are not rooted yet or only slightly rooted, they need to keep rooting on a heat mat or heat source. Light is less important than bottom heat. I rooted a bunch last winter on a heat mat indoors and some in a portable greenhouse where it was warm. I've heard of some people buying cuttings in the wintertime and sticking them in a drawer until spring and then rooting them in the spring. By that time, however, they will be wrinkled and may be hard to root at that point. If given the choice between making newly rooted cuttings go dormant or keeping them growing under lights, they will be happier and stronger if they are kept growing under lights.
Thanks Clare. I have at least 2 months before I have to decide what to do, but need to plan where to put them if they aren't stored dormant. My indoor greenhouse is going to be kept humid for the tropical hibiscus and that wouldn't be a good place for the plumeria. If I keep them on heat mats, what is the minimum air temperature - - in your opinion?
Nat, the indoor greenhouse would be fine for your plumeria. Only Plumeria obtusa, Singapore, gets black tip when it is cold and humid. The others would do fine. If they got rust, you could just pull off the leaves and spray with a fungicide, and new leaves would grow back quickly. You could spray the leaves with a fungicide before you put them in the greenhouse as a precaution. They would do quite well, I think. Minimum air temp for rooting plumies is 40 degrees. Obviously, the warmer, the better. They will root slowly if it gets down to 40 degrees at night. It would be better if they didn't get temps below 50.
Clare,
Great info. I have few that were just rooted this year. I think after reading your comments, I will keep them growing indoors this winter.Let me ask you this...How do I go about storing the larger ones bare root in the winter? The last two years I have just been moving them in the garage in there pots. However every year I have lost at lease one. I know that a lot of people store them bare root however, I have been unsure of the process and any problems that may arise.
This message was edited Jul 27, 2005 8:04 PM
Clare, both of my garages seldom go below 50 in the winter and I keep grow lights in both of them. I'll plan on keeping them growing in one of them.
Nat, that sounds good. Just make sure that you have enough light spectrum, etc. Someone I know keeps them on rolling carts and rolls them out of her garage during the day to get some sun and rolls them back in at night. They should do fine in your garage if it doesn't get below 50 in there. I would invest in some heat pads too for the just-rooted and rooting cuttings.
Tx, to tell you the truth, I am unsure of the process too. They should be okay in their pots as long as the soil stays dry and the leaves are removed. Here's a helpful link: http://botanictreasures.com/psa/PCB.pdf/plumeriacare_bulls.pdf
Also, here's a picture of someone getting ready to store their plumerias for the winter:
Here is a picture of the same plumerias being stored:
Here's another picture of them:
I think they are utilizing an old shower in the garage to store them here:
I think they just shake the dirt off of the roots, remove most of the leaves, and place them in a dry area.