Claire, your bloom is gorgeous!
Although I have a hoop house (and hope to have a new, larger version before the end of the month) the temps here historically don't fall into the 40's at night until late Nov or even Dec and during the day until the last week of Dec or mid-Jan.(We've even gone multiple years without a frost.) I think I'll go ahead and transplant them next Sunday when the moon is good again.
Here's a picture of my inflorescence as of this moment...
Thanks Clare.....I must say, Harley is a sweetie all right.
Your inflos are looking really good Donna. It must be so nice to be able to leave things outside, if not all year, then at least most of the year.
Sandy
Donna, your inflo looks great. You can probably keep yours outdoors all year too if you don't get frost. If you see a frost warning, you can go throw a sheet over them. Anything that you can do to raise the amount of heat they will get will be beneficial. Plumeria are much hardier than given credit for. I've heard reports of well-established trees doing fine with temps in the high 20's, but damage does show up after that. Parts of Texas got snow last year, and some plumerias did fine with that too. Just keep your eye on the temps and the weather report. That's what I'm doing too.
Oh, that's a drag. There's always got to be a down side doesn't there.
Sandy, any progress? Has it opened?
No....it's getting closer though.
I have a plumeria that was given to me by a friend. This is the second season for it and now I've got buds! I'm just afraid we will have a frost before the buds mature and it flowers. I don't even know what color it will be. I'm so anxious to see the first flower! My plant is in a pot and I have it sitting in the garden where it gets a lot of sun. This is the first plumeria for me.
Our first frost date is usually sometime in November but this fall has been unusually warm so maybe my plant will have time to flower before frost.
Lin
I have a plant room where I store all my tender plants for winter. This room gets lots of morning sun and I have a light in there should I need it. The room stays well above freezing and some of the plants never go dormant.
My question: Does a plumeria need to go dormant in the winter?
Will the plant be harmed if it doesn't go dormant?
Lin
Lin, plumerias don't need to go dormant. Dormancy is a survival mechanism and a reaction to cold temperatures. Plumerias are tropical in nature and don't go dormant in tropical areas. I happen to live in a sub-tropical area with lots of warm microclimates, and mine don't go dormant either. It is the same way with my brugmansias. They live outside all year, and some are in the ground. I would bring your plumeria inside and keep it in your plant room so that it can bloom indoors for you. Your plumie could get damaged if you get a surprise frost outside.
Thanks Clare for the information. ;) I think I will be putting my plumie in the plant room pretty soon now as our nights are beginning to cool down rapidly. I don't want to take a chance on missing those pretty fragrant blooms.
Lin
Lin, post a picture, if you can, when it blooms so we can all enjoy it:-) Can't wait!
When my plumie blooms I will try and post a pic here. I've never posted any pictures on this forum but I think I know how to do it. ;)
Lin
It's getting close....maybe it'll open tomorrow. I discovered I have spidermites though so I'm not too happy. I sprayed with some mite killer but I need a day without wind so I can take the plant outside and spray it really well.
Finally! It's beautiful already Sandy, and look it at them brugs outside! Yowser!!!
Maybe it'll open all the way later today.
Yes, those brugs are amazing. They have been blooming like that nonstop since July. I just love them but I'm so afraid that after I chop them back and store them in the garage for the winter they won't be like that next year. I stored one in the garage last winter and it died way back. It has a couple of buds now but I doubt that they will open because it's so cold outside. Even if they do bloom I'll really have no idea of the colour. Isabella is blooming at the moment and you'd swear it was a white brug. The yellow ones seem to keep their colour pretty well in the cold but not the pinks.
Sandy
It's been a while but I finally have some blooms to show off. Inside the solarium during the winter the buds kept falling off. That first flower did open but it fell off when I tried to take a picture of it. Many of the buds dried up and fell off but there were still tiny buds left when I put the plant outside for the summer about a month ago. Some of the buds are finally opening. I'm amazed that the buds could last that long on the plant.
Sandy
Sandy, good to see you posting again. Your plumerias your great! Certainly worth the long wait. I bet the scent is just devine.. They must be loving this heat we're having.
Linda in Victoria
Beautiful flowers, Sandy! Congratulations for being so patient! Some inflo's will hang on all winter and then bloom again in the spring. That is so cool:-)
Thanks Linda and Clare. Yes, they're definitely enjoying the heat. I can't really tell if they smell nice unfortunately. I have a bad cold but even without that I probably wouldn't be able to smell them. Ever since I got allergies my sense of smell went down hill. I'm really enjoying the flowers any how.
Sandy
