I recently won some plumeria seeds off an online auction. I wanted to test the germination. I put eight seeds in a damp paper towel inside a baggie. To my surprise all eight sprouted within two days. So now what size pot do I start the other seeds in? I was told 4". That seems a little big to me but I could be very wrong. I am so very new to this.
Melanie
What size pot?
Two days! Fantastic! Mine usually take a little longer -- like two weeks! Some can even take longer than that. Good for you! You can put them each in little two-inch pots or four-inch pots and then move them up to one-gallon containers this summer. With seedlings, they develop a strong root system right away -- stronger than cuttings' root systems, which is why they are often used for grafts. The more room you give them for their roots, the bigger and healthier they will be. Small containers will limit their growth. I am usually against overpotting, but I make a small exception with plumeria seedlings. I just started some seeds myself using the paper towel method. Here are some pictures below.
This picture is on November 1st and shows the seeds in a moist paper towel in a sandwich baggy on a cookie sheet, absorbing the heat and light of the sun:
Here they are again when I transferred them to a large container that is about as deep as a one-gallon container. This is about 12 days later:
This is just two days later after the picture above:
This is about a week later, 21 days after sowing:
Here they are about a month later from the above picture. They are about eight weeks' old here. I just transferred each of these to their own one-gallon container last week.
Here is how I sowed some last April. There is really no wrong way. They are very easy.
This picture was taken in December, 2003, when I sowed my first plumeria seeds. They didn't stay in these small containers very long.
A month later, I put them in these cups with holes at the bottom, but I found that the soil stayed perpetually wet and attracted fungus knats, and I didn't like that so they went into one-gallon containers soon after this.
Here is a picture of some of the ones that sprouted in two days. The ones in the front are what looks like different types. Some are short and fat with long "feathers" (for lack of the proper word), some are long thin with short feathers. Is this any indication of different colors or types?
All I did was fold them up into a dry paper towel, mist the inside of a baggie, zipped them up. Then I taped them to the side of my aquarium light so that they are standing feather up, just like if you were to put them in a pot. No joke!! In two days they had sprouted!
Excellent! Good job! I think different cultivars have different looking seeds, but that doesn't seem to be an indication of flower color. Obviously, if a cultivar has self-pollinated, it will look just like or close to the parent cultivar, but if the cultivar was pollinated by another plumeria, the combination of chromosomes/genes (not sure of the correct term here) could produce any color. Here's an interesting link: http://www.plumerias.com/fdx/fsget/mcps/archive/data/Plumerias/2005/10/09/10792-EggenbergerTranscribedSCPSrev2.pdf Richard Eggenberger is highly respected in the plumeria community, and this is his lecture at the Southern California Plumeria Society, which was transcribed.
Whoooo!! Information overload!! Just kidding! Thanks so much for the link. I am going to have to read it four or five times to get all the information and get it right. LOL! Just remember Clare, I am a granny, not as young as you. Mind doesn't work as fast! I'm just so excited that all these little guys have sprouted.
Thanks,
Melanie
LOL, Melanie. You are as young as you feel, and I am willing to bet that our hobby keeps us all feeling young. Don't worry about learning that stuff from Richard Eggenberger. I just thought that it was interesting. He talks a little bit about pollination which doesn't seem to come up much with plumerias, mainly because it is really difficult to reach the reproductive organs. Usually, thrips are the pollinators. I'm excited for you too. You will have amazing looking plants in no time at all.
Excellent information. I printed it out for my files.
I love starting seeds but have never tried Plumeria, guess I'll have to try to find some.
I have some seeds Linda
send me your addy again and ill get em out to ya! ;)
Michael, you are great!
I totally agree!! Micheal, you are one in a million! Your brug babies are doing great!
Melanie
Oh, goodie goodie, thanks Michael you have mail
Linda
Id rather they had a nice home than to sit here doing nothing. ;)
I have so many I have to select which im keeping.
By Blooms naturally.
Sooo... unless there is a real unussual seed coming my way
I wont be doing anymore for a while.
Are these seeds from your plants? How long does it take from seed to bloom? I have some cuttings upstairs trying to get big and strong.
I've said the same thing, Michael! No more seeds! And then someone sends me some really cool ones so what the heck! LOL! No more seeds for me either for a while. It's too crowded here!
Linda, seedlings generally take two to three years to bloom. I have 40 two-year-old seedlings, and three of them bloomed at the 20-, 21-, and 24-month mark. Many of them have inflo's now which will hopefully bloom this summer. Some of them developed "nubs" which are fake inflo's but which cause branching. Sometimes you get one that will bloom sooner than two years, and sometimes, one will take years and years to finally bloom. I read somewhere that someone waited 20 years for a plumeria seedling to bloom. I'm not sure that I would have that kind of patience. I say, if it doesn't bloom in five years, it should go into the trash.
Where in the world do you put all of these beauties..... never mind, I forgot that you live in CA. What I would give to have the climate that you have!!!
I have 5 seedlings that infloed at under 9 months but they didnt bloom.
They got all nubby, branched and dropped the inflo.
I still have 2 more that look like they may bloom.
1 im almost certain of.
ooooooo I hope I hope heh......... :-P
The seeds are either ones I bought or gifts.
None of my plants have seeded yet.
Mrs Malestrom will be my best bet this coming year for a seed pod.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v515/Malestrom22/Mrs%20Malestrom/MrsMalestrom9.jpg
She smells like Sweet Cherry Candy!! WOO-HOO!! 8D
She is a seedling my buddy grew from seed and gave me one year.
She was a withered dried up little wretch of a stick maybe 9 or 10 inches long.
I said sure ill try to grow it, She is 7.5 feet tall now with 3 branches and 9 tips
Whoda known? lOL!!
I am planning on registerrng her.
1 cutting is headed for Hawaii
Another for Texas
1 more to my buddy who gave her to me
Hes been asking since she first bloomed ;)
This message was edited Jan 7, 2006 6:28 PM
Oh wow, that is a beauty. How exciting.
Michael, I've got my fingers crossed for you! Please don't laugh, but I've never even seen a plumeria before....just pictures. They are so beautiful that I just had to try them. I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing. I bought some seeds off of ebay, just knew that I had been had. But wonder of wonders....put 8 in a paper towel and eight sprouted, in two days........maybe I can grow some of these! LOL!!
Melanie
meag you will do fine....sounds like you've got the touch...
I don't know if it's "The Touch" or not, more than likely it's beginners luck!!LOL! I'll let you know if they ever get big and bloom!!
Touch or Luck... TAKE IT!!! 8D
These were started Jan 14, I found this today
Congrats, Linda! Is that 100 percent Perlite? It's going to be tough to get that little guy the water it needs in 100 percent Perlite so you may want to pot it up fairly quickly (after you get the first true pair of leaves) in potting soil and a fresh container. Aren't they cute when they are little?
No Clare, I start seeds in potting soil, topped with 1/2 inch of seed starter, topped with a sprinkle of coarse sand. All of that goes in a plastic cup and I top it with another plastic cup of a smaller diameter so that it goes inside the bottom cup. I think there are 4 or 5 seeds in that cup, so they should be ok for a while before potting up.
Cool! Neat idea, Linda!
This is when I potted them up on Jan 14
Neat! I recognize that nice person's name, Malestrom!
I always name my plants after the gifter.
Thanks Linda!!
Meag if youve never sen a plumie bloom you need to buy yourself (or get gifted) an Aztec Gold and a Celadine.
They will bloom your socks off.
The seeds could take years to bloom.
Theres no need to wait tha long. A rooted celadine or aztec will more than likely bloom the same year.
OK Michael, now where do I get one this time of year?
Hi meag - I suggest you check with Florida Colors nursery in Homestead - their new catalogue has just come out. Their plants are of exceptional quality and they mostly sell grafted plants which usually guarantee you blooms before a rooted cutting. Having said that - you're not very likely to find anything in bloom this time of year, but I think if you get one with an inflo forming you should have blooms no later than April or May.
I agree with Michael - it will take years for your seedlings to bloom.
Good luck with your new addiction LOL
(this from a hopeless addict...200 plumeria and counting....)
Good Gracious!!! Just where do you Clare and Michael put them all??? LOL! Thanks!