But I want to go outside!!!!

I dig my plumies up each year and store them bareroot in the garage till they can come back outside where I plant them directly in the soil. I did the "deed" in mid-Oct 2005 and they are still in my huge black pot, bareroot in the garageand without a drink since then. Celedine is beginning to feel the change in temps although it is still too early to put outside and has decided to start to send up buds on two of her branches. Another one, I can't recall which, has kept its huge seed pod on and it should be ready to harvest shortly after it goes back in the ground. The pictures below show you what I'm talking about. Ignore my messy garage!

bloom spike forming

Awesome!!
Looks like youll have blooms this year for sure!!
Congratulations. ;)

Now I know what to look for! *fingers crossed*

Malestrom.. Yep.. and I was wrong in my post above.. that is Aztec Gold .. it has always been my first bloomer. Last year it didn't like where I had it (too much shade) so I didn't get as many blooms as the season progressed.

This year I decided that I really didn't need my raised veggie garden as it was more a pain then it was worth. I'm preparing the bed now.. bought four 40lb bags of mushroom compost to really enrich their soon to be new home.

Let it rot well first, if it isnt already rotted.
AG is awesome!!
Peaches scent MMMmmmmmmm......... 8^D

Congrats, MzMunchken! Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them:-) Very nice indeed. Paula Furtwangler does the same thing, and I posted her pics of her garage a couple of times to show people what she does for the winter, and it is nice to see that you do it also. This illustration will come in very handy this fall when people need to know how to store their plumies. Michael keeps his growing in his basement, and he is going to be helpful this fall too! My AG is blooming now in the greenhouse.

If I keep em going I have a better chance for blooms.
The winter is soo long here and the growing season is too short.

Hey Trish, I have plumies now too. LOL. It never dawned on me to plant them in the ground. Do you think they grow faster than if in a pot?? I am lusting for a multi branched tree.

Thanks Clare. I've been telling folks for years how I overwinter my plumies. I've yet to lose any doing it my way.

Malestrom... the mushroom compost I bought is ready for the garden. Our soil is so sandy that it needs some enrichment. The sand though helps the water to drain through without sitting and rotting the root ball. And AG is my favorite scented plumie.. :-)

Kell, I put mine in the ground for two reasons. That one you see is HUGE and requires a huge pot.. much too heavy to lug around plus a pain to try and overwinter all the plants in the pots during winter. Also, having them in the ground provides them stability in our high winds (hurricanes) as they tend to get top heavy and tip over easily. I've also noted better growth and flowering when they are in the ground.. but these are MY personal observations.

Digging them up in the fall is a snap.. wash the soil from the root ball.. give them a day or two to dry out and then clean up dead leaves in the garage for the next month or so.. LOL

I shall be sinking a few in the ground this year.
I have about a dozen or so that will be quite fit for this.
It will also cut down on maintenance, less watering WOO-HOO!!

Trish, you could probably de-foliate them first before you store them, couldn't you? You are absolutely right in your observations: plumerias do grow faster and bigger in the ground than in pots. Your big one is awesome! Glad you are here to help us out with this good info.

Kell, you might actually be able to plant yours and leave them in the ground all year if you erect a structure of some sort over them to protect them from frost and freezing temps. The bigger they are, the more cold-tolerant they become, and they can be acclimated to cold weather over time. There are some large trees planted in various Zone 9's around the country, and while some may sustain branch damage from cold and freezing temps, that damage doesn't always necessarily kill the main tree, and the tree can generate new branches below the damaged branch. I've seen some planted against buildings and large structures in Zone 9 that did just fine in the winter. Microclimates can raise the air temp in your backyard even if it is colder in the surrounding area. Or you can, as Trish said, plant them for the spring, summer, and fall and dig them up before temps get too low and store them in your garage like Trish does.

Cool, Michael! We want to see pics!

Here's a link about plunging: http://www.plumeria101.com/plunging.html

Here is the link to what Paula does: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/534865/

Well the summer heat is finally here... our low's are in the mid to upper 50's and highs in the upper 70's low 80's... so I planted my plumerias in my old veggie garden. I gave each of the root balls a nice soak in Super Thrive before planting. I didn't have the heart to pull out the dill, fennel and parsley as the butterflies are coming in now and need them to lay their eggs.

Wow, lucky you to have that summer heat! Awesome! Your plumie looks great in the vegtable garden. That is really great of you to leave the herbs for the butterflies:-)

Thanks, Clare..

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for the seed pod to ripen (upper right corner) .. maybe now that it is back outside it will do so. I think I'll have bloom by the first week of May if not sooner on Aztec Gold.. can't wait to smell it again!

Oh, cool pod! I didn't even see that before. I hear that Aztec Gold is one of the first plumies to bloom in spring ahead of many of the others. Congrats!

Here is the seed pod on Celadine.. that has finally opened after 10 months.

Neato! Thanks for showing us!

The seeds are up for grabs if anyone would like to try and grow a plumeria from seed. SASE. D-mail me.

Thanks, Trish! You have mail!

WOW.. what a response.. all the seeds have been spoken for... good luck to those of you getting them!

Here is an updated photo of the little plumie bed

Cool! It looks great!

They are looking good, Trish. I see you have blooms too. Lucky you! I have so many now, I do not know how it happened! I have killed a few too.

The pic of your open seed pod is so cool!

Wow it's hard for me to comprehend that peeps in florida have to dig up their plumies..
My hats off to you folks for going thru the trouble each year..
Nice work on the plumie bed too..

thanks Kell & Clare.... Iopaka.. yep, unfortunately we have to as we get down into the teens and most nights in January thru Feb dip well below freezing... this really isn't Florida ;-)

Very nice! I can only hope my baby will grow up to be big and strong like yours.

I'm new to Plumerias and have one very small one and another about 4 ft with several branches, both in pots, Since it does sometimes frost and get down to freezing at night in North FL I was wondering what to do with my new babies in the "winter." Do I put them in the garage, pull them up against the house or next to the french doors in the dining room (where they can still get some light) and do I defoliate first?

Hi Mininissandog, please see the FAQ's about overwintering. You have several options: you can put them in the garage and let them go dormant, or you can keept them growing next to a sunny window with supplement light. You would defoliate them if they are going to go dormant, but you would not defoliate if you are going to keep them from going dormant. Both options are possible. There are people on this forum who have started threads showing what they do in winter, and those links are over at the FAQ's sticky thread.