thank you "dr." malestrom for these wonderful plants. but i don't know anything about these.....at all. do i plant them in reg. potting soil or cactus mix? can i put them outside in the ground and then dig them up in the fall? do they like a lot of water? are these desert or rainforest plants? where is the best place to just read some general information re: plant environment. thanks for any information. barb
just got my first ever plumerias
Plant them in a soil that is fast draining but holds moisture.
They like to be moist but never soaking wet for long.
They are a tropical tree.
You can pot them or put them in the ground.
They are not freeze hardy and will die in the cold temps,
I bring mine inside at 45 degrees, 50 for the reds.
You may keep them going in pots during the winter and that will shorten the time to bloom as these are seedling tips.
Once they become mature they can be stored dry over the winter in a warm location.
Once they get leaves developing they like water and plenty of it.
However they will not die too easily if you miss or forget a few days, these are very hardy tropical trees, they live in some desert like conditions as well as areas with monsoon rains so you really cant go wrong except to overwater too soon or freeze damage.
You will also need a bigger house, yard and greenhouse as this is not a simple collectable plant, it is an addictive insane obsession to collect as many of trhe different varieties as you can LOL!!
Good Luck!! Keep us all posted and chime in here with reports or questions from time to time. ;^)
Michael
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v515/Malestrom22/Mrs%20Malestrom/MrsMalestrom9.jpg
This is a picture of 'Mrs. Malestrom' A.K.A. 'Cherry Coke'
She is a 9 year old seedling I have raised and am registering
She is named after my Lovely wife
This message was edited May 2, 2006 12:02 PM
A bigger house? Michael...I don't remember you suggesting that!!! LOL I think we spoke about relocation of the kids...LOL!!! You really should consider writing a comedy about a plant obsession...what cha' think?!! Got seeds yesterday...thank you, thank you!!! I believe my weekends will be filled with plants and baseball (son) until at least fall at this rate!!! You oughta give her some of Clare's links and plumeria 101's. They were both helpful for me...not as much as stalking ya'll with questions (God bless your patient hearts!!!) but was good info to start with!!
o.k. what about that moisture control miracle grow potting soil? or a reasonable generic facscimile....fascimile......how do you spell that word? and how big of a pot? the plants you sent.........gallon container o.k.? how soon before they grow out of that? cherry coke is gorgeous.
The pot should be no bigger than 1 gal at this point. If you go too big it will hold moisture and rot the roots. Pot up when it fills the pot with roots. I wouldnt use moisture control mix, just use something llike peters or miracle grow potting soil 2/3 to 1/3 perlite.
I'm a lurker and appreciating all the help I can get with plumerias. I bought three, years ago, at the airport in Oahu. Now they're about three feet tall and beginning to leaf out. What size pot should I put them in at this point and should I include any water crystals? Osmocote? Will one of the bloom buster products give me flowers any sooner? Thanks, in advance, for your help.
thanks for the potting soil information. i'll be back when i have more questions. thanks. barb
Pirl, definitely no water crystals! Even though Plumeria need regular watering during the hot periods, they do not like wet feet.
And here is a great site with lots of basic information:
http://www.plumeria101.com/
Thank you, so very much! I thought my question might be lost but you've come to my rescue and I appreciate it.
Michael is so knowledgeable about growing plumies, isn't he? Way to go, Michael! And Nat is right on the money too. Thanks for posting that site, Nat!
Hey all, I wrote a couple of articles about gardening and about plumerias and how I grow them. If you click on the pdf version, you can save my articles to your computer and refer to them whenever you want. There are also many more pictures on the pdf version than on the web site. Go to http://www.plumerias.com and look for the link called "Clare's Garden" at the bottom and click on that. Also, Jim Little, a giant in the plumeria world, just published a new book about plumerias that every plumeria lover will want to have. My copy is on the way, thanks to a lovely friend who is sending me a signed copy of it. You can get it for $12 at Amazon.com or Plumerias.com or a few other places.
Plumeria101 has many great articles, instruction, and pictures. The Plumeria Society of America also has information on growing plumerias: http://www.theplumeriasociety.org/dyncat.cfm?catid=2013 Here is another great publication: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/OF-31.pdf
Thanks, Chantell! Good suggestions!
This message was edited May 3, 2006 6:24 PM
Thanks for all the great links!
thanks for all of the great references. barb
My pleasure:-) I'll try to post interesting links as I find them. Here's another interesting article by a plumie guru: http://www.plumerias.com/fdx/fsget/mcps/archive/data/Plumerias/2005/10/09/10792-EggenbergerTranscribedSCPSrev2.pdf
You know, I wonder if we should ask Dave if we could have a sticky thread at the top of the Plumeria Forum so that these great resources could be listed for newbie Plumeria growers to be able to find when they discover our forum.
God knows Clare and Michael are so patient at answering the same questions over and over...know I repeated many!! LOL
i just found out what a sticky thread is and also what it means to bump something up. what language!! hahaha yeah, dave let us have a sticky thread. and did i just bump this up?
You go Mamajack...you did, you did...and so am I...LOL
we dah ones chantell.
Good idea, Nat! Maybe a FAQ thread with the answers and incorporated links. I'll start to work on that!
Clare's THE gal!!!
LOL, Thanks, Chantell. I appreciate all the cheerleading you do, but I really am happy to answer your questions and chat about plumies:-) They are a favorite subject of mine!
I was just mentioning to someone in a dmail that ya'll have the patience of saints (See, I even say that behind your back)!!! Ya'll always patiently answer all questions as if it's the first time they been asked..I love it...you guys are great. God knows...I thought mine were originals when I asked them - yet I'm sure you'd already answered like questions a "few" times. :) That really was a great idea Nathalyn suggested!!
That sounds great Clare! Besides the folks that post and ask questions, there has to be lots of lurkers that could use ready access to Plumeria care instructions.
I would appreciate any and all help and would love the FAQ's listed as a sticky!
Okey, dokie:-) I'll see if I can whip some up over the weekend, and I'll post them in a thread, and you guys can fill me in on which questions are asked frequently that I've missed, and maybe that thread can be our sticky:-)
From a novice's viewpoint may I say:
watering
feeding (frequency, type of food, etc.)
amount of direct hot sunshine
pruning
keeping over winter
how, on earth, to make cuttings
do we let them get bigger and bigger and just make holes in the ceilings?
Water when dry, dry wont hurt them, wet will
Feed weekly, start with Nitrogen like 20-20-20
Then Bloom Booster the rest of the summer like 9-62-9
No food in fall or winter unless you greenhouse them
Direct hot sun as much as possible once hardened off
Winter = keep warm and very dry unless you greenhouse them to keep growing / blooming
cut no less than 18 inch pieces for easy rooting, the bigger the better
Yes holes in the cieling is a cool idear!! LOL!! 8^D
Michael
Great. Now to find the saw.
Will not cutting them back be of harm or help to the mother plant for more blooms?
Yes, I'll treat all those areas and include links like my articles, Plumeria 101 articles, and PSA articles. Pruning is the way to go to keep the branches low to the ground where you can smell the flowers, and you can make new trees from the cut branches. There is no harm in pruning when done correctly and selectively.
I think, for the sticky, I will do a search for good answers to the questions and cut and paste rather than writing it all myself. The questions have all been asked and answered many times, and there are different opinions about some of the categories so all opinions will be listed. I just need some time for the research, etc. You all will have to give me about a week or so to get it done, but I'll begin working on it this weekend.
Thank you, Clare! :)
Info. transferred to the FAQ's Sticky Thread, which is more up-to-date.
This message was edited Dec 14, 2007 1:13 PM
Great job Clare!!!
Thanks, Chantell. As you can see, I was working on it until almost 2:00 a.m., and I spent all day doing gardening chores today, and I have a bunch more to do tomorrow so I'll work on adding to it as time permits.
Info. transferred to the FAQ's Sticky Thread;-)
This message was edited Dec 14, 2007 1:14 PM
Wow, Clare! Atta girl! Bravo!
Thanks, Nat! I just heard from Terry, and I need to remove the "Recommend Sellers" from the post before it can become "sticky" as "sticky" threads are more authoritative in nature, and Dave's can get into some legal trouble by leaving vendors out. She said that a link to the Garden Watchdog vendors should be all right. I'll go change it now, and then the thread will become sticky and closed, and then Terry will make a Plumeria Resource Thread, like some of the other forums have and in the same format, and then we'll combine the two threads.