I have plumeria cuttings that I had starting in potted soil with good drainage in a shady area. I waited until they had little claws then put them on the east side of the garage. Morning sun. I watered them when the potting mix seemed very dry. We've had some very hot days and now they look like this. They have itty bitty roots starting.
Here's some of the tiny roots. Are these going to be able to live with the skin wrinkled and shrunken or should I cut them off and re-try starting the tops?
Judy put it in full sun immediately
In a pot of shallow soil on black top or conrete
Once it shoots a few roots water it.
The dessication should clear up once it starts drinking.
You are aware of what 'full sun' is like in Phoenix? But I'll do it. :-) One of them has yellowing on the stem as if it were sunburnt.
Normally, I would agree with Michael as I root all my cuttings in full sun, but AZ's full sun is very strong, and since you already have dessication, it might be better to keep it in part shade and mist frequently. When I root cuttings in the summer and when I know that I have plently of bottom heat, I water every day and mist daily also. Your cutting got too dry, and I fear that you will not be able to repair that area, but if I were you, I would cut off above and below the dessication. Your rooted center cut cutting will put out branches just below the cut, and you can root the top part and have two plants. I don't think you will get that area to plump again. I think that, once the cambium is destroyed, there is no restoring it.
I beg your pardon
I forgot to look at your location.
Arizona sun will cook it
Clares got the right idear there.
Id do morning sun till about 10:30 or evening sun from 4:30 on till dusk
Completely avoid the midday range, please!! ;^)
Thanks everyone. I suspected that the damage went too deeply. I also have an Aztec Gold that is starting the same thing so I guess they will have a different location for a while. Leaves on some others are looking yellowed and overheated, is that a problem, too?
Judy, they may just need more water. There are a couple growers in Arizona over at PlumeriaPals. You may want to register and ask them what they do in your area. There is also an Arizona Plumeria Society that might have care information which would be helpful: http://www.azplumeria.org/ I think you may need to water a little more than most in your area given the heat.
Thanks to all. After close inspection, I decided to do as Clare suggested, cut out the dessicated part and let the bottom regrow and try to restart the tops.. That's OK for the cuttings but I'm really bummed about the Malaysian Red graft from Florida Colors. I imagine the rootstock will regrow, as I have 3 already from winter kill, but I don't know if MR is one that will root. Guess I'll find out. The only one of my plumies that is shrugging off the sun and heat is a white rooted cutting I got from Hetty. Most everything else looks stressed. Well, the little re-growing seedlings from the FC grafts aren't too bad. It is so outrageously dry and hot here that I'd be spending all my time misting in the previous locations so all are getting moved to a less stressful area.
Judy, you can send the MR back to FC to graft for you. It will only cost you $4 plus shipping, or you can try to root it yourself. With plenty of bottom heat, it shouldn't be tough. You may have to grow yours under a shade cloth or in part sun. Many bloom just fine that way. FC uses the cultivar 'Moonlight' for their grafts, but they may use seedings too so I don't know what you will get if you let your FC rootstock grow. It may be fun to find out.
So sorry about your losses, Judy. Everybody has them. I just found Leela rotted all the way through the stem, and it was a perfectly fine rooted plant a month ago. It just got too wet and stayed wet for too long with the rains that we've been having, and then May Gray and June Gloom must have did it in. We need some heat and sun around here! Check out that AZ site when you get a chance. It looked like it has some good information on it. Dete is a member here at Dave's, and he grows plumerias in Arizona. Maybe you can send him a d-mail. He is a super nice guy and would probably be happy to help you. Here is his page: http://davesgarden.com/members/tucsonplumeriaz/
You're right, Detrick is an extremely nice, and knowledgeable, guy. He's been here a couple of times. I kept earlier plumerias in an under-tree area where they got morning sun, dappled afternoon shade, and a little more humidity. I wanted to try them in a different spot and that appears to have been a mistake. In fact, Detrick had told me that they were in a really good spot, but did I listen? Noooooo. They're going back there.
Sometimes it is good to experiment, and it helps us to learn things we didn't know before so don't feel bad.
