I I have been a subscriber for nearly a year but have just discovered all the addictive message boards -particularly the plumie one. I saw somewhere a Lurline Plumeria and I must have one. A story here - in May of 1941 My Mother and I sailed to Honolulu on the SS Lurline and returned to states on same ship which left Honolulu on Dec. 25 1941 with the first civilian evacuees. We arrived in San Francisco either Dec 3l or Jan l -cn't remember exactlly. So I have a sentimental reason for acquiring this plant. Any suggestions as to where I can find it will be appriciated. I admire all of your flowers and messages - very inspiring. Thanks
Hello - I am a newbie
Welcome!!
Thanks for the story too!
Welcome to the Plumeria Forum, Snowtop! Try here: http://bradsbudsandblooms.com/index.php?cPath=21&sort=2a&page=2 or here: http://www.floridacolors.com/order_form.htm Great story!
Snowtop, if you don't see your plant on their websites be sure to contact them and ask directly if they might have it or perhaps know of someone who does. Often plants in short supply are not listed.
I have received a beautiful, healthy and large Lurline cutting from Hetty. It even has a metal id tab. I am thrilled - hope I don't torture it to death. I have been studying the excellent advice from all you plumeria experts. I'll keep you posted with pics.
Welcome snowtop to the plumie part of dave's...
Any questions Clare can help or any of the regulars here...
Be advise any questions you post in here will and i repeat will be answered in a very short time so please check back often..
:)
I can attest to lopaka's comment of quickly receiving a response. It was only minutes before I got answers to a question a couple of days ago. I am also a newbie and have learned a lot just by going back and reading some of the older threads. This is a very informative group. I want a gallon of whatever lopaka puts on his cuttings though... they appear to grow like weeds.
Tammie
LOL, Robert and Tammy! I think maybe I spend too much time at the computer:-) Ha! j/k I love talking about plumies with members here.
Congrats on your Lurline, Snowtop! I hear that she can be a fussy bloomer, but waiting for her blooms is always worth it. Be sure to set your cutting on something hot for that bottom heat help. Lurline has been known to be a fussy rooter at times too, but you shouldn't have any trouble in this weather.
Thank you Malestrom for the welcome. I love Pa and wish we had some of your rain - we are parched in Orange County, Ca.
Thank you Clare for your welcome and suggestions. I followed up on the sites but had an excellent transaction with Hetty. Lurline is sitting on a sunny patio deck - plenty hot.
I agree Lhasa - more information is in this forum than in a college classroom. I would get a lot more done in the yard and house if I pushed away the keyboard.
We have an excellent local Japanese nursery five minutes away - Upland Nursery on Tustin. The lady owner has a large collection of plumies. I asker her for Lurline but she said she had too much trouble with it. They would bloom successfully then get black tips. She recommends MG for fertilizer. I think I want to try Peters according to information on you links.
Thaks ardesia and lopaka. Believe me - I will keep in touch.
Oh, yes, I've heard about her. She has a huge colleciton of plumerias in back, which is generally closed to the public, but occasionally she give tours in a golf cart of her plumie collection. I heard it is very impressive. I've also heard about Lurline getting Black Tip, but as long as you can avoid cold, damp weather, you should be able to avoid it. Singapore gets Black Tip often too, and I avoided it by keeping it in the house nearly all spring during our May Gray and June Gloom. Then I was stupid and put it underneath the tangerine tree, where it is cool and damp, and so naturally, it got Black Tip then.
Interesting Clare - I didn't know about her tours. I'll ask if I can tag along on one. She is very nice and I love to go to her nursery. Thats a good tip on Black Tip - I'll be aware of it next June.
Snowtop, I think she only give tours to VIP's, which means that I wouldn't qualify! LOL! You should ask though because that would be neat. I heard that she stopped showing her collection to the public because of theft. Here is one what person said:
"Jim - Have you ever been in the back lot of Upland Nursery? Two years ago, a friend of Malee's arranged for me to go for a walk through her back lot, which is unseen by the public unless by invitation. The path went forever. She had seedlings on both sides of the path, greenhouses full of plumerias, that were off-limits as that was her progation area. It was unbelievable. I have never seen so many different plumerias."
Here is an article in the Orange County Register:
Saturday, August 5, 2006
Plumerias: enduringly exotic
The colorful flower that fills Hawaiian leis is no wimp from the tropics.
By CINDY McNATT
The Orange County Register
Close your eyes and try to guess what tropical plant would perfectly fit the following setting: Imagine a rich, red sunset, soft summer rain, warm ocean water, rum drink from a coconut. If you haven't guessed, here are three more clues: white sand between your toes, an aloha greeting, a flowery lei necklace. Plumeria is so synonymous with Hawaii and other tropical regions of the world that it is hard to imagine it as the plant that it really is.
How about this to burst your tropical bubble? Tough arid plant. Thrives alongside barrel cactus in subtropical forests. Survives with little to no care in environments like Oaxaca, Mexico. Close cousin to oleander. Travel at least 23 degrees north of the tropics and you'll find the plumeria's preferred climate, which can be as dry as the Sahara desert in some spots. Plumeria, it seems, is not so steamy after all. Nor is it difficult to grow in equally arid Southern California, as anyone who collects these fragrant plants will tell you.
"What other plant can you start from a stick?" asked Malee Hsu of Upland Nursery in Orange. During my recent visit to see her collection, on a 107-degree day by the way, she pointed out cuttings and seeds that she had set aside on the backside of her nursery that have rooted and sprouted into sweet-smelling trees. I should mention that the plumeria didn't blink in the heat, although Malee and I were decidedly wilted.
Malee has more than 200 varieties of plumeria, including 18 patents for her own hybrids. That's why plumeria experts, such as noted speaker and author Alan Bunch and Dr. Richard Criley from the University of Hawaii, drop by from time to time to see what Malee has up her horticultural sleeve.
Her Rainbow Trees' in particular are a hit. Malee grafts three to four colors on the same tree, making them choice picks for plumeria lovers who live on small properties. To make them thrive, you don't need to rely only on containers. "They grow much better in the ground," said Erny Curtis of North Tustin. "When you grow them in pots they don't branch as much. But put them in the ground and they look more like they do in Hawaii, growing to 20 feet at maturity with a fuller, lusher look."
Curtis nurtures 30 varieties of plumeria, down from 80 at the height of his collecting. Roughly half of his plumeria are grown in pots on the patio; the other half are planted in the garden in sandy soil in full sun. "Fast drainage is key to their success," he said.
Plumeria tolerate rainy tropical climates like Hawaii's but only if they are planted in fast-draining soils. Curtis makes his own potting mix of half pumice, half potting soil and waters his potted plants twice a week at the most. He also incorporates plenty of pumice in the soil where plumeria are planted in the ground. Malee uses roughly the same mix or cactus mix and waters her potted specimens every four to five days in the summer months, just enough to keep them moist but not wet. "To correctly water a potted plant, fill the pot with water, let it drain, fill it again, let it drain, and then don't water again until the soil is dry," advised Curtis Hayes, president of the South Coast Plumeria Society, who grows 54 varieties at his Santa Ana home. Hayes agrees that drainage is the only problem plumeria have in Southern California. For plants in the ground, the watering schedule depends on the soil. He suggests you water once a week or even once month, but whatever you do, be sure to let the soil dry between waterings.
All plumeria go dormant in the winter with most dropping their leaves after the first cold spell. The exception is P. obtusa, an evergreen, more shrublike species. Plumeria start to leaf out again in March. "Plumeria are hungry plants," Hayes said. "You should feed them monthly year-round, using an organic fertilizer. Use a high-bloom formula from January through May. Switch to a high potassium formula for strong root growth in October through March. For the in-between months, stick to something high in nitrogen to keep them green and growing strong."
Even educated collectors, with full knowledge of plumeria's native habitats, are not likely to shake the plant's association with the tropics. Erny Curtis fell for plumeria in Hawaii. Malee Hsu loves to attend the big Asian conference in Thailand. Curtis Hayes says, "Hey, when you marry a Hawaiian, the plants come with the package."
Rooting plumeria: The very reason that plumeria are so simple to start from sticks (cuttings) is the same reason that they have found their way around the world. You don't want to kill them with kindness. If it isn't already, make sure your cutting has calloused over on the cut end by allowing it to air dry in the shade for at least five days before planting. Water-retaining rooting mediums such as potting mix, especially with vermiculite, will rot your cutting before it roots. Look for cactus mixes or even pure pumice if you can find it. Fill a small pot with your medium and pre-moisten it thoroughly before planting the cutting. Because plumeria root only on the cut end, and not along the sides of the cutting, you won't want to sink it too deep in the medium. Hayes suggests three to four inches at most. Place your cutting in full shade, water only once when you first plant it in the media, then do not water again for two months. Your cutting should be rooted at the end of the two months, but there are exceptions depending the variety. Some take longer. Once it is rooted, start watering it as you would any other plant. If your cutting rots, remove it, cut it back to good wood, and start again with a clean pot and new soil.
Common names: The Aztec called plumeria cacaloxochitl, and it has other names around the world:
•Australia: dead man's fingers
•Guatemala: flor de la cruz
•Haiti: frangipani
•Hawaii: pumeli
•India: temple tree
•Southern China: egg flower
RESOURCES
•Visit the South Coast Plumeria Society online at http://home.earthlink.net/~gcrouchet/
•"Growing Plumerias In Hawaii," by J.L. Little, available at South Coast Plumeria Society meetings. Find meeting dates and places on their Web site above.
•Upland Nursery, 1518 N. Tustin, Orange, 714-538-4500
•Aloha Tropicals says it provides plantings to clients ranging from Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas to SeaWorld in San Diego, www.alohatropicals.com.
•Stokes Tropicals says it provides plantings to botanical gardens across the country, including Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, www.stokestropicals.com.
CONTACT US: cmcnatt@... or 714-796-5023.
Thank you Clare. I cut that article out and was going to send it to you. Great minds run in the same direction.
Before I read the article I had purchased a big bag of cactus plant mix from MaLee - I only wanted a small bag for a small collection. I was thinking I could add it to our soil that has a lot of clay or in pots for plumies. I am pleased to see Malee favors cactus mix too. Now I have a way to get rid of that big bag of cactus mix.
Snow, I do disagree with that article about dormancy. My plumerias do not go dormant in my Zone, and plumerias don't need to go dormant in the wintertime. Dormancy is a survival mechanism and a reaction to reduced water, reduced fertilizer, and reduced light. Watering normally during the wintertime will keep most plumeria from going dormant in areas which have a mild winter or in greenhouses.
About cactus mix, I do like to mix it with another good peaty potting mix. Cactus mix by itself usually doesn't have enough nutrients for plumerias, and sand, which is in a lot of cactus mixes, does hold water.
Thanks Clare. I am a fair weather gardener - so I will go with what the plumies tell me. I prefer to have green and growing the year 'round - so will follow your advice.
About 10-15 years ago I bought two sticks and Home & Garden show. I have had them it dense shade with buckets of water, full sun with no attention, small pots,big pots in the ground, out of the ground. I don't think I ever ferilized them. I subjected these dear ladies to every type of indignity.
Then - as I this forum this summer - I moved them out of the shaded patio on to the hot back yard. These are wahines. Take a look.
Another
One more
Taken this morning
Another one taken this morning
The pots planted in ---How can I straighten out?
How can I straighten it out?
Another one that need fixing
Snow, they look geat and you are going to be soon overwhelmed with blooms. Congratulations!
Tammie
Awesome pics! That just shows that they can take a lickin' and still do really well. You are going to get some really nice flowers on those inflo's. Congrats!
That second one doesn't look like it needs straightening. The first one won't be hard to straighten out. You'll need a good sturdy stake. Take out those bamboo ones and repot that plumie to a bigger pot, centering the trunk in the center of the new pot. You can root prune a little if you wish. Repot it so that the base is straight then stick a strong stake, like your green plastic one, and shove it down into the root system flat against the trunk as far as it will go until it reaches the bottom. Then use plastic stretchy ties to tie the trunk tightly to the support, starting at the bottom and working your way up. Put a stretchy tie every six inches or so. The trunk will give, and you should pull until you feel some tension. Stop when you feel tension and tie. After a few weeks, the ties will be loose, and you can tighten them again by pulling and tying again. When the trunk is fully straight, you can remove the stake if you wish.
Thanks Clare and Tammie - I am encouraged.
Excellent instructions Clare. Thanks.
My pleasure! Glad to help;-) We want to see pictures when those buds open!