Rate of growth on rooted cutting?

I have a rooted cutting about three years old, and about that tall. I bought it and potted it up. It has what appears to be healthy leaves, although it dries out a bit faster than my other plumies. I've noticed that the rate of growth is much less than on my new unrated cuttings. It's grown maybe 3in all season. Is this normal?

Well, different cultivars and hybrids have different growth rates and growth patterns. Some do stay more compact and low growing than others. Some grow really tall and open too. If your rooted cutting is growing at its natural pace in ideal conditions -- i.e., full sun and lots of water and fertilizer -- it should be in a 10- or 15-gallon container right now. Most of my thee-year-olds are rootbound in 10- or 15-gallon containers. The fact that it dries out faster than your other plumies probably means that it is rootbound and needs a bigger pot. Being kept rootbound for too long will stunt a plumeria's growth so that could be why you are not seeing the growth that you should. Here are some of my three year old's.

Not sure about your question andi ;=/
Sorta has some different terminology in the way you put the question..
Are you saying you have a 3yr old cutting and is how tall? 3 feet,3 inches,etc..
Not sure what you mean by a unrated cutting..
What do you mean it drys out faster? The soil?
If you mean the soil then it would suggest that the plant is rootbound and has been since the first year..
What size pot is she in?
Pull her out gently and if i was to guess right it's all roots with very little soil..
This also would explain why she grows slowly..
If this is the case replant her in another pot (bigger) with fresh soil and give her a drink of
your favorite nutrients like SuperThrive,High Phosphorus Fertilizer like Peters 20-20-20 or Peters Super Bloom 10-50-10.

LOL Clare we type at the same time with the same answers..
I am just stopping by so hi Clare and others i will be back later..

This message was edited Aug 27, 2006 1:12 PM

Thanks. Yes, I mean that it was sold to me as a bareroot cutting, and about three years old. It was about 3 ft tall when I received it, and it has only grown about three inches this season since I received and potted it up. The soil seems to dry out quickly. I will check the roots.

Well, I potted it up. It was dry, and the roots were growing out of the bottom of the pot, and had grown to the sides of the pot in some spots, but had not covered the sides of the pot they way I think of when I think "rootbound". I should have taken a photo before I repotted. I gave it a much larger new home, in fact I may have overpotted it, if that's possible.

Hi Andi, if the roots were growing out of the drainage holes, then it was definitely time to repot. When you repot plumerias, it is important to go one size up and give your plumies about two to three inches of soil to grow into. A plumie should go from a one-gallon to a five-gallon to a ten-gallon to a fifteen-gallon to a twenty-five gallon over time -- usually a repotting once a year is sufficient. You want to make sure that you have a well-draining potting mix, good drainage holes, and not a whole lot of unused soil. Soil that is unused by the roots will stay wet, and perpetually wet soil can create drainage problems and lead to bacteria, fungus, and eventual root rot. That is why it is important to not overpot with plumies and only give the plumeria two or three inches of unused soil for the roots to expand into. Spring is usually the best time to repot to give the plumie a chance to adjust to its new conditions in warm weather. Since you repotted so late in the year, it is probably best not to let your plumie go dormant so soon after repotting. I would put your plumie on a very warm surface in full sun for at least a month to give it time to adjust before the cold sets in. I'm not sure what Zone you are in, but you will probably need to watch the nighttime temps to bring you plumie in before it drops below 40.

Thanks. I used MG potting mix and added perlite. It now has about five inches of soil below and about two- three inches on the sides. It's on pavement. Most of my unshaded area is on grass or a flowerbed. So there's a decision to make there. It would get a full day of sun in the flowerbed. Right now it gets shaded a bit later in the day.

Andi, I would put it on the hottest surface that you have available and put in the area which gets the most sun. I wouldn't re-pot it now that you have already got it situated. I would just make sure that that root zone stays warm all the time, including during the winter.

If you like the size pot it is in you could 'root prune' it
Pull it out of the pot and cut away 11/2 inches all the way around and up to 2 inches off the bottom.
Remove 1/2 to 1 inch of soil from the top also.
Dont cut any top roots!
Then add more soil to the pot and put her back adding more soil around the sides and finnaly top dress the top.
Water her in and get ready for some agressive plumeria response.
They respond very well to this and it promotes blooming and growth

I wondered at the time if should open up the rootball. It's still in the new large pot, and at first a couple of the leaves yellowed and dropped off. It seems to be recovering a bit. Some of the top roots were disturbed in the process of transfering it.

This message was edited Sep 9, 2006 5:44 PM

If a root ball is really compacted and there are a lot of roots circling at the bottom when I repot, then I losen them a little with my fingers and will rub the bottom to loosen any compacted roots. I don't do too much because the roots are fairly fragile and break easily. Then I water with Vitamin B-1 to help alleviate transplant shock. If the top roots were broken during the transplant, then their could be some broken roots rotting. New leaves which turn yellow and drop off is not a good sign. Old leaves at the bottom which turn yellow and fall off is normal. If the other leaves look okay, it should be fine.

They were old bottom leaves that yellowed and dropped off. There was some top-root damage from the transfer, but most was from some animal deciding to dig it up. They like to attack my plumies at night. No idea why. I think they are rabbits.

I'm sure your plumie will be just fine then:-)