Plumie Pictures - What's Blooming Now

Intense Rainbow:

Teresa Wilder:

Marion B.

I think this one is Ruby Star, but I'm not sure so just calling it 'Unknown Pink.'

Charlotte Ebert:

Last one for today: Rose Red

Clare, as always AWSOME! You need to take a couple of pictures of your whole plant(s). I feel like you are the expert and carefully try to follow your recommendations. Not always, but try. You did recommend to not repot at this time, but I did it since I am going to try and keep mine growing through the winter months this year.

Weegy, please share a little more of just how you neglect. I'm a 'pot watcher' sometimes [or more often than not] and have to keep reminding myself that plants grow wild all the time and make beautiful displays.

I neglect to poor thing so much that I feel bad about enjoying the blooms...I forget to water it, I forget to fertilize it, it just sits by the front door and does so well! It's still blooming. I've got one in the backyard that was from a dger, it was almost a tree. The leaves are limp and the branches are real soft, but it bloomed profusely. Does anyone know why it's not adapting here yet? It's been here for a few months and just won't perk up. On the ends of the soft branches, there is new growth but the branches are worrying me. It's in a spot where it gets watered 3 times a day right now, which I will be cutting back on and under a pepper tree, could it be too much water or shade?

Hi DiamondD and thank you! Here is a pic with a few of my largest trees. I have a couple of the bigger ones in front too. I'm a renter and have already planted the landscape fairly heavily with other plants so I have my plumerias in containers. I really am not an expert and am just learning as I go like everyone else. Also, what works for one person in one area may not work for another person in another area. Good advice for one climate may be bad advice in another climate so it is important to figure out what works best for you in your climate. Looking at what other growers do in a similar climate as yours can help a lot. I can only pass on what I've learned, but I always reserve the right to be wrong! LOL! Good climate makes a big difference with these trees. If I've learned one thing only is that they do not like to be cold! Cold/wet is a deadly combination. As long as you keep the root zone area warm, you will have no serious trouble at all.

Weegy, it sounds like too much water and too much shade. I would put it in full sun in the warmest spot in your yard and water only when the soil looks dry. Temps could start dropping at night into the 40's so watering less is a priority right now as the soil will dry out more slowly in colder weather. Your plumies could go dormant depending on how cold it gets there at night and your surrounding microclimates.

Here are a couple of the ones in front. They are in smaller containers and just placed inside of those decorative big ones.

Here are some seedlings plunged in the ground:

Here are a few big ones against the side of the house. I know these get to be big trees in time, but I kind of like it when they are small so I can see the flowers and not have to get a ladder to smell them.

Thanks Clare, will dig him up and move him to a better spot.
Thanks for the photos, I'm envious! They all look great.

Weegy, I did not realize that your tree was in the ground. The roots are probably not getting good drainage or not getting enough water or the pepper tree roots could be encroaching along with the lack of sun situation. The pepper tree gets to be a huge tree with a huge root system and is an invasive weed here in California, spreading rapidly when birds drop the berries. There also could something toxic happening from the berries. I'm not sure about that, but it is possible.

I would dig up the rootball starting in a wide circle and get up as much of the rootball as you can. Pot it in a well-draining black nursery plastic pot which is barely bigger than the current root ball with fresh well-draining potting soil. Water very well with water with Vitamin B-1 or Superthrive following the transplant then don't water again until the soil looks dry. Place in the warmest spot you have. You want the root ball to remain warm at all times until it is adjusted to its new environment. This probably isn't the best time of year to do this, but it is best to do it now because, when the rain comes, it will only make the situation worse. Something is happening to the root system now, and the sooner you correct it, the better off the tree will be. That's just my feeling about it but feel free to ask advice of others, if you wish, by starting a new thread so that the others can see your situation as some people might not be reading this thread. Thanks for the compliment:-)

Thanks for sharing 'the big picture'. Gives me somethiing to go by/expect with mine. I have good growth on my 2 but they are still only about 3 feet maybe. I did buy some seeds and one has sprouted, we will see how they do. I may have to have that hot house after all :). Right now, I'm running around the yard with them as the sun moves to give them as much sun as possible. When they are in the storage room under the grow light I have to keep raising the light up, a good thing!

No Clare, I'm not going to start another thread...by the looks of it, you know what you're doing!!!!!! Thank you and I will probably dig my plumeria up tomorrow and move it and baby it. Thanks so much for the great advice...see, you're not only helping me, you're helping others too! It's so appreciated. Keep making me envious with those photos!

Thanks, DiamondD and Weegy:-) It's my pleasure to share what I have learned and what has worked well for me.

I'm afraid that I didn't show you the half of it! Here's a backyard shot:

Here are the ones along the side of the house:

OH MY! What do you do with them when the temps drop? Great idea about the gravel 'lining'. I was thinking about doing something like that in one corner of our yard, not for plumie's ... too shady ... but a couple of understory trees I just purchased. It's always nice to have a visual though.

DiamondD, we replaced the grass with the three-quarter rock. It's a lot easier to maintain, and it absorbs and releases heat, which adds to a nice little microclimate in addition to the aluminum siding of the house and the six-foot brick retaining wall. My plumies stay outside all year. It doesn't drop much below 40 in the winter here. Sometimes it will drop into the high 30's for a few hours in the early morning. I haven't ever experienced cold damage, but I have had one or two plants rot on me in the spring. Most of my trees keep their leaves in the winter and don't go dormant, and I continue to water normally when the soil looks dry. I'm in Zone 10b, but with all the microclimates that I have going, I'm probably pushed into Zone 11. The last couple of years, I have set up a portable greenhouse for the cuttings that I am rooting and for my smaller plants and other tropicals, but this year, I am doing without it. My adeniums and other tropicals will have to stay on my outdoor semi-covered patio this year.

Clare, have dug up my plumeria and potted it and moved it to a sunnier spot as per your advice. Will keep you posted as to how it's doing. Gotta get the fertilizers you recommended so will do that and keep my fingers crossed, the poor thing is still full of blooms. Have posted a picture of it before I moved it.

Here's another of the poor thing...

And another, but notice the new growth on it. (Not on this photo but the one above.)

This message was edited Oct 8, 2006 5:47 PM

Weegy, that is one stressed tree before you dug it up. Look at those limp leaves and wrinkled branches. Did you see or smell any rot or anything happening at the rootball, or was it dry as a bone? That tree was really unhappy. Hopefully, you watered it in well, and it will recover now. The Vitamin B-1 or Superthrive are actually not fertilizers but supplements and intended to help with plant shock and are the most useful immediately after transplanting so the sooner you can apply it, the better. I would be surprised if those leaves came back to look normal. You might just want to remove all but the top most leaves so that water transpiration is slowed. That tree was on its way out, and you may have just saved its life. That new growth should be stopping soon with the shortness of the days and colder nights. With luck, it will resume in the spring. Good job!

Edited to fix spelling.

This message was edited Oct 8, 2006 7:03 PM

We did water it in well otherwise it would not stand up straight in the pot! I will get the Superthrive or B-1 and give it a shot tomorrow, using the word "fertilizer" was my mistake. We did not smell any rot or anything like that, actually, there was no root ball on this poor thing. I have removed the limp leaves and will not water it until it is totally dry, right? Thanks Clare for helping me out, I'd hate to lose it, it came from a very special DGer. Your input is very much appreciated. Will take a picture of it tomorrow in its new pot and new location. Thank you so very much.

Here it is Clare, all de leaved and in it's new location.

...and another shot for you.

Hi Weegy! It looks better already! You can use a thin bamboo stake if you need to to keep it upright until it develps a root ball again. The lack of a root ball explains it. That's a lot of branches and leaves to support with no root ball. No wonder the leaves were limp and the stems were wrinkled. It must have had a better root ball at one point that either dried up or rotted or was perhaps torn away. It should come back fine now. It will probably put on some new roots now, and you'll see some simultaneous leaf growth when that happens. Well, I wouldn't let the mix become totally dry. You don't want the new or old roots to dry up. You really want a moist, consistently warm, well-draining mix. I would say water lightly while there are no leaves. You can mist to keep the stems hydrated if you wish. The plant is in a state of dehydration so I wouldn't let the mix ever dry out. That clay pot is going to heat up nicely and breathes nicely too so I think it will be fine. Some people may try to discourage you from planting plumerias in clay pots because they say that the roots stick to sides and will break when you go to transplant. Well, the same is actually true of plastic pots. I have to scrub my plastic pots with a stiff brush just to get the roots off of the sides. When I have a sick or hurting root ball, I usually opt for a clay pot also because it breathes so well and holds heat. I think that tree will be fine in that pot for a while. Keep us updated on its progress if you will. Glad to help:-)

Thanks Clare for the advice, I meant to tell you that when I got this plumeria, there was no root ball, she was trimming her huge tree and either cut this one off or tore it off the main plant. I will mist it although with how the weather is this morning, I'm sure it got a little misting from mother nature. I'll keep you posted on it's condition and post photos when and if it perks up for me. You have helped me immensely!

Hi Weegy, glad I could help. That is a huge cutting to try to root, but it can be done. When the person took the cutting from her tree or chopped off the root ball, she should have removed all the leaves at the same time. Cuttings should always be rooted without the leaves as transpiration occurs through the leaves, and since the cutting has no rootball to take up water, the transpiration just causes dehydration. The lack of water cannot maintain the leaves, and they end up going limp and falling off in short order. So you are starting the rooting process again, and if you have the start of roots, then that is a good sign. Bottom heat is essential to the rooting process so you'll just have to make sure that your cutting is never sitting in cold, wet soil this coming winter. The growth of leaves means the growth of roots usually so that should happen right away, or it could happen this coming spring. Generally, the warmest place in the yard is against the house so, if you have any place against the house where it is warm and protected from rain, that might be a good place for it this winter.

Taking your advice and moving it when dh gets home.
Everything makes sense, you're right, it is an awfully big cutting to try to root but I've had luck with the smaller ones and am sure it will be fine and blooming in no time. You've inspired me to do something like you've done with all your plumeria...gonna put them all on the side of the house and taking the cactus garden out. I have another plumeria cutting, no root ball, planted in the ground that was about the size of this one and it's doing great, it gets more sun than this one did but has really grown and I'm curious to see what color it is.
Going to search the shed now for B-12 to feed this one, oh, how much do I use?

Weegy,

I did the same thing against the house. This is what it used to look like below before I took the roses out.

Your other cutting must have took off and rooted quickly. The big cuttings do tend to root even more quickly than the smaller cuttings, it seems, and in our zone we can just stick them in the ground to root if we want to. It may be that the location was not ideal for this one that struggled. It might have had something to do with too much shade and the pepper tree as you said.

B-1 is what you are looking for. It alleviates transplant shock and can be found in the garden dept. at Home Depot. I forget what it says on the bottle. I just pour in about a tablespoon or two per gallon of water.

This area is on the south side of the house and gets all day sun until late afternoon. The overhang traps heat which makes the area warmer than the exposed areas of the yard, and the aluminum siding of the house radiates heat at night also. It also protects the plants from rain in the winter, which wouldn't be bad if it were not for the cold nights that come at the same time. The other larger containers which are not as protected get the rain and cold though but seem to do all right for the most part.

The roses were quite pretty there! I'm going to start digging out the cactus garden today, wanna come help??!!! Where in SoCal are you? I just realized you're from SoCal, I thought you were up north.
What side of your house are your plumerias? I will be putting mine on the west side, they'll get sun there and will be under the eaves.
Looking forward to my new endeavor with the plumerias.

Here's where I'm putting my plumerias, the west side of the house...got some work digging up cactus though.

and another shot of the same area, notice the plumeria already there!!??

Yes, I thought the roses were pretty there too, but they needed a lot of pruning because they were always branching out into the walkway, and I just thought they were a little high maintenance, and besides, I need the room for my plumies!

LOL, no, I think I'll let you do the digging. I did so much digging this past summer that my back and hands still hurt. I plunged about 20 plumeria seedlings, and I dug up a section of the front lawn and planted it with trees and shrubs, and I dug out one corner of the front yard and planted that area too so I think I'm all done with digging until next year. Good luck with your new endeavor and post pics of the before and after if you can! It looks like a great spot.

Those doggies are so cute!

This message was edited Oct 10, 2006 3:54 PM

How funny, I didn't even notice the dogs sitting there. They have to be under my feet all the time!
I was teasing about your helping me! I'm looking forward to it. It's not that big of a section that it's going to kill me digging it all up, so I'll be fine! Your house sounds like a paradise.
I will take pictures of my progress, better get started before the rain moves in, got plumeria to pot.
Clare, do you ever share your plumeria's??????!!!! Just small ones for now?????!?!!? If you don't, that's ok, I'll do fine with what I have for now. Thanks again for all of your help and advice and I'll keep you posted as to how the sick one does.
You are very much appreciated.

Thanks, Weegy! I knew you were just kidding:-) Are you going to plant the one that is in the clay pot now? Because, if so, I wouldn't put it in the ground now. I would wait until it has a good root ball first. I would just let it form a root ball in that clay pot for a while and just put the pot against the house.

I don't trade anymore, except on a rare occasion when I need a specific cultivar, and most of my trees and grafts are single- or double-branched and are a long way from needing to be pruned or having branches available to be pruned.

Thanks for the compliment:-) It's nice to be appreciated!

This message was edited Oct 10, 2006 3:53 PM

Darn, it was worth a try! I fully understand where you're coming from. Not a problem.
I star postted clearing my side yard and moved all my plumeria over there, no, I'll keep the sick one in its pot as well as the others. It already looks better on the side of the house, much cleaner. Pulled up alot of stuff that was overgrown, the red plant in the foreground in the photo I posted above, will post a pic tomorrow of what I did today. Got to get some different pots though, the ones I have them planted in now are ratty and beat up. Hopefully soon mine side will resemble yours somewhat. I just love plumerias and now have found a new addiction! Thanks again for everything Clare.