I thought I'd finally gotten it right when it came to wintering my plumeria. Last year I lost two of my collection when I left them on a cement floor in our garage (stupid I know). Luckily I was able to save my other two.
This past summer I brought three more home, and all three bloomed (or tried to bloom) shortly after being potted. I stopped watering them in November when the leaves started to fall off. I trimmed the other leaves and then let the nodes fall off the plant. I've kept them inside away from the windows (sunlight) and at a good indoor temperature.
One of them today just wilted over and upon further inspection the entire stalk was mush. The other two are still firm and seem fine. I pulled the mush one up and the roots look fine. I thought maybe I'd killed it by watering it a tad about three weeks ago, but the roots are perfectly normal. Did I do anything wrong or did it just go through too much in the last year? I suspect it was cut and bagged in Hawaii shortly before we bought it, and then it only had 4-5 months to grow before being wintered.
Just wondering... it's frustrating to loose these plants. I thought I'd finally gotten it right.
This message was edited Jan 22, 2007 8:55 PM
Stubborn plumeria
Sorry about that, Keonikale. The fact that it was a just-rooted cutting wouldn't have caused it to rot. Stem rot can occur for a number of reasons. Too cold while being too wet is a leading cause of rot, but sometimes, you can do everything right, and a plumeria will just rot at the drop of a hat. I do understand your frustration as I have been there.
Thanks Clare. Hopefully the others will make it until spring maybe I'll get lucky and they'll all bloom this year. To date I've never gotten one to bloom (other than those three we brought home - but that was a weak bloom). At least now I know what to feed them in the spring.
Why not keep her warm?
Get a cheap grow light and keep her growing even if it at a slow rate..
Winter hibernation is a myth!!
The plumerias in their natural state do not hibernate!!
The plumeria's in the lesser atilles,upper atilles and central america and south america keep growing even the ones in the mountains..
The are from a hot and humid area and want to be in that state so i say give it to her!!
:)
You want flowers?
Blast her with heat and humidity..
Blast her with a metal halide light any watts will do..
Only water her when the soil is semi-dry and when you do,Don't drown her!!!
Good Luck!
Keonikale, I do agree with Robert if you can possibly manage it. The most rot occurs in plants which go dormant for the winter. If you can keep yours growing with heat and light, they will flourish for you during the winter and possibly put up inflo's now. You could place your current ones on heat pads and put a light over them 24/7, and you would see a real difference in them right away. Not everyone has the ability to do this, but it really does help them to survive and even thrive in winter. Here's a recent shot of my greenhouse.
Man I wish I'd asked about this sooner. Most websites say you have to hibernate them. They make it sound like you'll kill the thing otherwise.
I have several plant lights already and can easily provide good window sun through the winter months for them. Plus I have several warm air humidifiers for my other tropicals. I figured they had to go dormant to bloom at all in the spring.
So to confirm. If I start watering them now again, put them in a good warm spot with lots of sun, give them good humidity, and feed them heavy with Phosphorus (low Nitrogen - right?) they'll be good to go?
I could kick myself for not asking here sooner. Thanks guys.
Keonikale, mine stay outside all year, and most of them do not even lose their leaves. We've had record cold temps here, and still, most of mine still have their leaves and are not dormant. The ones with inflo's are in the greenhouse, but the rest are up against the house, under an eave, and against my six-foot brick retaining wall. I water when the soil looks dry, which is several times a week in winter, sometimes more often when we have drying winds. I don't start feeding them until spring and wouldn't advise you start feeding now either, but you might get some different opinions there.
Right now, I would put your plumies in the warmest spot possible. Your warm air humidifers sound great. Soil temp should be at 80 degrees or higher, and supplemental lighting will help also. Only water when the soil looks on the dry side. Measuring the soil temp is a good idea on a regular basis. Dormancy is a survival mechanism and is not necessary for plumerias. I wrote about my theory of dormancy in one of my articles at plumerias.com. Here's a link: http://www.plumerias.com/weblog/2006/01/clares_garden_i.html Here is the second article: http://www.plumerias.com/weblog/2006/01/clares_garden_i_1.html
This message was edited Jan 23, 2007 11:37 AM
Hey keonikale,
Do exactly what clare says "It's the law here"!
ok ok i am just kidding..
On a serious note clare advise if followed will keep you out of trouble..
Feed her very littile portions if any at all..
This is winter and your plumies are growing at a very slow rate unless you really blast her with a powerful light..
Superthrive and water is just fine but if you are going to feed her every now and then use a 25% rate and not the full rate you normally would use..
As far as other sites are concern here is what i have to say..
There are enough experience growers in here to keep you out of trouble!!!
Ask away any questions someone will chime in and help..
:)
Keonkale, I let my plummies hibernate last year and although I started watering and feeding early enough they still never bloomed for me. This year I have just left them alone (actually they are still outdoors) and although they lost a lot of leaves they still have a couple each and they are healthy looking; I am amazed at how tough these plants are. I haven't watered them at all, the rain had been taking care of that for me. Right now I am champing at the bit to start fertilizing and it is killing me to wait.
Thanks again guys. I'm going to look for a way to warm up their soil with a heating pad or something first and foremost. Indoors it sits around 76ish I imagine, probably colder on the floor (this apartment building is drafty). I have a dedicated plant room in the new house (I had to talk my wife into that one), so as long as I can protect them this weekend during our move, they should be in a much better environment come next week. Plus they'll get sun almost all day long, even inside.
Thanks again. I appreciate the help.
John
Keonikale,I
have all of my plumeria still growing. So far so good except for the darn white flies. I have them all over the house and a packed green house. I have 3 at the kitchen sink with an ott light for extra light. The ones in the train room and the guest room don't get any extra heat or light. Just from the windows. They're still doing great. In the laundry room I have a sh light and led lights, My tri colored plumeria had a seed pod this fall which is still growing and has an inflo. None of them get extra heat and their soil temp is 70 degrees at least. I have newly rooted plumeria on a heating pad. My cuttings have their own area with sh light and bottom heat. I will never try to root cuttings any other way. I have a vaporisor running 24/7 in the laundry room to kick up the humidity. Sadly I need to water twice a week the pllumeria in the house. I water the gh far less. I have at least one inflo in the gh.
Mickey
Robert, you are much too kind to me;-) You are going to make these people think that I am an expert when I am surely not. I have learned a few things though, and one important thing I've learned is the importance of heat when growing these trees. That element is key to success. Anyway, thanks for the support. You're such a sweetheart.
Alice, one of the reasons that you don't want to fertilize too early is that, if the nitrogen encourages new growth after fertilizing, that new growth is tender and sensitive and can be easily damaged by cold. I've read that a regular feedling and watering program, along with full sun, will encourage blooms year after year, and I believe that is true. Sometimes, in the first year or two of a cutting's life, it wants to put on growth first and foremost before blooming. Sometimes, some varieties will skip a year or two of blooming. I think that is why some of us collectors have a large collection so that we can be assured of blooms every year. There are some varieties, however, that will bloom reliably year after year without skipping seasons. Celadine, Penang Peach, Aztec Gold, and Teresa Wilder are a few examples. I have some whites too that have bloom reliably for me year after year. Hang in there. You'll see blooms, I'm sure, this year.
You are welcome, John. It sounds like the new plant room is ideal. A heating pad is the perfect way to rejuvenate a cold root system. Good luck with your move. Moving is so stressful!
Mickey, it sounds like you have a terrific set up!
I promise I'll wait Mama Clare, I won't feed those plummie babies before it is time - BUT IT IS HARD not to. LOL
Believe me, I do understand that, Alice, and I'm right there too;-) I am anxious for spring to get here too! This winter is taking way too long to be done with.
On the fertilizer note... what is the best approximate time to start feeding them for blooming purposes? Do I need to feed them anything else during the winter (fertilizer wise) to keep them healthy?
John, most people start in the spring after the threat of frost has passed. Some wait until it has warmed up a bit because fertilizer is wasted on cold soil and will be leached out before being used by the root system. I would avoid fertilizing in the wintertime completely, but Robert gave some good instruction above about fertilizing at a reduced strength if you still want to.
Thanks Clare. I missed Roberts note earlier... I'll keep that in mind for the winter :) Thanks again.
Hi all,
I don't mean to butt in, but I have 5 seedlings with their second set of leaves, and am wondering now...do I not fertilize them until spring? They are all at the moment sharing one pot under grow lights.
Thanks,
LeeAnne
LeeAnne, spring through fall is the usual time period for fertilizing. I supposed this is because that is when there is active growth.
Thanks Clare,
But since they are just babies, are they not actively growing? I will do what is recommended though.
Thank you
LeeAnne
LeeAnne, if you have them in ideal conditions with heat and light, they very well could be actively growing. You'll want to give them their own pots fairly quickly as seedlings have very fast-growing root systems, including individual taps roots. I would repot to individual one-gallon containers first thing in the spring and then water with Superthrive or B-1, followed by fertilizing the following week. Seedlings take 2-3 years to flower from seed in general, sometimes longer. It is not uncommon for seedlings to take 4-5 years to flower from seed so patience is needed with seedlings, but the rewards can be great if the seed comes from good stock.
Lopaka and Clare, plumies never have to go dormant? If I bring my plumie out come summer, and back in for the fall (on the heat mat again in the southern window and under the extra light), will it continue to stay in leaf? That would be awesome. Also, should I be giving the cutting Superthrive? I haven't fertilized yet, even though it has 2 unfurled leaves and several more leaf buds opening up. Just distilled water when the soil is dry.
Yep, that's right! Many people keep theirs going thoroughout the winter with heat and light. The DSP makes a particularly beautiful houseplant. A small amount of Superthrive in the water from time to time is okay if you want to.