Here are some pics from my greenhouse. It is 102 in there right now. These plumerias get only intense heat during the day, but it does cool off at night, and I have no supplement heat in the greenhouse during the night. The cuttings are on a heating pad however.
Here's another pic:
This is Aztec Gold and Nassau:
This is Grove Farm, which has an outstanding spicy fragrance:
This pink one has a spicy carnation fragrance that I just love:
This is 'India':
Here is the spicy pink one again:
'Angus Selection No. 3' has that same spicy carnation fragrance.
This is 'Celadine' on the left and one of my seedlings on the right:
This is 'Grove Farm,' 'Jana's Curly Pink,' and 'Pacific Pearl':
WoW !!! Clair it looks like you have a ton of flowers blooming already . How lucky !!!
Mickey
clare - i just wanna add one point. this is totally from my desert experience. in tucson we have single-digit humidity during the summer. most of my plumeria have reduced flower production during this hot, dry period. i thought i'd never see blooms on my plumeria like i see from socal, florida and texas. it was only when my plumeria experienced high humidity that i got flower production like that with high heat. this is happening now in the gh and i saw it during the summer once the monsoon started. i guess what i'm saying is that they love dry heat too, but if you want flowers like what you're showing you have to have the humidity with the heat.
dete
This message was edited Feb 18, 2007 10:45 PM
silly me. LOL those are some great blooms! glad i had a chance to learn from you. i didn't think it was possible to do what you are doing during the winter. you're clarific! haha! okay, i'm acting silly now and OT.
dete
Wow, must be really nice to get all those blooms right now, isn't it? India is exceptionally beautiful, love it!
Hi Mickey, Dete, and Baileykat! Thanks, you guys, for your comments. Some have been blooming since last fall, and some are just starting now. The 'Grove Farm,' 'Gold Coast Peachy,' 'Jana's Curly Pink,' and pink starfish have all been blooming for a few months now, but 'Aztec Gold,' 'Pacific Pearl,' and 'Celadine' are all starting now. I've also got inflo's on some other ones that I am excited about including 'Pupukea Crepe,' and 'Barry's True Orange,' and a few others that I can't remember now. I have a few inflo's on the ones outside, but they are too big to move into the greenhouse so I am leaving them alone, and they are barely progressing if at all.
Dete, you are so right. I agree with you that the humidity is very important. Thanks for addign that. In fact, with all the condensation and humidity, I almost never have to water in the greenhouse because the soil stays moist. I don't have a fan in there this time either, but I do open the doors nearly every day to get some air circulation, but I try to close them up while there is still plenty of heat inside. Outside of the greenhouse, we get some strong Santa Ana winds sometimes, which are very drying, and I have to water everyday when we get those. Hey, how are your epi's doing? Mine are covered in buds! I hope you get some this year too!
I think that is too hot Clare..
Is that heat stress on some of the leaves or from the cold temps??
Many plants when attacked (insects,temps,etc..) will flower to survive..
Plants seem to know the end might be near so they flower to reproduce and survive..
This has always been a theory of mine why plumies bloom in winter besides low light conditions..
You have wonderful blooms as always Clare..
:)
if i remember correctly, the area where mukundan grows his plumeria can see 100+ degree days. however, he has the humidity which helps. here in arizona 110+ days and they do okay. here's an aztec gold blooming in phoenix 8/05. you should have seen it during the summer of 2006. i have never seen so many flowers on a tree growing in arizona. this tree even gets more sun in the afternoon. i think the heat helps. where i run into problems is that my root zone gets too hot in pots.
Clare, I am SOOOOOOO jealous! Beautiful plumerias.
Yes plumies in the ground is one thing..
Plumies in a GH is another..
I was just wondering if it is too hot for them because of the air and the plumies being in pots..
I have seen some of my flowers fall off the next day if i let it get too hot..
My humidity is around 80% so they are not in a dry condition..
I ask Clare because of the leaves in her pic..
I guess what i should have ask is how is the airflow because that is very important to them in a GH especially if the GH is not too big.
I guess Clare comes on at night now so i will check back and see what she said.
How is the weather in AZ right now??
Nice AZ gold tree!
Makes me miss mine just looking at it..
:(
This message was edited Feb 20, 2007 1:29 PM
air circulation is important. i think clare mentioned that she vents hers during the day. i don't vent mine during the day and it can go 100+. however, i have fans circulating air 24/7. even at 103 they are fine. one day though, the fan stopped. you can guess what happened. plumeria near the top of the gh got fried. not just leaves but tips too.
i have seen the heat affect my plumeria even with the fans running. for instance, if there are many days of cool temps and then suddenly it's hot in the gh. i get lower leaves that yellow. they would have anyways but something about the heat. i guess they think it's time to go and the new season has started.
we're starting to warm up in arizona. lots of shiny tips on the plumeria in the gh. plumeria outside are doing anything.
Hi Dete, Louise, and Robert!
Thanks, Louise, for the compliment!
Yes, one of the greenhouses was 103 when I opened it up today, and it is 90 right now. I've seen them sit in 130 degree heat without any ill effects. If the pots are not watered well, they can get some brown tips on the leaves, but I water frequently so that is usually not a problem. You are so right that air circulation is so important, and if electricity were not so darned expensive here, I would be running three fans inside the three greenhouses 24/7. As a second choice, I open them up daily to let fresh air in. All three greenhouses are very small. This pic below shows them and shows my wavy leaf plumeria which is about to bloom for the first time.
Dete, those are lovely trees! I am still getting some lower yellow leaves both in the greenhouse and outside the greenhouse too. I think it might have to do with the low's, but I don't know that for sure.
Robert, I pop in here at Dave's about mid-day and then a few times in the afternoon as time allows. Lately, my computer gets turned off by late afternoon so I can focus on getting some other stuff done:-) You are so right that it is a known fact that a dying tree will flower prolifically in order to propagate itself before dying. I don't think that this is what is happening here. Most of my plumies developed inflo's outside of the greenhouse when the weather was still summerlike, and I put them inside the greenhouse so that they would still continue to grow and develop. The plumerias with inflo's that are outside still and that did not get a place in the greenhouse are not progressing, and I hope those inflo's will stay on and progress when the nights start to warm up. It is still in the 40's at night here. There are some leaves that look like that outside the greenhouse too so it could be that those leaves are getting ready to drop.
Glad to hear it Dete take some pics when they bloom..
Clare thanks for the info..
Nice fat healthy looking plumie with lots of new green growth you got there..
After this last cold spell we got i am sure i am going to get that shrivel leaf look on the plumies outside..
My seedlings outside don't seem to be affected by the cold spell..
:)
However my Gh is out of control and i was force to buy another 1,000 watt system to expand the GH..
I can not even walk inside the darn thing anymore it is a plumie jungle X 2!
Hey Clare i saw a fan in Lowes that goes in your attic to help kool it off..
The kool thing is.. it's powered by the sun!
The fan is big around 3 feet in width and comes with a big solar panel..
:)
Duh! Helps to post pics opps..
Here is the GH on it's first day of operation Dec 27 2006.
There are over 120 plants from Thailand/Hawaii in there plus some of my seedlings to force them to bloom.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/353641848_da77bb5de8_o.jpg
Outside shot with HPS lights on:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/353641745_e2556dab5c_o.jpg
Here is part of the GH on Feb 10 2007 because i can not get the whole thing in one shot (NO ROOM!).
:)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/392771254_6184556a67_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/392771174_1c61af4e73_o.jpg
This message was edited Feb 21, 2007 5:36 AM
My GH can get pretty hot way over 103 degrees and it has not ill affect on the plumies. Soon we will be putting shade cloth over it to try and protect the plants. The plants don't have many leaves left. They have droped them. I'm sure the cold nights haven't helped. We have a heater that maintains the heat at 45 degrees. At night there is a light that goes on so I know when the heater is on. I keep the fan on all the time. I think just running in and out gives the GH enough time for fresh air to get in. My DH is hogging valuable space with his 4 hudge tomatoe plants.I have not deaths to report in the GH. Now as weather is getting better I'm moving plants from the house to the GH. I also moved my 2 Brugs out of the GH to make more room. No way can you get to the back of the GH! I haven't gotten and iflows in the GH. Maybe I have to kick up the humidity,
It's still only in the low 40's here at night while 80 in the sun. I can't wait till I can get the plants out of the house and out side for the summer but I'm afraid that's when all the work starts.
Mickey
Amazing shots there, Robert. That outside shot of the greenhouse is wild. I bet your plants outside appreciate all that light too. It probably feels like the sun to them! What an awesome set up. I really love it. Everything looks so green and lush inside as it should be inside a greenhouse. If electricity wasn't so darn expensive here, I would do the same. This month's electric bill is $267, which is much lower from last year's $400. I'm sorry to hear about that cold weather that you're having, but I have a feeling that your plumies will do very well through it. I agree with you that seedlings seem much more resistant to cold than rooted or grafted cuttings. I can't wait to see what you have blooming this summer. By the way, how long do you leave the lights on in your greenhouse?
Mickey, homegrown tomatoes are delicious so I wouldn't mind them sharing the greenhouse! I'm going to plant some of those myself soon. I hear you about the work. My back hurts just thinking about taking down the greenhouses. I may leave one up in the way back.
robert - absolutely amazing shots! those last two pics makes me wanna go on a safari in the jungle that is called your gh. LOL
dete
Holy Smokes! Clare it must be like heaven in your greenhouses with all them blooming. Maybe you can bottle some of the smell and send it over here. Darn it....I'm getting tired of the snow and cold.
lopaka do you grow your jungle as a hobby or for selling? Amazing!
Thank you for posting the pictures. It has brightened my day!!
:) Donna
Awe, thanks, Donna! Stay warm, my friend.
Clare I think you need to post your secret on getting them to bloom, please! I have about 3 plumies but they sure didn't do to much outside with growth or buds.
:( Donna
Heat, baby, heat! It's all about full sun, lots of heat, weekly fertilizer regimen, and lots of water. These are tropical trees so they will perform best when placed in the hottest conditions possible. This may mean that you need to increase their microclimates a bit in your area if they are not getting enough heat. If you can put them in a greenhouse or a room in your house with supplemental heat and light during the winter, you are bound to get blooms. Our own wonderful GordonHawk lives in New York and grows many plumerias that he puts up on the hot roof in the spring and summer and brings indoors through a skylight for the fall and winter. He gives his plumerias bright lights and heat, and they stay healthy and bloom for him indoors even. Don't give up, Donna! There are lots of cold-weather growers here who manage it, but it does take extra work for sure. There is one guy in Kansas City who put them all in his garage, and I don't think he lets the temperature drop below 50 or 60 in there. Some are so big that he has to lie them down on the floor, and they stay hortizontal for seven months of the year.
Lol Dete...
Sorry for the delay i been out of town..
PerennialGirl i been around plumies so long and given out so many i lost count..
Will i ever sell some of my stuff? Maybe depends on my time..
:)
This whole thing about heat is correct but my message has gotten lost..
Heat is the best but my point about it was not express correctly by me due to time and me leaving out of town..
Heat and how you apply it can changed the way your plumie grows and what i mean by that will surprise most growers..
...too tired but i will explain more in detail what i mean but my explaination has to do on how you change the nodes on the plant.
BTW
Pet Supermarket now sells my blue lizards anyone want a awesome pest control in your GH?
Can't wait for the instructsion, lopaka!
