Great finds in Ft Pierce Florida

Yesterday I found out there is a local frangi pani farm so close to home. Richard is a great guy willing to show me anything I wanted to see. He is selling his 1 gallon seedling pots which are 1-3 years old for $1 and his larger cuttings for $7.50.(Of which many are labeled) I left with 12 seedling pots which are about inches above soil and I bouht 6 cuttings. Of which I got a hot pink one, Aztec Gold, Kimo, Mary Moragne, and one he calls species. The other big one I got was not labeled but had many stalks and leaves on them that they looked very healthy.

I am excited to see what kinds of treasures I got here but I definately recommend anyone to go visit him. You can see more about his site here

http://www.frangipani-farm.com/

Here is a new bloom at the farm (I wish I could have gotten this one as a definate but who knows)

Here is the one called species next to one of the 1 gallon seedling pots

Mary sounds like you made out pretty good!

Maydreams, congrats on your purchase. Rich is a member of Florida Plumeria Society and has been reducing is stock for about a year or more and wants to retire and sell it all now. He is even selling his private collection. His larger seedlings (not cuttings) are $7.50, and he has a buy five get one free deal. I think he has said that he prefers to sell rooted plants and not cuttings, or did you actually buy cuttings? I think he has even said that he will mail out seedlings now. He has said that he has 2000 or more seedlings.

Remember that seedlings do not come true to the parent, and your new babies must be called "Seedling of Kimo," "Seeding of Aztec Gold," etc., so as not to confuse them with the actual cultivar. That species one may come true to the parent however. That picture that you took is gorgeous.

THE PIC LOOKS LIKE 'SOM-RAYA'
A.K.A.
'FIRESTORM'

Isn't that one cool!!! Firestorm. Richard was just as shocked as me to see it as this is the first bloom.

Clare, he does have sooooooo many $1 ones but 4 times as many $7.50 ones. The ones I got have names to them as they are cuttings. All the $1 were seedlings and I am sure in all the things I bought, I will have some awesome treats.

Clare, or any of ya'll out there, in your plumeria growing tell me if this is true to you. Richard said that the vein of the leaf tends to show what the flower may be like. For example, if the vein and leaf tends to have a red tinge, the flower tends to be darker with pinks or reds and if the vein is light, the flower may be white or yellow. Do you find the same? I like the bright colors so picked some with cooler looking veins on the leaves. I guess time will tell.

Mary, I didn't realize he was selling cuttings of named cultivars too. That is good to know. He must have changed his policy about this because he said on Florida Plumeria Society that he didn't like taking cuttings.

When you say "vein" of the leaf, I assume you are talking about the leaf rim? No, unfortunately, it is not true, and you cannot tell the color of the bloom by looking at the leaf. For example, Celadine, the classic yellow/white, has leaves with a red trim. Some generalizations can be made, which may or may not end up being true. If I were choosing seedlings to buy, I would choose the ones with the darkest-colored leaves and stems. It has been said that the bronze/brown/purple-tinted leaves will bear pink- or red- or rainbow-colored flowers while those seedlings with bright green stems and leaves will bear white- or yellow-colored flowers, but that is a generalization, which will not be true in all cases.

Although i was with him for hours this monring, I assumed that the names ones were cuttings because of the not true to seed thing. Maybe I am totally out on a limb here but a cutting from a plant would be the only way to have the flower the same. Maybe they are not cuttings. Who cares at this point LOL

Yes, what you say about the stems and leaves is what Richard was saying,. The darker colors have a better chance of produceing a darker flower. I hope so!! All the seedlings I bought had darker tinted leaves with beautiful leaves.

Know anything about the species one I mention above with the funky leaves?

Oh MAN! You're so lucky to have gotten such great deals!

What a beautiful flower!

Mary, I'm confused now. I think our terms are getting confused. Cuttings are branches that are cut and come without roots, and you have to root them after purchasing them. If you bought rooted cuttings of named cultivars, then you will get those named cultivars. Yes, they are the only way to get a named cultivar that will be identical genetically to the parent. If you bought only seedlings, then they could be anything. I don't recognize which species that is. It could be P. stenophylla or P. stenopetala. You would have to ask Rich.

I am glad we both have gotten confused. EVERYTHING I got was in a pot rooted. I got rooted cuttings with names. SO if someone tells me they want a cutting, I don;t have to send them something rooted? How do you protect the open cut for shipment?

BTW, My name is Chris~ Maydreams27 ~ Flutter...YOu can call me any of the above :)

Hi Chris, I understand now, and that goes along with what Rich was saying about how he doesn't want to sell cuttings. I think I got confused because, once a cutting is rooted, it isn't called a cutting anymore; it is called a plant or a tree. Right. Cuttings are just cut from a tree, dipped in rooting hormone, allowed to callous for a few days up to a week or so, and then potted up into one-gallon containers to make new trees. This is the most common form of propagation. You can buy cuttings from most plumeria businesses, but for a little more money, some businesses will root them for you or graft them for you. Once a plumeria is cut, the cut heals fairly quickly and really needs no protection, but some rooting hormones have a fungicide for added protection. Here's a link: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/45/

What about graftings? Will they be the same as the parent of the top section?


This message was edited Aug 21, 2007 8:19 AM

Jackie, the root stock only provides the root system and nothing else. The scion is the cultivar.

Ok. Thanks, Clare! :-)