Blooms?? How looooong must I wait???

I'm new to plumeria growing. I received six long cuttings last fall from two nice DGers. They rooted very quickly and I now have large pots of plants that are 3 -4 feet tall and still growing with no sight of an inflo yet. They have been outside in this 100+ weather we have been enduring in Texas. Finally, we're in the mid 90's now.

I have fertilized, off and on, with 13-13-13, MG, Schultz BloomPlus. What do I need to do to get rewarded with the beautiful blooms that I see posted here?

Louise

Here are the other two plants. They are a bit bigger than the others.

louise

Lucky.. How'd you get 6 cuttings?? I just got a pack of seeds.. I'm still trying to get them to germinate.. **green with envy** :) Have fun with your beauties..

Icosden,
One of them I paid for but only paid postage for the others. I just asked for cuttings and lucked out, I guess. Also, it was in the fall when some people are cutting them back to bring in for the winter.
I also received 6 seeds from a plummie grower. I only have three that have made it through germination and seedling stresses. On three of them, the stem pushed up so fast that it broke off the leaves that were trying to come up. Needless to say, neither of them made it. The three that I still have are 6 months old and only 12-15" tall. I read somewhere that they would have to be at least 3 years old to bloom and then only with ideal conditions. Obviously, cuttings are the best way to go.

Louise

Thanks for the info Louise. Guess I have to ask to recieve. LOL.. :) I just started gardening this summer so guess it was bad timing.. I did get some plumie seeds and one of them just started germinating but I left town and heard that a canadian cold front pushed down into NY. I'm worried that I'll find it didn't make it when I get home tomorrow.. :(

Louise, you are doing it right with your plumeria (assuming they get plenty of sun), so you just have to have (here comes the dreaded word) PATIENCE. Not every plumeria will bloom each year.....
You could still see an inflo, we have several months of blooming season left.

I agree with Hetty: you just have to be patient, give them full sun, and make sure drainage is good. I see a catch tray in the top picture at the bottom of one container. Those tend to keep the water from draining out and cause the plant to sit in water so you may want to dispose of that. Do you know what cultivar you received? There are some cultivars that will bloom reliably every year, and some that are more fussy. Usually, as a rooted cutting matures, it becomes a more reliable bloomer, but as Hetty said, sometimes a plumeria will just grow and not bloom for a season if it wants to. I think this is why we collectors have hundreds -- just to make sure that we see some blooms. About half my collection is blooming right now, but new inflo's are coming in all the time so there is still time left as Hetty pointed out.

Edited to add: I see a lot of bright green new growth so you definitely have a lot of good growth there.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2007 8:39 AM

Thats my theory if you want to see flowers you have to have lots. And when they do flower its worth the wait. I started out buying lots of 100 seeds at a time have hundreds of seedlings. But who can wait that long had to start buying plants and cuttings. This weekend I'm going to try my hand at grafting all the big trees I have bought are no name. With a little luck there going to be multi colors with names.

Geesh, your plants look incredibly healthy and happy. I hope you get some blooms soon!

Thanks so much for all the advice. I'll take the catch tray out immediately. They all need to be repotted because I was short on soil when I potted them and they are aabout 2/3's full. I have a new bag of soil, so that will be tomorrow's task.
Dutchlady sent me a pink one and monschi (Monika) sent me five cuttings. Some of them had the colors marked on the stem but none are named ones, but that's OK with me. Ken of vonRussell farms gave me one at the RU last fall. I'm so thankfull to them for enabling this new obsession for me. Now to find the PATIENCE necessary to wait for the blooms!

Louise

Good luck grafting, Dana! Let us know how it goes. Be sure to check out the grafting section of the Sticky Thread if you need any tips: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/687551/

Louise, your plumies look great. I'm sure you'll have lots of bloom really soon;-)

Louise, Gang, correct me if I am wrong... the flowers need a fertilizer high in phosphorus for the blooms. they recommed one higher than 13-13-13. More like PETERS Bloom Booster 10-50-10. Maybe you should do that to help? Fertilize with that every 2 weeks

Flutter

Flutter, here's a good thread about that: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/752230/ Tigerlily123 explains why the bloomboosters aren't the best fertilizer to use. Dr. Kukiat also says the same thing in this thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3183502

Thanks, more confusion to add to my brain! I stand corrected.

Flutter

Flutter, don't think of yourself as corrected. You are right that the Bloomboosters have been recommended for a long time to promote blooms and still are in some places. We just have some great minds here at Dave's from expert growers so we get extra good information. I should have said that before.

Okay Clare so, if I have some new seedlings that are a year old, could I use something like Miracle Grow Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food 24-8-16

but if I want my other ones that are years old and slightly blooming and don;t want them to get much taller but want to encourage blooms, can I then use something like
Miracle Grow Water Soluble Bloom Booster Flower Food 15-30-15

??

Those are really good questions, and I am not an expert about fertilizer like Tigerlily123, Luc, and Kukiat are. I think your first one, 24-8-16 is fine for your seedlings, but the Bloombooster isn't ideal for the others, I don't think, but I always use whatever I have on hand so I'd go ahead and use it and then choose a different formulation in the future.

Here is what Luc (owner of Florida Colors Plumeria Nursery) said he uses:

"I personally do not believe in the high Phosphorus for blooms. It should be a good balance of the three elements. A 1/2/3 balance is my prefered ratio. More K than P.

"I found the other day at HD a Bougainvillea fertilizer with a formula to my liking: 6-8-10. A bit pricey for the size of the container. Most probably only available in Bougainvillea country.

"I purchased a 5-15-20 fertilizer at Pro Source with good ingredients. It is called Bloom Fertilizer on the label. No KCl or Muriate of Potash in it. I will try that when I find the time sometime this year. They have a 50-lb. bag at a reasonable price.

"We grow about 5000 seedlings a year, but I am not interested in the blooms. They will end up as rootstock. For them, I use 12-6-8, the most used fertilizer in the South Florida nursery business. A good additional dose of Dynamite 13-13-13, 8 months, as side dressing will keep them growing for the whole year. By the way, burying all the fish bones, guts, and skin around your plumerias will do miracles."

Luc Vannoorbeeck
Florida Colors Nursery

Clare,
Please check out the picture that I took this morning. Do you see what I hope that I see??????? I remember a thread somewhere when you showed what an inflo looked like coming in. I'm thinking that I see a different formation in the center than I have been seeing.

Waiting, waiting, patiently,
Louise

Yep! That's it all right! Congratulations! We told you there was still time;-) LOL! Your patience was rewarded;-)

Oh! my gosh !!!!!!! I'm soooo excited!!! I know I'll be checking it every few hours to see the changes. I looked in all the other plant tops and this is the only one with this look.

Thanks, Clare, for sharing your expertise!!!

Louise

My pleasure;-) That's great. The others might not be too far behind.

Keep waiting! LOL!

Clare, won't it be about a month before she sees the flowers at this stage?

Teresa, your probably right on, but as far as I can tell, heat drives the progression of the inflo so, if she has a lot of heat in her area and gives her plant a lot of water, it could be three weeks. We haven't had a whole lot of heat here this year, and my inflo's are progressing very, very slowly. Last summer, I used to run out in the morning to see what new thing is blooming. Now I don't bother because I know it will be a while before the inflo's that are coming actually bloom.

Oh! Dear! A month????? It will seem like a year..............Patience, where art thou????

Louise

Wow, My inflo is going nuts about this time. I brought my plant to the frangipani farm to get some more info on it and Rich said taht my inflo has probably produced more than 100 flowers. I wanted to know why it looked so funny when it was growing. I am hoping soon to see a seedpod

Crossing my fingers

Maydreams27,
Please post a picture of your plant that has produced the 100 blooms on an inflo. I can't imagine what I have to look forward to. Is that unusual, or does that happen with many plumeria?

I repotted the three of mine that had the least soil. They were beginning to be rootbound. I have only staked one of them and am having trouble trying to keep the others from growing crooked. Now they are just close together and kinda holding each other up.

Louise

Louise, plumies are really easy to straighten with bamboo stakes and green ties. I give detailed instructions in my article: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/45/ It is not uncommon for big inflo's to put out 20 or more blooms at a time over and over again for a few months. The bigger the trees get, the bigger the inflo's get.

As some flowers fade, new buds open.

Clare - what is that last variety you posted the picture of?

Sooooooooooooo pretty!

Hetty, that is 'Sariah's Curly Pink' from Florida Colors Nursery;-)

Thanks, Teresa!

These flowers are soooo pretty. How have I been around for 76 years and am just now finding out about plumerias????? I checked the bud on mine and I think it is a little bigger than yesterday! Monika had written 'unknown' on the cutting, so I don't know what color it will be. It was one that I repotted yesterday.

Louise

Tell me about it Louise. It doesn't matter how long you've been around.... there's always something to learn! ;-)

And, I can't think of a more fun place than DG to learn something new!!!!!
Especially, with all the helpful people who have all the answers!!!

It's almost as much fun as teaching piano.
Louise

clare - great shot of sariah's curly pink! i can't say that i'm pleased with my ammoron's curly white seedling. it started blooming this year. one inflo is done and another just started blooming. i detect a slight fragrance now. perhaps, it gets better with age. the petals will get to the point where they are just about to open and then the petiole goes limp and the bud flops overs. this usually spells death. i'm going to give it at least another season. mabye it needs to be in a larger pot. i don't know...

I thought that is what it was. Not terribly curly is it.... but sweet blooms nonetheless.
Both SCP and ACW have failed to thrill me so far.... they get one more year and then they will have to relinquish their spot to something more fabulous. LOL

hetty - my seedling doesn't have the long floppy dog ears for petals. it might become an aztec gold or celadine tree if i'm not pleased with it next year. of course by then, i'll have to wait until summer 2009 to graft all the tips!

Louise, it is hard to tell what yours will be, but I am guessing white or yellow; however, it looks to me to have a very fuzzy tip like Princess Victoria, which is pink, so it is hard to tell.

Dete, your flowers aren't opening all the way? I don't know what causes that, but repotting couldn't hurt. I would give it more water too. My Vera Cruz Lutica is doing that. Some cultivars are prone to it, I think.

Hetty, SCP has been a great bloomer and has bloomed for a long time on this one inflo, and I have a second SCP that is sending up an inflo as well. It doesn't rank among my favorites either, but it gets an "A" for effort;-)

clare - it's only a few here and there but still annoying. i think i will wait until the spring to repot because i want to remove all the soil from the root ball. don't want to stress it now. thanks for the tips. i will try and give it some more water.

Gee, it sounds like a post I might make...... TL, I have inflos now and I started rooting nearly a year ago.