hey. i have had this plumeria for two years this past Nov., and this is it's first inflo. it is a bit disformed and only has one branch on the inflo... but at least it's something. so anyway... how much longer do i have to wait?
how much longer?????
Its all depends on how much direct sunlight and heat it gets. The more heat and direct sunlight the faster it will bloom.
Davie
i have a small heater blowing on the pot, and it is in a south facing window that is 9ft wide
oh really?!?!? im so excited! soooo...... is it normal to have a weird looking unbranched inflo during winter or is it just me?
youre talking about the actual plumeria plant forming three tips, not the inflo right? i have seen most plumerias in pictures here with branches on the inflo stem, not the plumeria plant so that there are 3 or 4 different clusters of flowerslike my single cluster... do you follow what i'm sying or am i just confusing you? what is the normal amount of branches formed by the plumeria after it flowers
oh ok well this one is california sally.... if you kow anything about that one.
It is true that different varieties have different-shaped inflo's. Some have flowers that bloom all at the same time, and some bloom just a few at a time. Some are big and fat, and some are skinny. An inflo will usually flower and grow and spread as it flowers. A lot depends upon the maturity of the tree and how much heat there is and what time of year it is. Your plumie is probably not growing very fast and probably doesn't have much energy. I would say a couple of weeks to a month to bloom if that plant is inside. If it is in a greenhouse, it will probably bloom sooner. If you have a lamp that you can shine on it for a couple of hours each evening, extending the sunlight that it gets, that will help. Here is one of my in my greenhouse. This one had a fat inflo, and the flowers bloom all at once.
Here is another picture of it about a month ago. It just keeps going and going.
so maybe around Christmas? if i water it more, would it hurry up, or would that have no affect and cause something aweful like rot
Do not over water! This is easy to do indoors. Over watering will only rot the plant as you suspected. Water only if the soil is starting to dry. Check below the surface, as it may look dry on top but be very wet just a few inches down.
Davie
awesome diehrd! i have one coming up on my aztec gold. i definitely have more than a week. bummer! i have a flo light about 6-12" above the tip. it's on from 6a-10p. they get early, early morning sun through a south window.
mine are on a heat mat and i keep them watered well. i don't want to cook them like i did to some last year since my soil temps are 85+ degrees.
thanks both of yall. i think it gets a good 10 hours of direct sun each day. i'm only 16, and with christmas coming up, presents to buy, no job, exams etc., i don't have any time or money to get a light to put up, so i'll just keep waiting... one more thing.... i have a seedling that just will not quit growing. it gets very little light and i havent watered it for about a month, and it is in the garage wich gets to the 60's - mid 50s on cold nights. is this because it is a seedling?
It is recommended that seedlings are not allowed to go dormant for their first winter. I think you are seeing why.....
As for the plumeria with the buds, DO NOT overwater, give it as much light and warmth as you can. I think it will bloom for you by Christmas for sure.
Wonderful to meet a young, enthusiastic gardener. Anytime you want another plant just let me know!!
ok! i'll keep that in mind... hopefully a few will be finding their way to my house this christmas. when i said a seedling, i meant one that is grown from seed, but is 2-3 yrs old. it is in the pic. i noticed today that the bud is red on the side facing the window, but white on the side facing my room. will the uneven light cause it to color up unevenly? should i begin to rotate it?
the seedling is the one with leaves
diehrd,
I never said welcome to Dave's, so... Welcome to Dave's. I think its awesome to see such a young person interested in plants the way you are! Any help I can give, just let me know, but Clare and Detrick are the experts here.
I do not know if the way you have your plant facing is effecting the color. I do know that reds will lose their color, turn more orangish/yellow even fading to a faint pink, as the temperatures and amount of light they get daily decreases. Leave it in its position and see what happens, i would be interested to see if you have a darker color on the side facing the window.
This picture was taken on 11-2-07 and is a beautiful bright red. Still had plenty of heat and the days were fairly long.
Davie
that plumeria is beautiful! thanks for the welcome! i think i'll go with the experiment idea after i have gotten my first flower open, and then see how the rest do... just because i am wayyyy to anxious for this to bloom
Diehrd I don't blame you, it seems like it takes forever for the first one. Make sure you show us what it looks like. Where did you get the seedling? Do you know what the parents are?
This is the same red on 11-15-07. 14 degrees cooler and a little less sun, not showing as much red. Just wanted to show you how much the color can fluctuate depending on sun and temps.
Davie
the one that is blooming soon is a California Sally from The Exotic Plumeria. the seedling is from a plant in panama that someone on DG collected seeds from. THey gave some to ardesia who in turn gave that one to me as a gift when she left some pinecone ginger on my fron porch. THANKS ARDESIA!!!!!! thanks for the comparison shots. it will be cool to see how these inside blooms compare to blooms outside.
davie - who me??? LOL i would not call myself an expert. i'm just familiar with growing them in my part of the desert. you're king of desert plumeria. haha! mickey and i have been learning much from you this year!
California Sally is a very nice one, large flowers.
Last one. Same red. Taken today 12-3-07, really faded, hard to believe they are from the same plant.
LMAO-Well if I'm King that must make you...God of the desert plumeria! All hail Detrick God of the Desert Plumeria.
Davie
quit it now! LOL
Hi all, I'm Gene. I inherited a plumeria from SIL. It was 5' high with some leaves on top and a trunk of about 2" in diameter. I cared for it for a year. Found plumeria 101 on the net and started fertilizing the thing per the recomendations there. It had a tag "San Pedro DuLac". It soon put on lots of branches but I have yet to see a bloom? This past spring, I took cuttings and cut the 5' trunk into 3 pieces and they have all branched. I have been hesitant to give them full sun because it gets HOT here. Lots of sun and some 100+ temps. Is this why it has not bloomed? Any comments are really welcome!!! Gene
Whats up Gene, welcome.
Plumeria love the heat and sun. It gets well over 110 here in Yuma, AZ and my plumeria take it just fine, as long as I keep them watered. Sure some of the lower leaves get yellow a little quicker, but the top leaves are lush. I would try putting it in the sun next season and see if you get better results.
One question though, what is making them branch if they do not flower? Usually, not saying it can't happen, Plumeria do not branch unless they flower.
Davie
davie, all 3 of those flowers are desireable to me.... i don't think there is a plumeria i don't want!
Ya I'm with you. You're in trouble, you will have more plumeria than you know what to do with in no time. It happens to us all.
Davie
if that happened, i'd be in a fix, because almost everything else i'm interested in is marginalyy hady here at the least, but i see it already start to happen!
i had a weird dream about my plumerias last night
Gene, did you cut all the tips off or leave some of them? Cutting limbs will make them branch below the cut, but the new tips that grow in will take a full season to grow in and usually will not flower until the following season. It sounds like you may have cut off all the flowering tips. When pruning, you should always leave some tips for flowers.
OK all, Thanks for the replys. I read where they need to bloom to get new branches. (not true) I knew my San Pedro had not had any TLC so I fertilized it with the 10- 52-10 recommended on plumeria 101. Very soon, the original 5' stalk put on 4 or 5 fingers. At about 6 to 8 inches long I cut and potted these, cut the 5' trunk into 3 pieces getting a tip cutting, an intermediate cutting, and the original root stalk. All cuttings are doing great and all have put on fingers. The drastic pruning is probably why I have seen NO BLOOM. They are going dormant as I speak, leaves are going yellow and falling. I have them in the garage where they will not see below freezing temps.
Hopefully, next spring, I will give them more exposure to sun light and finally see blooms. Thanks to all for the help, I knew nothing about plumeria when I was given this plant.
This message was edited Dec 5, 2007 12:14 PM
also if you put their pot they are in in the ground, the do so much better than when they are just sitting on the surface. i did that this past summer, and now i'm being rewarded with an inflo! yesterday the flower grew 8mm! im sooo excited!
Gene, normally, it is true that a plumeria won't branch until it sends out an inflorescence unless it is cut obviously. If yours branched without blooming, that is unusual. It probably produced a nub, also called a fake inflo, which instigates branching and which is common with seedlings.
i tried to force mine to branch last winter, and it did not branch,just put out a new growth tip on the side... is this normal, or just me?
UPDATE
no growth today, but i did get a rooted plumeria pudica with 3 branches and a crapload of other stuff
This message was edited Dec 6, 2007 7:48 PM
Yes, when you cut a tip off, you can get one, two, three, or even four growth tips that come in. You just never know. The best way to get branching is to fertilize well so that you get flowers and natural branching.
thanks... well its good that its flowering now!
my largest bud dropped off have noticed some ants on the plant, but i don't know what kind they are and if they are haming it. if i put ant poison around, would that hurt it ? it is in an approx. 3 gallon pot.i did opene the dropped bud and saw some pbeautiful color and notice a faint scent starting
is the plumeria outside in cold weather?