This is a shot I took more than a month ago. I had not found time to dig it out and share here. I don't know what will happen to my two plumies! There will be a story to tell in the coming weeks [not now]. Hope they will stay.
The plumeria bloom - a little bee is attracted
Dinu, that hoovering insect is a good one, I think. It may be after other insects. It looks like that plumeria has a pretty good case of spider mites. A forceful stream with the hose should help with that if you don't have Neem or a miticide available. It is indeed a pretty picture:-)
Yes Clare, I've seen little spiders there - you can see the silk there . I've also seen some ants in pursuit of something though the blooms does not seem to have been affected by either. Forceful stream!! It's a dream!! You know why? Pressure of water supply is low. It does not fill up the overhead tank on its own, like it did earlier - about 9 years ago when we moved in here. And I do not use any insecticide. I just watch the infestations, which are much less when I have not used anything. In the beginning I used to spray some insecticide but the problem was even worse next time. Later I stopped doing it and have better results, though they exist, it does not seem to be a problem that is worrisome to the plant. I thought of neem, but I never got to use it.
hi dinu,
that is a lovely picture!
normal spider are okay on the plumeria.
Thanks Tucs,,,
I understand, Dinu. We have a drought situation here too, but we just got some much-need rains so that helps a little bit. Spider mites are here too everywhere. I do use Neem sometimes and have other miticides too, but mites are almost impossible to get rid of totally. I have ants on mine too. They seem to really go for the buds on some of my plumerias. They were farming aphids all winter on the back of the leaves of the plumerias in the greenhouse, but eventually the leaves all dropped anyway.
That is an awesome photo Dinu! Love that flower too!
Thanks weegy. Right now in my office PC this picture the desktop b/g.
Clare,
What is that orange affectation that is seen under the leaves? I had not heard of miticides. So specific, eh? Since this is the season when they drop all the leaves, that has not been much of a problem to the plant.
Hi Dinu! Yes, they have insecticides for mites because they can be such a problem, and they can become immune very quickly to treatments, which is usually why you have to rotate all the available treatments. I use something called Forbid, which I like because you don't have to spray underneath the leaves for the product to work, but it is very expensive. Isotox is a systemic that works well too, and there is Avid also. Since you don't like to use insecticides, Neem is a natural product that works well also, but you have to use it directly on the mites on a cool day so as not to burn your plant. I just emptied my greenhouses, and I am noticing the mites as well.
The orange rust is a fungus that spreads by the spores. It can be controlled with any fungicide, but I think Bayleton is an ingredient that works the best. That can usually be found in some lawn fungus products if you have that over there in India. If not, it is not detrimental to the plants. It is just unsightly. Humid places like South Florida, Thailand, and Texas have it also. Here are two links with more about rust: http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2005/2005-27.asp and http://www.plumeria101.com/problems/rust.html The Neem should help with that too because it is a natural fungicide.
Clare, one surprise question. Can those plumerias of that size take transplantation? I want to give both to my friend. Why, you may ask. It has a story which you will know in a few weeks time. My friend visited me just now and he said he can take them.
Hi Dinu, yes, plumerias can be dug up, moved, and transplanted even when they are a very large size. They do not suffer transplant shock as easily as some other trees do.
You will want to dig a large circle around the root ball and get as much as the rootball as you can. If the tree is very big, the root ball may be big and heavy, but if you can only get the top half of the root ball, the tree will still survive. If a lot of the root ball is lost, you may want to prune the top third or so of the tree to adjust to this root loss.
Many people in colder zones here in the United States dig up their plumeria trees every fall to store them for the winter, and they plant them in the spring, and the trees develop new roots and adjust just fine. They are very resiliant trees.
That's nice of you to give them to your friend. Is one of these trees your seedling? If so, that seedling is probably going to have a fairly extensive root system as seedlings tend to have stronger root systems than rooted cuttings, but you can still dig it up. It will just be a lot of work. Good luck!
Thanks Clare for the informative response. Will keep these guidelines if and when that situation arises.
plumeria trees are so amazing!
I have seen those "Die Hard " series of films in which Schwar...negger..(?) plays the hero.. This is another Die Hard tree!!