Oh no a newbie question

I have been with Dave for a long time but a good friend of mine has turned me on to Plumerie's Oh my Gosh they are just so very pretty My question is on the soil
I have all this different dirt stuff
Perlite
Cactus Potting Mix
Vermaculite
Seed starter
Rooting compound
Peat Moss
Orchard Mix
Charoal
Potting soil Miracle-gro
What kind of soil should I make I just got this from ebay and haven'tdone a thing except warm it up I do live in IL And still have snow I want to grow this in a pot can someone HELP. This is what it looks like
Thanks for reading
Dimmer(AKA) Kim

Kim, it has a good root system so no rooting is necessary, which is great because it gives you a head start. If it were mine, I would pot it up in the MiracleGro potting soil out of all your options. Make sure that the pot has good drainage holes because drainage is so very important. You could add some more perlite to the MiracleGro mix for added drainage, but I don't think it is necessary given your root system as long as you've got some nice drainage holes for the water to come out.

Cold/wet usually means death for a plumeria so as long as your plumeria is inside, water sparingly after you water your plant in for the first time after transplanting. If you have a heat pad to set it on until spring, then you can give it a little more frequent watering as the soil warms and dries. Slowly acclimate your plumeria to full sun as soon as the last frost date has passed and nights remain above 50.

Ok I have a long way to go before it get to be 50 I have to good pot with hole to drain but. Should I wait till it gets warmer before I start to water?I don't think it wood be for at lease another Month before I should water just let it rest for now.
I will make that soil Thusday and maybe just Mist it every so often what think about thatwill that be ok
Kim

Kim,
I will be watching your thread here as I will have some starts coming to me soon. Thanks for the questions.
Laura

Kim, you can water right after transplanting, and you should plant those bare roots in potting soil as soon as possible. If you only have one hole in your container, you may want to either find another container or drill more holes. I can't stress how important drainage is to the health of the plumeria enough. After you water the plant in for the first time, you can give it warmth and light and not water again until you see leaves starting.

For anyone with cuttings coming from the co-op, be sure to check out the Sticky Thread as there is a lot of good information there on how to root cuttings, including my article: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/45/

Kim, thanks for the questions. . .exactly what I was trying to find out myself.

Clare, I have cuttings coming from the co-op. This is what I've gathered from all the info. Use pots with lots of drainage holes, miracle gro potting soil + perlite, and water with small amount of Vitamin B-1. To fertilize, use Peters Super Blossom Booster or something with high phosphorus content. But wait until it's developed a good root system?

For my seedlings, I can fertilize as soon as they're 2 months old? It doesn't need a bloom booster though right? Something like MG is good enough? Sorry, Kim has created a chain of other questions from me LOL.

karmaplace, you've got it mostly right except the fertilizer part, and you probably don't need to add Perlite to MiracleGro potting mix, but you can if you like. Read this thread about fertilizing, which is located in the FAQ's Sticky Thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/692567/ Bloomboosters are not considered good for containerized or even planted plumeria trees. The phosphorus can build up in the soil and become harmful to the plant in time. The thread explains this better than I can.

I would also wait until the seedlings are at least six months old to fertilize them, and then MiracleGro is fine. You can also add slow-release fertilizer granules to the potting soil the next time you transplant them.

Thanks Clare, got the fertilizer from plumeria101 link. And read something about fertilizing plumerias as soon as they're 2 months old. . .can't remember where. So glad I asked.

Lana

Lana, yeah, the Plumeria 101 link still has the information on Bloomboosters, which were touted as being the best before we knew better. With the help of two Ph.d's in horticulture, Kukiat and Luc, we now know that not only does a super high phosphorus number not help with blooms, but it actually can be a bad thing for the potted tree. If it weren't for their expertise, I would probably still be using the Bloomboosters so I am grateful to have learned from them about the effects of these chemicals on the plants.

As for the seedlings, there are many different thoughts on that. Some people may say that they start their seedlings with Superthrive or diluted fertilizer right away, and some say to wait until they are six months or even older. You will probably get a bunch of different opinions on when to start so it will be up to you to decide when to start.

As you can see, growing plumerias is not an exact science and strong healthy plants can be achieved a number of different ways;-)

I think I will stick with you Clare, if you don't mind. Too much info out there. . .my brain will explode.