First Plumeria

A nice person gave me two Plumeria cuttings last year. This is the 1st to bloom.

Congratulations!! It looks like it might be Aztec Gold (smells of peaches).

Thanks, she told me the second cutting was white and red (candy cane?)....every seen one like that?

We're in the same club, gardenpom. I had my first this year, too, so I feel your joy. It's beautiful.

That is beautiful! Congratulations. I can't wait to see my first bloom. :) Thanks for sharing with us!

Very nice flower. Good luck with the red and white.
Davie

Thanks Davie...here is a pic I took this morning.

Very nice flower, how does it smell? Most of mine don't have a strong scent yet?
Davie

Nice fragrance, not terribly strong. Did not smell like anything in particular to me (like peaches).

Hetty might be right then, it could be Aztec Gold.

Pic from today.

Beautiful Picture.

Very nice yellow. I have an unnamed yellow that is starting to bloom as well. It seems like it is always one of the first ones to bloom. I love it.

Thanks. It has slowly developed a scent, which may smell sort of like peaches.

I'm new to Plumerias,and i started one i got from a garden show.i planted it in a 6 " container 3 months ago and the last 6 weeks i sprayed the soil aroung it twice a week,now it has two leaves starting about 1" tall it will have red flowers.Do you know if it will flower this year,any info on cultivation will be appreciated. I'm in Florida

Once it has a full set of leaves, I would pot it up in a larger pot and start fertilizing. It is not impossible that it might bloom for you this year.

thank you for your post dutchlady1 what type of fertilizer should i use?

Get some Dynamite 13-13-13 timed release, I like it best.

Hey Pat check out the sticky thread Clare put together, it is at the top of the plumeria forum, it's full of useful information. Don't be shy though, there are many knowledgeable people here that can help you out if you have specific questions.
Davie

Latest pic of my first Plumeria.

Aren't you pleased as punch? That is just beautiful.

Yes, more impressive as more flowers open. Can't wait till it is tree size....this one is about two feet high.

The same person who gave me the cuttings also gave me a bunch of seeds, which I recently planted. I noticed the first ones starting to sprout today. I'm not sure what color they are, but pretty exciting. I enjoy growing from seed.

Very pretty, gardenpom! I enjoy growing from seed too, but plumerias seedlings require a lot of room and a lot of patience as they take 3-5 years on average to bloom from seed. I am waiting for some 5-year-olds to bloom still, and I hope they will bloom for me this summer.

Todays' pic. Yes, Claire, I knew seed sowing would take a LONG time.....but in the case of Plumeria...maybe worth the wait? Hope yours does bloom this year. That would be a thrill.

This message was edited May 6, 2008 6:01 AM

Still a nice bloom showing. First flower opened on April 19th. so this bloom stalk is almost a month old now!

This message was edited May 11, 2008 11:42 AM

Pic from this morning, still looking pretty!

Very productive inflo! Beautiful flowers.
Davie

Beautiful!

Never having grown Plumerias, I had no idea a bloom would last so long....I'm very pleased. My red and white variety is starting growth, along with three newer cuttings. I know I have at least a pink and a white, but not sure about the final one. They will all be beautiful I'm sure.

That was my first thought when you posted the latest photo, gardenpom. Do you ever cut them? I wonder how long they would last in a plumie ring. I can't wait until I need to buy one!

The individual flowers last a few days to a week. Some flowers last longer than others in a plumie ring, which is referred to as its "keeping quality." On the inflo, as old flowers die, new ones come in, and the inflo's grows, branches, and spreads. One inflo can last as long as a year or more. The inflo's that are coming in now for me will keep blooming until December at which point they will either turn brown and fall off or stop blooming until the following spring. Smaller inflo's on smaller plants might not last as long. Many of the flowers that I have now are blooming on last year's inflo's. That is why I made the thread last year about why we never cut off inflo's;-)

Here is a portion of one of my favorite yellow plumeria trees. I've pointed out the old and new inflo's on the limbs in the picture so you can see what I mean.

Here's the same one from last year with one just like it next to it.

Here's a close-up of the blooms:

Great info Claire, thanks.

Yes, that helps a lot. Thanks, Clare.

Wow Clare you have had inflos last up to a year! What variety? The longest I have had is around 3-4 months.
Davie

Davie, I think it must be a maturity thing -- the bigger the tree, the longer they last. It also may be a climate thing because, if it gets cold enough, they will turn brown and fall off, but if given some protection, they will stay on and bloom the following spring. I've got old inflo's on a variety of trees including Kimo, Hurricane, Singapore, Aloha Palms Yellow, Walt's White, and a few others. Most of my plumies bloom from about June until November or December, depending upon if we get an extended summer or not. When it starts to get cold at night in December, the blooming will stop as the trees prepare to go dormant. Sometimes, the inflo's are held on through the winter, and sometimes they fall off. In general though, the ones that are a year old or older eventually poop out midsummer, but by then, the new inflo's are in full swing so it isn't really noticeable. Here's the thread from last year about old inflo's: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/714239/

Most of the Plumerias I see around here are totally bare over the winter, but growth starts again in spring. Here is a pic from my first bloomer this morning.

Here's a pic of the Plumerias I started from seed. I transplanted them into clay pots and they are doing fine.