Newbie, is this normal?

OK this is my second try at growing a plumeria. I purchased these from a coop on DG. I am having great luck, I put them on top of the second floor heat vent this early spring. Now they are still on the second floor (it has been in the 80's) lots of sunshine and all are doing well. I started them in plastic cups I could see thru so I could keep an eye on the roots and see how much water they are storing.
This one started putting on what looks like blooms to me long before the leaves started showing up. Is this ok? Should I remove the blooms? Is this normal?
Thanks everyone

Sorry I got too close and the picture is blurry but I think you can tell what is going on?

This message was edited Jun 4, 2008 10:38 PM

Several of mine from the co op are also budding up. Yes, I am going to allow them to bloom. Which ones are blooming for you? I think mine are white.

That is definately an inflo and I wouldn;t touch it. Many of mine from the coop produced inflos before the leaves. By the time the inflo was huge and open, magically leaves appeared under it. You already have one good size leaf so i would just leave it alone. Keep it in filtered light (especially since you have them in clear cups). Here is a link to my page on inflos if you want more pictures to compare what is going on.

http://www.geocities.com/maydreams27/LifeOfAnInflo.html

Flutter

Flutter, Wow...thanks I went to the site and it was sooo helpful, since I am clueless! At first I thought it had bugs...LOL. I will need to wait 10 1/2 weeks for it to bloom! Darn. When would it be a good time to repot it? I just started them in the cups so I could keep them drier and see what the roots are doing. I have a fair amount of roots now. The original one I tried to grow died and everyone told me the pot was too big and too wet, so I probably went to the extreme the other directions. Do you have a yard full of them in Florida?

Rylaff, I didn't even notice what color it is, I will have to look tonight. Out of all the coop ones this is the only one attempting to bloom. I have one that has huge leaves and then the others are growing at about the same rate. This one has the smallest leaves of all the plants, that is why I wondered if I should leave the inflo on or not. Glad to hear I am leaving it!!!

Thanks for posting the link. Mine are showing signs of life and being a newbie, it helps to see pictures. Now I need to go do a closer inspection.

Depends on how much heat and light hits it. I have several that have started an inflo but it has been 3 months and inflo still very short. This is one that sits under a tree in the shade alot. Keep in full sun and it may bloom shorter. This one I mention how long it took also had a VERY Big inflo it was blooming off of. I would say to CAREFULLY tip the cup, loosen the soil by squeezing the cup and moving the whole thing into a bigger pot. MAybe 1 gallon for now. . Wet it into the soil and leave it once again. Don't keep it where a lot of rain can get to it but go ahead and move her where the sun can keep her warm and dry the soil.

Flutter

P>S> I just did a count 2 days ago and I have 153. As a matter of fact, I have 41 seedlings, 54 named plants, and 58 unknowns until they bloom plants. This is what happens when you collect for at least a year LOL

Flutter, you collected all of that in a year!!! WOW....someone I can identify with.
I ordered from the coop and was a maybe a little disappointed. When you ordered it just said red, white, pink, and yellow. Not really any names, or is this a name? Being a newbie I just jumped at the chance to try a plumeria again. I had really given up after my first one died, until I went on a water garden tour and a guy had a huge one and I was hooked again. I ordered two of each just in case I killed one I was hoping another would survive and so far (fingers crossed) they have all survived but one.

Are seeds hard to start? Course you live in Florida and your growing season is just a tad longer than mine...LOL. Putting the plums over the heat vent on the second floor I think was my success once I learned they need heat and drainage.

SalleyOr - hope yours are doing good....Can't wait for blooms.

Lol. happgarden... I think i may have got mine from the same co-op. (BT & agri?).. and also killed 1 before a few years ago when I really had no clue what to do.
I ordered 2 - they were listed as Rainbow Shades. 1 of mine has the inflo like yours... the other just has leaves. I guess we will both be "patiently" waiting....
bre

That makes three of us.

Here is my first bloom from the co op.

Ooooh, how pretty! I can' wait.

Well, I really didnt mean to make you have to look sideways.

There you guys in the south go....blooms already.
Is that the one they called pink?
I got white, pink, yellow, red. Purchased 3 of each in hopes I would have one survive....LOL.
We are already hitting the high 80's in Missouri already.

I think so. There is no marking on the cutting, so it must be pink.

I have the same thing. Bought a cutting off eBay and I have inflos and tiny leaves. I was surprised to see that. Is this common? Is it depending on the type of plumerias?

I think it depends upon when it was cut off the mother plant

Thanks for the link on plumeria inflo and seets. It really was a learning lesson. I always thought you just put seeds in soil and water them, that didn't work for me. I sure would like to try germinating seeds. Your pictures were such a great help. I just might give them another try.

Pegi

Hi , i'm a newbie and i would like to know if i should fertilize weekly? i'm addicted also, i have 15, some i bought already growing and i have about 7 i started. I live in Vero Beach FL

My problem is i get lost in the Plumeria forum,i never know where to go to see an answer to my questions.

OMG Pat! I give mine Bloom Booster once every 2 weeks. Sometime, I dig a trench around the plumies and put a very small amount of Bloom Booster in there and cover the dirt back up. Then it gets it everytime I water.

Pat, the FAQ's Sticky Thread is at the very top of the forum always. If you look under the topic of fertilizers, you will see a few different threads. This is the best one: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/692567/

Fertilizing weekly is probably unnecessary if you are using the water soluable kind. It used to be that Bloomboosters were recommended before the experts chimed in and told us that too much phosphorus is harmful to plants and doesn't leach from containers. If you will read the link that I just gave you, Luc Vannoorbeeck, the owner of Florida Colors Nursery, recommends a slow-release balanced fertilizer. It is actually not the middle number in fertilizers that helps with blooms; it's potassium, the last number.

Clare, thank you for that feeding information. I don't remember every reading this thread and I thought I read most of the important stuff on this thread. If anyone knows Plumies, it's Clare.

Thanks everyone, fertilizing hadn't entered my mind yet...what was I thinking.
Guess I wasn't thinking.
I was working so hard just to keep them warm and dry that I try not to mess with them since they seem to be doing ok. I may never be able to move to them outdoors because we get warm and then every 3 days it rains and today it just feels cool to me so I know the plumeria's would not like it. overnight in the 60's.

Can I use worm tea (poop) on my plummies? My DH raised some of those red worms and I have lots of "tea" which I was told to dilute it 1 part tea to 24 parts water. Worms are gone but I still have tea.

Pegi

LiliMerci, that is kind of you, but I am always learning new things too. I too once used the Bloomboosters until my two friends with Ph.d's in horticulture told me differently (Kukiat and Luc).

HappGarden, feel free to put your plumies outside full time now, rain or sun. The water won't harm them if the soil is well-draining, and nights at or above 60 is warm enough. If these are cuttings that are rooting, put them on the warmest surface possible like concrete, which will absorb heat during the day and radiate it at night.

Pegi, I don't know much about organic fertilizers other than they usually are not complete enough and can create problems from too much of one element and not enough of another. Organic fertilizers in containers can be especially problematic. I would stick with the recommendation of Luc from Florida Colors Nursery and go with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 or similar, complete with minors. He also mentioned in another post of his that some other fertilizers which are good are ones with numbers like 5-10-20 or similar.

Thank you Clare, I will stick them out this weekend.
I purchased bloomboosters a couple of years ago, but only used it on annual plants, it just seemed to me if it was a plant for the long term I just didn't think it could be good for it. Annuals are for such a short season at least around here, that they need all the performance food they can get.

Thanks Clare, will save worm tea for other plants. Have to check out the fertilizers I have here, may have to make another trip to buy more.

This message was edited Jun 10, 2008 7:44 AM

HAppgarden..yes it was a very productive year LOL

The coop sales did only state a color. My yellow that bloomed is a type of lemon plumeria. When they tell us a color, it is just becasue they were not going to be specific on what type.

My seeds were not hard to start as you see from my info site. After al, it is Florida and I do have a little greenhouse.

Chris

I, too, participated in the co-op and have been thrilled. The stock has done exceptionally well. I have two that have already bloomed, all have big leaves, two more are "y"ing already. I have another that I have had for 3 years. It is now some 3' tall. Looses all of it's leaves, puts a few on the top in the summer and has never ever hinted of a bloom. This is probably the wrong thing to do but I have gotten super results. Made my own potting soil. Texas green sand, lava sand, mushroom compost, native hardwood mulch. Tried to do equal parts mixing in a wheelbarrow. They are all in 1 gallon pots for now. Oh, also watered with a seaweed/water mix.

Christi

This is the other bloom. We have been having tours with close neighbors. hahahaha

This is not so common here in my little community.

Beautiful, Christi. Nice soft pink. How's the scent?
I don't have a hint of an inflo on my co-op plants! :-(

Yes, there is a faint scent. Have to put your nose close. However, I guess because this so small that it hasn't developed yet. I love it any way I can get it.

Christi

Getting an inflo on one of my plants, I know it is a yellow one. Nothing happening with my other plants as of yet. I put a cutting I got from somone in a pot, hoping it wouldn't die. It just sat there, nothing happening for months. I decided I should pull it out of the pot but when I got brave enough to do it I noticed leaves on it. I'm positive that it sat there for about 6 months then decided to grow. Happy camper here. This one is rainbow color, so better give it a lot of TLC.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2008 1:55 PM

Beatutiful flowers Christi...the pink I had bloom was very small and star shaped. The size was most likely due to not being rooted. I had a yellow from the Co-Op bloom though, it was awesome...pink on the bottom side and very dark yellow on top. It had a very sweet plumeria smell.
Davie

So glad that everyone is having blooms. Never dreamed I would have a plumeria bloom even once in my backyard. yay!!

Ok, I am a little confused. The plumeria has a red paint spot which is suppose to mean it is red, but my first bloom is opening and it looks really white? I am guessing the bloom isn't going to change colors and that the plumeria is white? Hope not because I gave the second "red" one I purchased away.

Happ, they could be all messed up colorwise. Davie got a pink which bloomed a gorgeous yellow. I think these were just cheap cuttings from Mexico and probably not a lot of attention was paid to keeping the color straight or perhaps there was just a few placed in the wrong pile, etc. Given the price, it is hard to complain, but I understand your disappointment. A white won't turn to red, but sometimes the red pigmentation can be missing if there is not enough heat and if the flower is blooming inside, etc.

Well maybe I still have a red, the others haven't bloomed and I am not awfully disappointed, just a little surprised. Didn't figure the white would turn red. Just happy I got them to live so far.

Now one of my other plum., is branching! Yeah! I am guessing that is a good thing.
Worried tho because I am going to have to transplant them....hope I don't mess them up.

You won't mess them up. Easiest way is to turn the pot onto it's side and flex the pot. It will loosen the soil on the inside so it all comes out together without Pulling and stressing the roots.

Chris