I moved in to my new home and in one of the raised beds there is a plumeria that has obviously been neglected, along with everything else. The soil on that bed is ROCK HARD, to the point where the liquid fertilizer I tried to apply didn't even penetrate!
My question is, how shallow (or deep) are Plumie roots? I really need to amend the soil around her but I'm not sure of the best way to go about it...everywhere else I've been throwing a bag of compost or rich soil and tilling it by hand, but I'm affraid this is too harsh around a plumie trunk? Help!
Plumeria roots and soil
Robcorreia, there are shallow feeder roots as well as deeper ones. I would just do what you are doing with your other plants and trees. If you disturb some roots, they will grow back.
Gypsum is good for the soil if you have some of that and give the plumie a good soaking with a soaker hose or slow drip before using the liquid fertilizer so that it will penetrate the surface and reach the plumie's roots. You can figure that the roots probably extend as wide as the branches.
San Diego, along with a good portion of Southern California, experienced record cold temps the winter before last so your plumie may have survived that freeze if it was in the ground at that time. I know someone nearby there that lost a whole bunch of plumies during that freeze.
Thanks Clare. I'll use Gypsum, I had done that for the front yard, how could I forget! Yes, my plumeria survived, but it looks terrible! it's just starting to wake up now....and I figured now it does need my attention!
Hi Rob and Clare. If you do want to dig it up and amend the whole raised bed...the plumeria, as long as you are careful to get a good sized root ball, will survive you digging it up. That way you can get some better draining media in the raised planter box.I think it would be happier in the long run.
Just my opinion,
Davie
Yes, I agree;-)
Davie, the plumie is way too big to do that...it's my size! lol!
What...you don't have a crane? LOL
I once knew a lady that had the same plumeria tree for years and years. Every time she moved, she took the tree with her. The last time, it took several healthy men to load it onto a moving van with the root ball wrapped in canvas.
In this type of transplant, should one strive to remove the harder soil and lay the roots at least partially bare? I have sort of the same problem, having planted some in what I now realize is really hard soil. I have tried taking one up (after two years), and I could knock, then spray off most of the hard soil holding the roots. I've put the test case in a looser lightened soil mix, at its established depth, hopefully with at least some functioning roots left in place --is this likely to work ?
I've seen big plumerias too that were transplanted without any problem. There are many growers in colder areas that do this in the wintertime when they need to store their plumerias.
You could remove some of the soil from the roots, but you may end up losing some roots that way because plumeria trees have very fragile roots. That being said, plumerias are very forgiving trees and can come back just fine after some root loss.
I do agree with Hetty that many of the leaves should be removed from the tree before such a transplant to help reduce stress and prevent water loss.
If you are going to dig up a large tree, try to get as much of the root ball as possible. If root loss is substantial, I would consider trimming the tree to compensate for the root loss, and the trimmings can be used to start new trees.
After such a transplant, add Vitamin B2 or Superthrive to the water when watering after the transplant and the week or so following the transplant.
Here is Paula's driveway one year after she dug up a bunch of her plumerias to prepare them for winter storage.
Oh my! No, guys, it's not an option for me! I can't afford a laborer and my husband will never do it...so....what are my best bets for just
amending around it?
Gypsum regular and ofter. It will soften the clay. You might also put some sand around it. If the clay gets hard and cracks the sand will fill in. Gypsum is the only choice for hard clay.
Jim
Got a bottle and will apply today!
It will take more than a bottle. I used it by the 50 lb bag. It was about $ 8.00. I bought some watersorb crystals. You could make a few holes around the plant pour some in and allow them to expand also. A big plumeria is worth the extra effort to make it happy.
I started applying last night (yes, with that HEAT, I've been gardening at night!!!). The label said 2oz per gallon of water...I applied 1 gallon and it became a POND around the tree...zero drainage! I will go back tonight and apply some more...how many oz do you think are needed for a 6ft tree?
Rob, are you talking about gypsum? I just sprinkle it on the surface and water it in. I read somewhere on the Internet that you don't need to use that much to make a difference but that you do need to apply it at least once a year for about three years in a row to improve the soil. Otherwise, you can buy some good garden soil for trees -- MiracleGro makes one -- and till or mix it in with the existing garden soil. Adding some dried chicken manure can help as well.
Clare, yes, gypsum. I applied the powdered on this winter on the frontyard, but it was such a pain carrying that heavy bag, that this time I bought a bottle of liquid gypsum. But the soil is SO BAD, that the mixture woulnd even penetrate the soil!
It sounds like some tilling might be what is called for -- maybe removing the top layer, etc.
Yes, I think that's the solution...the poor thing...it's a miracle it even has leaves on!!!
i am reading this for the 1st time; common sense dictates that if u built a trench around the circumference of ur plant, fill the hole with water. this way should soften the soil. once soil is partially softened, dig out softened soil, after which u should be able to supply water and fertilizer close or near the root area without extra expenses.
just my thought on the subject.
ma vie
An unconventional approach:
Get a good electric drill. Buy an inexpensive 3/4" masonry bit and a drill bit extension. Thus armed, and with the soil dry, drill holes into the soil, starting along a circle about 9 inches out from the trunk, about 4 inches apart. Then another circle 3 inches further out from the trunk, between the holes in the first circle.
THe idea is to clear as much soil as possible out of the holes --that sounds too obvious, but you'll find you have to a.) drill in and out a couple times, and b.) sweep the drilled-out soil away to really get open holes. And they won't be perfectly clean, of course, but you want them as open and clear as practicable. (Having an assistant standing by with a goin' blower is very handy, and speeds this up A LOT, though we all know such an arrangement is highly unlikely.)
Into each of these holes, sprinkle/funnel a pinch (NOT TOO MUCH) of moisture crystals, then a Tbsp of dry gypsum. Drill them all again, but this time: a.)slowly, b.)forward down and in, then c.) in reverse, slowly, up and out. Then put a hose set on soak at the trunk, and saturate, slowly.
If you've put too much of the crystals in, they'll come up and out as they expand. No problem, just sweep them up when they are dry and re-use somewhere else.
THis should help, especially if you do it twice, three months apart.
If you want to be more aggressive immediately, after the process above, let the area dry for at least a day, drill another set of holes (between the others). Clear them out the same way, insert a piece of re-bar and push (hard) toward each adjacent filled hole. This will break up the soil between the holes a bit, allowing the gypsum/crystal mix to intrude further into the clay, and leaving you some another set of soil cavities into which you can put more gypsum, fertilizer and/or light soil mix, to positive effect. Soak again.
Then go have a drink, get into something else, and call us back in a month or so.
wow, thanks! I assume this technique should work with liquid gypsum too? I ask b/c I already bought liquid gypsum!
For me, the technique works best with vodka or gin --oh, sorry, you meant the FIRST part of the technique...
I don't know about liquid gypsum --I assume it would do the same job as the dry stuff.
Yes Vodka and gin plenty of Ice a fan and some shade are a prerequisite.
I like the let the hose drip slowly and hope the gypsum works.
LOL, gotta try tooo......margueritas sound like a great technique too!
What a great idea...cold beverages seem to always help with processes like this. Oh and the drill idea was great too.LOL
Came across this link concerning use of gypsum on the Organic Gardening forum and though it might be of interest:
http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Gypsum.pdf
Thanks Kathleen....the article says Gypsum could actually decrease the availaability of iron and manganese...which would be terrible for my cycads and palm trees! On boy...last night I applied a bunch more....what should I do now?
Don't worry about it. :-)
I read several of the articles there and find that the most constant recommendation for improving soil is mulch. We haven't had our soil tested, since it was moved around so much when we built the house, it's different every five feet; have you tried a soil test?
Thanks, Kathleen. I do have heavy clay here, and I sprinkle it around and then water it in about once a year.
I can't imagine a small amount for clay soils would hurt that much. One thing I notice in these articles is the liberal use of "might" "may" "can" - that's why I mentioned soil testing.
Soil testing is a good idea!
it is...I've been lazy on that I admit! But...it totally looks and feels like hard clay. I've been amending the entire garden with tons of compost little by little..but it's a huge task!
As Kathleen said, I wouldn't worry about it. The compost is great, and I'm sure you'll see some good results from that.
Can't hurt! There's hard clay, and then there's hard clay. Some of our soil is red with iron, some not. Have no idea what the calcium and magnesium levels are. It's getting better - we can tell because spots where planting anything has failed are beginning to have success. That's the only way I know to tell.