Frustrated - no plumie blooms on 3 year seedling

Any suggestions on why my babies are not blooming.

One of them is P. 'India'

Thanks,
Charmaine

Hi Charmaine...First they can take 2-5 (Usually2-4) years to flower from seed, so for them to be three years old and not bloom is normal. You may just have to wait. Also how big are the containers you are keeping these three year old seedlings in? how much sun do they get each day? What are your high and low temps there in Canada Eh?
Davie


This message was edited Jul 23, 2008 5:36 PM

Ditto what Davie said. I'm in an ideal climate and my plumies stay out all year, and I have five-year-olds that haven't bloomed yet. They should be in the biggest containers possible, giving lots of room for the roots. Mine are rootbound in 15-gallon containers and really need 25-gallon containers. I'm going to repot them after I move. If you can sink the pots in the summertime, that is nearly as good as bigger containers. Don't give up! Growing plumerias from seeds requires a lot of patience. I know one collector that waited 22 years for a first bloom!

Davie - They are in large size containers, and have leafed out quite nicely so far. I cannot seem to find superbloom in stores here. By the way, they have been in a sunny location since the beginning of spring, and gets afternoon sun.

Clare - I don't want to wait too long or THAT LONG for blooms. I need blooms for the encouragement and for the gratification. I am trying to be patient.

However, I doubt that I will venture into raising them from seed again; it's taking too long!!

Charmaine

Hi Charmaine Instead of super bloom I would use a time release fertilizer such as osmocote or dynamite with low even number such as 13-13-13 or 12-12-12..etc with micro nutrients. You only have to apply it once a season, very simple and it will feed you plants all season.
Other than that wait, or get a rooted cutting or grafted plant.
Davie

Charmaine -- lovely name, by the way -- I don't blame you about not wanting to do seeds again. I can empathize with that sentiment. I always try to warn people about how long they can take to bloom from seed. Some people don't mind, but I too don't like waiting. They can take up a lot of space and require a lot of water in the meantime while you are waiting for a bloom, and to top it off, the bloom might be ugly or substandard when it does bloom! I've had those too.

I totally agree with Davie about the time-release balanced fertilizer instead of the bloombooster. We've learned from many credible sources, including two PhD's in horticulture, that bloomboosters are actually bad for container plants because the phosphorous doesn't leach from the containers and builds up and harms the trees. It isn't phosphorous that is beneficial to blooms anyway as once believed. Potassium is the element that aids in blooming.

Davie is right that you need a blooming cultivar while you wait! ^_^