Oh Noooooooooooo!

Arrrrrgggghhhh. One of my plumerias, after YEARS of not blooming has grown a (i don't know the correct term) bud! At least I think this is what it is .. The weather here has been unusually warm for the last week causing a lot of my plants in the greenhouse to start flowering. The horrible thing is, the weather is suppose to get back to normal (cold with temps in the 20's & 30's at night) tomorrow.

So does this mean the bud will fall off, fail to grow or what? I'm sure it's weeks and weeks from actually producing a flower. Any suggestions? Would it be best for the plant to cut this off? The heater for the gh only goes on if it gets below 38 degrees.

X

This message was edited Dec 20, 2008 4:07 PM

Think its called a Inflow Annie Why Not Put the Plumie in the House ? Paul

That would be my suggestion

I thought of that, but my kitties are card carry plant molesters. Are plumeria poisonous? Can someone give me an idea how long it takes for an inflow to mature to blooming stage from the size in the picture?

X

Under ideal conditions about 6 weeks, this time of year - hard to tell.

But you will be rewarded with beautiful blooms! And we want to see them.... :)

Do you have families in Charleston that can store it for you for a few weeks? Or how about your garage?

(edited) or a guest room that may be off limit to the cat - just for 6 weeks.

This message was edited Dec 20, 2008 8:55 PM

Sigh, no one to foster it out too and no garage. How low a temp can it tolerate with an inflow on it? Ideally I should just leave it in the greenhouse, but it can get in the upper 30's low 40's at night in there. Does anyone know if the soil temperature is a factor in blooming? I could put the pot on a heating pad at night if thats the case.

X

I had inflos on my Plumeria in October last year and dragged it in/out of garage due to warm weather and forgot it one night when it got down to 33 and it did burn the inflos. Dutchlady might know what to do. May be you can cover it with a sheet at night. Dutchlady, does it goes dormant when temperature drop to a certain temperature?

My brother lives in Summerville and I can ask him but I don't think his duplex has enough sunlight for the Plumeria during the day.

Do not 'cover with a sheet' unless you make a tent out of it. If the sheet touches the plant during a cold spell it actually makes things worse.
If you do not let the plant get too cold the inflo will likely hold on until spring and then bloom.

Thanks for all the info. I guess I'll leave it in the gh and keep my fingers crossed. It would be really nice to finally see some flowers after all these years.

X

How tall is the plant? If less than 6 feet, consider this:

- drive 4 tall-enough (plant + a foot) stakes into the ground around the plant
- put small plastic pots on top of each one (to keep stakes from punching through the sheeting you'll put over these)
- run an extension cord to near the base of the plant, from an outlet convenient to your backdoor
- plug in a simple lamp of some sort with a 100W bulb in it, left turned on at the lamp, so you can control it from the outlet
- drape clear plastic sheeting (not "drop cloth", need it heavier, like "construction sheeting") over the stakes so it lies flat on the ground all the way around the bottom
- anchor the sheeting with pots or boards or bricks

Whenever you know the temp is giong down below 32 degrees, turn that lamp on ahead of time, and the heat from the light will keep the inside of that quickie greenhouse several degrees warmer.

not a perfect method, but not hard to execute in an emergency such as you face.

And yes, do make sure the sheeting does not touch the plant, as the wise Dr. Dutch advises.

It's pretty tall and has lost most of it's leaves .. if you look closely you can see the inflo (arrow). I'm thinking I'll just let nature take its course. With luck it will survive. Everything else seems to do ok with the drastic temperature fluctuations.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

X

Somehow I missed the fact it's in a greenhouse --my answer is totally off-base.

The thing is, since I only heat it to the "don't freeze" point, in a 24 hour period it can go from 38 degrees at night into the upper 90's in the day time. I've decided to to put the pot on some of my black water filled bottles (passive solar heating) to keep the soil warmer than normal.

X

Good luck with that, and I'll be interested to see how it does. I have a small plumie (about 3' tall) that still has several large healthy leaves on it even though the temps have been down in the low 40's. I haven't moved it inside yet, as the area I have for it is rather dark. Again, I'll be interested in seeing how it does with less 'babying' this year.

I have several in the garage and the temps stay right at 40*F at night.. they still are holding there leaves but have slowed down on growth.. DH left the door open about 2' for the dogs while OOT... it was 29*F that evening.. they suffered no damage...

I hope not Kylie...sometimes the damage does not show up until later. did it get down to 29 in the garage? good luck.
Davie

So far my inflo looks healthy .. it's comatose .. but healthy. I'm tempted to hit it with some giberellic acid to wake it up.

X

You'll be able to tell the damage if you got frost on your buds. It will turn black within a day or two.

X,
I keep some in my GH and they do OK. They live anyway. I have some that still have their leaves (a few) and a couple that have lost their leaves. I have had my GH go down to 31 one night b/c the power went off and my heater automatically turned off and forgot it would do that. they are all doing fine. I think what helped is the fan keeping the air moving. Mine jumps drastically in temps during the winter b/c o have it covered in plastic and the exhaust fan is closed off. I really don't think you'll lose it. May not flower, but won't die. How are the buds doing now?

It's still hanging in there .. there are a few leaves on the top next to the inflo and the inflo is definitely growing! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

X

I have plants bare root and they kept inflos thru winter. Just getting ready to put them back in ground and they are just fine.

Cool! I think mine is gonna make it too .. it's starting to spread out .. should I hit it with some food or leave it alone.

X

I hope you get flowers!
One of mine is doing the same thing. It made an inflo too late in the fall when it went dormant, and then many of the buds sort of dried up but there are some on there that I noticed are starting to swell a little now. I really hope it flowers. It is already branching off in four directions under the inflo. lol. It has no leaves still but was wondering if I should give it a drink or something?

Mines in a greenhouse and I've been watering because of the inflo it even though most of the leaves have fallen. It can get in the upper 90's in there.

X

That makes sense. Mine are stuck in the garage. There are windows in there but they are mostly all dormant (leafless) because I don't keep it heated. I just checked them and a few are waking up now and putting out thier little 'claws'. I will give the one with the inflo a drink and see if the buds swell some more. Thanks.
Lenette

FINALLY! Thought this would never happened .. but it bloomed. I started getting worried when little bits of the info got knocked off.

X

Congratulations!! Beautiful blooms.

Thanks! I was hoping it would have been one of those rainbow ones .. but the red is ok.

X

ooh, thanks for the update! I have two plumeria's in pots (that have been on heating mats, in and out of garages and even shipped from OR to CA when we moved)

I ordered two more from ebay for next to nothing, stuck them directly into the ground and they both have inflows! I am done with the "babying"!

The red is very pretty reds always have such dark buds very nice thanks for sharing

It is pretty .. don't have a clue as to the name .. I received some cuttings of a friend whose got decimated in Katrina.

X