PLUMERIA-LET'S TALK, SHOW YOUR BLOOMS

[wellington]

N2TORTS and I have a passion for Plumeria. His, he gets to enjoy in real life. I am hoping to get a flower or two, too bloom next year on my one little starter I purchases while in Hawaii in April. So WELCOME to anyone that would like to join in on this thread and talk plumeria, show off your beautiful blooms and trees or ask questions or give advie, this is the spot, join us.

Now, I am looking to see as many pictures of plumeria as I can. I also am looking for any and all advice on keeping this starter I have alive over the cold winters of CHICAGO. I know it can't stay outside. But we don't always have a lot of winter sun. The sun I get, the plant has to sit in the window sill and it's not usually that warm as it's right against the cold glass, as the sun isn't usually that hot/warm. Just so you know my record of over wintering. I have tried, 2 tropical hibiscus, 3 Gardenia, two trees, one bush my other FAVE. , 2 lantana, tree and plant, 3 orchids. I think that's all. They are all gone/dead. All barely made it to spring, but then died. The orchids I was able to keep for several years before the got ugly, few blooms and then died. I really want this to live, I will be crushed if I it doesn't.

 

[N2TORTS]

Plumeria or “Frangipani” … is a tropical plant native to warm tropical areas of the Pacific Islands, Caribbean, South America , Mexico, New Zealand, Central America, as far south as Brazil but have been spread throughout the world's tropics….Ironically NOT from Hawaii …but introduced.
Plumie flowers can have a variety of fragrances of a sweet citrus smell, spicy, gardenia like smell, jasmine and other indescribable scents. Colors are mind blowing and can include whites, yellows, pinks, reds, and multiple pastels even variegated. Flowering can last up to 3 months at a time producing new blooms everyday. Once picked, a bloom can last for several days without wilting if kept in water. Most plumies go deciduous in winter time , thus losing all their leaves ,but there are some varieties such as P. pudica one of the ever blooming types with non-deciduous, evergreen leaves. There are so many variations in colors , leaf shape and growth structure, with new hybrids being created all the time.
They are easy to clone/by cuttings… and rooting is not too bad. The most common mistake is keeping the new cutting too wet. Plumies are susceptible to stem rot, and it will ruin a mature plant or large cutting very quickly. Its best to use a fast draining medium such as a cactus mix , or use your own soil and add perlite. Cuttings 18-24” root best , and some of the more exotic color types are just extra hard to root no matter what. They will suffer in cold weather even in the 50's ... plumies do not like the cold . Alot of friends I know in the midwest or back east .. keep thiers in greenhouses during the winter time wth heaters.
And oh man … if you like cool plumies look no further….I could bore ya to death with plumie pics and blooms .....
Here is just a taste of colors .......

JD~

 

[wellington]

Honestly, you can'r bore me. They are beautiful. What are the tags for on some of them?
So if I want to over winter in my house. Can I put it in a dark warm place and let it go as you say, deciduous in the winter or dormant? Do you know how long they actually winter for. How many months they would be able to last in the deciduous or dormant condition . Would I water them before wintering and then leave them to go dry, any advice. This one I have, right off hand I don't know where the tag for it is. But it is the simple white and yellow that are usually used in Hawaii for the leis. Oh ya, more pics please

 

[N2TORTS]

The Tags are for record keeping....just like my torts , accurate records provide useful down the line. One thing with plumies and a very " scam " trick in the market of cuttings or even a mature plant .. is you honestly don’t know what color it is untill it blooms, and like the tort market , the more exotic -rare ones are always more money. So alot of "scammers" will sell you a cutting or plant and tell you its this fantastic color, when your getting the common white ~n~ yellow aka " Celedine" ....a great flower no less, very fragrant but more of the " weed " of plumie keepers.
When taking cuttings of a mother plant .. instead of naming the entire " name of the plant" each time ( I had 600 cuttings at one time with about 45 mother plants) I used a "letter system" . This assures me what type of plumie bloom that cutting will produce when mature and was kept in writing and also pics with tags on the PC. Cuttings depending on size and location taken can take anywhere from 2-5 years to flower. plumeria from seed may take 7-12 years !WOW!......to bloom .
Yes you can bring your plumie in when temps fall below 50 just stop watering it , and when spring arrives and warm up ... put outside and water once a week . Cuttings can be stored or " winterized" for some length of time as long as its a dry place. It's even best to " harden over" or wait 4-6 weeks when taking a new cutting and trying to root it ..... I warned ya ... I could yap about plumies all day!

This is a cool rare one .. called Pink Shell' ...blooms stay in a conical shape ~

this is currently blooming for me now ... out side the torts pad ....

JD~:shy:

 

[Jacqui]

Some of those just are so beautiful, they seem unreal.

 

[wellington]

DITTO to Jacqui's post. Just beautiful. Very interesting read. I read every bit and not bored yet. Anything you want to write about them, I want to read. Do you sell your cuttings? I do want to buy a couple more. However, I was going to try the one I got first to see if I can keep it alive through the winter. Now, the other thing I was always tring to find to buy, was an actual small tree, already started from a cutting , but well on it's way to blooming. I have never really been able to find something like that, that was small enough to ship, but large enough to get flowers. If you have those or know any place I can order from, please let me know. I am getting tired of having to smell this plumeria spray I bought in Hawaii. It's not bad, but of course not the real thingLOL.

 

[Momof4]

Just another reason to come hang out in your yard! Thanks for the cactus soil tip.

 

[wellington]

Just another reason to come hang out in your yard! Thanks for the cactus soil tip.

DITTO, I forgot to mention that. Going out tomorrow to get some for when I transplant to the next size planter. Buy the way, I have it in a planter and not my ground. Planned on doing that forever seeing I have to always bring it in for winters. Do you thing it will still grow good never being planted in the ground?

 

[N2TORTS]

Yes I used to sell a lot of them on Ebay ....cuttings of course are the easiest to ship , but a small , straight narrow rooted plant is feasible just cost a bit more to ship. Part of the "awe" and focal point of the plant is learning how to prune them to achieve a symmetrical looking plant. They make wonderful container plants , but once again I stress do not over water it , and provide a well drained soil. Also they literally can turn into trees, easily reaching 20 feet… a magnificent site to see.

......here is a 20' monster

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If you live in a frost area ... no it wont make it in the ground year round .... but keep high hopes as they can do wonderful and reach good size in big pots. While small they can remain in smaller pot. They have a root ball system that dosnt spread much.

 

[Jacqui]

You said you use to sell a lot of them on ebay, what changed?

 

[wellington]

A picture of my Plumeria. Planted sometime in beginning of June. Not pretty, yet. Opinions of any kind. Do I need to do anything different? I will be getting the cactus potting soil today or tomorrow. Should I keep changing the pot size or should I just put it in a large pot now, so I don't have to keep repotting it. Also, I can't ever plant in the yard, winters. So is there a way, once it is larger, that I can trim it to keep it at a managable lift and moving in and out size? I will probably try to always have it on my porch when it can be outside. I live three floors up. the porch gets good morning sun and then about an hour of late afternoon sun. Porch has a roof. I can always move it to the yard in its pot if you think that more all day sun would be better. But I would have to repot with bug free cactus soil every fall, would that be okay for it?
Thanks for all thoughts and opinions. Also wish me luck I can make it keep growing. I will cry if it doesn't. I already lost all my other tropicals and even my zone 5 cold hardy palms trees, I planted last year, well one dead the other, not so go and we didn't even have a bad winter.
Now the Plumeria you been waiting forLOL
sorry you have to wait for it to load.

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OOPs I forgot to turn it SORRY

 

[N2TORTS]

Barb, your plant looks great! …What we call a “ tri tip” …exactly what I mentioned above. When mature it will be very nicely shaped. Do you know the color ( what the tag said) ? If you wish to repot now with the new cacti mix ….a 5gal. container (make sure it has weep holes) will sustain a good size plant even up to 6’ for many years. Plumies don’t mind being “cramped”, although if conditions are primo , nothing beats planting in the ground. About 5 years ago we had a frost here too….Ultra rare for this area and I lost about 100 plants …I was so bummed , I went and purchased a huge greenhouse and started rooting cuttings in there. Cuttings need to keep their roots warm while rooting.
Now the reality of exotic plants…..they cost as much or more than are beloved tortoises. Most of the colors seen above will fetch anywhere from 40 -100 bucks for an 18” CUTTING~ …a mature rooted plant say 4’ tall tri tip will run ya about $275 on up!
Here in Ca there is a huge market for these plants……its just hard to find the rare ones …and when you do .. $Cha CHing$ they are not cheap!…You wont find any of the colors listed above at your local Home Depot , Lowes or Andersons nursery , but from collectors or high end nurseries in a particular area…club meets and garden shows too! I also have a passion for bamboo and a pretty neat~o collection of that as well, with all of this blending with my Tort family…. and passion for our shelled buddies.

Oh yea ..... tired of pictures yet? ...


JD~

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You said you use to sell a lot of them on ebay, what changed?

" TIME " and not enough of it .......

 

[Jacqui]

Nope, we will take more pictures if you have them.

 

[wellington]

Great, thank you. I will do the last repotting in a 5 gallon. The only thing the tag says is Plumeria by Name, Plumeria (Frangipani) Hawaiian Lei, Hawaiin Grown, Extra Length. The color of the flowers are suppose to be yellow and white. The middle of the flower and about 3/4 way out the petal is yellow, with the white at the tip of the petal and wraps down around the yellow color to the edge but only takes up about a 1/4 of the petal. The white doesn't look like it goes to the base of the flower. It is not a rare one. It's the one that Hawaii sells prepackage every place. They sell this kind the most and uses it the most for leis. It is one of my faves though.
No, not sick of pictures and not sick of learning. I can't (won't) live where the tropicals flourish YET, so I get my fixes, by looking, learning, trying to grow them, and any other way until hopefully some day I will move that way. I love the area I live in. I hate the snow and I hate our trees and the boring perrenial flowers for our zone. Although, I am finding more and more that are becoming zone 5 hardy. Except, it's not as easy to grow them here like they say , hence my not doing good and dead palm
So, unless you are tired, I am still fired up.

 

[acrantophis]

Great pics! I have a 5', inca gold. Good to see tortoise people are also plant nerds like me.

 

[wellington]

Great pics! I have a 5', inca gold. Good to see tortoise people are also plant nerds like me.

It's looking like there are a lot of us that are nerds about any animal, reptile and anything else you can have as a pet. Also, the flowers, plants, weeds that not only we can enjoy, but the ones our torts can too But, what a great group of people. If only everyone else in the world knew what they were missing out on

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BTW, I showed my little starter, show yours pic please.

 

[N2TORTS]

Ok ..just took these 5 mins ago ...

and here is your yellow white Barb'......

jd~

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Great pics! I have a 5', inca gold. Good to see tortoise people are also plant nerds like me.

Oh yea ....buddy ... " I was born with two left green thumbs" ...

Here some other shots from this morning ....
one of my favo Bamboo's....P. Vulguris a varigated variety insane striping of different band widths of green on gold stem.

and another Neat~o one ...Not your common Taro aka' elephant ear ... this variety is Black/deep purple stalks with dark green leaf... AWESOME contrast!...

......

" LET IT GROW " ....


JD~

 

[wellington]

Do you ever spend time in your house? I don't think I would. Between the flowers and the torts, who needs a house. Keep them coming. Hopefully you won't tire. You got a lifer here in enjoying every pic and every helpful, educational, even funny word. I have few passions. Dogs, (really most animals) but very knowlegable about dogs. Other passions, torts, tropical flowers, palm trees, and any sea life. Being from Michigan and now living in Chicago, you don't run across to many people, almost none that have the same passions as I do. At least I haven't found anyone. So, I am very happy to have not only found this forum to talk and Learn about tortoises, but that it also has a place for us to talk and share our other passions with members that feel the same way.

 

[N2TORTS]

ha ha Barb...nope not too much time in the house ... there's always the garage!
My other favo " man cave" .....
And of course’ PCH Hwy101 ….nuttin’ like a cruise ……..Vroooooommmmmmm~

The forum as a whole is a great place for me sharing , learning and a overall peace of mind and relaxation from my professional life. With people like yourself and the positive vibes received from others ,It can make a person feel good about themselves…. I know first hand. I think society as a whole has lost that "friendly caring vibe" and people often forget about the beautiful things around them that nature has to offer…let alone the effort it takes to keep these around for everyone to enjoy.

JD~

 

[acrantophis]

Incredible blooms! My plumeria has a bit of frost damage in February and is just recovering. It has a few blooms pushing out now. I will post some pics when it looks nice. It's so hot and dry here I keep succulents. But I am pretty insane with
My ants as well ;-)

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Incredible blooms! My plumeria has a bit of frost damage in February and is just recovering. It has a few blooms pushing out now. I will post some pics when it looks nice. It's so hot and dry here I keep succulents. But I am pretty insane with
My ants as well ;-)

Plants not ants! I have huge hands and I'm on an iPhone

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Incredible blooms! My plumeria has a bit of frost damage in February and is just recovering. It has a few blooms pushing out now. I will post some pics when it looks nice. It's so hot and dry here I keep succulents. But I am pretty insane with
My ants as well ;-)

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Plants not ants! I have huge hands and I'm on an iPhone

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