Frangipanji/ plumeria

[philip kitts]

Hello . Some branches of this came back with me from Egypt in feb, I couldn't believe my luck when they rooted they are now in the frog tank where they stay warm and moist, but I wondered do they need a dormant period or do they grow constantly?

[Steph]

They loose their leaves during the winter and its best to keep them bone dry till spring, I think thats temperature related.
I have had probably 20, none left now they all rotted, Adeniums went the same way - tried like crazy but total failure, binned the last survivor this month.

Never got a flower either so hope you do better than me.

[Vagetarian]

I germinated 100 Plumeria rubra seeds last summer, I have got 6 lovely plants left. Most were given away or composted, few died through winter except some that germinated late and never really grew very fast, the 'runts'. I also germinated a few Adenium obesums and they were equally successful for me.

On my cold conservatory floor at 5-20 C they lost a few leaves and needed watering every week or 2. I had some on somebody else's kitchen window sill during the winter too. They were probably watered every other day but looked absolutely fantastic anyway, full stems of leaves all winter long (and those ones are still looking the best).

I am growing both Adeniums and Plumeria in 50% perlite (or some combination of perlite and grit/sand to weight the pots down). Do not put them in big pots and make sure to let the soil dry right out between watering during the cooler months, the stems of both plants are water storage organs.

Most of the healthy plants I gave away were potted in plain old compost (against my recommendation I might add) and they are all either severely set back or dead.

[bonkersinbrighton]

I grew a couple from seed off fleabay a three years ago. I have them on my kitchen windowsill and although they haven't died (mine have never lost their leaves during winter?!?) they have never branched and so never flowered and look more like sticks with a few leaves at one end, the larger of the two in now about 80 cm. I have learned that they do much better in plastic pots than they do in terracotta, tho have no idea why and they hate it and drop leaves very quick if the temp drops below 15.
If you find any great tips on getting them to branch do please share.

[Vagetarian]

Yes bonkers, they branch after flowering which takes 1-4 years for a cutting and 2-5 for a seedling. You can try chopping the top off to induce branching but you'd be braver than I if you only have a couple. I would definitely wait til late spring to do that. Out of all the seedlings I grew, a few % branched within the first few months. Out of the 5 or 6 I have left, only 2 have branches.

[bonkersinbrighton]

oh well guess I am just being impatient then I will wait another couple of seasons before I give up on them .I guess if we did ever manage to get one to flower then it would be worth it

[bonkersinbrighton]

sorry just re read your post Vagetarian, if you have a couple with branches does that mean you have had flowers on them?

[Vagetarian]

I haven't had any flowers yet as they're all too young. My branched ones did so very early on for no apparent reason. None of them have grown any new branches since though.

As for the inducing branching thing, if anyone's interested I think the usual method is to make a V shaped incision into the tip.

[philip kitts]

Thanks for your tips I have took them out of the frog tank and placed them close to the radiator to simulate a dry season.i will pop them back in mid-January.
They are in a very sandy soil and I assume that they require acid soil as they come from volcanic regions of Hawaii,or do they grow on alkaline coral sands aswell.?

[kata]

I have took them out of the frog tank and placed them close to the radiator to simulate a dry season.

It Don't work like that Phil, I killed an Adenium thinking like that.. Its a different kind of heat than the sun.

Look here

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... it=Adenium

[philip kitts]

I have took them out of the frog tank and placed them close to the radiator to simulate a dry season.

It Don't work like that Phil, I killed an Adenium thinking like that.. Its a different kind of heat than the sun.

Look here

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... it=Adenium

They are in a south facing bay window so they get max sunlight there .the frog tank I think was to damp for these succulents long term. although they looked very happy,maybe frog poo is a good fertilizer

[kata]

ooooooooooook!

My Adeniums just fell apart when I noticed them not looking very well.............

[philip kitts]

I have done a little digging on the net and discovered the 3main species have very differant leaf shapes mine is plumeria rubra with corrugated long leaves which drop in the winter.
P.obtusa is evergreen with more oval leaves
P.ala has linear leaves
Then there are 100s of hybrids....
I lifted it out of its pot and the roots are fine so fingers crossed for the winter thanks all for your input

[Vagetarian]

I missed your last post Phillip. Since hybrids are usually sterile I always assumed that all the different varieties were just Plumeria rubra. The 5 plants that I haven't composted have pretty varied leaf shape, from round to pointed, so I guess that makes sense!

Anyway, how are everyone's plants doing now that we're out of winter?

Here are my least leafy 4, followed by the healthiest one, which was the only one to potted up twice last year (once in late summer), it's definitely fared better and they were all a much more uniform size last year, needless to say I've potted the other 4 up now.

[GREVILLE]

Brought a lot of branches back from the Canaries last year. Kept dry on bottom heat from sSeptember and one by one they all rotted (wish they had rooted).

Learnt I can't bring any back any more. I'll resort to some seed which I purchased two years ago.