Plumeria

I'm doing a bit of research into Charles Plumier, discoverer of fuchsias, and see the genus Plumeria was named after him. I would like to get hold of some Plumeria seeds and see if I can grow it. I see there have been a few threads about this plant on GC before, but none that, as far as I can tell, are about the basics of what soil it prefers and general growing tips. I live in a very wet and quite wild climate, with acid soil and a very rocky sloped garden. I had assumed I would need to grow Plumeria in a pot, but I see its regarded as a small tree, so maybe it is not such a good idea to try this. Has anyone any experience of this plant, particularly P. rubra, and can you give me any advice? Plumeria rubra | frangipani/RHS Gardening

 

@strongylodon showed one he had in flower in another thread.
I've grown them from seed but getting seed grown plants to flower in our climate is not easy.
They need fairly tropical growing conditions with only short dips in temperature, although @noisette47 seems to be able to grow them just frost free and dormant in winter.

 

'Morning :-) Plumeria definitely isn't suitable to grow outside in the ground in UK (or northern Europe). Mine's in a big half-barrel on wheels, and gets moved next to the house wall during the winter. Kept quite dry, it loses it's leaves ( which can be an advantage as they're martyrs to Red Spider Mite). The trickiest part, as with so many tropical plants, is getting them out of dormancy in our stop/start springs. The compost needs to be rich, well-drained and watered every day in high temperatures. Mine's growing in a mix of commercial compost, some topsoil and pouzzolane ( small bits of volcanic rock). John Innes with added peat and grit would probably be the ideal in UK? They're a challenge :-). If you can afford it, when the world is back to rights again, take a long holiday in Hawaii or Goa or somewhere else where they thrive, and enjoy them there ;-)

 

There is a Seller on eBay selling small cuttings but I ordered some seeds this week but don't hold out a lot of hope as I am pretty useless with seed.

 

I have never bothered trying to grow them from seed but brought back rooted stems from Madeira twice. They do need heat, they are tropical but can grow outside in the Eastern Med.
Mine stayed in the conservatory which has heating, even a cold greenhouse would see them off in Winter.
After two years the foot high plant I brought back is now 4ft high with two foot long branches and is almost too big to keep.

 

I'm sorely tempted by those ones from Thailand, but kind of put off by the £14 postage.
I've given up growing from seed, it's a gamble and how long they take to flower I really dont know.
Lots of those plants on Ebay are seedlings , and they are selling them as named varieties.

 

The trouble here is space, I never expected my one to grow so fast this year and didn't repot it so at 4ft high it is getting top heavy and inclined to fall over. If I repot it in the Spring into a larger 7lt pot/tub it will be too big for the conservatory. Outside here in Summer will not be warm or sunny enough.

 

Next spring /early summer cut off the branches and dry the ends off for a week, then pot them up in a gritty compost.
I think they will root given warmth.
And you would still have the main plant to play with.

 

I have just looked up Plumerias in Spain and found that they can be be seen in gardens around Malaga, nearer than I thought.

My propagator isn't tall enough for cuttings!

 

I grew a number from seed. They took 7 years before one of them flowered, and it was nothing like the parent in terms of colour or perfume. I had also bought an unrooted cutting from Thailand before the postage became so high. It never flowered. They didn't survive my cool greenhouse, so I had to bring them into the house over winter. I threw the last of them out this year.

 

If you do it the right time of the year you wont need a propagator.
They are similar to rooting cacti, too much humidity and they rot.

 

I noticed there was one seller in Malta on E bay.

 

Heat mat and a hand-held mister? If you can do Aeoniums, you'll succeed with Plumeria

 

I have lots of them, thank you, so I have taken the leap.

They won't post here, I did ask ...

PLUMERIA (FRANGIPANI) YOUNG PLANT - from mixed colours seed same day dispatch | eBay

but ordered a yellow cutting from here ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plumeria-F...ywords=plumeria+cutting&qid=1604329705&sr=8-1

 

I'm tempted but will wait till spring, rooting at this time of the year is bound to be difficult over here.