Hi guys newbie here so be gentle has anyone had any experience with Plumerias, I grew some last year from seed but lost most of them over winter there are 3 remaining although each has a couple of new leaves they seem very slow to develope maybe its me that needs more patience I have given them a weak balanced fertilser to kick start them any ideas? :(
I've grown them for some time walnut, but I have to say with limited sucsess. I get loads of leaves but flowers are not that forthcoming at the moment though I do now have one in bud. Anyway back to your problem,how big are they? I rest mine overwinter with very little water and most if not all the leaves fall off, otherwise they can rot. Now, they need as much sunshine as is possible to get in this country, and be careful not to overwater at this stage, you can water more freely once growth really gets going along with a good feed.
Thanks for that Pete the 3 remaining ones from last year are about 4" tall you are right about the need for care when watering it was rot that saw the rest off last winter,I planted 20 seeds about 6 weeks ago and 14 germinated their rate of growth is faster than the existing ones so i'm keeping my fingers crossed,do you put yours outside to benefit from maximum sun as the greenhouse shading limits how much they get at present?
No ,I dont put them outside, its one of the few plants that I dont, I think they need constant warmth to grow well, and our climate is far to changeable. I dont use much shading as my other plants that tend to stay in the greenhouse are cacti, along with a few other sun worshipers. It is the transition from winter dryness to summer moistness that is the problem I find, its needs to be a gradual process. Keep an eye open for red spider mite, they can be a problem with plumerias. Good luck.
Hi Walnut I have grown Plumerias to flowering size, about 4ft high from seed some years ago but they were kept in a palm house with a minimum winter temperature of 12/15c, (and dry in winter). This is not usually possible in a domestic greenhouse, I would advise against putting them outside even in summer as our temps fluctuate particularly at night so much that they would not put on constant growth. As Pete says and I found this to my cost, red spider mite always seems to find them. In cooler climates they do drop their leaves in winter so some loss should be expected. Hope this has not put you off, keep trying
Thanks for the info Pete and Strongylodon I will persevere it seems my winter temperature was too cool they did drop as low as 5 degrees in my greenhouse next winter they will adorn the window ledges in the house ornaments will have to go in the greenhouse
Thanks for the info guys. I'll keep mine in the conservatory. I have 2 8" seedlings and a cutting which is about 2'. The leaves seem much smaller this year on the cutting, I'm tempted to feed it, but there is some debate as to whether I should.
Just found out today that the accursed red spider mite has got to the cutting. I am plagued by the damn things. Just spent half an hour with the steam cleaner trying to kill them off.
