Hi Karen,
Oh no! so sorry to hear that. How tall are your plants that in the ground? I really don't like this kind of weather. I know you will get some good advice soon.

I live in Thousand Oaks and have a 5'-7' tall in the ground and a few in pots. All their leaves black/brown and fell off but, fortunately, the stems are okay. I have a greenhouse which I store 1'-3' tall and keeping them warm with electric and kerosene gas heaters. I have over 130 seedlings in a bathroom and bedroom.
According to a forcast, the air will get warmer and warmer which is a good news.

God bless your plumies,
Boom

I feel your pain KarenB. I'm looking out the window and my Plumeria Island is so sad looking. However my Roses are making up for my Plumeria sadness. Some of my Plumerias are in the greenhouse. But the majority of it are in pots and the big ones are in the ground. Oh well, I'll have to see what I will have left after all this crazy cold weather is over. Good luck to everyone!!

Kasie

Hi Boom,
This is my first year to grow plumies, my first dormacy. I have 9 in the ground one about 4 feet, others appx 3 feet, some first year. One Puu Kauhi (sp) in the ground is totally green leaves, was closer to the house.

What I have noticed that think would be concerning is some of the plants, the claws are black too sealed and look funny, but as you said the stems are green, so far. I hope they don't start dying down. I have 7 plants in containers on the patio, they are fine, plus three cuttings.

I have 5 hibiscus plants, to the ground all the leaves are brown black, all my cannas are black, hydrangeas too, notice neighbors accross the street, their date palms are black leaves..All tropical have suffered all over.

Hope the plumies will come out of it in spring, guess we all will see...is concerning. Hope they don't have to be cut back, that would for me, almost starting over again.

As Bills said, will leave the leaves on, but we have high winds, its shredding most.
Karen B.

Kasie- bad news-you should be cutting back your roses today down to major stems only and removing all leaves, flowers and small limbs. If you want great roses in summer, you've got to cut now. MLK weekend is proven best for So.Cal roses.
Karen- I changed my mind and am going to snip off the leaves a quarter inch from the stem. I want to stop anything going back into the plant. I'll snap off the stubs about 5 days later. My plants, especially my flowering white with red stripe look like they went through a nuclear blast. The flowers are drooping with a blackish tint. I knew the valleys were in for it but I thought I would be ok. Lucky for me my nursery of about 30 rare and young plants that sits in the middle of my back yard, did not freeze. The south end in back and the front yard is all black except for the plants up against my house facing south. Here I was bragging about the warm winter with 85% of my plants still leafed out and green, and wham-record cold weather comes out of nowhere. Hope I do not have a spring disaster. Sorry about your Hibiscus. Mine did not turn black. Only my trumpet vine umbrella shows some burn. Bill

Thanks Bill. My white with pink stripe looks terrible also. I just can't believe how it drastically changed overnight. Horrible, horrible. I know the roses should be pruned now, but I'm just so shock over the Plumerias that I just can't cut the pretty buds off the roses yet. And just to make up for my plumie sadness, I went out and bought more bare root roses :)

Kasie

I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear what the cold did to your plants (all of you that got a freeze). This has been the strangest winter I've ever seen.
Karyn

Hi,
Ok Bill will cut the leaves back as you advised, are now crispy, and black/brown horrible. Playful in the ground facing east, stems are mushy, that one worries me. Odd can't spell. puku kiea in ground is totally green, leafed out has never lost any leaves, facing south , sheet stayed on it. ok.. will cut others and later take the rest of the leaves off..full dormacy. I am still covering them all in sheets, but darn wind, 32 now.

thanks. Yes, am sad on the hibiscus, saved the gardenia, under sheets on the patio. Heard on cannas, they need to be cut down to the ground, will hopefully come back in spring.
Pray everyones plumies and babies make it..darn mother nature!!!
Karen B.

Hi Bill,
am so sorry you have had all this happen to your beautiful plants, pray they do all come back in spring, no disasters. Still cold here, hope it lets up.

Looked at my neighbors tree next door, about a 10 ft very old plastic pink, tree branches are drooping, all black leaves. hmmms..wonder what will happen there. My whole neighborhood has damage to plants, palm trees too..so darn irritating.
Karen B

Hi Kasie,
my minature roses in the ground, all the leaves have turned yellow.. I only have one large rose left, stopped growing roses, years back. Is Mr. Lincoln..is ok..will trim the branches..My hibiscus are drooped and almost look like they need watered, such a screwy situation.
Karen B.

Hi Bill,
I cut the leaves off, as advised. I noticed something that some, where the leaf stem is very mushy and soft..\The top to that plant is soft where the claws are..That appears that the top might rot. Perhaps if it warms up, might dry?

.where others I cut back the stem is strong. I get the correct names wrong I think..stem, cane or stalk..
Karen B.

I think that if the tip goes mushy, you will probably need to cut it back. I think you can wait but if the mushy begins to move down the stem, get cutting quick.
I have not experienced this before so I am guessing but I think if the tip freezes, it will not grow. However, the plant I believe will be ok as long as the mushy does not turn to rot and begin to work down the plant. I will be watching my tips very closely into the spring. I also have 19 seed pods that I do not know if they are damaged or not. What a bummer. Bill

So pictures of the damage:
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Just think this was a few days before the freeze:
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The coldest weather since the 1930s caught our tropicals unprepared. Ug!!

Hi Bill,
yes, will watch the top of the stalks.
Oh Bill seeing those pictures, it just makes me so sad to see your plants..devistating,. This is just not fair to everyone. Tonight is suppose to hit again low 30's, to high 20's in my area, no winds which is colder, when will it stop beating the plumies.

I pray yours and everyone who is going through this...their plants make it.

Everyone let us know what is happening to your plants. Tony in Northridge, how are your plants???? Joanna?

Karen B.

Karen,
I'm in Sherman Oaks, but it's the same story here. Lots of black leaves on several and yet a few came out completely unscathed. Strange. I'm not worried about the burnt leaves as it's happened before and doesn't cause any harm. Thankfully, there is no tip damage.

Unfortunately, the weather ended up killing my Pua Keni Keni plant, but the Plumies will all survive.

Let's hope there are no more freezes!!!

Tony

Bill looking at the pics of the freeze damage made me want to cry, especially after having just looked at the disc you sent. Many of the CA flower farms lost much of their crop and my husband has been getting messages that his prebook orders are being canceled right and left. Hopefully you'll be able to trim off the damaged sections and don't lose anything. (that goes to all of you that had damaged plants).
Karyn

Hi Karyn
Yes, seeing Bills plants, made me sad and ill too. Some of my pumies now the tops of the plant, where the tips are, are withering. Some tips are crisp black and funny looking on top, don't know what will happen to the plants, have to wait and see.

Yes, damage to crops, other plants, I see so many palm trees with brown leaves, may be dying or do they grow back. My hibiscus leaves are crisp, do I cut them back or not. About 5 feet tall bushes. Called a nursery to find out what to do, they don't know.,. bummer.
Karen B.

Freaky weather indeed! About two weeks back when the temps were in the mid 70's I decided to force my 16 or so plummies into dormancy.... it is not natural for the plummies to start to put out new leaves this far into the season (December)as they were wanting to do so I decided to cut off every single leaf on my plumie (except the 4-5 footer). I am glad I did now. They are all leafless and the bigger ones (4) 15 gallon are out unprotected. No black tips here. They did just fine though we only got into the 34 degree range here in Los Angeles. I feel for those folks 10 miles over the hills in the valleys.

Kept thinking about that guy that sells plumerias out in Northridge...

I'm so sorry to hear about everyone's damage. I hope that spring will prove that it's not as bad as we all think it is. I guess I'm lucky because even though I'm only about 30 miles from Palm Springs we have cold winters here so I was at least somewhat prepared (I think). I've been to chicken to check on them for the last five or six days so I guess I'll cross my fingers and take a little stroll to the shed tomorrow.

I hope for those of you who have damage that it will be confined to the tips only and that cutting back will keep you from losing the plant in its entirety. If I had any large enough to cut I would offer to help replace those of yours whose are damaged, but unfortunately with this being my first year I don't even have anything to offer. I hope you guys will keep us updated.

Bill if you see this I am feeling much better now. If you need any help let me know and I will be happy to come down and give you a hand.

Jerri

Hi Kukini,
Yes, Michael in Northridge. Welll if he was hit by surprise like we all were, could have had tremendous damage to the plants.

Mentioned to cut the tips if mushy, not there yet, just some are caving in and withering at the top, will keep watch. Does not seem good.
Karen B.

Hi, I am new to this. I do have a question about my plumeria.
I am in Temecula, Ca. We also got the big freeze. All my leaves have fallin and the tips have turned black and mussy. Should I cut the branches down to the hard green part? as the mussy seems to be getting worse and going farther down. Help Please
Darlene

Darlene I'm sorry to hear that your plants froze. If the mush is moving down the stem go ahead and trim them back to healthy tissue and dust the cut end with fungicide. You can also seal the ends with caulk or latex paint. I've tried sealing the ends once and it didn't work for me but I probably did something wrong. A number of the people here who know quite a bit more than me do seal their plants.
Karyn

Hi Karyn, Do I cut it back to the main stem? as the claws feel hollow. what happens if sealing the stems dosn't work?
I am just heart broken over this. it is or was a real pretty 4 footer.
Thanks for your help
Darlene

Hi Karyn and Darlene,
I have tried spackle, falls off, have spray painted the tip, don't know if it worked. This time had to cut some tips that were rotting, I put on silicone from the tube. Its not real pretty, but is holding on.

Sorry for you too Darlene, it hit here strong too, I lost several plants heartbreaking, but some of my plumie tips did not freeze.. so have hopes with them. I am planning on buying some new ones to replace them.

Wonder about the plumeria growers here in So. CA, did it freeze their plants too? will they be in the nurseries to buy?
Karen B.

Karen- I know that Kimi's took a big hit and had major damage.
Also, when sealing a cut plumeria, it is best to wait one day for the latex to dry. Also DAP makes a tan sealant that has a mildew preventer in the mix. Bill

There is a real large grower of plumeria Just down the freeway here it's in rainbow canyon. My husband drives buy it every day I will ask him what he has seen . last summer it was just a wall of them all in bloom everything from white to deep red. I am just really attached to this one as I brought it home from hawaii in my suitcase.as a cutting from some very nice peoples yard. I do know All the avacodo growers are cutting down there trees and replacing them. it looked like a war ground around here