Hi Karen,

This is the one that was in the round pot? In the original picture it looks like it just needs TLC. The tips appear to be alive but dormant. I recommend watching it for now. IÂve never done the latex test, but IÂve heard it isnÂt 100% accurate. In a month or two it will be obvious whether or not the tips are getting nourishment from the trunk. If it turns out the trunk is dead, you can chop it up and root or trade the branches. Depending on the health of the trunk, you have either one large plant or several nice sized cuttings.

Philip

I got a center cut that is the same way. Light Brown skin. It looks like you could peal it off. I placed it in a jar of warm water. Now 2 weeks later it seems to be putting out cottage cheese. I am just gonna let mine ride in the water for now. I had no latex either. We'll see in a couple of weeks if it dies.
Valerie

Hi Valerie,
thats right, it looks like it could be peeled, or has been peeled, thin yellow brown skin. I wonder if it has anything to be too cold in our freeze, was on this neighbors porch. don't know was given to me.

Good luck on putting it in water..it putting out cottage cheese?
Karen B

Hi Valerie,

By "cottage cheese" do you mean root nubs? I think people who use this method only leave the cuttings in water until these develop and then pot them up in a fast draining soil mix to continue rooting. Water roots donÂt transition well to growing in soil. Because plumeria are succulents, you run a high risk of having your cutting rot if you leave it in water past the "cottage cheese" stage.

Philip

Hi Phillip,
Yes it is the one in the round tub. Ok.. was concerned when I read to check to see, if stuck with a pin, will have little ooze areas, none anywhere. Most of my other plants touched them with a pin, instant sap.

Ok..will watch for tip growth and say a plumie prayer, ha It just looks odd. Trunk.. thats what they call the stalk. I get the terms confused, grew roses for so many years, think those words. Ok.. Have not watered as you advised..so will keep a watch.. I hope the larger pot will be easy enough to control in watering, largest one I have had. Can check the top with a water meter, but down below that is the heavy roots, could over water.. Will have to be careful.

MY Gosh plumeria are slow, could go on a 5 cruises and come back and they still look the same. ha I have never went through dormacy before with the plumies, or the waiting for all to leaf, most are still in dormacy. Wish they would hurry up!! was warm here, so now cooler. Does that effect the plants to continue to wake up?
I don't know how long it takes them to come out of dormacy? thanks for your advise.
Karen B

Karen,
I only trust the pin test if the plant appears otherwise active. I recently did a graft onto a host that had not completely come out of dormancy and a scion from a plant that had. Latex poured out of the scion, but barely appeared on the host when I cut them. So, I would do as suggested above and give it normal care and hope for the best.
Mike

The pin test has worked for me. Any plant that didn't have any sap ooze out eventually bit the big one. I have had some that would only drip latex if I applied some pressure and for the most part they did fine. I don't go poking all my plants but I've had some that looked OK at the tips but the claws wouldn't develop. I'd poke at multiple places along the stem and nothing came out, even when I squeezed. The stems weren't soft, but they were usually a bit shrivled. At first I thought that they might have been dehydrated but that wasn't it, there was always rot somewhere along the stem when I finally resorted to chopping it up. The dehydrated ones that did ooze a bit of sap would plump back up after watering.
Karyn

H Mike and Karyn,
I don't normally do the pin test either, wouldn't have if the whole plant wasn't a yellow brown. Bill answered that on another question I asked, says yellow brown is a old plant.

Most of my plants are dormant, little wake up..perhaps then if dormant, sap isn't warming up, doesn't come out. I don't know, will check again next week. Now curious.

I did throw away two Karyn, yesterday because of no latex.. got them out of trash today, found out one was rotting from freeze. cut it up, finally got couple clean cuttings. I have one small cutting from last year that did not root, got it out of the trash too, threw it away..no ooze at all, stuck it back into pearlite. will wait...plumies are sometimes confusing.
Karen B.

Thanks Philip,
I just got all my sticks with nubs planted today. I checked the ones that looked like they were pealing and found that even though they were trying to put out root nubs they were rotted. I have had TWO Plumie funerals today. Soo sad I am to see them go. I still have 11 more center cuts that are water rooting. Is this the wrong way to do this?
Valerie

I tried water rooting last year. I left it in the water for a couple weeks. I think it started getting some nubbies but I kind of freaked and decided to put it in a pot. I just soak them for a while prior to potting them up. I don't think there's anything wrong with water rooting, I'm just not comfortable with it. Sorry you lost some of your cuttings.
Karyn

HI Valarie
If you have lost cuttings trying to water root, think its best the rest you let dry out, put root tone on the bottoms..let them dry out for a couple weeks, lot of water there. Don't know the size of your cuttngs, but I would plant them then in a domiant pearlite/cactus mixture. lightly water and leave them alone. Set them on warm concrete and don't water until you get leaves. lightly mist occasionally.. What I am doing, good luck.
Karen B.