I just did some measuring.

A 1 gal. container, doesn't even come close to holding the cutting.

Planted at a depth of 1/2 the height of the container and to get the top of the stems (branches) to be 1" above the mix, means the container has to be at least 25" deep. Ouch!
What size container is that?

That's 2 cu ft. of planting medium.

I'm going to have to buy a lot more Cactus mix and Perlite if I go that deep; but if you think that's right, that's what I'll have to do. Please let me know what you think--should I go more shallow?

Bob

Hi Sunlight,

Will be no problem planting your plumie, with a short stock, An expert will come in and help you..welcome to the board.
Karen B.

Hi Bob,
Sorry, no one came in and commented to give you advise

. your friend gave you good information. Do not put your rooted stalk on top of the soil In a gallon black container, fill your container, more perlite than soil.. then when full, put your hand in middle and dig out a deeper space and set your plant into it gently, about 3 inches or so.. that area put pure peralite into it. set the cutting with the roots in gently. Do cover the top of the V. put it below soil level. Remembering the bottom of the cutting is where the roots are growing, not at the V.
Half cactus soil, more than half perlite. then get a cup of water and lightly pour it in the soil with b-1 and superthrive. all around the cutting. push down the soil with your hand, making sure it is all down and around the cutting. YOu can at this point put in a stick to keep the cutting straight.
anddddddddddddddddd leave it alone for a month, set in warm area. Spray the top occasionally with water. After a month, lightly around the edges put in small cup of water, don't heavilly water, may be cool out. Takes 3 weeks to 3 months to root.. When it puts out small leaves..scream yippeeee. ha
then come back in for instructions. It depends on where you live and how warm you are to how much water you apply. I am cool here in So. CA, so am lightly watering, how warm are yoU? good luck
Karen B

Hi Bob,
this information was given to me by our expert Bill. If he has more comments to help you, he will come in. I too am starting cuttings like I told you..I too have a V cut, hope will grow.
Karen B

Hi Bob,
If you have a really big cutting, plant it in a 5 gallon container. and watch the watering, if chilly, can rot..almost no water. can water again in a month when warm. I am in this problem, gotten chilly, have to watch mine not to rot.
Karen B.

Hi Bob,
When I plant my cuttings I set them on heating pads till the get leaves. It keeps the soil around 98 degrees. That helps keep everyone nice and warm to make good root systems.
Valerie

Hey Bob, since your cutting is already rooted, I would pot it up, putting soil just up to the V. I would use 'pre-moistened' soil and then NOT water the plant for a while. It's not really going to grow much until you have warm weather and can put it outside (nights above 50 degrees). Then, I would put in two stakes on either side and tie up the two branches to stabilize it. Anyway, that's probably what I would do. I don't think you have to worry about stem rot, as long as you don't keep the soil wet, and make sure the rooting cutting stays warm. Don't leave the cutting outdoors in cool rains.

Hey Valerie:

I have a question about heating mat for rooting Plumeria cuttings. Do you keep the mat turned on all the time? If not, how long do you keep it on? Please let me know. Thanks!

Nixon

Hi Nixon,
I leave them on all the time. Its the lights I turn off from 11pm till 7am. I hope this helps.
Valerie

Thanks for the input, Valerie. I also have conflicting information about watering the cutting during rooting. Some say don't water at all in the first 30 days. Some say water when the soil is dry. Which do you follow? With the heating mat on, the soil dry fairly quickly so I am tempted to water. Thanks in advance!

Nixon

thanks all,

I had to have two surgeries so couldn't get back 'till now.

My plumie is still here, waiting to be potted.
There's a bit of black on the growing tips. I was told to dip them in hydrogen peroxide & water for about 10 minutes.

I'm very confused though on the potting.

The person in Calif., who gave and shipped the cutting to me, said, plant the crown 1/2 way down the pot, then fill up the rest of the pot with mix, until the stems of the Y are sticking 1" above the surface.

Here are my calculations:
vertical distance from stem (so that the top is 1" above mix) to where the "v" starts:
11 inches.
distance from bottom of V to the crown (Y):
1 inch. =

12 inch total vertical height
+
12 inches more, if that distance is 1/2 the depth of the pot.

Total pot height, minimum of 2 feet.

Also, the horizontal distance between the tips of the two stems is 13". Which means if the pot is 13" wide at the top, the stems will be resting against the edges.

Whenever I've transplanted other plants, I've tried to keep the branches from touching the edges of the pot. And if I do plant in a pot that's 13" wide at 1/2 the depth, it leaves no room for the branches to expand. --confusion, confusion?

To give the branches of the Y a little room and to get the crown to the depth suggested, the pot needs to be about
2' x 2'.

That seems like a very large pot for this cutting. Is that really what I have to do?

--I have no clue where I'll even find a 2'x 2', black plastic, pot. The largest I have are round, tapered, 11" wide at the top and 11" deep.

I do have one fiber pot that is round, tapered, 14" wide on top and 14" deep, but even that's too small.

At the 2' by 2' size, I'm looking at having to buy 8 cubic feet of cactus mix. That's going to cost lots.

--I do have a 2 cubic feet of the potting mix Jake, on plumeria.org, recommends.

If I use that instead of cactus mix, @ $11/bag = $44 for 8 cubic feet. That much cactus mix will cost well over $100.

So, I'm really confused on what to do.

This cutting has been out of the ground now for 2 months. I assume that length of time is stressing it. It may die : (

Really simply:

do I need a 2' x 2' pot and 8 cubic feet of cactus mix;

plant the entire cutting, so the bottom of the Y is at 1/2 the depth of the pot,

then backfill until the top of the branches are 1" above the mix? And keep the tops of the branches well away from the edges of a pot?

(btw: if I plant only from the crown down, there will be nothing to support the top of the plant (except the edges of one of my pots.))

I don't want to loose this one.

I hope it's not too late. It hasn't started to leaf out yet, but looks pretty close.

--oh, she also said give it bottom heat, which I intend to do. But for a 2' x 2' pot, that's going to take several heating pads.

It just seems like this is a very big pot requirement.
I don't know...

Hi Bob,
how wide is your cutting? Does the V go straight out horozonal? cause a 12" cutting can go into a one gallon container, I usually put that size in a 5 gallon one. Have one planted right now, a cutting no roots. V is at the top of the soil, but I have it covered in perlite.
Karen B.

It took me a few readings and re readings to figure this out. The stem part of the cutting is only 1 inch. This 1 inch stem has 2 12 inch branches coming off it in a Y form. When I read the post the first time I was thinking it was 12 inches long and couldn't figure out why he wanted to plant it a foot deep.

When you plant a cutting of this type and size, and cover the junction of the Y with the soil, won't the moisture cause it to rot? The little guy doesn't have much foot to stand on.
Andi

With almost any plumeria you need to plant it about 3-4 inches into the soil. With this cutting you can plant it 4 inches down so the two branches come out of the soil already split. It will not rot any more than a regular plant. Or you can cut off one of the 12" arms at the y and let it harden over for a week. Then plant both in two one gallon pots. The one with the bend (bottom of the y) plant so the part above the y comes straight up and the part below is at an angle. I never recommend planting in large pots. I think the problem was in the wording. I think the directions meant fill 1" above the y which is a bit shallow but will work. I would fill a 1 gal until you have 4and a half inches from the top. water with B-1 and water. hold your plant in the middle and fill with dry soil to within an inch of the top. Set in filtered sun and do not water until it begins to put out leaves and then water every 4 days letting it dry. Since it has roots, these will get the plant started. Use pieces of styrofoam between the stems and the sides of the pot to keep stable if needed. bill

I have a similar cutting that I am rooting. I havenÂt chimed in before because rooting a y shaped cutting with a very short stem is a new experience for me. This is a six tip unknown red that I held for 7 months until spring.

What I did was use BillÂs Bottle Method* with two bottles side by side in order to make an extra wide planting hole. Then I put 1-2 inches of perlite in the bottom as usual and had an assistant hold the cutting in place on top of the perlite while I filled in the rest of the hole with pumice. I did wind up covering the top of the y with pumice. No dirt is touching any part of the cutting, only pumice and perlite. The cutting was very wrinkled at the time I planted it. The wrinkles have started to fill in, which leads me to believe it is beginning to root and has taken in some water.

Because your cutting is already rooted, I think I would use all perlite in the planting hole. Please note, I have never bought or been given a freshly rooted cutting. What I am doing to root my cutting is the solution I came up with for a similar situation. I have high hopes of success, but I havenÂt had a cutting like this before.

Philip

*BillÂs Bottle Method: fill bottom part of pot with fast draining planting mix. Place a bottle on top of this and finish adding planting mix. Water well and wait a bit. Carefully remove bottle, twisting it as you slowly lift it up out of the potting mix. In the resulting hole, place 1-2 inches of perlite, hold your cutting which has been dipped in rooting hormone on top of the perlite, and with your other hand finish filling the hole with pumice in order to stabilize the cutting while it roots.

Nice quick summary Piillip-here are the pics to assist. Bill
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thanks again everyone.

I had thought about splitting the cutting in two. Letting it callous over and try having two straight plants. But, don't have the courage to mess it up.

Do you think having two branches coming up out of the pot is okay?

Will they continue to grow "out" or, will, as they grow, straighten and head, up, instead?

I know that with fruit/nut trees, branches at an angle like this are weak and tend to split. I wouldn't want that to happen.

I don't want the buried part of the plant to rot--root yes--rot no. Will roots form along buried branches, like a tomato?

If it puts out roots along a branch, there will be oodles of support and no need to worry about too high/too deep planting or the branches splitting from the trunk, as the plant grows.

For the mix, I have the cactus mix and perlite. So, I should be good for a 1 gal pot.

However, there's a FAQ (I think by Jake) at Plumeria.org, where he says to use what he uses for potting and growing on, too: Stay Green All purpose potting mix, with water holding polymers and fertilize @ Lowe's.

I have that, as well as some cactus mix and perlite.

What 'ya think?
Will the Stay Green stuff work? I worry about the "water holding polymers."
If it's ok, would I:
1) use it straight from the bag
2) mix it with half perlite
OR not use it and
3) stay with, make my own mix from 1/2 cactus mix and > 1/2 perlite?

I drew a picture of what it will look like if I pot according to the instructions that were sent me with the cutting.

The URL is

http://www.geocities.com/bobt98/flowers/plumeria_potting.gif

If I do it that way, I have to have that 2'x 2'x 2' pot and 8 cubic feet of mix.

Here, Karen says don't cover up all of the main trunk to where the V begins; others say I can go up to the branching or a little higher; and some much higher or nearly cover the entire branch.

I'm tending to go with Karen's 1st instructions, except plant up to where the branches begin?

"Bill's method," I'm a bit confused about. I don't quite understand how two bottles work or help--since the stem on this plant, before the branching is only 1" long. It looks like a good method though, for regular, unbranched cuttings.

As mentioned earlier, there's still the option to split the Y down the middle and try to have two plants?

Please look at the drawing and post any final ideas.

Thanks, Bob

re-reading, especially Karen & Bill (not that I don't appreciate everyone else--the bottle method really sounds interesting):

I've gotten a little more courage reading Bill's final entry and understand much more clearly: essentially, plant what I have, 4" deep, in mostly perlite, water once, give heat & light.

But Bill, Karen, anyone, do you think I'd actually be okay, cutting off a branch and make two cuttings?

My 1st experience trying to grow a p. was with a Hawaiian Yellow (or was it Gold?). It was a disaster.

I was told to try water rooting. Never rooting a Plumeria before, I do what I'm told. --usually when I water-root, anthing, I see roots within a few days or at the most a couple of weeks. And I keep clean water in the container.
But this cutting sat & sat and did nothing. After a couple of months, there still was nothing.

Since it didn't root, I was advised to take it out of the water; cut off the bottom to check for rot (the color inside was a beautiful white, so ok); soak it in hydrogen peroxide for a couple of hours, let dry overnight, dip the cut into a very dilute solution of bleach/water for good measure, then into rooting hormone and pot up in a sterile mix, setting the base 4" deep, watering once.

I did all that. Poured a cup of water + superthrive around the stem, sat the container on a heating pad, and gave plenty of fluorescent light: both going 24/7.

Within a few days, it leafed out. Since it couldn't have put out roots in a couple of days, I began misting the leaves on a daily basis, with tepid, tap-water.

However, within two weeks the cutting went mushy. I checked; and, the entire inside was black.

I suppose, even though I thought everything was sterile and the Hydrogen peroxide killed all germs, the cutting was attacked by some kind of fungus or mold, that must be in my house.

If I divide this cutting, how do I keep the demise from happening to each of the new cuttings? (I do have some agricultural sulfur; also a copper, fungicide--as well as bleach and H2O4.)

How long do I wait, for the wounds to heal before potting either cutting?

Now, for my really, dumb (non-knowing about Plumeria neewbie) question:

When growing flowers, usually the center is pinched out, so it will make more branches and more flowers.

Making two cuttings out of this one, seems to be doing the opposite: fewer branches, fewer flowers. Thus, a branched plumeria will have more flowers and be more sought after.

Why, then, is a single stemmed plumeria, preferable to one that is branched?

Bob

Hi Bob,
Now slow down, you are stressing. Now have you planted your plant? Forget all the other things you did to you previous plant. peroxide, pinching out, do not do that with plumeria. Not a flower you pinch out, but a blooming tree.

If you still have your plant with roots,
? a V.. If a V for victory plant just plant it as advised by expert advise by Bill or Phillip. I do what they tell me, they have much more experience in growing plumeria than I do. If the V is horizonal cannot be a plant, has to be cut. You must make this decision and get it planted, if has roots must be planted. The bottle method shown is giving a area for you to place your plant and not hurt the roots.
Karen B.

Thanks Karen,

I'm listening to you. Yes, I'm stressing out.
But that's normal for me: --had a couple of unfortunate, PTSD experiences and that left me a bit stressed on everything--something I have to live with, hope to overcome. Actually, I am totally disabled because of it.

Thanks for the advice: keeping me straight--and for your encouragement. The help, to one who suffers every day, means a lot.

I'm glad you and Bill & Phillip and all the others come to the rescue.

I'm planting this morning. will do just as directed.
The perlite is filtered (got rid of most of the powder); I understand now, the bottle method; the depth to plant,et. al. The pot's clean, ready. I'll just enjoy the experience. If it lives, Yay!, if not, we'll try again.

--there's a lot of happiness in growing beautiful plants and especially in having friends to help.

Here's a funny:
I'm potting in a 1 gl. container.

HOWEVER:
I was at Shopko two days ago and saw a sturdy, large, round, laundry hamper. If I drill a few holes in the bottom, it will make a great flower (tree) container.

It holds 36 gallons! Now, is that anticipating a success or what? --and it cost only $4.

It was 87 degrees the day before yesterday.
I took my Valencia Orange, out of the house, to give it a new home for the coming months. But that didn't last long--1 day and had to bring it back in.

Yesterday and last night, it snowed. The temp. right now at 8 a.m. is 39.

How low can the temp drop and have a Plumeria survive?
(off topic, anyone know what an orange tree can take?)

Hope the weather is nice there for you and your flowers/trees, and for everyone else as well.

Okay, some deep breaths here--and I'm off to set my "Y" shaped plant into the mix, with the your's/Bill's/Phillip's methods/and use a bottle for a hole, filled with perlite.

Then set it on a heating pad, give lots of light, and leave it alone.

You, and all are so great.
Thank you for your help.
Kindness is really nice.

Bob

Hey Bob,
Plumeria and citrus both have high temp requierments when it comes to growth. While the Valencia will survive (barely) at temps below 55°F, it will not grow. Both the root zone and the canopy must be kept above this temp to promote active growth. If the days are warm you can take it outside for a breath of fresh air, and bring it back in as soon as the temps start to drop. Rule of thumb, IF its warm enough for the plumie, its warm enough for the Valencia. My citrus collection consists of close to 30 mature trees in containers and several dozen rooted cuttings/seedlings.
Andi

Hi Bob,
YAY.. you got your plumeria planted, am proud of you..see you can do it!! Now be patient, Plumeria takes time to leaf out. I don't know anything about putting plants on heat or inside, others can advise you, if you have questions.

You got great advise from Andi on your citrus and plumeria. No keep the plumeria inside in those cold temps. Needs to be in the night 50's to be happy. Plumeria can go outside in the 50's but 30's tooo chilly.. Good luck.. NOw go buy a plumeria and try again! ha.. we will get you adicted.
Karen B.