Ah, Mike. I feel ya.
I killed lots of plumies this past winter down in the basement by being stupid and overwatering.
I still haven't given up on the genus yet though.
I bought a grafted P. stenopetala which is supposed to have an awesome scent.
Hoping I don't kill this one! :)

-Robert

Hey Mike. I can completely understand your frustration. This past winter, that seems to just keep hanging on, has been a tough one for most all of us. Heck next week we have a cold front coming in and they say we could dip close to high 30's again. Last year we had a freeze nearly 3 weeks later than our average.

Have you tried storing yours just completely dormant. I had pretty good luck with the exception of a few smaller plants that wilted terribly. George shared some great info on limiting that from happening.

How are all your citrus doing. Your trees have always been great. I hope they are Ok.

Take care buddy

Mike

Hang in there Mike. You have been here before. Or, Move to California. We did not even have a winter. My psycho has been leafed out and blooming all year. It never went dormant. Anyway, you have been an inspiration to the cold weather gardeners everywhere. Take care. Bill

Bill, thanks a million...You of all people shared so much with me and I failed them all..
The darkness and cold here is just much too long for any kind of a plant like this to thrive..
If at best, they hang on until about March..5 months or dormancy, slim watering if at all, and cooler than 70 temps does them in..
I appreciate your kind words.

Mike....You are already in the 70's by day...I can handle night time cold, because I can always bring them in. BUt I don't even have warm day temps until a month from now for more than a couple days in a row..The sun? Forget that.
Mine is not as hot as anyone south of New Jersy and blue skies are rare...I have noticed your temps way cooler than normal..That spells bad for me way up north here.
The ocean temp is just 41 degrees, so any sea breeze, which is almost every day these days, stinks.
The Bermuda highs are a thing of the past up here, which means much less warm temps..I can't see Plumeria doing any good up here at all if I don't.lol

The only way I could be successful, is to own a greenhouse that is kept hot, or to use hot lights....No option there:-(
Even a sunny window is much too cold to this day, once the sun drops.

Robert, hello....Know I see where you and MIke hang out..ha
I think you live in Oklahoma, right?
Count yourself lucky you don't live on the seaboard way up here in teh north and don't rely on south winds to stay warm..
I pray at least yours warms up enough to get your plumies going...Even if it did warm up today, it would be too late for any flowers on mine to mature...
I can't even get figs to ripen unless I shove them in my greenhouse...

I read up on tha plumeria you are talking about..I LOVE it..I would get one if I knew my summers and springs were to go back to what they use to be like years ago..I am watching on how yours does..
Good luck! See you at the fragrant forums..

Mike

Mike, I feel your pain. Those of us who are determined to grow these in less than ideal conditions know how you feel. I always loose a couple each winter but wonder why they go until spring before deciding to end it. I hate the "march of the plumerias" as Laura calls it each fall and then the march out each spring. This winter was especially cold which made it extra challenging. I have they in my family room so live with the sticks all winter. House is 68 in the day and 62 at night. Mostly just light from the windows. I always measure my water in winter so I'm sure they don't get too much. Mine are still in the house as I like to be sure they can stay out once I take them out.
Have you every tried seeds? They seem to adapt better to growing when it's chilly and less than idea light in the winter. I haven't had any seedlings bloom yet but it's only been 3 growing seasons. At least you don't have to shell out a lot of money for seeds so loosing some isn't quite the sting. Good luck Mike and hope you hang in there until you succeed. Peg

Mike,

I was thinking the same as Bill when I read this post... You have succeeded in the past and with the knowledge and experience of growing other exotics, I know you can try again ... You of all people have the patience to grow anything and give the proper care to everything!

I remember years ago you were in the same place . I will always be your support no matter what you choose to do . You know that!!

You have become a friend that I cherish And I will always be thankful to you in so many ways. ;-). You have taught me as well .

This winter has been hard on all of us and like Bill mentioned, we are tested with our growing abilities here in my area as well as yours . It is very frustrating, but it only makes me more determined to try hard and do my best .. I know you , and this won t be the last time ! ;-). We will work wiith you if you want and all you have to do is ask .

The friendship that we have will never change and I am thankful for you and your mom. She is such a sweetheart and the apple did fall close to the tree. .

I'll see you on the other forums and you know that you can always find me anywhere, anytime.... If you need me for anything.

Much love to you...

;-)

Laura

Peg....Thank you..Such a great idea...I wonder how long it takes from seeds to flower?
I don't think any plant should be held into dormant stage for months on end...I even loose bulbs if they are kept from growing too long..They desicate..

Laura...You are a peach and you know how lucky we are to have you as friend after all these years...I didn't realize how cold it has been for you there.
But then your sun is much hotter than ours which is a huge help with these plants..
If I could stick mine outdoors by now, I would have a great head start..
When I was doing well with them the only way I coukd get them to flower was to stick them on my hot roof, and even then they would flower too late, right about the time to bring them in for fall..
I will reconsider if we can shake this cold..
The only problem is that my cold is getting worst each year...Bummer..

Much love from us here and we shall talk soon:-))

Mike

Mike, this has been a relatively discouraging year even as far south as here in FL.

Most Plumeria in this area (including mine) are a good month and a half behind where they normally are. It was a weird winter. Not overly brutal, but persistent. I think it confused everything. Was out at the beach today and a lot of the large established trees haven't broke dormancy yet to spite the mid 80's.

Understand your pain though. Even though I have relatively good growing conditions, I don't like to have all my eggs in one basket and enjoy growing a variety of things including some that are much more tolerant of crappy weather. I find this to work for me personally because even if something is having an "off" year, something else may be doing better.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

I feel ya! After digging up plumeria in the middle of an ICE STORM, really? an ice storm in Galveston, really? I am not that fond of them. There are about a dozen or so still sitting around waiting on me to put them in the ground. I have never dug them before and now I know why. I had them stacked every where and they are STILL stacked everywhere. I pulled some in pots in before the first freeze.

Lost a few, tip damage to more, some unbothered by any of it, curly white never even lost leaves but Maya lost 2 tips in the house!
I hate winter.
Tally HO!

Mike, if you could afford just one 8 bulb light fixture of T-5 florescent lights, you could at least keep 5-8 plumeria plants going through the winter. That's the only way I can do it.

Hey mike

Plumeria should be an easy one for you to overwinter. I had some issues with wrinkling this winter storing mine in a dark cool spot, but George suggested wrapping the root ball in a plastic bag or trash sack to hold more moisture in. I think you can do it just as easily. Maybe just keep one or 2 of the most reliable bloomers so you can still enjoy them but no be too worried about them.
Do you have a Desert Rose. man those things are super easy. I had one sit on my desk at work from early October to about 2 weeks ago. Never watered it and it did great. I did re-pot and prune it back but it has already leafed out again.

anyways just some ideas to keep some color in your life, LOL
Mike

Mike,

I know you have a greenhouse that you Built for your citrus and orchids.. What light fixtures do you have now? I know you have something, but I don't remember if it is a T-5?

Artictropical is one to follow and see that it can be done. He ( Kevin) is an Inspiration to all of us that have long dormancy periods and can grow successfully. It can be done.... he lives in Utah..

I know you are going to give it another try.. ;-)

We will keep checking to see what you decide and will help in any way!!!

Take care my friend!!!

Laura

Hey Mike...

I think if anyone can master Plumeria here in the sub Arctic zone it is you. My Plumeria from a friend here all made it through the winter fine...I had my brother overwinter them in a spare room in his huge Victorian. One has a couple of leaves already, and all are showing signs of active growth. If I can do it, I know you can do it easily. All the best.

Christopher

Hi Mike...

I was feeling the same way last week. My plumeria up and died without ever seeing a bloom on it. I decided I wasn't going to let a plant get the best of me. I've grown beautiful roses since I was a junior in high school... And have grown all other sorts of tropicals and semi tropicals including gardenias, camellias, orchids, citrus, Epiphyllums... Not to mention a yard full of perennials and annuals. So... I logged on to Florida Colors and ordered two new plumies... Which arrived a few days ago looking plump and lovely. I'm hoping that between the two of these I'll eventually get an inflo!

Yep...never give up! I've killed plenty of plumeria. But you keep going until some of them bloom, and then it's all worth it.

Christopher !!!

So nice to see you here on the ' other' side. Lol. I still wander over to your area and see what is happening over there, but I have been visiting several forums. Adenium s are another passion too ! Scheesh!

Glad to hear your tree is doing well! ;-). I'm proud mama! Grandma too!

Hope you are doing well and I agree about mike!! He can do it!

Take care,

Hope things are better from the other side of the pond?

Laura

Hi Laura...

I sent you an email.

All the best.

Christopher

Boo!

Just pick one good variety, something like Celadine with a great scent that blooms well with a robust habit, and concentrate all your efforts to just growing one good tree that you will enjoy all summer. Get yourself a single Metal Halide spotlight I believe they come in about 150 or 200W.

Set up a rig where you can clamp the bulb on top of a rod and stick it in the pot so the bulb can hang down over the plant. Leave your Plumeria dormant from November until January...then come February use the lamp. As a bonus it also gives off HEAT. With some luck inflos will start in March/ April. Keep up with the heat and slowly acclimate the plant to the outdoors in May. You can enjoy blooms outdoors July onwards.

Celadine blooms will look and smell great even in the absence of 85+ heat.

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