Wow Laura I am speechless!!! Yours are amazing !!!

Jackie

Wonderful!! Love your photos Laura
Mike

Laura,
Everythings looking fantastic!! Your dog is sooo cute!

Beautiful blooms - healthy plants - strong work!!

Al

Hi Laura,
Man o man, I need to go down to VB and visit you! Think of all the fun we would have.

Love your yard pics. BTW..how is your mango tree doing? Has it filled out since your pruned it back?

My Maha Chinook is HUGE Probobly around 5ft tall(actually about 4ft if you took it out of the pot).

Love the greenhouse pics too. I cannot wait to get my 'Apricot' plumeria. It should be here tomorrow. I have to admit, I was a little dissapointed that it was shipped out on a friday. It has been sitting in the post office since Saturday and even though plumerias are durable, and with it being almost summer, I know it wouldn't experiencce freezing temps, I still worry!

Take care, and congrats on your Maverick! She's a beauty!

Andrew

Your pup seems to be as well cared for as your plumeria... next up a pic of your DH so we can be sure he is equally pampered, lol! What a wonderful world.

Bill- funny how those that are most respected can say the most in the shortest of sentences.

Best to All & Thanks for Being Here,
Wendy

Laura,

Absolutely beautiful! Especially TM...wow.

Thanks as always for sharing.

Greg

Looking good as always Laura. All the blooms coming - heaven on earth. Peg

BTW...Blooming Plumeria is auctioning off a 4 tip Apricot now if anyone is interested. Mine will be here any time now..keeping my eyes open for the mailman!

Andrew

Beautiful plants, well cared for. I see larger pots being necessary in your near future!

Well Laura. LOL! I guess by increasing the number of plants, you have a much better chance of getting a lot of nice blooms.

Wow! What's the temperature in that greenhouse? If that doesn't force them into growth and bloom, I don't know what will!

BTW, 'Valentino'and 'Divine' are leafing out nicely! Thanks!

Dave

Laura, the flowers look so beautiful! I love the delicate pink color of Thornton Maverick blooms. By the way, psycho cutting is coming along good, I see some new growth but afraid to pull out to check if there are any roots yet..

Ok Laura how do you get that cutting out of that plastic bottle without tearing up all those roots. I used them and they stick to the inside of the bottle. It's not fun after waiting so long for them to root and then tear them all up taking them out of the bottle. And I don't get near the amount of roots as your have. Help. Clara

How's the fab five doing? Are they showing signs of rooting yet?

Laura, Wow what an amazing collection you have!
It's so wonderful to see everyone's passion and efforts, it's truly a "Labor of Love" growing plumeria!
What I truly admire is your pool deck and porch have ample amount of sun light and air circulation to support vigorous growth of your plumeria. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Stuart

Clara, I sent you an email as I have pics of cutting the plastic bottle apart to get the plant out without tearing up the roots. If you like I can send them to you. Peg

Hi Peg. Could you post those pics here, please? I have cuttings in plastic bottles, too. :)

Laura - Oh, I forgot to tell you how amazing your plants, yard and pretty pup are! Your palms are just beautiful! I think you live in paradise, only an hour away from me! :)

moonie, I would but there are 11 shots and I have no idea how to make them smaller to fit here. Send me an email and I'll attach them and send them to you. Peg

Nice- the cuttings in your greenhouse all look like they're ready to bust loose!!!!

Hello Everyone!!

Thanks for all of the nice comments on the Thornton Maverick!! If it wasn't for Jen, i wouldn't have this beauty!! THANK YOU Jen for picking this up for me in TX!!
I amm so pleased with this tree!!

Jackie.. Thank you so much!! I can't wait to see pics of all of your new trees!!! Just wait!! : )

Mike... ALways nice to hear from you!! I love all of your pics as well...

James... You are so nice to say that!! I am dog sitting for my daughter. This Boxer is called "Duke" He is a really sweet dog and always wants to be around me.. You can tell he is in most pics.. LOL!!

Hey Al!! Thank you for your kind comments. You have taught me so many things and i cant tell you how much i appreciate all that you do for me and others here on the forums! You have taught me well! Thank you!!! : )

ANdrew.. My Mango is not doing so great.. : ( But there is still hope. My Lemon and Lime trees are doing wonderful. They are all in the Gritty Mix and are doing really well. I will take another pic of the greenhouse for you!! I know you are going to love the APricot!! SHe sure is a beauty!!

Wendy..Thank you for the nice comments!! "Duke" is a ham... I also have two weiner dogs too! They just love being outside with me as i work in the yard. They always want to be in the pics.. LOL. I wonder if my DH would like to be in any of the Pics!!! He would probably pass if i asked him to pose. : ) He would also say that he is never pampered enough.. LMAO!!! : )

Greg. I just love all oof your pics. You are having a great year for blooms. I just wish we could get rid of those critters.. Thanks for the kind comments!!

Peg. As always, Thanks for the nice comments!!!

Plumeriafl... Thank you as well! The smallest container i use is the one gallon. Then i move up to a 2.5 gallon an the largest i like to use is the 5 gallon. Those trees are in the corner of the upper deck. I will rootprune to keep them from growing into anything larger. I won't be able to lift them if they get any larger in size. My back will be screaming!!! Thank you!!!

Dave.. Hey there!! LOL.. The more trees we have the better the odds.. I like that!! My greenhouse temps with the fans on during the heat of the day can get up to 90*. I use a shadecloth on top of the greenhouse and i have the fans and vents on a thermostate timer. I still have to be careful during the heat of the day tho. I probably will take everything out in the next two to three weeks. The cutting are doing great in there with the heat and the humid conditions. I can't wait to see your pics!! Glad to hear that your Divine and Val are doing well! You are most welcome!! : )

Kandhi.. Glad to know "Psycho" is doing well. DOn't go "peeking" LOL.. Im sure it will root fine for you! How are all of your trees doing?

Clara... I will cut down two sides of the bottle and then cut the end off.. Kinds of like how you would open Sardines. I will take a pic of mine when im ready to take it out of the bottle for you. I did go outside and take a pic or two of an old bottle and will post how that was cut for you to see! I just turn it over after i cut the sides and let it rest in my hand when im redy to pot up. Just make sure everything is ready when you cut it from the bottle, just so there is little movement when transfering to the container. I will post a pic for you!!

KIm.. I was thinking of you when i was looking at the little "nubs" yesterday. SOooooooooo funny you asked about the "Fab Five.." I will post those pics for you !!They are all showing signs of claw activity and the largest one, The Thornton Lemon Drop is pushing an inflo as it is rooting. I love all of your trees and seedlings. Great job!!!

Stuart... Thank you so much!! Love seeing you beautiful trees and palms!! I also love to grow Palms. Mine have been in the ground for around 18 years.. When i first installed them, noone around my area thought they would survive. Now everyone here in VB is starting to get in the Palm tree fever!! They really are pushing the zone limits now. They hardier palms can survivewithout protection once they have been establishedfor a few years. Thank you for all of your kind comments!!

Moonie... Thank you as well!! Where do you live in NC? i am excited to hear that you have received some trees. Hope to see some pics.. Im sure you will have fun with them and you will haave some beautiful blooms too! Thank you for the kind words...

I will follow up with those pics in a few..

Dave P.. You must have those glasses on while you are looking at my pics.. I got your message about the rooted San Miguel.. You are right about the mix. I now use mostly Gritty Mix when rooting, but this one i had potted up in A mix than i made with Cactus mix and Perlite. I will post another pic of the cutting that i have in the Gritty Mix. They also are much esier to cut from the bottles and pot up when they are in the Gritty Mix. GOOD EYE!!! LOL...

Take care everyone!!

Laura

Thanks Brian!!! They are all ready to "bust" LOL.. They really like the heat in the greenhouse. Hope you are doing well! You are so lucky to have those Plumies available in the box store. LUCKY MAN!!! : )

Laura

Here are a few more pics.

Dave.. A pic of one of my cuttings in the process of rooting in the Gritty Mix. See the roots starting to show?
I love this mix!!! Yes.. That is sap under my nail!! : )

The Cerise you gave me. This is before i repotted in Gritty Mix (today..)

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After i repotted in the Gritty Mix..
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Andrew.. Another pic of the Greenhouse and some of the babies!!!

Jackie.. Here is the inflo on my Bali Whirl. It is so different from the others...

Kim.. Here are the "Fab Five.." : )

Before..

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Today...

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Apricot.. just because it is so pretty!!!

Clara... Here is a bottle that i cut open.. Hope this helps a little!!! : )

Another pic of some of the cuttings in the process of rooting...

A couple of my Desert Roses..

Have a great night!!

Laura

HI Laura,
Thanks for the greenhouse pics! Really appreciae it. Also, love the pics of Bali Whirl..buds are so diffrent! OK, OK ya did it to me AGAIN Laura! I am going to have to add this plumeria to my list for Florida. I'm afraid Jose wont let me talk with ya anymore..LOL!

Weather man is calling for mid 70's tomorrow, and temps should gradually increase to the mid 80's by weekend.

Your 'Apricot' is just so diffrent than mine! Like I said yesterday, it has to be the heat, and ofcourse mine being boxed for a few days didn't help either but who's complaining! I am just thrilled to have an 'Apricot'!

I have a feeling this variety is really going to catch on and be more and more popular.

I still haven't recieved that email yet Laura, but I will keep you posted.

One last thing. Remember how I told you I didn't think I would get any blooms off of J105 any time soon? Well, I found an inflo scar so it is blooming size. Tips are still pretty small. I may just get another, but not until after my Florida haul!

Andrew

Laura, How much time do you spend in your garden daily to tend to all these plants. Everything looks sooo perfect, the soil, plants, floro's. I think you have such a passion for these and the love and time you give them is keeping these beauties do so wonderful!. You are tempting me to order few more. My other plumerias are doing once they have some flowers, I will post the pics. Your gritty mix looks so perfect in proportion, I do not find all the ingredients here so I maintain my plumies in 5-1-1 mix. How is your watering and fertilizer regime for these? I will post updates on the 'phycho' by the end of reason.. I still have to learn a lot more from you in taking care of these wonderful plants..

Look at those cute little nubbin's. You can see they want to prosper and grow. Laura you're gonna have so many pretty flowers this summer with all these inflos.

If my sister would see your desert roses, she would envy you. She wants one so bad. Every time she sees my cuttings she is always talking about wanting a desert rose seedling. An I love the one that looks like it has a "booty". So funny LOL!!

What are your ingredients to the Gritty Mix?
LE in TX

Hi KIm!!

That "booty" has spread a little from last year...LOL... she had a better figure , but she still looks good! LMAO!!

A different angle helps.. The other one tht looks like it is sitting on a ball.. Is a fsvorite of mine. Some say that it looks like a Mandrake from Harry Potter.. LOL..

The little "Green Gaint Nubs.." are ll doing well.. Im crossing my fingers thst they will root. zthese will be the tinest ones tht i hve ever rooted. So.. I am hoeing for success! That for you interest.i do like experiments!!!

Printmaster..

Here is the info tht you my find interesting.. I will also attch link that you may find interesting. I also bumped AL's post too!

I love this mix!!! So do my trees and C & S Citrus too!

Gritty mix =
1 part screened Turface MVP or Allsport
1 part Gran-I-Grit in grower size, #2 cherrystone, or equal
1 part pine or fir bark screened to 1/8-1/4"

The Turface should be easy in SoCal (try any Ewing Irrigation outlet). The grit and bark may take some sleuthing on your part, unless someone comes up with some advice. There are whole threads over on the container gardening forum dedicated to finding & helping others find ingredients, so you might also check there. LOTs of Ca growers use it, so I know they're getting the materials somewhere.

The 5:1:1 mix is also a free-draining, well aerated soil. Use:

5 parts pine bark of appropriate size
1 part perlite
1 part peat (sphagnum peat moss)
1 tbsp dolomitic (garden) lime /gallon of mix

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils And Your Plant Nutrition..

Hi Laura:

Honestly this is my first time on the Plumeria forum...Guess now that I am the proud owner of a Samoan Fluff, I should check this place out more often! It has a couple more leaves now, with more coming...

Your plants look amazing, as usual...Love your Plumies and your Palms, and those Desert Roses are really thriving! Hope all is well.

Christopher

Laura.... all of your pics are awesome! What a beautiful place you have. What a perfect gardener you are! Congrats on everything.

Walking into your greenhouse must be heaven right now, the fragrance of all those blooming babies, true joy! Love all your photos, your collection and as always your enthusiasm, ya always perk me up. :o)

Wendy

WHOOOHOOO! See, I had to go away for a while for Maverick to finally open? I see she's throwing lots of six-petaled flowers, as advertised. Should get darker pink with the heat, too. How's the smell? I'm dying to know!

Laura, everything looks amazing in your yard! The Apricot is stunning! Thanks for sharing the tour.

Jen

Love the pics Laura. Everything is so orderly. A few more weeks and that railing will be a hedge of beautiful plumerias. I can only imagine how much time it takes for root pruning to keep your plumies in 5 gal (and under) pots. Plumerias in my climate will become root bound in 2 years in one and two gallon pots and 3-4 years in a five gallon. I found this hand truck in the link below to go bigger than my current 25 gallon lifting limit in the future. Also have you considered using a velcro adjustable back belt? I'll use one when moving my bigger plants to and from winter storage.

FYI to anyone interested on removing the roots intact from the plastic bottle. I use a long narrow flat head screwdriver to gently massage/pull the roots off the plastic and then use a box cutter to open the bottle like Laura shows in her picture. I started doing it that way so I didn't cut the roots while cutting open the bottle.

I have found Gatorade bottles (20oz or larger)to be the best because they dont have those pesky little horizontal rings which just get in the way. I cut the top off just before the bottle flutes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant and Tree Dolly at Northern Tool

Hi Christopher!!

So nice to see you over on this side of the forums!! : )

I haven't been over to the C & S lately, but i did just repot the "Fang" that you sent to me and it is doing great. I will post a pic here for you to see. My house is nice and quiet today, so i decided to repot a few things that needed attending to. I saved this jade tree that looks like it is trying to become a Bonsai with some help. I did manage to have all of the leaves finally grow back after i found it on clearance at a cute little nursery. Maybe ill post it here for you to see. Then over at C & S. I also found a beautiful varigated Jade there as well..

Glad to hear you Somoan Fluff is doing well!! WHoo hoo!

Hey Kevin,

Glad to hear you are doing well.. Tks for the email! Thank you for the kind comments!!! You have an awesome place out there in Utah. Palms, Plumeria and snow capped mountains in the background.. That is pretty cool!!!

Hi Wendy,

I do find myself walking into the greenhouse quite often... I really do enjoy all of the fragrance that does hit me when i walk inside... The sad news is i will probably have to take everything out of the greenhouse in a few weeks because once the temps start to rise, i cant control how hot it gets inside. I just have to close it down for the summer. It can reach up and over 120* inside there.. Yikes!!! "Sauna over at Laura's house.." LOL...

Hi Jen!!! I couldn't wait until you came home to see this Maverick!!! IT IS JUST BEAUTIFUL!!! Thank you so much for picking this up last year.. It finally opened last week and i will say that she sure is stunning!!
The fragrance is a sweet (Jasmine) type smell.. I just love this one!!! Yes, six petals too! I can't wait to hear of your visit in CA! Welcome home!!! We missed you!!!

Hey K,

Thank you so much!!! Funny you should mention the railing...My hubby wants to leave a space so he can see the pool if he is sitting on the top deck. I did leave a small opening, but then as the nights get longer.. The trees seem to move closer together and they somehow seem to be more evenly placed on the top deck!! He hasn't noticed yet, but im sure he will..LOL.. You are right about rootpruning. The large five gallon trees will need pruning next spring and the smaller ones have been pruned this season. I just did a few this afternoon and i also did cut the San Miguel from the bottle . I will post so Clara and others can see how i cut this one. I was actually nervous, because this special cutting came from Bud and i dont wannt anything to happen to this one. They mean so much when they come from friends.. I am just amazed how attached i am to these special trees.

Gatorade bottle do work great. I also use the water bottles from the planes.. I have plenty of them when working and people wonder why i walk around with a trash bag full of water bottles!!! LOL... If they only knew!!! : )

Kandhi,

You are so sweet to say such nice things... Thank you so much!!! I really don't spend that much time outside as i would like. I do work full time and when i am working, i can be gone for four days at a time. I usually mess around when i have my free time and on my off days.. That is probably why my kids use to say that i would check on the trees as soon as i came in the front door after work!! : )

If you want me to help you locate ingredients for the Gritty Mix, let me know.. I will be more than happy to help you! What city do you live in? I looked for your address, but i can't find it. As far as watering and fertilizing... I water my trees n the summer when they are dry. That can be every other day, or every three days. It just depends on the tree and the mix.. I have alot of trees in the Gritty Mix and they have to be watered more than the others in a standard fast draining mix. Which i don't mind at all. i actually love this Gritty Mix. It is my favorite!!! They do hold up well when i am traveling tho. I make sure all of my trees are watered well before i leave (in the summer) and then i water first thing when i get home. I use Foliage Pro and Pro TeKt for my fertilizing. Love this product. It has everything that our trees need with the essential nutrients too! I like to use 1 tsp per gallon during the summer and i reduce the amount to 1/4 to 1/2 in the winter. I feed them once a week and water in between feedings. If you use the Pro TeKt, add this to your water first, then add the fertilizer.. I hope this helps you!!! I am so glad that your Psycho is starting to show some activity!!! That is great news!!! Popa tree in CA is one proud parent!! : )

Ill post some pics in a few.. i need to upload them!

See you all soon!

Thanks again to all of you!! you really brighten my day!!! : )

Laura

Hi Everyone!!

Here are some of the pics of the San Miguel as i cut the bottle to pot up this special cutting!! Bud, if you happen to read this.. Thank you so much!! My Sparky and Pink Cloud are looking good too! I can't even begin to tell you how much i appreciate your kindness...

This pic is for you Clara and Moonie!! : )

Christopher,

Here is "Fang".. I had potted it up in Gritty Mix when you sent it to me. I went ahead and potted it up again in a terracotta container in Gritty...
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Made some more Gritty Mix for my "Fang.."
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Potted up and ready to grow ssome more!!!
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Had a Jade that i found in bad shape at a local nursery, so i nursed it back and decided to root prune and pot up in Gritty mix. I know it needs to be cut back as well..( and shaped..) but i will wait until it gets over the shock of pruning. It could be a potential cute little Bonsai...

Before i trimmed the roots and potted up in Gritty...

Thanks everyone.. Thought some might like to see this!!!

Take care,

Laura

Hi Laura:

Wow, good job on the "Fang," and I know it will thrive in your care. Keep me posted on its growth. Now I have three of these, I beheaded one of mine, and the top quickly rooted, though I haven't put it in any soil yet!

I think your Jade is actually Portulacaria afra, not Crassula ovata. For some reason, I can grow Crassula ovata well, but not Portulacaria afra. Looks great, I am sure it will recover fully in your capable hands.

Christopher

Thanks Christopher,

I just hope that i didnt wait to long to rootprune the P Afra. Hopefully, it will come back strong like last time!!! Thank you for all of your support!!

Laura

Hey Christpoher...

I wanted to update you on the Portulacaria Afra.

It is doing great. Hopefully it will continue to do well and keep its leaves...

Thanks again for the "Fang" I love it!!

I will post a pic over at the C & S forum.. i need to make a thread on my plants and tree over there.

But it is doing great!!

Take Care,

Laura

Laura:

Glad to see you posting a lot lately...such lovely photographs of your plants! You certainly have made me gain an appreciation for Plumeria!

No prob for the 'Fang', I owed it to you. Happy you enjoy it.

Christopher

Wow, lovely pictures, plants and home! Thanks for showing them to us. I love your green house. For those of you who want bottles to root cuttings, the costco 12 pak of water bottles is a perfect size and shape.