Hi Diane,

welcome to the forum and the addiction girl, LOL! You may quite possibly find yourself perusing ebay at all hours of the night when you are supposed to be sleeping looking for more plumies, I know I have!!!

Many of us lost plants to the freeze last year. I would try to store them somewhere that doesn't get below 40 if possible (just to make sure). If they're not to large you can bring them into the house if you have room. I am converting and expanding a wooden shed into a Greenhouse (I have the addiction BAD, lol).

Good luck with the addiction and watch out, there are many enablers here, lol...

Best wishes,
Jerri

Hi Diane,
None of us can explain the desire to buy more plumies, to watch them daily morning, off and on all day, go on the internet. and BIDDD . . What is happening to you is your are becoming a "Plumieaholic" Now you will feel better if you admit to this..and go on and have fun!!! ha ha

I see you are in zone 9, where you live in So. CA? I have two cuttings growing now, just planted them, its warm. Gonna get hot where I am, Others may come in with their opinions on this.

Jerri is right, we all had a freak freeze in January/Feb and a lot, so many of us lost our plants, me too still reeling from it. Jerri gives good advise, do what she says. Your other questions, I cannot answer.
Karen. B

Hi Diane - welcome to the forum. We all get caught up in this wonderful world of stick plant. Our reward is the wonderful blooms of different scent and shades of colors.

Kasie

Diane- what city are you in? Location means a lot in Calif as to what you can and cannot do. How far you are from the ocean, are you in a valley, how close are mountains with snow- these all modify your zone and determine your risk. Bill

Hi Diane,

I am new to the forum as well and my addiction is quickly growing like yours! Haha! I also have scoured the Home Depot and Lowes stores in my area and brought home 6 new plumies (three of which with bloom heads *smile*) just in the last week or so and just bought three new cuttings on ebay. I already had 8 one and two year old plants in the ground. I am also scheming already for some kind of greenhouse for keeping my plants through the winter! LOL!

Kevin

Thank you for the warm welcome, my fellow plumeria addicted/enabler friends.

Jerri- yes, I am already looking at Ebay, but not yet in the twilight hours....yet. I keep thinking how to be the last bidder to get the cutting I want...LOL. You are making a greenhouse? Wow, that would be so cool to have one. I guess I'll have to bring my plants inside if 40 degrees is too cold. I do have room now unless I go nuts and buy many more. Thanks for the luck with the addiction. It doesnt sound too promising though. I've read alot of your comments and that seems to be one of the big problems of growing plumeria.

Karen B - LOL..Plumieaholic? Thats a neat name for this addiction. Sorry to hear that many of you lost some of your plants to the freeze. That must've been very devastating for you. Do most of you keep them in pots and move them indoors or are there some that can grow in the ground year round?

Kasie - I cant wait to see the colors and smell the fragrances of my plumies. I'm thinking it will be next year or maybe the year after to experience that.

Bill - I live in Sacramento, so it gets pretty hot out here. I am currently putting my plants in the backyard next to my patio. They get sun in early morning to about 1pm then later they get more later afternoon sun. I am experimenting and putting one plant out into more sun to see if it will be ok. It doesnt get all day sun, which I would be afraid to give them because I dont know if that will fry them. It's getting in the mid 90's and night temps are 58-60 degrees. I am about 2 hours from the ocean and 2 hours from the mountains.

My 7 plumerias are in 1 gallon pots which I bought about a month or so ago from HD. They have about 10 leaves and sprouting new leaves, which are small. Is it normal for the new leaves to be small when they first sprout? No inflos just leaves at this point. I have one that has 2 tips, the others are 1 tip. Is it better to get a plant with more than 1 tip for growth balance or does it matter? Is it too late to buy cuttings and root them? So many questions when you're a newbie. I am taking heed about not overwatering them and need to get a water meter to see if the soil is truly dry or not.

Is there any sources in my area that sell plumerias? I would love to see some in bloom and of course buy more.
Thank you all for all your advice and help.
Best wishes to everyone....Diane

Hi Diane,

Welcome to the forum...practice saying this: "Hi I'm Diane and I'm a Plumeriaholic." We'll all say "Hi Diane!" and then the fun really starts! :) Glad you're enjoying the addiction, and I think we've all been at that point some time in our plumeria life! That was me last year, just figuring out how cool these plants really are!! Maybe you'll collect by color, or keeping quality, or smell...who knows! :) Not sure where in Zone 9 you are. I'm in southern California myself (Cypress, OC)...what about you? Well in any case welcome, and hope to hear from you in the future!

Aloha,
Mark

Welcome Diane, weÂre glad youÂre here! This is my first year in a climate where I need to deal with winter storage, so I will be getting a greenhouse this fall. I canÂt put up a permanent structure because of my homeownerÂs association, so I will be setting up a temporary structure inside a semi-enclosed patio. IÂm including a link to give you and Kevin ideas for your own winter storage if you arenÂt able to spend five, ten, or twenty thousand for a greenhouse right now. You will need to plan on heating and/or lighting accessories if you buy one of these. Storing them totally dormant in a cool dark place is also an option.

Philip

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap Greenhouse Source

Thanks for the link Philip! Unfortunately with the high winds and storms we have here in north TX I doubt I could keep anything like that intact. What I am considering is experimenting with two different locations. One location is my living room in which I have 2-story windows facing south. The other is my side garage where I could use grow lights and possibly heaters. I will probably place some in each location and just see how they make it through the winter. Stil scheming...

Kevin

Hi Diane, Welcome! I am also very new to the Plumeria group and learning along with you. There are some real experts here so I would say this is the place to be.

I live about an hour west of you in the Walnut Creek area. I think our weather is about the same although I'm probably alittle closer to the bay area morning and evening fog.

Last winter I brought my first plant indoors into a back room with not too much light. I watered it maybe three times all winter long. It did lose all it's leaves early winter but early Spring I put it back outside and new leaves shot up immediately. I still don't have inflos on it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I will see one before winter comes again.

The water meter I purchased a few days ago has been very helpful. I am surprised that it's reading "wet" when the soil looks so dry towards the top of the pot. I know I was watering way too much in the past.

Good for you Teri- The water meter is well worth it. Wait until it gets to the line between moist and dry before watering. Wake up you plant in spring with epsoms salts followed in 10 days with fertilizer. This plus your new watering plan will encourage flowers. Good luck. Bill

Thanks Bill. Now, how much Epsoms Salts do I give each plant in the Spring? Do I mix it with water or just work into the soil?

Hi Diane,
I live in the San Fernando Valley, is normally hot and dry. I don't bring my plants inside for our winter time, Can be hot not too cool. This freeze was rare.

This year, have moved all my plants out of the west sun, west will fry if hot. I have some in the ground, east/south light. The rest are in pots, buried into the ground. We have sudden winds, and can turn over and break. Late fall, early Jan got really chilly, if it gets cold again below 40, I can then take all the plants in pots buried, out of the ground and put on my patio, and cover them for protection, yes I did bring some in the house. This time will pay more attention to the weather forcast, have not froze in years.

. Devistating to lose my plants, you cannot believe seeing black hanging leaves all over. PRay it does not happen again, we are very tropical.
Karen B

Hi everyone hope everyone is having a great day! Well, I've been spending most of the morning and early afternoon drooling over the pictures at ebay of all the plumeria cuttings and rooted plants. I even won an auction for 2 celadine cuttings!!!

Kevin - Wow, you got it like me but getting a greenhouse? I wish I could get one. I'll have to wait on that. Let us know your progress. Glad someone is a newbie like me and so we'll have to help each other out on this Plumieholic Anonymous Group that we just joined.

Mark - LOL...yeah, I'm afraid I have the addiction bad. Hopefully I will be less obssessive later. I'm in Sacramento so we have hot summers here and lots of sun. I'll have to bring my plants inside my house for winter (hopefully I won't buy too many more til next year (Yeah right!!!) I envy you all who live in zones that you can grow them outside year round. I hear southern California is ideal weather. I'm actually collecting by fragrance & color. Has to have strong fragrance and have lots of staying power to last a while on the plant. I'm looking at the rainbow plumerias. They are sooo beautiful. Also considering getting a red one. Can anyone recommend one that has great fragrance?

Philip - Glad I'm here too...thanks. Sorry to hear you have to worry about winter storage too. Thanks for the greenhouse link. I will probably get one next year to put my plants in when it is warming up in the spring and when I dont have to worry about the plants freezing. I cant afford the expense of heating a greenhouse in the winter. I will probably board the little guys and gals in pots in my house. I'm worried the garage may be too cold and more worried a little mouse might think i served it dinner. So does the addiction let up a bit?

Teri - Hi there...glad to meet another newbie. I'm glad to not be the only newbie here. I know that this is a great group of seasoned plumerieholics. I've been reading the posts and have learned a whole lot here already. Yep, you're pretty close to me.

Karen B - Sorry to hear that you lost some plants due to the freeze. That must've been hard to take. It must be really cool to be able to grow them year round outside. Do you have them in a greenhouse or in a protected area for the winter or do you have them growing in a regular garden area? There's probably a ton of pictures I haven't yet come across of everyones gardens. Do you all have a photo gallery here?
I would really love to see all of your yards and plumerias.

Well be back a bit later. Nice to meet you all. Thanks for all the help.
Diane

Welcome Diane,
I have learned soooo much from these wonderful people just by being quiet. Thank you each and everyone of you for being so nice.
Deb

Hi Diane,

Because you are in zone nine, you shouldnÂt need to run an oil heater in a greenhouse to keep your plants from freezing. I plan to use a few large germination mats to provide heat, plus a garbage can or two full of water to provide backup passive heating. All you need to do is keep the temperature in the high thirties to low forties at night. You shouldnÂt need a heater because you donÂt live in a place like Maine or Vermont. I will have the germination mats set low so that heating shouldnÂt be much more than the cost of running an electric clock. Believe me, IÂve done a bit of lurking in the Greenhouse Forum plus a bit of research and you would be amazed at how inventive people are in finding low cost ways to keep their tropicals alive through the winter.

Philip

PS: Welcome Deb!

Hi Diane,
I have all my plants outside. I have from 5'-2 older ones in large pots given to me are blooming, 3 yr to 1 year new ones growing. Will take a new picture. Most of my plants are in a 20' x 16' plumie garden. Will keep them there , some sitting on top of the red wood chip soil, most have the pot in the ground for winds. Will keep them year round unless it gets too cold in January and Feburary, then would remove the pots and put them on the patio to protect them. 4 are planted in the ground. If too cold, below 40 will cover.

I have only about 20 plus plants, not as many as most on here. Enough for me to handle. Some are on the edge of the patio too facing the east sun.
Karen B.

Hi Everyone. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I've been watching ebay and I think I'm paying too much for some of the plants I've ordered. What is a decent price to pay for cuttings?

Well, I've been reading about you all getting some plants for $6-$7 @ HD. I paid $14 for each plant I bought, but it was a rooted cutting growing in a 1 gallon pot. Don't tell me that you all have the same thing for less than half the price I paid. I was going to visit several HD's and Lowes in our area, but in this almost 100 degree heat, I decided to just go have lunch. Well, I decided to have lunch close by one of the HD's in my area, so I went to see if they had any. They didn't. I asked the person who orders their inventory of plants and she told me she almost ordered some but decided not to. She said she'll be ordering about 30 on her next order and they should be in by Friday. She said the price will be $6-$7 each..... Yaaahhhh!!!

Deb - Yes I ditto what you said. Everyone is so nice here and they sure do know alot about plumeria which is wonderful to be able to glean all the experience of the experts here.

Philip - Yes, I'm in zone 9 but in the Sacramento Valley. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I do know that the citrus growers here have to worry about the freezes in the winter time on occasion. Do you really think it will be ok growing in a greenhouse using supplemental heating and water containers that will absorb the heat? That would be cool if thats the case. I'm wondering how you run a heating mat from the house electricity to an out door greenhouse though. Thanks for the ideas!!

Karen B - What area do you live in that you can keep them outside year round? Thats nice you can do that. What do you cover with if it gets under 40 degrees?

Well thank you all for your help and advice. Looking forward to having my first blooms maybe next year or the one after that. Thank you for sharing your pictures I'll enjoy your blooms while I'm waiting for mine.

Diane

Teri- one tablespoon epsoms salts in a gallon or sprinkle around the plant is a usual dose on the box. Bill

Hi Diane,

I have outlets on the outside of my house so I donÂt need to worry about running electricity from the inside of my home. At Christmas last year I temporally converted a porch light to an outlet using a converter from a hardware store. After I took down the Christmas lights, I unscrewed the converter and put the regular bulb back in. This is a possible way for you to obtain electricity outside. If you use mats, do not use a waterbed heater or a heating pad intended for use by a person. Germination mats are made of rubber and are waterproof. There is no danger of a short if they get wet. I read about a woman who used water bottles to absorb heat in the daytime and release it at night. IÂm not brave enough to trust this as my only heating method.

Depending on what source you read, IÂm in zone 6b or 8a. I see zone 8 plants like rosemary and cabbage palms in my area so IÂm inclined to believe Sedona has warmed to zone 8 in recent years. I used to live in Orange County and left my plumeria outside all year. IÂm not familiar with SacramentoÂs winter conditions, so I canÂt give you any advice on whether or not you can leave them out and use added protection on frosty nights.

Hi Kevin,

If the house and garage donÂt work out, look at Harbor Freight greenhouses. They are permanent structures that are low cost as greenhouses go. The kit will need modification in high wind areas. Some of the guys on the Greenhouse Forum have outlined the steps needed to make them more stable. Once modified, they make satisfactory greenhouses in areas with high wind.

Philip

Hi Diane
I live in the San Fernando Valley, which is about 20 plus miles north of downtown Los Angeles. There is about think 2 1/2 million people, read that, in a valley surrounded by mountains... East, west, etc. The valley area where I live is dry, tropical, gets really hot. I have very sandy soil, and plants can burn here if it gets too warm. Am delighted so far the temps have stayed below 100, nice weather. August, hope does not hit 110. Areas west of me get hotter.

This January/Feb rare cold spell was my first. I used sheets to cover my plants. I Grouped them on the patio, covered and took them off during the day. The plants in the ground, cut up some large fabric pieces to cover the plants, stakes kept the fabric off the top of the plant, bought cheap muslin or light weight cotton and covered the best I could.

This is my second year to grow plumies, seems longer. Came on this forum think last early spring. Was Such a novice never heard of plumeria, still learning.

Karen B

Hi Diane,
I'm so glad to hear from someone near me. I live in the foothills off HWY 50. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my plants this winter also. Last year I lost my first Plumeria by leaving it out in the storage room on a metal cabinet. I watered it 3 times and when I took it out in the spring it was completely rotten. I did everything wrong. At least this year I have all this info from everyone on this site. I would think Sacramento would be a good place to grow Plumerias as it doesn't get as cold as up here. We are at the snowline. I would just love to be able to grow these plants. I'm getting obsessed with these beautiful plants. Good luck with yours. Mar

Welcome Diane,

Sorry to correct you Karen B, but SoCal is Semi-Arid, not Tropical (big difference). No frost in my corner of Orange County, but my mother lives near LAX and lost 2 plumerias grown from seed, one near 5' tall with a 4" diam. trunk. Luckily she salvaged some cuttings.

I bought 4 Plumerias from Lowe's a couple of years ago; never had luck with cuttings...they always rotted, so I was very excited when the "big-box" had potted ones.

Good luck.

So I went to Home Depo today. They have plumerias for $5.97. (As Diane mentioned) They were in the "inside" part of the garden center. Not outside with the $16.00 one gallon size. They are small, about 8" to 12",single stem and are planted in 4" pots.

They come with a tag that lists: yellow, white, pink & dark pink...and there is a check mark next to the color it is supposed to be. I didn't buy any because I was looking for something maybe a little more exotic, or at least with a name attached to it.

But hey, the price is right and they're rooted!

Sheril

hi Sheril,
The good side on the HD plants, are if they are blooming. If you are waiting on your other plants and no bloom, at least something is putting out flowers!!! the 4" pot is tough, I bought one at another nursery, put it carefully into a gallon pot, is doing good.
Karen B