When you take cuttings form a Plumera, you must let the cut end dry for about 2 weeks. It is best to do this befor the growing season, as whatever leaf or flower growth has occured will wilt and fall off. I just lay the cuttings outside in a shaded area when the night temp is above 50 degrees. After the cut end has dried, apply your rooting hormone (just dip in end in bottle about 1 in up stem). Plant in 2/3 perlite 1/3 peatmoss or catus mix about 2 1/2 in. below the top of the soil. Put small rocks or pebbles on top to stabilize cutting until it roots. Water it and put it in the sun. Do not water too frequently, they are like suculents. I use all purpose fertilizer to promote roots the 1st year. Then Super bloom once every 2 weeks during the growing season. You will see leaves starting to form after 3-4 weeks. Don't expect blumes this year they will likely blume next year. Good luck and check out web sites like mauiplumeriagarden.com for good info on growing plumeria.

TREI,

I'll try to answer your specific questions.

1) Yes, use a scissors and cut off all the fully formed leaves about 1/4 inch from the cutting (don't rip them off by hand). You want to leave the very few developing leaves at the tip of the cutting though. Taking off the leaves keeps the cutting from drying up until it roots.

2) Cut off the buds (inflorescence). Most everything I've read supports the theory that developing buds in many cases take energy away from the cutting and as a result rooting can be prolonged, difficult, or the cutting may refuse to root.

3) My understanding is that these should root if given the proper treatment. I might be tempted to cut the 3-foot one in half. It might be more stabile in the pot this way.

4) Can't answer that. It may be advisable to clean up the cut since shredded plant tissues may be prone to rotting which could spread. Only a guess though. If you cut, make sure the cuttings dry for a week or two before rooting.

5) Don't know how hot your weather is, but I would probably place cuttings in a shady, airy place to callous over. In sun I'd worry about stem burn. I think a week or two is probably adequate in your dry climate. But I've left cuttings sitting in my basement for months (cool and dry) and they've rooted! I don't think they should change color or appear real wrinkled (unless they got cooked in your plastic bag).

Hope this helps some.

Mkbenn & Dave_In_Nova,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond with such thoroughness and for sharing your wonderful widsom and knowledge. I'll try my best to do everything as advised and will keep you posted on my progress. You've been a TREMENDOUS help!!

Have a wonderful day!

You can root those big cuttings infact the bigger the better because there is more energy stored in that size cutting..
I once rooted a 12' cutting and i didn't wait 2 weeks for her
to dry either because a cutting that big is woody :)
A cutting that big might flower again this year you never know and don't forget it normally takes around 60 days for a full root ball to form.

I was kinda lost on your post tho..
Are you saying within 6 hours those cuttings shriveled and the leaves turn yellow..
I never heard of a cutting doing that so fast..
If the cutting was shriveled it sounds like to me she was cut at least a few days before you got them..

Lopaka--

That's great..gives me hope that mine may survive. I'll try to keep the cuttings at the length that they're at. If that doesn't work, I'll start trimming.

Yes, some of the leaves shrivelled and turned yellow in the course of 6hrs. Reason being--it was a long, hot (100+ degrees outside) drive home in the car. We had the AC going but it was still hot. Since the cuttings were so large with tons of leaves and sap dripping....we tossed them all in a garbage bag which may have suffocated and shocked them a bit. They were cut literally just minutes before.

I feel like I did everything wrong so I'm trying to make up for it now:) Tonite, I'll do as suggested. I'll trim off the leaves and yes, even the buds (tons!!). Poor little guys never got to bloom:( I know all you plumeria lovers must be cringing.

We are not cringing at all. Your plant uses all the leaves and flower inflos to suck energy from the roots. When you cut the plant without removing the leaves and inflos, it sucked the liquid out of the plant. By getting rid of the leaves and inflos, you will stop the drainage. Cut the leaf stem about a quarter inch from the stem. Sharply trim the cut at the bottom of the cutting to 45 degrees. When the little stems yellow and fall off, your plant is ready to plant. Until then, store it in a cool, dry place. Stake up your cutting or place styrofoam between the pot edge and the plant on both sides to keep it from moving. Use fast draining soil and do not overwater.

Do exactly what tdogdad says and you wont have any problems..

I have an overgrown five year old plumeria in my garden. It has a tripod base stem, that each branch continues out about four feet, then branches out again in yet another tripod. I'm afraid if I don't cut them back soon, they will get top heavy along the sides,then break off by themselves anyway.

I guess it would not be crazy if I cut each of these long 4'stems which have a tripod extending from each of these about one foot, so I could get several new plants growing (I maybe would sacrifice from seeing any blossoms this season..right? Do you always look for a stem to plant that is not straight stick looking or do you look for cutting that have one,two, or three branches out from the top? Can it still grow branches if it's straight?

I've heard on the plumeria101 site someone uses a food 16-16-16, where other growers use a slow release food 5-30-5, isn't the 30 Phosphorous better? For my mix, I was going to use 40%perlite,and 60%cactus mix. Do I really need the root harmone?

For this five year old tree,is using mulch (shredded bark) ok to loosen up the top layer, or better to use the plumeria feed and water it in the top layer? Thank you , I know I've asked a lot of questions here, but this is so exciting.

I have a very similar question. I have potted a roughly 4ft tall and 3inch dia thick plumeria cutting (using rooting hormone) into a very well draining soil. It's put in shade where it receives fairly decent light but no direct sunlight.

I have the following questions.

1. It's a fairly large cutting, and the inner stem is quite woody. Would it root?

2. The top part of it branches into 4 individual branches which have been chopped off to keep it manageable. Should I seal (the open wounds) off using candlewax or turmeric (I've heard it's a natural fungicide) or should I let it open and let it callous on it own?

3. The temperature here (India) is very hot and dry, it might start getting a bit humid from now onwards (pressumption based on June being the onset of monsoon here). So, should I cover the top ends of the cutting using a plastic bag (then tied to the trunk) to retain the moisture?

4. How often should I water it, since it's a fairly large container and the cutting has been sitting a few inches above the base of the pot?

5. I have one more cutting that has sheared off from a mature tree and is roughly as thick as the one in the picture. This cutting has been broken off, so about 3/4th of it is exposed bark and exposed sheared wood. Should I cut this exposed wood off and then pot it (clean cut part in the ground) or should I let it be?