I thought about it myself, since I don't have much positive plant growing experience, and this is the road I chose. You can do whatever you like though, as it's only what's worked for me in the warm dry southern California climate. I started with already rooted cuttings. Then I am slowly transitioning to unrooted cuttings (my "stick" garden, as my fiance' calls them!), and I just had my lone seed pod grant me a whole slew of seeds, so now I'm trying that. No seeds have germinated yet, but it's still early! :) After over warming some and underwatering most, I think I've had the best experience with the pre-rooted cuttings. I know that probably takes all the challenge out of it for some of our growers, but I'm still a total novice at this, and I still need my training wheels. :)

Good luck and let us know how things go,
Mark

It takes at the very least two years and most probably more than three years for a plumeria grown from seed to bloom. Then the bloom may not look like the parent.

Cuttings are much faster to bring to bloom and you will know for sure what the flower will look like. Rooting cuttings is not difficult. Just do not over water them. In fact, do not water them. Mist them every so often if they appear to be drying out.

The link below has some good instuctions. I especially like the idea of rooting them in clear plastic cups for someone who is not well experienced in rooting plumeria cuttings. We tend to be too impatient and this method allows us to see what is going on. I would however drill a small hole in the bottom of the cup just in case too much water should get into the cup for some reason.

Here is a link that might be useful: Valley of the Sun Plumeria Society

I have rooted them in clear plastic cups also and I like being able to see the roots. On planting the seeds...
What I have learned is to first soak them overnight in a wet paper towel, I put mine in a tupperware container so it doesn't dry out. Then plant wing sticking up out of the soil, in a very well draining mix. Don't use ceramic pots. Some use cactus soil, perlite is good, or just potting soil with a good mix of perlite. Bottom heat is important. Keep them moist but don't go nuts drenching them every day. I tend to mist regularly after the first watering. Once they start growing you can VERY CAREFULLY pull off the seed coating around the little leaves. Plumerias like a lot of sun and they don't like a lot of water. And always a plastic pot with good drainage. plumeria101.com is a good web site for information, and this forum is awesome.
Good luck with your plummies!
Lauri

I root mine in clear containers too so that I can actually see the root. One thing to be careful when using a plastic cup is to secure the cup and the cutting so that it doesn't topple over. I use one of those clear containers that you get at the deli countainer when you buy salads and stuff. It is bigger, has a bigger base and is more stable. And like josegabriele said, the hardest thing to do is to not water while it is being rooted. Enjoy and good luck!

Nixon

Oh dear. I am afraid with totally hijacked this thread. In any case, Plumeria 101 is the source of a lot of how-to's regarding Plumeria. I've included a link to their seed germination page. Sorry for hi-jacking the thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plumeria Seed Germination

Thank you everyone!I'll be sure to post pics!
I'll be sure to use the clear plastic cups...and i ordered some cutting just in case i grow impatient.

Do you think its too late in the season to root plumeria cuttings?

No. it is not too late to root a cutting. You can root most cuttings within two months.

Joe

You can also use plastic water bottles with the tops cut off and holes drilled into the bottom. Three will fit into a one gallon and 9 in a plastic fertilizer tub. Bill
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I've had wonderful luck with the plumeria seeds that my plant produced. The seed pod was on the plant for about 9 months but I was ready for it when it cracked open. It was filled with seeds. I gave some to a friend and then started about a dozen for myself. I followed the directions at plumeria 101
All of the seeds germinated, some within 4 days.
Since I had such good luck with them, I started some more and all but 2 of them sprouted. Now I have 32 seedlings growing.
Here's what I did.
I bought some good potting soil from Lowes and added some perlite to it. Then instead of using individual pots, I put the soil in a shallow saucer and stuck the seeds in with the wings sticking up. I watered it really well and used a container that I got from the grocery store. It originally had a pie in it but the plastic cover had a nice tight fit and it made a good little greenhouse for my seeds. I put it in a sunny area on the patio and the seeds couldn't wait to sprout.
Even if I have to wait for a while to see if I get blooms, I'm glad I gave it a try. Good luck with your seeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: plumeria 101

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I ordered cuttings and seeds so I have room for trial and error. I will post pics soon.

here's a pic. all containers are plastic and i plan on potting up when leaves develop. I thought the smaller containers would heat up faster. Cutting get morning and afternoon sun, directly. Is that too much?

All suggestions and comments appreciated :)

well, i lost many cutting to stem rot (*sniff*). This is odd cause i only watered it one time and it was a very light watering (i wanted to play it safe. They were a bit soft from the beginning.

Not to mention, the seeds I bought from the bidding place turned out to be a bad seller and never sent the seeds. Bad Seller!

I ordered another batch of seeds and im waiting for them now. Some cutting seem to be survivng-i even see leaves unfolding on one, but there are no roots yet.

Marylee01,
Thanks for the infor, I just
received some seeds today, this
will be my first time trying to
grow plumerias from seeds.

I think plumeria are some of the easiest seeds to germinate. I stick them in a tray with 3 or 4 inches of moist potting soil (any kind) with the wing sticking up. I put about 20 seeds in a 8 x 10 tray. I don't cover them but keep the soil moist, not soggy. They usually sprout within 10 days, some in just a few days. If I'm starting them in the summer I keep the tray outside but use a seed mat inside during the rest of the year. I transplant into individual pots after they get their first set of true leaves. I just pull the seedlings up out of the soil. Unlike cuttings the seedling's roots are quite strong. Fresh seeds are best but I had an 80% germination rate with seeds that I had stored in sub optimal conditions for a year. Good luck with your seeds and cuttings.
Karyn

I have more or less 30 mostly rooted cuttings and bigger plants but have 11 seeds I got at the plumeria society meeting. Not that I needed them but I liked the idea of the plumerias will be all mine from their birth so to speak. All of those little brown things sprouted and they're now potted up into their first individual pots, they're on their way!

This site also has seed starting instructions under Plumeria Care, hers are different than Plumeria 101 in case you'd like to take a look at how someone else does it. Mine were soaked overnight in a little dish of water then planted in a little clear plastic box with perlite. When they got their first adult-type leaves I potted them into pots with the potting soil/perlite mix. No sun for them as we're finally getting our long-awaited rains and they're under the umbrella.

Suzanne

Here is a link that might be useful: The Plumeria Lady

You can also do the paper towel method also. I've had good success on germination with that one too. Just wet a paper towel and either put it in a ziplock bag or a tupperware container. I forgot where I read that one but it's been floating around awhile. I also have a friend that starts hers in a shot glass that is filled parital with water and just sticks the seed to the side of the glass with the tail sticking out of the water and the rest is submerged. Haven't tried that myself but it works for her. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone wants to try it.

Janet

This is probably the site you're thinking of Janet. I forgot I had it but it's good with all the steps clearly shown.

Suzanne

Here is a link that might be useful: The Wet Paper Towel Method Illustrated

Thanks for putting up the link Suzanne. That's the method. I don't use two paper towels but one cause I want to see it germinate without lifting the paper towel and i find that I prefer putting it into a container with a seal on it cause I can stack different ones that I start on top of each other.

Janet

Hello all!
I'm new to the site and last year received my very first plumeria. I had always heard, becareful with plumies, you can't have just one, but it wasn't until I became a proud owner did I realize that is COMPLETELY true! So- I have a few questions.....
I just got my first cutting from Hawaii and I'm somewhat confused by sun damage. I live in FL, I believe it is a zone 9b and am not sure if I should place the cutting in direct sun or in the shade sitting on concrete to allow heat from the bottom. My last question, I have just gotten lots of seeds and will make my first attempt to germinate. I have seen some of you say they used clear cups to start them and wanted to know if you still had to poke holes in the bottom for drainage.
Thanks for all your help! I love looking at this pics and reading advice on what works best for your plumies!
Jessica

Jessica- the trick to plumerias is hot soil in the day and warm soil at night with a minimum of water until it grows leaves. If you have blazing heat you may want to shade the plant during the middle of the day or protect the stem from sumburn by putting a paper towel roll around it until it has leaves to protect it. Once it has leaves, water it and begin to fertilize. Then you only need to worry about hurricanes and winter frosts, Bill
seed ideas are everywhere in here. holes drain extra water which can cause seeds to damp off or die. Holes are very important with plumeria as is fast draining soil.

Has anyone tried the peat pellets? I recently germinated some pepper seeds in a mini greenhouse that I bought at Walmart for $5.50. It had 72 of the peat pellets that expend once you add water. It worked well for the pepper seeds. Just curious if it would work for plumeria seeds.

peat can hold quite an amount of water which could be risky for seeds of plumerias which are easily damped off if too wet.

Haven't tried this myself but I noticed in the past a plumeria growing over a corrigated iron shed. The plumiria had set seed and the seedlings were growing in the leaf mold trapped in the gutter of the shed with no help from anyone. It seems to me that plumerias do not need much encouragement to germinate. Probably the things to watch are temperatures above 70 deg F, adequate moisture and humidity

Hope this helps

I used a method that I read on one of the forums and it worked. I have two sprouts.

Just sat the on a sunny windowsill and I used distilled water..not tap or filtered.

I bought my seeds from bloomingplumerias on eBay and had almost 100% germination rate on all three sets of seeds (as well as the mystery seeds they threw in for free). I used their method which was to moisten a paper towel, put the seeds in between the layers, and slip it into a ziplock Baggie with the top left open. I didn't have to remoisten.
I taped the Baggie upright (so the seeds had the wing pointing up) in my bedroom on a wall that the sun hits most of the day by a window where it was warm. Most germinated within 3-7 days, some a little longer.
When the root was half an inch or so, I peeled the husk and membrane off the cotyledons and put them with the cotyledons sticking out of perlite/cactus mix in clear plastic cups. Now that they've got a real set of leaves, I'm transplanting into gallon pots.

Wow, that's a great rate of germination! Good for you, and for the grower that sent you such high quality seeds!

Absolutely, sagolover... Except I have way too many seedlings! I had read about poor germination rates so I figured I'd be okay with 50 seeds if many never sprouted. I've still got 40 seedlings in my backyard after giving away some to friends and coworkers! My mom is eying a seed pod on a no ID yellow plumeria we have, but I am NOT planting any more seeds!!! We are already overrun! I'll probably give the seeds away when the pod opens for sure!

Haha, you're flooded with plumeria seedlings now. :)

Haha, you're flooded with plumeria seedlings now. :)

Oh, it posted twice. Sorry for this. I can't delete the message.

This post was edited by SagoLover on Tue, May 28, 13 at 18:02