Kim319,
Did you buy your JJ's plumies rooted in a pot? If so you may want to check as they may need to be transplanted. John's potting mix tends to dry out almost daily if the plant has a full root ball or has been in the pot for more then a season when it gets a bit warm if the plant has been in JJ's mix. In my patch the average temps are between 76 and mid 80s, usually stays in the 70's though and my plumies from John that are still in his potting mix tend to dry out daily and if I only water every 4 days or so they will wrinkle. I know Indian gets super hot and humid during summer, you may need to water your JJ's stuff daily if their in his mix or repot them. Cheers

Most of my plants are from JJ's but I don't have wrinkling problems. I did have some yellowing of the leaves at first but now that they have dropped off and new ones grew in they are all happy and healthy.

I have not transplanted any and I only water once every 3-4 days even during our latest heat wave w/ temps in the low to mid 90s. Mine get 6-10 hours of full sun a day with no problems. I do mist them daily early in the morning and later in the evening. Not sure if that makes any difference.

But then again I'm only about 1.5 hrs form JJ's so maybe they acclimated to the change quicker?

No problems here in TX with 100 plus temps. His siol mix does dry out fast, so keep an eye out.
They get about 6-8 hrs sun then shade.
Lonnie

Are these small plants, large plants, newly rooted? Have you checked to see if the root system is healthy? Are there roots growing out the drainage holes?

I would guess, if the mix is drying out too quickly, then they need to be watered more or possibly repotted up to a larger size. Check soil moisture level more frequently. Check to see if roots are growing out of the drainage hole - indication for potting-up. Keep plants in part sun/ or afternoon shade until they recover.

On the other hand, it could be that the plants do not have an established root system, or roots got damaged in some way. If that's the case, the plant is unable to take up enough moisture to satisfy the leaves' transpiration rate. Keep plants in shade or dappled sun until they recover. Don't overwater or jostle the plants around or you could do further damage to the existing roots. You may need to stake the plant to reduce movement.

OF course it could be something different altogher, but that is at least where I would start.

A plumeria with healthy established root system and one given adequate moisture should be able to take full sun in zones 7 and colder.

Thanks for the feed back guys!

The inca gold I got had roots when I put it in a bigger pot when I received it back in may. Whenever the dirt goes dry, I water it but I don't know if that's the problem or not because the wrinkles always happen when the plant is out in the sun for several hours.

For the divine, when I received it it was in a 4 inch pot which I took it out of that because I thought the pot was a bit too small an I put it in a 6 inch pot because it is a relatively small plant. It also had a good developed root system. This is the one I'm having the most trouble with. The wrinkles just won't go away, I can't even sit it outside in the shade without it getting more. I gave it 2 glasses of water to make sure the soil was saturated an I haven't watered it since due to that I can't sit it outside yet and being inside doesn't dry out the dirt like it does outside. I believe this one might of just been rooted not to long ago due to the pot size it was received in.... ?

Both of their dirt is a mix of cactus soil (MG) and perlite. My other plumerias are in it and they are doing fine, thriving really well. It is just like I have trouble with the ones I received rooted (except the kimo one, it's doing splendidly). Sometimes I even have trouble with the rooted one I received from BBB, but as soon as I sit it back out of the sun in the shade, the wrinkles goes away. This one had a B I G root system on it. An all is staked too to reduce movement in the pot.

Could it be because they are new plants? I read somewhere that when they are 2 years or so old they do better in the sun?? Or is that just blarney??

Kim319,

I'm very confused regarding this too. My plants are doing well in spite of me, so I have been lucky in that regard. As a result I have more questions than answers. LOL

I too have read recently that w/ the young newly rooted plants to not put them in full sun. But of course I did all that before I knew better and what I have noticed is that those left in full sun grow the leaves back a lot faster than the ones I left in partial sun/shade! These are plants I bought online and all the leaves have been stripped. And not only that even under the full 6-8hrs sun a day the leaves are green where as the more established ones have some yellowing of the leaves. So now I'm putting all my new plants in the sun they are sprouting out new green leaves weekly! It's really awesome to see... so I'm stoked!

So should I sit divine outside in the shade despite that even the in the shade, the temps still gives it wrinkles or should I still keep it inside?

My inca gold is putting out leaves, it has a bunch of them to be exact. Should I be concerned about the wrinkles if it isn't harming the leaf growth? It came with 3 inflos this summer, one dropped all its buds, and the other two bloomed a little bit, but the inflos are all done now.

Ok when I spoke to the few experts a few weeks ago, all said that I need to leave mine in the sun even if they are wrinkling or have yellow leaves. Especially if you think they are well established with a good root system then they should be able to handle it. They also said that it's typical when you first leave JJ's plants out in the sun... they tend to react that way from being inside the green house for so long. But if I keep putting them in the shade then I am prolonging the process. It was very hard for me to watch the leaves turning yellow and dropping... but then I'm calmer now that I see green leaves pushing through weekly to replace the old ones.

So that's a tough call... because I know my Inc Gold loves the sun... she gets at least 8 or even 10 hrs a day.

Kim, from what everyone's said, Divine is just an extra-thirsty variety. Inca Gold probably is, too. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

My Thorton's Lemon Drop is constantly wrinkled on the stems if I don't water every day. Leaves still look great and it's still producing blooms(!) so it's fine. Some just need more water than others.

Ok all, thanks for your input. I have sit divine outside and let it take its course. I don't think divine needs any water as of yet because the dirt is still damp on top from my previous watering. I gave inca gold some water today -- didn't see as much wrinkles this after noon.

Lets hope this is the solution!! *crosses fingers*

I sat it back outside yesterday and checked a few moments ago an it's excessively wrinkled. It doesn't need water because the dirt is still moist/damp. When it gets wrinkled, it gives when you go to give it a gentle squeeze. My inca gold did this but firms back up after its out of the sun. I know inca gold should be alright since the wrinkles aren't as bad as it used to be, but divine has me concerned... :(

I just don't know what to do with them, I think it's best if I root plumerias myself because I don't have these sorts of trouble with the 6 I rooted, just mainly the ones I received rooted (except kimo).

I ended up contacting Jon to see if he has any advice. Hope to hear back from him soon.

Sorry for another post, just wanted to post an update on what I discovered just a few minutes ago.

My sister an I was wondering about the roots, wither to examine or not. So I decided to examine them, I washed off the dirt and put it in a newer batch of cactus dirt mixed with perlite an I noticed that it had maybe 2 roots that were darker in color and squishy. She said those specific roots sounds like they are dead. It had other lighter colored roots that weren't squishy. Could this be my problem that's causing the wrinkles?

Kim, I know how concerned you are. My Inca has always been a little different, but produces well and even just today I noticed a seed pod. All that in mind, I have not had any reluctance from trees that I root pruned, and I've pruned quite a few this season. (inc Inca) They've all truly thrived from it and have done better. If you've got off colored roots I don't really think you have a choice, you've got to cut.

My divine was very wrinkled too, so I kept it in the sun, though it got shade in the late afternoon and did heavy misting for a week or so, maybe 2? Anyway, after the wrinkles faded I resumed regular watering. I've got another JJ's variety that I purchased the same time as Divine, was wrinkled worse, thought for sure it was a gonner. Did the same things but the wrinkles are still there, although not severe. Regardless, it is thriving and doing just fine despite the wrinkles....

Good luck, Kim!
Wendy

Hello Wendy! Actually my inca gold is doing a lot better now since I got it. When I first received it, it would get wrinkled real easy but now not so much, it can stand the 90F sun which makes me happy. One branch seems to have grown almost 2 inches after the inflo popped off already!

For divine, I snipped off the roots that didn't look to hot and put it back in the dirt and gave it a little drink. The wrinkles still looks the same, still visible, but not going away or getting any worse. I gave it a spritz of SNG mixed with water the other day to see if it would like some vitamins and what not. The tips seem to be getting shiny again, which must be something good but I still don't notice any new leaves growing yet. I've been keeping it inside on the heat mat, afraid to put it outside again in the shade because that's what gave it excessive wrinkles.

I hope it makes it. I've seen so many cute & pretty pictures of everyone's divines, it makes me so envious that one day I shall have blooms like that too. :)

Writing an update post to say that I ended up having to cut the end off due to rot. Good thing I did because it hasn't traveled far. Going to let it callus for two weeks in pine bark/mulch and then try to re-root it, hope it's saveable.

Kim, glad you discovered the rot and hopefully you can reroot it now. It's always so frustrating when you see something wrong but don't know the cause. Good luck. I don't see my divine in FL until Nov. I'm hoping it is ok. Peg