Ojai Plumeria winter preparations

15 years ago

Hi,

We got a nice plumeria last summer for a house warming gift. I kinda stumbled through taking care of it for the winter. It seemed to take a while to go dormant, then seemed to take a long time to get going again this spring (finally started getting leaves around May). Now it looks great, but no flowers this year. :-(

I'm trying to get info in advance for how to prep for this coming winter. We live in Ojai, CA, so we can have warm days but cold nights well into the fall and spring.

Here's what I want to know:

When should I re-pot? I re-potted this spring (at the end of dormancy), but should I do it before or during dormancy? (I will be putting it in a big pot so I don't have to re-pot for several years.)

When should I expect dormancy to begin? Should I pull it at night as they get colder, or when should I pull it in altogether?

On the other side of dormancy, when should I expect dormancy to end? Should I pull it at night until they are warm enough (this is what I did this past spring), or should I wait until the nights are consistently warm enough?

Also, wondering what's the best type of soil to put this in.

As a plumeria newb, I appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks.

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Comments (4)

funinthesunincl
15 years ago
Hi there!
Quote: " Also, wondering what's the best type of soil to put this in. "

There have been ALOT of recent posts about this. You need to read the 'variety' of opinions under this subject matter.

Also do a search on re-potting.

Have fun reading ... there is a wealth of information on this site!!!
kbauman
15 years ago
Hi
I didn't think Ojai got that cold, above Santa barbara. I am about 100 miles from you, in the San Fernando Vally, pretty area you live in..Advised on the board not to transplant until spring when plants are in dormacy.. In good cactus soil, little potting soil, pearlite and plumice if you can find it, a loose good soil.

I cannot answer you to your temps.. but in my case when it hits the 40's I get a thumbs up. I will start bringing my plants up on my covered patio, will start tarping the area, cause we get high winds and cold rain starting November to ? We are in drought, but can change then or not..we can freeze. If this is you, you need to cover your plants with freeze cloth, or bring them inside.

Now hope someone else comes in with their ideas for you.
Karen B
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Fun pics and updates, thanks for sharing them! Good to hear most of us have the same general approach of withdrawing water at this time of year. I really think it helps. Pagan, feel free to use the pic of 'Kimo'. I've seen decent sized specimens at Lowes and Home Depot all summer, so they may still have some left before all of the Christmas Stuff moves in. Let us know if/when/where you find some. euqruob, it really WAS a banner year for plumies, wasn't it? All of mine grew and bloomed a ton. My very favorite is still 'Celandine' for those huge, extremely fragrant, sun resistant blooms. It could possibly be my favorite floral scent of ANY variety of ANY flower. Yes, I love it that much. Anyway, definitely a banner year for them. PhxLynne your Singapore Pink is really nice! Keep us posted on how it does for you. I have 'Divine' which is a true dwarf too and it has done really well, with lots of low branches. Great fun. I love yours and its bed and patio--lookin' good! Will you still water those petunias underneath in winter? wrcaz, I'm sure others have ideas and notions too, but here's my general approach. I use regular potting soil soil for pots (either "Miracle-Gro potting soil" (without any water-retaining crystals) or Pro-mix). I put an inch of pumice or perlite in the bottom of the pot to ensure good drainage. In the ground, I add enough compost to have about a 50% compost/50% native soil mix and I plant away. All of mine in the ground and in pots very very much benefit from afternoon shade in summer; otherwise their leaves scorch in summer. Planting them on the east side of a building or wall or shade-giving plant or structure really helps. Mine get watered three times a week late spring through last week. They'll get no water now until they re-leaf in late spring, and when they DO leaf out, I'll only water them once a week or ten days until it is HOT. I slop water-dissolved tomato fertilizer on them every two weeks and water dissolved bloom boost fertilizer on them once or twice a month. Spring is definitely the best time of year to buy/plant them, but if you can find one now and keep it try for winter it could be worth a try. Keep us posted! Happy gardening all, Grant
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I wouldn't bother taking it inside unless it gets into the 30's at night. Let it go dormant. Your plant should have gotten it's last feeding about a month before dormancy sets in. This year is obviously too late but I wouldn't worry about it. Xerophyte is right about the best thing being complete dormancy. Do you have any unheated rooms or maybe a utility closet that stays above freezing? It doesn't need light and very little water while dormant. I'd stop watering it now in preparation for dormancy. Cool moist soil can cause rot. Take it back into warmth and light sometime around Apr and give it a dose of epsom salts (diluted in water: 1 tbls to 1 gallon water) to wake it up. You can keep it outside during the day once the temps warm up and leave it out 24/7 once the nighttime temps are about 60. Start on a regular fertilizing schedule and water as needed. Until it gets really hot you won't need to water too often. Hopefully you'll have flowers next summer. Karyn
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Hi Sue, There is no need to prune plumeria unless you wish to take cuttings for propagation or you wish to reduce the size of a potted plumeria that needs to be dragged indoors for the winter. The best time to take cuttings is in the spring. If you need to reduce the size of the plant, you should do it in stages over several years so that you will have blooms every year. If you do a radical prune job, the plant will not bloom for at least a year and possibly longer. If you wish to produce a bushier plant, take a few cuttings in spring 6 or more inches above a joint. The branch stumps will each put out several new branches. Repeat each spring for several years until you have trimmed back all the lanky growth. Fertilize during the growing season with a high phosphorus fertilizer to encourage blooms on the branches you didnÂt cut. If the plant is young, give it high phosphorus (middle number) fertilizer to encourage frequent blooming. Blooming will cause it to produce many branches and eliminate the need to prune it later to fix a sparse gangly shape. One final note, cutting the plant back is not part of the standard treatment for preparing it for dormancy. We have a very active Plumeria Forum, please stop in and join our discussions. Philip Here is a link that might be useful: Plumeria Forum
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sbdivemaster
Original Author
15 years ago
OK I looked around and got some good soil ideas.

I will re-pot at the end of dormancy, as the weather starts to warm up.

I should have been more specific about temps.

Towards the end of November is when the nights can start to get below 40F. The days are still sunny and warm. Even through December many nights are still above 40 and many days can be around 60-70F. January is when many nights start going below 40F; days can still be warm. During April is when we start to see many nights getting above 40F. After that it's plenty warm to leave them outside all the time.

The plant will be in a pot, so I can move it inside or out at will. I'm just trying to determine when to move it inside for the season, how long I should let it remain in dormancy, and when I should start putting it outside again.

Thanks.
kbauman
15 years ago
Hi,
Many have ideas on here on temps that plumeria can handle. Some say below 40 is too cold for them, can cause problems to the plant, I had some freezing.. Some say, mine made it fine. My plants last year that made it in the ground , through the lower temps in the ground , cold rain and some outside in pots, did change how they grew. Not as many flowers, one seemed to give a boost. I have no ideas to this.. I will as I said cover my plants and tarp..I wish you luck.

I wish someone would come in an give their opinion.
Karen B

Ojai Plumeria winter preparations

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funinthesunincl

kbauman

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Ojai Plumeria winter preparations

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funinthesunincl

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kbauman

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