I too am in the SFV, and the winds certainly have been whipping around since yesterday. I haven't gone outside to check on my plants, but now that you mentioned it, I better go check on my plumeria that are in 1 gal. pots. I hope they haven't been rolling around all night long! I could hear my windchimes, a trashcan banging around, and the palm trees all night long. Hope my two hens that roost up in the grapefruit tree didn't get blown away.

Yes, it's blowing like crazy here in Orange County too. Luckily all my plants in pots so I could move them out of the wind. The bigger ones were too heavy for me, but hubby was able to get them lifted and on the patio, out of major gusts. Karen, you're lucky you plunged them instead of planting them! Limbs from huge trees are breaking off all over the place around here.
Karen R.

Hi Karen R..Kareforplumies.
Mercy, another Karen, welcome. I have 4 planted in the ground, whipping like you cannot believe. Will see what happens to them. PLus 4 or 5 plunged too deep of roots growth to pull up.

The other ones, Have pulled them up from being plunged, and have them protected on my patio. I will never plunge again ,because of our santa anna winds and possiblility of frost again. Will after all this horrible winds, put dirt into the holes and put the plants on top of the soil. Had to try it...

orange county.. any fires near you, so so sad on what is going on. I am closer to the canyon country fire. you ok?
Karen B..
Karen Bauman

So far I am ok. Poles used to train limbs have held plants in place. Quite a bit of ash and smokey air as I am about 5 miles downwind from the Irvine fire. Last night the moon was bright orange from the smoke. The air is very dry and since we have had basically no rain since February, it is very dry in the open fields. My house is not threatened as the fire would have to burn across a whole city to get to my area, but the people on the fringe next to the open fields have plenty of worry. Thanks for the concern KB. Bill

Good luck to all of you. I hope the winds don't do anymore damage and I really hope the fires don't reach any of you. I spoke to a gardening friend in CA this morning and they will probably be evacuated very soon as the fires are headed towards them. Stay safe.
Karyn (yes another one but at least it's spelled differently. lol)

Wow, very stong winds here in O/C. Our fence blew down and my favorite plumie lost most of it's leaves. They just ripped right off from the wind. At least the seed pod is still hanging on. Other smaller plumies I was able to move out of the wind. Some smoke in the air, but not too bad. Hope my plumie recovers.

Sheril

Hi everyone!
I'm in South orange county and my Beautiful in ground Plumeria in my courtyard has had two of it's big branches broken right off at the main stem!! Nasty Winds..BOO :( The branches have 3 of their own nice size branches that were still producing flowers. Anyway.... Please someone tell me if after they dry out can I repot the whole branch with the three branches still attached to it or do I now need to
make each attached branch a new plant??? HELP!I sure hope I don't have to do that. :( Thanks :)Oh Yeah, I almost forgot... Can I put them right back in the ground or do they need to be planted in pots again first?

How are you all in S. CA doing? I keep reading and hearing about the winds and fires. Worried about you. Stay safe! Move if you need to, our beloved plummies can be replaced.
Lauri

We are in HB and were busy staking all of our in ground plummies yesterday. Other than having the flowers blown off, we are in good shape so far. We're very fortunate. All of my best wishes go out to those of you in the burn areas.

meplant,
As for potting the branches break off. I would root them like any other cutting. My husband and I have rooted huge cuttings, bigger than most of the plotted plants we have purchased. We have never adhered completely to letting the cuttings dry out, or form a "scar" and the cut end. We simply make sure the cut is smooth and at about a 45 degree angle. We dip the cut end in a mixture of Rootone and honey (helps Rootone to stick and serves as an anti-fungal), and pot it in 80% cactus mix 20% pumice. Make sure to use supports if the cuttings are large. Give them one good watering and leave them alone to root.

Hoping all of you in the burn areas are safe. As someone said please get out if you need to, the plumies and possessions can be replaced. My prayers are with you all.

Bill, glad to hear you are safe. Sorry you are having to breath the smoke, I hope you and the misses are alright as well as the butterflies :)

Meplant- cut the leaves off the broken branch right away or they will suck the moisture out of the stem. You can plant it or wait until next spring but wait a week at least to harden over the cut. Bill
ps. butterflies are hanging in there dispite the wind.

Thanks for the info. tdogdad. I would have never thought to tear off the leaves first. I'll go do that right now.
As for the putting them in the ground in a couple of weeks, should I pot them again first or does it matter which way I do it? meplant

Thanks to you too Haliotis. Honey hugh? Hummmm.... very interesting I'll try it! Why not they are both just big branches right now and if I can turn them back into my little small trees again....That would be WONDERFUL!!!
I don't know how the winds are by you there in HB but they have been whipping right along all day long out here in Mission Viejo. Don't even like going out because of the smell & taste that you get in your mouth. So my Plumie broken branches are resting comfortably in the garage.
Thanks again & have a good evening! :) "meplant"

We had 60+ mph on the Texas coast. Kind of made some plants crooked but all in all I think they enjoyed the cold blast. Now I did have a cart at Sam's club hit my car and do 500.00+ damage. It busted the fiberglass on the drivers door. GRRRRRRR.

Jim

Hi Karen B/Karyn & Folks - I'm feeling pretty lucky right now, but it's been a LONG 24 hours here for me. Last night around 8pm I was in the living room and the transformer on top of the power pole in the backyard busted in the wind. It looked like BLUE LIGHTNING flashing across the backyard. Seconds later, the wire broke away from the transformer and blue lightning flew across the side of the house and the wire landed on the street in front of my house. Scared the you know what out of me! We called the fire dept. (God bless them - we have a fire right here in Silverado Canyon, and they are oh so busy)and they eventually secured the flapping wire out of the street. All night we had the power company in the backyard trying to fix the broken pole/transformer. SCE didn't have an estimation of when the power would come back, so I spent a while this morning getting ice for the refrigerator & batteries for all of the lanterns, etc. With this fire so close to the house - I didn't want to open the windows, but having no power I didn't have much of a choice. Over 80 degrees here and the cats were looking at me like I was trying to fry them on purpose. At the same time, I didn't want the ashes in the house, but what can you do? The power finally came back on around 3pm this afternoon. It's looking pretty grim all around CA. Our fire isn't nearly as bad as most of the fires that I am hearing about. So many people being evacuated, so much of our beautiful state is turning to ashes. Arrowhead is one of the most gorgeous places out here and it's being desicrated. San Diego, Ramona & Escondido is being evacuated. From what I understand, this fire by me is already determined to be arson. It really saddens my heart that all of this land and the animals in it are being compromised by careless and malevolent people. It may sound harsh, but I've always said, I love plants and animals better than I like most people. And again with all of this, it's being validated. I really hope everyone stays safe, and I am so sorry to hear about any losses. Everyone in this forum is so great, I'm very honored to be welcomed to it. Over the last few months I have been bestowed with so much valuable information. And so many of you have such interesting & fun personalities! It's really nice to converse with you all. I'm counting my blessings :)
Karen R.

I'm glad you are safe. I'm really saddened to hear that some of the fires were intentionally set. It's bad enough when it's natural causes but to hear that it's arson is infuriating. You all on the left coast have really had your share of severe weather related damage the past year. I hope this mess is under control soon. My thoughts are with all of you.
Karyn

Hi Kare4 plumies.. Karen R

My gosh you have been through a tough 24 hours. Transformer on your pole..oh boy..that sounded terrible. I have one on my pole..oh boy. Now what area are you in??? how close is the fire to you? Do you live in Orange CTy? that that was one set by arson. or north in Canyon country???

Yes,.. arson.. those who set fires should go immediately to jail forever.. so sorry..stay with us, keep reporting how it is in your area.

prayers for all in the fire area.
Karen B.

I feel so bad for everyone! Please be safe and I'm praying that they get the fires out soon!

I live in the city of Orange, not real far from the foothills. The fire here in Silverado Canyon is about 30% contained and is not an immediate threat to my home like the Anahiem Hills fire was last year. There is smoke & ash being blown in and around the area. And yes, we're hearing that it was set by arson in 3 spots. It just amazes me that someone could do something like that. Karen B, aren't you near the Castaic Lake fire, or the Santa Clarita fires? It certainly looks like California is having it's own Katrina in the form of fire. What a nightmare.

Hi Karen,kare4 plumies
Hope they are containing the fire near you, Orange is on the news now, seeing water drops..bless the airplanes and helicoptors.

No I don't live in the canyons, Castic Lake is a long ways from me..Santa Clarita is about 20 some miles away. Can see the smoke over the mountains. Constant new fires starting..if the winds would just die down..would help.
Yes, this is awful.
Karen B.

Yes, new fires are starting all over, and the big fires are merging. It's getting really scary. Especially down in San Diego. Between the fires, mudslides, and earthquakes, other states are starting to look more appealing to live in. Here I thought we had it made in SoCal.

hello, everyone, ever since I saw on the news about the fires, I have been thinking about you all in southern calif. I am sorry that you are having such a trying time. I pray that the fires will be contained soon and that you all stay safe.

sue

Hi Karen kareforplumies,
Posted this, did not take..are you ok? see fires all in your area.
Karen B.

Hi Karen B,
We are okay here. Thank you for your concern. Just a lot of smoke and ash flying around everywhere, especially when the winds shift. The fire in our area is not an immediate threat to us, as the high school 2 blocks from the house is actually one of the evacuation centers for our area. We are definitely better off then a lot of people right now. Been trying to touch base with friends in San Diego. SD is a scary mess. There are a lot of folks who need our thoughts & prayers at this time!
Karen R.

Hi Karen R.
I have heard on the news your area has been evacuated a couple of times. Are you and your family ok?
Karen B.

Hi Karen B.,
We are all okay over here, thanks for asking. Today is the first day in a long time we can actually see some blue sky (smoggy, but blue). The air is a lot better over here. My two large plumies outside are doing good. Still blooming even! I brought in all of the smaller ones & put them in the nursery, & it has no more room left. Maybe it's my imagination, but they all seem to be growing better in there, so I think I'll leave them in there until we get the greenhouse finished. We have a huge anthurium outside that needs some cleanup though. It got knocked over and the leaves really collected the dust and ash, plus the porch now looks like a compost pile, lol. I hope everyone else fared as well as us!

Karen B, how did your "de-plunging" go? Everything in your area still intact after that wind?
Karen R.

Hi all, glad to be reading you all seem to have escaped the terrible fires in your area despite some of your plumies being battered around. Awful situation. Take care.
Gill.

Hi Karen R.
am glad you are ok, did think of you when I saw there was a second evacuation. Was some fire in your area. sounds like you fared well so glad for you and your family. What is in your anthurium? not familiar with that.

My plunged plants all came up out of the ground, such high winds. Four plants had large root systems, so next day put them back. Have now covered up the holes and am sitting plants on top of the ground, in case of another wind blast or cold spell can put them on the patio. Had a lot of wrecked leaves, and lost flowers, but made it ok..
Karen B.