Even in South Florida, autumn arrives...

12 years ago

Hi everybody,

Well, here in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, this past week we had several days of daytime temp's in the mid-70s and nights in--gasp!--the mid-60s!!! LOL SHOCKing, right?

I know, I know...but one becomes accustomed to eternal summer. Of course, highs are supposed to go back into the 80s this week...but the cool air and chilly rain seemed to have had an effect on my trees, and now most of them seem like they're thinking about going to sleep. It IS kinda sad, I agree with y'all...

Anyway, my first full year of plumaholism behind me, I wanted to thank everyone on this forum for being so kind, helpful, classy, etc. It's a ton of fun to hang out on this forum with all of you lovely people, and to see all of your amazing blooms. It's inspiring!

I have a few questions for the vets out there, but first, some pics:

My Kimo, which is one of the dozen-ish cuttings I rooted (or attempted to root, ahem) this summer, popped an inflo about 8 weeks into the process, and I let it stay on...and this weekend, one lone, pale flower opened up--you can tell how cool it's been:

On the other hand, the hatch chiles that arrived in the mail from New Mexico last week and that I roasted Saturday morning on the grill--their vibrant color could not have contrasted more with pale Kimo:

Oh boy, did they smell as good as they look, too! Mmmmm...huevos rancheros, anyone? LOL

OK, to my questions:

1. To my shock and awe, most of my cuttings successfully rooted this summer (yay!). I had them in the lower half of one of those foam wine-shippers (worked great, too!) so they were all exposed to the same conditions, more or less. However, one of them, sadly, decided to rot: Jeanne Cecile from MPG (this KILLED me...such a beauty this one is!). So, i cut to where it was all white and sap ran--which I figured was a good sign--and did her up again. My question to the vets is: does my JC have a prayer? Does this "2nd-chance" rooting ever work? Or should I take it to FL Colors and have Luc graft it?

2. So now, along with 2nd-chance Jeanne C., I'm still waiting on Kelly Moragne to root as well. No rot on this one, but, assuming cooler temps are on the horizon, what should I do if one or both of these cuttings neither rot nor root? Should I just keep them on my seed-mat, close to bone-dry, until spring? Yikes!

3. Confession time: I just could not control myself this year, and ordered more plumies than I realistically have space for (and were it not for this forum, I would really feel like I was a lone weirdo with a problem! Haha) I'll figure it out...but my question for now is: have any of you ever tried to put, say, 2 or 3 plants in the same giant container? I think it's probably not a good idea, but all the same, I'm just curious if any of you have tried this, and if so, what result you had...remember that down here, generally speaking, the potted plumies can stay put all winter--we don't have to haul them inside, praise Jesus...so portability isn't a MAJOR issue...not entirely irrelevant though, either.

4. For those of you who have the climate which allows you to put plants in the ground (not plunged in pots, but literally), what criteria do you use to decide which plants go in the ground and which will stay in pots?

OK, I know that's a LOT of questions...but any help you all can offer, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks again, y'all!

Greg

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Comments (4)

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the_first_kms2
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here are my opinions (just remember they are worth as much as you paid for them)

1. I would say your JC has a shot. Maybe lesser odds than the first time but still has a chance. I hope you used new planting media and not the same stuff it started rotting in. When a cutting goes bad I take the pot and put it in the garbage can and never try to recover soil, pot or anything. I don't know much about grafting.

2. Leave them in a sunny place on concrete. I don't think you need a heat mat if its still in the 80s during the day. I have roughly the same weather and am still rooting without a mat in full sun on concrete. I use clear gatorade bottles with the "turtle killer" plastic collar on them still to help prevent being overturned.

3. Find some sort of plastic or foam insert to use in those giant pots as a divider. That way the roots can be managed and you can transplant in the future. just ensure all the areas drain properly.

4. Whites and yellows then pinks seem to be the less tempermental to cold (not freezing) weather. I am more cavalier with them than I would be with a red or rainbow etc. My established big celadines have survive many DRY nights in the upper to mid 30s without any long term impact.
jandey1
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Greg, if those were my cuttings with winter coming I would just go see Luc and get them grafted. No stress, no waiting and you get several months jump start with established roots. I tend to think that a cutting that has rotted once is not a good candidate to ever root. IINM, both JC and KM are not easy-to-find cultivars.

Kimo is beautiful, even in those subdued colors! Never seen one with such long petals.

Jen
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Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hello Everyone,

Hi Greg!!!

I agree with Kms and Jen,

Some of my cuttings didnt do well either this summer and i did the same thing. I cut them back and started them again as new cuttings with some success with some and a few that didnt take at all. if I still had the temps like you have, i would do the same as Kms advised.

BUT....since you live so close to FC, I wouldn't hesitate to take them to Luc or Carol to have those special ones grafted. The cost is so reasonable to have them grafted and it will give you and edge like Jen said to have them already with a good start.

Its a good thing that im not close to them down in FL or live close to JJ's in CA. I think that i could have a real problem. (Not to say that i dont aleady!!!" LOL...

Those peppers look delicious on the grill!!! I wish that i could handle those hot peppers..Im the type that can hardly handle mild salsa. LOL!!! Its that Irish blood coming out in me... I remember being with a dear friend at dinner having a salad , only to find a hidden pepper ...thought i was going to choke to death!!! LOL
I wish that i could handle them better and enjoy them!!!
Then i wouldnt be as embarrassed when the steam started to come out of my ears!!!! LMAO!!! WATER PLEASE???? LOL!!!!

The Kimo is beautiful!! Congratulations on that beauty!!!

Imm glad you enjoy being here with all of the Plumie lovers!!! We do feed off of one another and do feel like we are in good company when we see all of the other wonderful blooms and see the joy in what we are trying to attempt to grow...

Always glad to see your pictures, please let us know what you decide to do with those special cuttings...

Take care Greg,

Laura in VB
sflgplume
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
K, Jen, Laura:

Thanks for your thoughtful advice on all of my questions--if I comment on all of it this post will get too long, so I'm gonna restrain myself. But I took in everything each of you said!

UPDATE:
What a difference a few days makes! We are back to balmy tropical weather here--I was just outside at 11pm and it had to be 78 still. And interestingly, every last one of my trees have started leafing out again! They all looked so sleepy last week LOL. So I went ahead and gave 'em a foliar feed--I told myself it was an investment in next season's flowers. (*Shrug?*)

It's very fascinating to me how sensitive these plants are to day-to-day changes in the weather...

As for the cuttings:
I posted the question four days ago. Just today, I noticed an unmistakeable root tip peeking through the soil under Kelly Moragne! Let's hear it for Kelly YAY! LOL I think it too is responding to the switch back to the tropical weather. Now, if only Jeanne Cecile would do the same--the news is not as good there. The cutting itself seems to be in pretty decent shape: it's pretty firm still, also looks fairly green, not too shriveled. But on the tips, the old claws that it put out before it stalled are drying out and falling off.

The verdict is, I think, that I'll give it about another week at most, and if there's still a whole lotta nothin' goin' on by next week, JC and I are going for a ride LOL...to...LUC'S PLACE...

Finally:
Laura!! You talking about your reaction to hot food cracked me up! Haha actually, I come from proper Pennsylvania German stock, and so things like "green chile" aren't in my genetic programming either. But I spent nine years in Arizona and slowly but surely acquired a taste for the stuff...and I love it now...but there was definitely some pain on that journey!

I made those chiles into "pork green chile" just today...it's a rather soupy concoction that I'll use it to top burritos, fried eggs, you name it. It's delicious, but yes, it's spicy hot too. Aren't you just a LITTLE curious? ;)

Thanks again y'all,
Greg

Even in South Florida, autumn arrives...

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the_first_kms2

jandey1

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Even in South Florida, autumn arrives...

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