I'm happy to say that I have no experience with -15C, but I don't think a few minutes, covered, at single digits F would do any major damage. Could be that the shock of the move combined with the temps are causing the black spots, but I wouldn't worry unless you see black on the trunk or branches. My evergreen variety gets black spots all over the leaves every winter, and drops several, but puts new ones right out again when the days get longer.

Don't worry, too, if it drops all its leaves; it's just going dormant. If so, water only once a month during winter with maybe a pint of water and put it somewhere it won't go below 40F. I put mine in sunny windows (some of mine never go dormant), but others put theirs in dark basements, garages or closets when they lose all their leaves.

If it hasn't bloomed and it's 7, then it hasn't had enough sun to do so. It'll need at least 6 hours of direct sun a day in spring-fall to bloom. Lots of northern plumeria growers, including at least one in Sweden, get theirs to bloom indoors in winter using grow lights.

Thank you Jandey. It�s my first plumeria.
In Ottawa it is very hard to acquire plumeria plant here. I have ordered some seeds to try, but then found this big one in local classified ads. Really wouldn't want to kill it.
I have big two-storey window with east-south exposure in my family room, so my plumeria is up against that window for now.
In summer i will take it out on the backyard which has direct sun for the most of the day. my adeniums flower happily out there in summer, maybe plumeria will too.
Also i wanted to post a picture of my plumeria here, but couldn't figure out how.

Ooh, that window sounds perfect! Lots of room for when your tree is six-feet tall and blooming like crazy--let's be optimistic!

I know I've run across the website of a Canadian nursery that sells plumeria, but I'm sorry I can't remember the name. It was posted on this forum somewhere.

Jen

I have had a plumeria for several years and it has never bloomed. I understand I need to add Phosporus to produce blooms. Is that correct?

WestTX, can I assume by your user name that your plant gets plenty of good Texas sun for several months out of the year? Because that's the first key: at least 6 hours of direct (or for you very slightly dappled) sun per day from about April to September.

Is it a rooted cutting or grown from seed? Seedlings could take 2-6 years or much longer before their first blooms. Rooted cuttings will take about 1-3 seasons after rooting to bloom.

A lot of people swear by the high phosphorus fertilizer, including many growers who send instructions to customers to use it, but some very well thought-out research indicates that over time this will result in a weaker plant and fewer blooms. Most of the high phosphorus foods contain way more P than plumeria can possibly absorb. High P will eventually kill beneficial microbes in the soil.

You may want to try a balanced fertilizer (15-15-15 or so) starting this spring (early March for you), with some epsom salts sprinkled on top of the soil to help the roots utilize the fertilizer better. There are lots of experienced plumerians here that go that route, using regular foliar applications of seaweed extract, that have fantastic results.

You may want to read the articles in the following link; Jack Morgan has a research nursery and knows the agricultural science of feeding and care of plumerias about as well as anyone, I think.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plumeria FAQs

Hi again,
I figured how to post images.
Jen,could you please look at my tree and tell me if it looks ok. Some of leaves look wilted:

src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AbmIHoktkt0/TQbL5c7pN0I/AAAAAAAAATg/ZrCg48CPPkM/s1600/plumeria_rubra.JPG"; />

growing tip looks ok:

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I also noticed that some roots are coming from the soil surface and look exposed. Should I re-pot it? If yes, which soil should I use? Previous owners told me to not touch it now.

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Thanks a lot.

I would leave the potting soil alone, it is fine with a few roots exposed. Your plant looks good and healthy. Black spots do appear on leaves every so often, with mine, it usually means they are getting ready to fall of. Keep in mind that even the obtusas do loose leaves.. Don't panic.

That's a really healthy-looking plant. Absolutely do not repot it now, but if the roots are bothering you you can sprinkle a little soil on top to cover them better, maybe an inch or so.

There are several lower leaves that look lighter than the upper--those are going to fall off soon and that's totally normal. I wouldn't be surprised if the top five or six leaves near the tips stay put all winter in that nice window you have. If so, do give a little water when the leaves begin to droop, maybe every couple weeks or even weekly if the air is very dry. Misting daily is also very beneficial in super-dry winter air.

It's obviously got a full root system so it can handle water while the leaves are still going strong. I like to splash maybe a couple tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide (3%) into my watering can; this inhibits the fungus that causes rot and oxygenates the soil a bit. I give each plumie that still has at least four or five leaves about a cup of water weekly with the peroxide in it.

I live in Norway and has Plumerias. One of them was blooming for 2-3 weeks ago (middle of desember). Then we had -20 Celsius outside. But the Plumerias are as you maybe guessed, inside the house. I don�t use any extra light. Just a few leaves has dropped.
I think your Plumeria looks nice. Don�t worry about the spots. I think you should give some new soil in february/march. and use fertilizer with quite much Nitrogen when new leaves are coming, but after that reduse the Nitrogen, and maybe some more Phosphorus.
To much Nitrogen during the summer can give much growing of leaves and less blooming.
I am not an expert, but have about the same conditions as you, so I thought i should give you my advice.

Thank you aimar. Those leaves with spots are turning yellow and falling off one by one. The new growth is still coming out nice and healthy, I guess it doesn't go dormant this time. I water it once a week and mist the leaves daily in the morning, because our air is quite dry from heating.
Can't wait for summer to put it outside under full sun all day hoping it will bloom.

Hi Nk777,
I agree with aimar. You really need to watch your fertilizers. The middle number should be higher than the rest. If the owner before fed it a higher nitrogen fertilizer, than this alone could have been the problem, combined with weather it was in a sunny location. So many things that can affect the plumeria.
Me myself, I was never succesfull until I bought an actual plumeria blend fertilizer. A lot of people will say that it isn't necessary. All I know is once I used it, I had blooms. In fact, I had blooms on cuttings that had just rooted last summer.

Another thing to really consider. I know this will sound strange but I swear to this and if you check out the Aloha Plumeria group on Yahoo, you will see that many of us there also swear to this. It is called the "Raw Egg Method". This is used to root plumeria cuttings, but also to use for established and growing trees.
basically whenever you repot this plumeria, you take a whole raw egg, shell and all, and you put it on about an inch of soil in the bottom of the pot. then you fill with the rest of your soil add your plumeria, and pot up as usual. I know it sounds strange, but many people have done this and reported the same results. The all ready rooted tree will build larger and healthier roots. They will find there way to that egg and dissolve the nutrients in the egg, which in turn feed the plumeria.
If you go to the Aloha plumeria group, you can see pics of people's plumerias and see for yourself how the roots grow like crazy. I really believe that the nutrition in the egg is what made my plumeria cuttings bloom there first year.

Another trick that may sound a little odd is to use small spears of banana peels. Mimi the moderator of the Aloha group just told me about this. I had bought a Penang Peach plumeria in November. When it arrived, it was loaded with buds. All the buds had opened and dropped by mid Decemeber. I want to say around the first week of December was when I had given this a try. I just made a whole with a bamboo pole that I use for support, and made a hole about 3-4 inches down, and I dropped the peel in, and buried it. Now, I have around 50 buds and 2 are open now. these flowers are a lot bigger than the original flowers that bloomed in Novemeber.

I did have a guy tell me to be carefull with this when growing indoors. He had said that he tried it and ended up with an ant problem but I have yet to see an ant yet and it has been about a month since I added them to my 'Penang Peach' and to my 'Dwarf Singapore Pink' plumeria.

Andrew

Hi, Andrew!

Interesting with your methods with raw egg or banana peels. I have my Plumerias indoor most of the year, so I want try it. Afraid it will give some smell.

I think I can get the same results with right soil and fertilizer. The eggs and the banana is also just extra fertilizer, and is probably good for the bacteria life in the soil.

To nk777, I don't mist the leaves often but does not have very dry air. When misting or watering the Plumerias I use water with at least same temperature as the room temp. (+20 Celsius) This are tropical plants and don't like cold water.