first- plumerias are not that disturbed by roots except when they are very young. As long as you did not tear the roots from the stem the plant should be ok. You may have just forced dormancy to set in. Plumies do not wake up until March-May. Leave it dry. No leaves=no water in case it needs to re-root. Mist the top. If nothing happens in 60 days you may have a problem. I generally do not transplant until the plant is well developed. A 6" seedling should have enough roots to handle transplanting. Also if all goes well, after about a year or more, use a knife to cut around the sides of the clay pot and don't use them any more unless glazed inside. The plants do not seem to grow as well in clay pots and the roots stick to the sides. anyway, relax and wait to see what happens. Plumies are usually dormant from nov-Jan to mar-may depending on location and weather. Bill

Howzit? OK...first off, make sure you do this on a day you're planning on washing your car. I used to work at an auto detail shop and I'm assuming saps are, for the most part, the same the world over and since it hasn't been on your car too long it shouldn't be too difficult to remove. They make products just to remove sap from cars, but nail polish remover does it well, also. (Rubbing alcohol too, but you'll need more elbow grease as it evaporates pretty quickly.) Just get a clean cloth/rag, pour a little of whatever you choose to use on it and start rubbing. If it leaves a sticky film where the sap spot used to be, just rub some more on it to thin it out...it's just sap residue. (We used to get cars that were COVERED and we would just charge by the hour to remove it. It takes a couple of hours if it's really bad on an average size car.) Just make sure you wash the car, at least once really well after, because any of this stuff will stain your paint if you leave it on too long. And use car wash soap, NOT dish soap as the latter will remove any wax already on your car. Have fun this weekend if you choose to do it yourself. Let me know how it turns out. Cheers, Tim

I live just inland from Cairns. We had major frosts a couple of weeks ago. My thermometer is situated 2m off the ground and under an overhang of the house, so it didnt record the coldest temperatures that others did. All the grass and many garden plants and trees have died from the frost. Some of the tropical plants have succumbed incredibly from the sudden cold weather we had. As you may have heard, places received down to -10 degrees on the Atherton Tablelands. We, where I'm living recorded closer to 1 degree on a couple of mornings with other mornings also recording 2-5 a few times. It is still mild with only last Tuesday morning we recorded 6 and two nights ago 5.4. As mentioned my thermometer is situated 2m above the ground and within a sheltered site, none of my plants located near the thermometer were at all affected by the cold however outside without the roof/awning of the house to protect them, they were scorched. Many Spathodea's 20m tall had their crowns burnt, Large mature Schefflera actinophylla's lost all their leaves, a Schefflera bractescens up the road seems to have died all together. Many restoration plantings in the area have been dealt a serious blow (frost). I have seen mature Elaeocarpus grandis, 20m tall killed by the frost. There is a planting of over 2000 Blue Quandongs, for timber, just up the road from here. They all were standing proud at about 3-5 m tall and at least 75% of them have been totally killed by the frost. There is a frost band where all of the plants died and then another band on the highest side of the planting where they have mostly survived. There are mature Wodyetia which have all their leaves burnt to black however seem green in the centre's. Mature Coconuts in Malanda seem to be fine- surprisingly. Mature Cyathea cooperi's growing along the creeks on the tablelands - have no leaves left...this is predictable though. I was in Cairns a couple of weeks ago, doing some work on a hillside and looked at the ground to notice the Praxelis clematidea had brown leaves as a result of the cold...I was standing at 60m asl at the most. I was staying at the Daintree village the night of the worst frost and a local told us that it had got down to 6 degrees that morning. A friend at Whyanbeel, just north of Mossman recorded cold (not frost) damage there. Trees which are very susceptible to frost: at least up here. Elaeocarpus grandis, Ficus septica, Ficus hispida, Delonix regia, Cassia javanica, Acmenosperma claviflorum, Homalanthus novo-guineensis, Alphitonia petrei, Cyathea cooperi, Schinus molle, Syzygium malaccense, Alocasia macrorhiza (exotic one), Pandanus species- especially oceanic species, Spathodea campanulata, Scindapsus, Pawpaw, Banana's, Dracaena fragrans, Allamanda cathartica, Euphorbia pulcherimma........Duranta had burnt tips and the ground covering Lantana totally died (possibly a good thing). There are lots of species I have seen with burnt leaves.and also alot...

Hi there, I have some Native Frangipani seeds that I have collected from my own tree here. Could you tell me the best time to plant them and in what type of medium? Hoping you can help. Can they be planted in the Autumn months, or do I have to wait till Spring time. kindest regards, Paul Martin.