6 petals?

9 years ago

Hello everyone. I've been lurking on these forums for a little while and gleaning as much info as I could from the experts on here. I finally thought I mustered up enough knowledge on Plumeria to create an account and join some of the discussions.

A little about me. I got bit by the plumie bug a year and a half ago (complete newbie status compared to the decades of experience several of you have!). Typical story: I got a cutting from a friend, the cutting grew a little, you look for a few more and all of a sudden you have a small stick garden! I live in SoCal in Fountain Valley. I saw tdogdad was in north Costa Mesa so just a few exits north on the 405 so I guess my zone is similar to his.

So now for my question: most of the pictures that I have seen on the web, the flowers seems to have 5 petals. On one of my cuttings last year, it finally bloomed and only had a couple of flowers. One of them had 6 petals. Is that normal? Is it possible/probable that the hybrid/mutation is "permament" in the plant and that I might see more 6-petal flowers this season? Or was that just a one-off flower last season?

I don't know the cultivar - got the cutting from a friend who only names them by the colors (white, yellow white, pink etc.).

Thanks for all the expert info and advice that you all have been posting on here over the years!

Tom

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Comments (13)

Kimo
9 years ago
Hey Tom,
Welcome to the group. Most plumies do only have 5 petals (the norm), but there are some cultivars like Hong Kong that have 6 or more petals, candy strip can also pop 6 petals. There are some cultivars like Bali whirl that have 10 petals, so basically normal is 5 but there are some cultivars that are anomalies.

You should attend the South Coast Plumeria Society Meeting as your not that far from it.

Cheers
alisarom
9 years ago
Newbie here too, and I got a seven petal flower last year, waiting anxiously to see what this year brings :)
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elucas101
9 years ago
COOL! Great examples from you both!! Tom and alisarom -did all of the blooms on those inflos have more than 5 petals? Freak, do you think that thrips or the like could cause that or strictly genetics?
alisarom
9 years ago
On mine, the 7 petal bloom was the exception, not the rule.
Kimo
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here is a picture of Hong Kong which is suppose to have 6 petals, sometimes 7 or 8 depending.

and 10 petal Bali W.
plumejunkie
9 years ago

Same tree...

Like James said, anomalies.
plumejunkie
9 years ago
@ James, I didn't know you were "The Plant Pusher." Kind of a hip holy name.....I dig it!
tom_socal
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks all for your feedback. There were only 2 flowers on that inflo last season (I got it as a cutting that year). One was a 6 petal and the other was a 5 petal. So it sounds like I just happen to find a 4-leaf clover. Looking forward to what this season will bring.

freak4plumeria - thanks for the suggestion on the South Cost Plumeria Society. I looked them up and I think they meet in Anaheim now. Little bit further away than Huntington Beach but still only a hop and a skip away. I'll try to attend some of the meetings.
tom_socal
Original Author
9 years ago
alisarom - that's a neat looking 7petal one! So used to seeing 5 that it almost feels like that 7 petal one is a different strain/species or whatever the word is. For some reason that one stands out more than the 6-petal Hong Kong pictures that Freak shared. Those Hong Kong's didn't pop out as looking different. The Bali Whirl double-flower does stand out though, Might have to hunt one down now...:)
Mary Kim
4 years ago
I have a 7-petal flower! Usually mine have 5 petals. These were buds which went dormant over winter and bloomed just a few days ago once it warmed up here in Chicago. It was strange bc i had only 2 leaves but a bunch of flowers! They are so fragrant :)
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