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tips and tricks for growing in the north

7 years ago

Hey all! I've been lurking around many of the gardenweb threads over the years. Eventually I found this thread, and bought two mini plumerias from Jungle Jacks! I purchased 1 gal pots of the divine and the lemon ice. Now they're here, and I want to make sure I don't kill them, and also maximize environmental conditions so they can bloom next year (will they even be able to bloom next year?). I live in the Pacific NW, so I've got a few questions, and any help with their care would be much appreciated.

Some info I've found so far:

- they like lots of heat, and lots of light

- they don't like soggy soils

- they like high humidity

- fertilize in the growing season

- when they go dormant in the winter, very sparingly water.

How do you create a more humid environment while your plants are outdoors over the summer? At what temperatures/months do you bring your plant in/outdoors? Do you all use growing light bulbs in the winter time, or leave them by a window? Heat mat? Spray bottle for humidity or use humidity trays? I would love to see pictures of your setups if you have them!

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Comment (1)

elucas101
7 years ago
Congrats on your lovely new plants! You made a great choice, Jungle Jack's plants are almost always FANTASTIC!

Sounds like you've done some great research and have a lot of the basics down. They don't like soggy soils so when you go to repot (probably next season) you'll want to have a very well draining mix (many use potting soil and LOTS of perlite for example), a pot with good drainage holes and no saucers / no sitting in water.

I don't think there's much you can do for the outside humidity levels unfortunately, but I'm sure your plants will be just fine with whatever humidity you've got.

Bring your plants inside when the nighttime temps are about 50 or below. For me here in Texas that is sometime in November but of course yours is probably different. They need to be somewhere at least partially insulated, so inside your house or your garage if at least partially insulated will work.

You can decide if you'd like to keep them going over the winter or if you'd like to let them go dormant. If you let them go dormant you don't need to give them any light and just check on them every couple of weeks or every month, maybe give a SMALL sip of water & just let them rest. If in the garage it's a good idea to keep them from sitting directly on the concrete, maybe put down a piece of cardboard or keep on something else to keep them from sitting on the cold concrete.

If you'd like to keep them going over winter then you would probably want a grow light since in the PNW (or most places really) I don't think you'll get adequate enough window light & they may start to stretch for the light. There are some really affordable options out there especially if you only need to light 2 plants. If your house stays above about 65 degrees I don't think a heat mat is necessary but if you want to put them on one it wouldn't hurt anything. Just watch the watering if you're keeping them in a cool house.

Just my two cents, I'm sure others have some advice for you also. Good luck & please keep us updated on your progress!

Emily
leenarz thanked elucas101
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