Is that is that in your profile pic?

If so, you are beautiful!

I'm not an expert by any means and I'm sure one will chime in soon... but what I have learned is that plumeria cuttings have an amazing capacity to store water, nutrients, and hormones necessary for rooting, even in dry soil. The key is that the cut end in calloused well and there are no leafs present when potting up to consume the stored up energy/water in the cutting. A slight amount of moisture in the soil does aid in the further callousing and root production, but it is vital that it is already calloused when initially potted up. Otherwise that slight amount of moisture will never let the cut end dry out and callous, and cause it to rot. I break the rules and lightly water around the edge of the pot only when the soil drys out, but I only feel safe doing so because I pot mine up with a good callous. Hope this helps, and I hope a pro can chime in!

Thank you for your thoughts! I do have a heat mat and grow lights just in case it's too cloudy outside to provide enough light, but I didn't wait for the cut to callous - I potted a fresh cutting - on purpose. I met with an owner of a huge and beautiful plumeria nursery once and he said that his secret to successfully rooting any cutting is to cut it off the tree and put it in the pot right away with lots of rooting powder (powder, not gel, cause it may be too moist). I decided I will risk with this method as my friend also brought a cutting back from holidays and it rot even before it calloused so I didn't want the same thing to happen as I like to have a good humidity in my room- I guess fungus would like it. So far my cuttings are only 7 days old but I noticed yesterday that one is getting a lot greener at the tip which I bet it's a very good sign. I think I will make an experiment and water one cutting very slightly and leave the other one dry. At least I will now what works better for them for the future. I will let you know how they're doing.

I totally agree with and reiterate exactly what KMS2 said ...

" ... without roots there is no need for moisture in the soil as the cutting has no ability to absorb it. In my opinion that is the most important reason to keep the soil on the dry side."

Yes, a greening tip is a good sign that the plant is waking up. Did you pot in a temporary, clear receptacle so you can monitor the formation of roots? I strongly advise you do not water until you see roots. Zero roots = no means by which to uptake water.

Maria Elena

Maria, yes they are in a see through container. actually I believe that plants can absorb water without roots through capillary action- if you get freshly cut flowers you put them in water so they can stay alive longer and they do drink up water even if they dont have roots. I dont know the mechanics of plumerias absorption system but I would assume it is similar to some extend of course - it cant be totally different apart from the fact that the level of moisture they need is way lower. The point is , further in the process you may not know if roots are already there even in a transparent pot - sometimes roots can be developed but theres still No leaves (and you cant always tell in the container cause they can be tiny at first) and you have to wait for them a bit longer - so at this point not watering would be a mistake - i have also Heard of the opposite - when there's already plenty of leaves but when people repot turns out there's no roots yet. Well I guess I'm going to experiment and keep a minimal level of moisture in one of the pots and let the other one stay dry. I'm curious to see the results. Hopefully the greening tip will develop nicely soon.

Sounds great. Experiment and see what works best for your conditions. Let us know what happens.

I understand your thoughts on the ability for the cutting to absorb water much like cut flowers. The best advice to offer would be to consider the need for additional water in many instances as a fresh cutting will have a significant amount of energy stored for growth.

Ah, but there is a very significant difference here ... A plumeria cutting is succulent and holds its own water. Therefore, it rots in water and cannot be compared to a cut flower.

Maria, In your last message you agreed with the fact that "plants have no ability to absorb water with no roots" so that was the only fact I was disagreeing with. The fact that plumeria's can hold water for longer and survive without it for longer is a whole other story but it doesn't make them unable to absorb it. The fact that they don't need it doesn't make them unable - that's why I compared to cut flowers. That was the only thing I wanted to get straight. I know about plumeria's low need for water , don't worry - my whole first message talked about it if you read it again :) So I as said, I am experimenting now and will let you know what the outcome is soon.

Well, the results of my experiment are quite amazing so far and confirm my suspicion. After only 2 weeks the cutting that has been watered with few table spoons of water every few days is sprouting new leaves and looking very promising. Here is it:

This is the cutting that hasn't been watered at all after the initial first watering:

No growth, no changes in color, nothing is going on with this one but the stem still looks pretty healthy, i see no damage, doesnt seem to be dead or anything. It is super firm still.

Of course both are taken from the same tree, they're the same length and have exact same growth conditions apart from one getting the water and second one doesn't.

I think the watered cutting clearly benefits from having the soil moistened. I will now start watering the second cutting too and see if it starts to change. Will probably add some superthrive to help him out a bit as well.

It looks promising for both but I think more time is needed to be conclusive in this instance. I would extend your experiment out a bit further at least to the point that the leaves open up on your control "dry" cutting. Then you know how much longer the control cutting took versus the "wet" cutting. IMO that would support your theory in this specific instance.

I'm using wet and dry loosely for differentiation as a couple of tablespoons really doesn't make something wet.

Those few tablespoons are not there to make it wet as I said I don't want to overdo it. They just brink back the moisture so it's not completely dry - and it's just enough for that. I haven't started watering the second one. I might wait a week or two more but it doesnt seem like it's going to produce anything in this time - it's so dry it has no nutrients for it. But anyway, experiment continues :)

Last year in May, I got two cuttings off ebay and decided to try the bag rooting method, inside under my seed starting lights (so min 65 F). So after 1-2 months I had one cutting with lots of callous tissue, but no roots, and the other ( a notorious red) looking like it was starting to rot (brown instead of green). Being impatient I potted up the calloused cutting and moved it into my greenhouse. The red I re-cut to get to clean tissue, and applied rooting hormone powder while sap was still wet. This one I potted in a 4 inch pot of pure pumice (1/4" or less) which I watered maybe once a week only if dry, also in the GHS. By the end of summer I had several leaves on the first cutting and signs of life on the red. They came indoors in October and are still sitting on my windowsill. The red cutting has caught up and has several leaves, it never really went dormant. I just re potted it in regular mix and the roots had filled the 4" pot.

The red is Hilo Beauty, and the other is Puu Kahea.

I have also started plumies from seed 5+ years ago, and am just getting flowers now on 4-5 foot tall plants - so that requires even more patience.

So I would say that watering depends on the soil medium, and whether the cutting is ready to produce roots.

Not misleading but you may be missing info. First of all, original Potting mixture s/h been watered and cuttings inserted in it. Being dormant, that initial moisture s/b sufficient to meet cutting needs until first set of leaves. I scanned your posting quickly and I don't see where you are. I'm in Houston USA and even though it is almost May, my cuttings are just breaking dormancy. So, if you are in a cooler zone, process haven't started yet for you or going at an even slightly slower rate. IOW, it isn't slow b/c of lack of water but rather b/c not insufficient ambient heat, even if by the window..

It was smart of u to use clear containers as you can see by looking at bottom of cup if you have root development, which is truly the measure of your rooting success. Cutting with candles and no root = nothing. Cuttings with roots And no foliage = on your way to success and at that point start watering moderately. Good luck and be patient. Also, rooting in OPTIMAL conditions is 6-8 weeks, I'm afraid you don't have optimal conditions but no worries, you can succeed--somebody accomplishes it every day.

If your container with the cutting is in an environment of warmth, combined with high humidity, then certainly no more watering is needed until it begins root growth.

If it is in a cool environment, no water!

If it is warm and super dry -- like Phoenix dry -- then mist the cutting and perhaps water a bit around the perimeter of the soil if soil is dry as dust.

There are just a lot of scenarios. Time if year is important too. Now is the best time to root in the Northern Hemisphere, as temps warm up and daylength increases.

Agata, I certainly hope your cutting has successfully rooted using the method appropriate to your specific region.

Maria Elena

Hi Maria! Havent been here for a while but yes, both of them rooted! The one that I watered from the beginning rooted and developed a lot more.

So...my conclusion is - use your common sense and if you feel that the plant needs water just give it to it and dont just stick strictly to the No watering rule not taking into account whats happening with your plant just because everyone says so:) be observant and you'll be fine. Overwatering is a problem but the plant needs SOME water to trigger Life processes so if theres No water theres No way its going to happen

I was also very conflicted with the watering guideline for my newly planted cuttings and I found more sensible answers here than any other sites. Agata, please keep posting pics of your plant's progress.

Arnel De Lara, Of course I will. I would say when you root in soil+pot it is completely different from rooting in plastic bags - for a simple reason: when you root in a plastic bag you wet the soil inside and then close the bag wrapping it tightly around the cutting. This way the moisture has no way to "escape" or evaporate and that is why you don't need to water cuttings rooted in bags after the initial first moistening of the soil. You can just simply wait until it sprouts roots as the moisture is there all the time. (which is probably an easier method, I may use it next time). With cuttings rooted in pots the moisture evaporates and the soil dries out so from my point of view you need to make sure that the cutting has some water to work with and to keep itself alive. Of course when the cutting is fresh I would be VERY CAREFUL with how much you add, in the beginning I was literally waiting until the soil becomes COMPLETELY dry and then just literally moisten it with few tables spoons of water, then slowly moved into half a cup, full cup and now I just take them under the shower and hose them down as it is middle of summer so they do drink it up like crazy and need much more. I will insert some pictures once I have any significant difference in growth to show you guys, I may add a picture of the nice looking root system that's already developed.

and yes, I would say that watering your cuttings rooted in pots is the way to go because I don't believe that leaving it to dry out completely and then hoping it will keep itself alive with no water for months is the way to go. I think rooting in plastic bags does not equal rooting in pots and different methods apply to both. My non-watered cutting was literally standing in the soil doing nothing for months once the watered one was already sprouting its 4th huge leaf. Once I started watering the second one it started sprouting too so it's enough evidence for me to continue doing it this way. I must say that the second cutting is a lot behind the first one and it also grows a bit slower because of overdrying it from the beginning.

The leaves look healthy and the branch tip appears to be developing well. It is quite possible this plant is stronger than the other one due to how it was rooted or a host of other reasons. Very hard to say with any level of certainty. But the good news is both survived the rooting process. Great job on your first attempt.

The next major survival hurdle for newly rooted Plumeria is winter dormancy. The amount of growth for the season is as you say has been limited due to the "terrible summer" and being very newly rooted. Are you able to see root structure through the container on either plant? Without knowing actual details of your climate I suspect your natural growing season is nearing completion (4 weeks or so). Fortunately you have a heat mat and grow lights to extend it. Using those will be very beneficial and should result in a shortened or less pronounced dormancy period.

Once the lowest leaves start to yellow but not fall off immediately best practices are to stop all fertilizing and reduce watering by half or more. Once all leaves have fallen off the amount of water needed can again be measured in spoonfuls per month on plants that size.

Yes, I am trying to extend the "summer" season not letting them go dormant for another few weeks or maybe even few months. I have moved it to my bathroom where is always warm and humid and put it under grow lights. So far its doing great, sprouting new leaves. Lately it stopped growing for few weeks due to the lack of light during a long period of very cloudy days so I decided I will try to trigger it to produce more growth this season and so far my warm bathroom is working great, started growing like crazy again. Which is why I am not decreasing the watering just yet. I even decided on repoting cause the roots started to fill out the container. Once a proper winter comes around I'll let it go dormant but until then I'll try to encourage as much growth as I can.

Yes keep them going as long as you can. Always the best advice for newly rooted Plumeria.

I know this is an old thread but I have a plumeria that looks like your 2nd plumeria. It just keeps growing up and not out. I haven't actually started fertilizing it and water it about one per week or 10 days. How are you specifically caring for your cutting #1? Thanks!!!

I followed the no watering after potting (drenching the soil at that time and letting it drain well) and I lost the cutting. It was practically hollow paper when I “tested” it for firmness even though it LOOKED TOTALLY NORMAL on the outside LOL. I have 4 other cuttings that I potted at the same time, but they were in different types of pots. The dead one was in one that allowed the soil to drain easier. I’ve been spritzing them all, but I’m Definitely gonna be watering the others a little, paying close attention to their firmness as well as the soil.

I highly recommend bag rooting method. NO guessing there. Bag keep moisture enough for cutting to root.

Good luck,

https://southerncaliforniaplumeriasociety.com/bag-rooting-methods/

Hi! I know this is an old thread but people seem to be checking back on it so here goes,....I’m trying to root about a dozen Plumeria cuttings right now. I started with the ”plastic container method” but after 1 week they are bone dry! I’m in SWFlorida and it’s November. Daytime temps are in the 80’s with a few rainy days and lots of humidit. I’m considering watering my cuttings, letting them dry for a couple of days and then bagging them. I obviously didn’t pick the best time of year for my area, my fully grown Plumerias are going dormant for the winter. Any advice would be appreciate! Thank You

Lori, your temps are still good but the plants may be fighting their natural inclination to hibernate. I think you can do it. I am attempting to root a number of breaks and cuttings right now in clear containers too and my climate is similar if not slightly cooler and dryer. The bag method works great so don't be shy about trying it. Be sure to use a heat mat to help stimulate rooting.