Plumeria
(click to enlarge)
Picture: Tom MacCubbin
Treat your landscape to a bit of the tropics with the
addition of the brightly colored and fragrant plumerias.
Also know as the frangipani and Hawaiian lei plants they
fill with clusters of white, yellow, pink, red or
blended flowers during the warmer months.
Plumerias planted in the ground can grow to twenty feet
tall, but locally, many are kept in containers which
restricts their height to about 8 feet. The plants lose
their leaves during the winter months and are very cold
sensitive. Mine are coming in to full bloom just as you
see pictured to the right.
Be prepared to move
plumerias into a frost free location where temperatures
remain above freezing during cold winter weather. Or if
in the ground give them as much cold protection as
possible. Some use pipe insulation to protect the outer
limbs which seem to be the most cold sensitive portions.
Use the following tips to encourage new growth
and to produce flowers from container plantings during
the spring through fall growing season.
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Keep plants in a sunny location for
best growth and flowering.
Moisten when the surface soil feels dry
to the touch.
Feed once a month March through
October; none during the winter.
Control rust and mealy bugs with sprays
as needed.
Keep plants compact with periodic
pruning to remove excessive growth.
Many gardeners like to root their prunings to produce
more plants. The foot or so long limb portions root very
easily during the warmer months in containers or
vermiculite or loose potting soil.
