Thanks for the info.

I am actually leaving for California tomorrow and on the way back plan to stop at a HD or Lowes and pick up a few plumeria and some other plants. From what I understand, they are $10-$15 each for decent sized plants.

Hope others take advantage of the info though.

oooooo.... I'm very excited, I hope there are some left...
Brittany

Just trying to be an enabler! The cuttings I bought recently have rooted and have really taken off in the hot weather.

AzDesertRat- Hope you had a good trip. Did you get any exciting plants?

Frangipani - HD had one left inside yesterday. Good luck!

The HD by me just sold out but the Lowe's by me has a few more left... I'm headed over there to look at them...
Brittany
P.S. Wish me Luck!!!

Ok... I caved and bought one... anyone know what color they are... my guess is white...
Brittany

Slap me silly! I bought one of the ones at Home Depot today. I saw one with a beautiful yellow blossom on it. All it took was me bending over and smelling that one open blossom. I was sold on trying it just one more time. I picked another, hoping it would have maybe the rainbow, yellow/pink/white blooms. But if it doesn't that is ok too. That fragrance is really something. All the rest of my Plumeria's that never bloomed were in pots. I planted this one in the ground, in a nice cactus mix of soil. Maybe that will bring the blooms and fragrance of this plant to my garden. Oh, I put it in an area where I can control the water, so that it receives less in the winter, if any, other than rain. It should drain well enough. I may have to cover it during frost, as the back yard does get quite chilly. I just didn't want to put it on the same system as my roses. I was afraid that might be too much water for my winter months. This one branched off into three branches. I wish they would have had one that branched off more. Does anyone know the best way to get them to branch out more? Cutting them off above a leaf area...would that do the trick?

Easy

Alan, Alan, Alan..... ;)

Hey GT,

It's tough being a Rosaholic and a Plantaholic ;) We only live life once. I want to live it as full a life as I can. I love learning every detail I can about growing different plants in such a challenging environment. Remember the Snowbush, aka Breynia nivosa? They are doing very, very well in my garden on the north wall. I'm so pleased I could spit. But I won't ;) I had never seen these sold locally till a couple of months ago. Even on our hottest days they just shrug. I'm so thrilled! :)

Easy

Here is a link that might be useful: Snowbush, aka Breynia nivosa

Didn't you just "toss" all his non-blooming Plumies? It's okay Alan, we're here for ya :) I on the other hand never make crazy plant purchases ;) (Gt scooting the last Topiary she bought out of sight).
I too was fed up with Plumies! Then everyone started talking about them again, then theres that darn Detrick :) And of course I had to jump right back in! Come to think of it...I blame everything on everyone here!

I hit up the 101/chandler blvd Lowe's today and they were out of plumeria-

however, the Home Depot down the street at Chandler/alma school had about 5 or six @$24.99 each. I picked one with a nice flower bud coming up- just about ready to bloom.

They are inside the building, in the area with the indoor tropicals.

I have not experimented much with growing plumeria in AZ, but it seems to me that it should work well, as they do like a very cactus-like mix and plenty of heat and sun. I'm not sure that all day sun would be the right thing for a plumeria here in AZ because its so intense and dry- however, dappled sun or light shade would probably work fine.

The biggest key is to keep it well drained, not overwatered, but thats mostly for avoiding rot in humid areas- here in AZ i doubt you could overwater it unless you had it in a non-draining mix. Cutting your mix with alot of perlite is a good tip.

Check out http://www.plumeria101.com and http://www.mauiplumeriagardens.com for more info- they have a plumeria board there.

I'm currently attempting to root two cutting here in scottsdale from my plants back home in Florida.. we'll see how it goes.

oh by the way- during the leafing season, using peter's 20-20-20 liquid, or even a bloom booster liquid fertilizer is a big plus.

excerp from www.plumeria101.com:

When fertilizing Plumeria you should use a high Phosphate fertilizer (middle number), like Peters "Super Blossom Booster 10-50-10". If you use a fertilizer high in Nitrogen then you will make a healthy but tall and leggy plumeria. Plumeria in general only branch when they bloom, therefore you must use a fertilizer that will promote the most blooms. Which in turn makes the most branches. If you find a Plumeria full of branches, then you'll know it's been a good bloomer.
What brand should you use? I will recommend PETERS "Super Blossom Booster". Super Bloom and others are fine, but Peters 10-50-10 is loaded with Micronutrients. Micronutrients is all the smaller nutrients that plants need like Iron, Manganese, zinc etc. Micronutrients are heavily needed in container (potted) plants, because huge amounts of nutrients are leached out during daily waterings.

( Summery )

Blooms = Branches & Branches = More Blooms

Use a high Phosphate fertilizer
at least every 2 weeks during the growing season.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.plumeria101.com

Hi tiareman, I was using Peters high phosphate fertilizer on my 10 Plumeria's that never bloomed. They still never bloomed. Not to say that doesn't help, just to say that doesn't guarentee loads of blooms. I know Michele who manages the Plumeria101 website, and she showed me how to get my cuttings rooted and everything. Really nice person. Very helpful. So at this point, a couple of things come to mind.

1. Is it possible that some Plumeria branches do not produce blooms? On roses we get what you call, blind shoots. They will never put out a rose. So I'm wondering if Plumeria has this distinction.

2. The only thing I can think of that might have caused no bloom is the fact I did not have my plumeria in the ground, or maybe even a bigger pot. Perhaps it didn't like the hot soil from being in a 3 gallon pot? The foliage always looked terrific. The plants grew nicely. But never once a bloom on any of the ten cuttings.

I know which plant you got at the Home Depot on Chandler Blvd/Alma School. I was eyeing that one that was in bloom. Even stole a blossom off of it to smell as I strolled through the garden area. But it only had yellow blooms. I'm hoping for one that has the red, yellow and white blooms. Of course, even if the one I got with no blooms, turns out to be yellow or some other color, I will still be thrilled. Just in the fact that it bloomed at all :)

Easy

I bought one of the 24.99 HD plumeria...no blooms, just leaves right now it's inside with bright northwest light in the bathroom for the extra humidity. There were three left at Alma School/Chandler last night. I figured I'd wait til monsoon starts before I plant it outside. Since it was inside at the depot I thought the shock of the heat right now might be too much for it since we are expecting 115*. Our house sits just west of north. Do you think that Northwest exposure with relected heat/light would be too much? The area gets about 3-4 hours of afternoon sun.

I saw those too, but they are not selected varieties and unless you are lucky enough to find one that's blooming you have no idea what colors, flower sizes, plant sizes you are getting. Strangely, they were also labeled "orchid" and had no prices. I know for sure they were plumerias though.

yeah the "orchid tree" thing is just plain wrong.. they are certainly plumeria

don't know the variety- itll be a challenge to find out even when it blooms, as many look very similar, and there are tons of varieties.

Easygoing- how many seasons has your plant gone through? Sometimes they dont bloom the first year after rooting.

Putting the pot in the ground is a good idea. Could also be day length and humidity affecting the blooms. Just keep maintaining it.. how wet/dry is it?

My plants were three years old.

In the summer they are kept watered at one to two time a week intervals, depending on if the soil is dry or not.

In the winter I don't water at all. All they get is the natural rain fall.

Easy

hmm that is odd..

how much sun are they in?

Most of the flowering plumeria around my place in FL are out in full sun.

They received 8 hours of sunshine a day.

Easy

So where does one buy Peter "Super Blossom Booster" 10-50-10? I've looked at Wal Mart and Home Depot for the Shultz's 10-60-10 (where the Schultz company directed me to) and the employees at both store didn't know what I was talking about. Anyone know who carries Peter's Products?
thanks - jim mcnulty - So CA

As for pineapples, just go to Costco and buy some of those big ones from Costa Rica that they sell. They are terrific. Eat them, then remove the top and expose some of the brownish nodes by removing a few leaves from the bottom where roots will come from. You then can root it in a glass of fresh water in moderate light. Change the water daily for a week (you should see roots by then). Then stick it in a pot or in the ground. I have four pineapples growing this way under my palms for over a year. They're doing great. I would never actually buy one from Home Depot.

There are many products that foster blooms. Just go for the 0-50-50 stuff. I have liquids and powders I use (like Kabloom but there are many). If you want to grow Plumies fast, feed nitrogen. If they are a good size, then just feed with P & K and don't water so much. If you 'love' a plant too much, it will grow great but not bloom for you.

Plumies are related to Oleanders and we know how tough they can be.

I use Miracle Gro bloom booster... it helps promote flower production where as you use the regular miracle gro it will promote a lot of growth, but no flowers... you'll probably still get flowers, but it wasn't the high nitrogen that did that... and make sure you don't water too much... The most common mistake is killing it with kindness...
Brittany

I've never grown Plumeria prior to picking up a couple of cuttings from the SF Flower and Garden show last year. I followed the instructions provided, but my cuttings didn't take root after nearly 3 months in their pots. So, a friend of mine suggested soaking the cut end in SUPERthrive Vitamins-Hormones for about 30 minutes, so I got a bottle from Hone Depot and did that then re-potted them, and within less than a week they took root and within less than a month I started to see leaves. They now have an abundance of gorgeous leaves but I have not gotten them to bloom at all, it's now over a year since they've been in their large pots with so many leaves that they are getting into each others way. I have also tried to find Peters Super Blossom fertilizer at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, ACE hardware, local nurseries but can't seem to find it anywhere. Does anyone know of an online source that sells it?

It may take a year to see blooms... also, you may be feeding it too much nitrogen... if you feed it a fertilizer in high nitrogen you'll produce beautiful leaves, but won't trigger blooming...
Brittany

I use bone meal once a month and water with bloom booster 10 50 10 and it works just the same as Peters. You can buy it at HD or LW. I bought this book from the author BOB Walsh called Growing Plumeria anytime and anywhere. He is actually talking about this new method called "the Egg Method" I haven't tried it yet but maybe I will in the early fall. i am also planning to grft Have not done it but will try anyway. Went home to Hawaii and brought with me about 40 different cuttings from Obtusa to dwarf Pink Obtusa to red pink and yellow. The Singapore Obtusa is the hardest to root and have killed a few of my cuttings. Killed? they are hardy plants "How did I kill it? Over watering, pls. do not over water your new cuttings. Leave them alone once they are in the pot for about a month until you see the eyes opening and leaves start to come out then they get very thirsty mix superthrive and bloom booster for watering. In the summer time put them in a filtered sun or under a canopy of shades. I am going to try to sell my 2 years old Celadines from Hana that I grow here in North Phoenix.I have about 12 of them that are 3 ft.tall with 3 or 4 branches from the inflouresence and ready to be tranfered to the ground or a big decorative pot.

What price you selling these for? What is your warranty. What hours are you available?

Thanks for the info, I have a 10-55-10 that I got at Bakers, just fed the plumerias today. Planted about 10 months ago, 3 of the four are thriving on SE side of house, watered twice a day via automatic soaker hose.

I've been wondering what the super thrive from HD was used for. I bought bloom booster from Amazon with free shipping and two day delivery this weekend. Hoping to make use of the cooler weather this week. Gave it to e Armenian cucumbers, lemon cucumbers and long beans.

I didn't know that Plumerias did so well. I have a 28 year old Plumeria from another state. I'll have to get cuttings and bring them here. White with yellow the pink. They are gorgeous.

I spotted several plumeria at the Lowes at Happy Valley & Lake Pleasant Parkway in N Peoria. They are inside in the houseplant section. They are also properly labeled so you know what colors to expect.

I purchased two last summer from the same store and they are growing like crazy. They grew about 2 feet in the first season and the bloom was spectacular.

Plumerias are great, aren't they? I've had several planted in the ground on the east side of my house for several years and they've done great. They didn't even get damaged by this past awful winter (I did not cover them). I keep slowly adding more and more of them, LOL.

Here's my dwarf-growing 'Divine' plumeria on the SE edge of my house. It's been in the ground for three years and has done really well:

Plumeria 'Divine':
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Take care all,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: My dwarf plumeria 'Divine' in bloom last month (still blooming too!)

Hey GT,

It's tough being a Rosaholic and a Plantaholic ;) We only live life once. I want to live it as full a life as I can. I love learning every detail I can about growing different plants in such a challenging environment. Remember the Snowbush, aka Breynia nivosa? They are doing very, very well in my garden on the north wall. I'm so pleased I could spit. But I won't ;) I had never seen these sold locally till a couple of months ago. Even on our hottest days they just shrug. I'm so thrilled! :)

Easy

Here is a link that might be useful: https://www.vietnamaairlines.com/