I have about 30 in the ground and all I waited until they were 4-8 feet before planting which generally means 5-10 years. I feel the more mature plant has a better chance of surviving very cold weather. Young plants are more delicate and thus often more sensitive to cold. In Florida or Hawaii you can plant a young plant if you are in an area that does not get into the thirties. This is my experience and I feel there might be others who planted earlier with success. Bill

Aloha and thankyou Bill...those that I put in too soon basically have been stunted it seems. I am in Ca. and we have been having really cold weather here , even for the beach. I do have 3 from Island Plumeria that are easily almost 4 feet now that I would love to put in the ground in the spring. I am running out of real estate though and have too many in pots....mahalo, roxanne

As soon as they are big enough they won`t die if I forget to water them. 1 year old seedlings, in the ground, newly rooted cuttings, in the ground. They grow much faster in ground as opposed to pots, bloom sooner and I don`t have as much to drag in. Smaller plants are easier to cover and if we are predicted to have a hard, prolonged freeze I can dig them up if needed. The ground here doesn`t freeze and any freeze more than an hour or so are rare so that helps a lot.

We`ve all had such weird weather the past couple of years though. Last year was more our normal, cold and rainy but no freezes.
Stay warm ya`ll!
Tally HO!

Thanks beachplant...any info helps. Some of my small ones in the ground certainly are doing better than others. Very anxious to put Waimea, Mango Blush and JL Church Ruffles in the ground this spring and they are almost 4 feet....wish I had more real estate...:o) roxanne

Yes we can put rather young plants in the ground here as the temperature only gets down to about 15 degrees in winter but most of the time it doesnt go below 17 degrees...if you plant a young one in summer by the time its winter they are fine :) perks of living in the tropics :P

Here's a shot from Oct 2008. The bird bath is 2 1/2 feet
high as a reference.
I planted them (I think) in spring 2007, to they've been in
the ground a year and a half.

All of them are still growing nicely.

what great looking leaves..what is the name of the blooming 1 in the middle? roxanne

It,like the rest of them are NOID. I got them by the side
of King Kam III road on the Big Island.

good to know...I am sure a few have come back before in surfboard bags and umbrella holders...;-) roxanne

But not mine. I actually followed the proper procedures
and had them inspected before flying home with them. It's
a minor pain you-know-where, but not all that difficult either.

The folks at the AG inspection station at the airport are
happy to inspect and help you pack your cuttings.They don't
make it difficult at all. About the only thing they ever
find on cuttings are scale insects. Pick them off and you're
good to go.