that is fantastic. I love that one. Great Job Laura!!

stay warm

Mike

Love it! I can't wait to see mine bloom now. It's pretty big so hopefully this summer!! Now I am really looking forward to it since you said it is very fragrant! :) I have a lot to cut back this summer. I will be doing a lot of rooting and re-potting.

Very beautiful, Laura.

Chuy

WOW Laura! Looking that good, even under lights?! What a beauty!!!

Very beautiful. Love those pictures.

Hello Everyone!!,

Hi Mike... Thank you!! Hope all is well with you! How is the new house coming along? Ready to get those plants outside? I know, I am...

Powder.. Thank you!! It is a very fragrant tree.. I can't wait to see it bloom in the summer. It must really be something in the heat. Maybe one year, I will see it in the summer!!

Hi Chuy!! Hope you are doing well in Cali!! I see you all received a little rain. I am hoping you all get the much needed snow in the mountains to give you some relief. I feel for you with the drought. Argh...

Hi Emily!!! Under lights.. Lol, can you believe this? They are loving the winter this year. But I am afraid they are still confused (others trying to go dormant). One minute it's snowing and the next day it is 55 degrees. It is just crazy weather around here. The big Kapalua is pushing 4 Inflos now and I can't stop it. It is in the same spot where I pulled it in (October). It isn't under lights or anything.. Still has a few leaves and shows signs of wilting if I don't water it every month. The tips are greening up and the Inflos are making an appearance. I want it to stop! But it won't listen to me...! Hope you are well..

Hi Barb!! Thank you!! So nice to see you!!! How are your trees doing?

Stay warm,

Laura

Hi Laura - yes finally a couple days of scattered rain. Much needed indeed!! I moved my little Adenium seedlings and few plumies out from under the covered patio and they received a little rain :).
Strange winter we've had here- but I'm hangin in there.
Take care and hope you get more beautiful blooms!

Chuy

This is Stunning Laura....It is on my list. I have started my transplant ordeal in getting ready for you to visit and I hope I have more blooming this July than last and that was a great year for me. The spring itch is heavy out here. alohas, roxanne

Hi Laura,

Well, got the pool filled in and moved a lot of the plants. Put in a walkway and have already got more plants started. Husband was surprised on how much more room I have. I think that I am going to have an area for different flowers and also a small veg garden. Weather here has been great and my plants seem to be a little mixed up, some keeping leaves and others losing them. I will post some pictures. :) Keep the pictures coming of the flowers blooming. barb
p.s. In this picture of the plants at the bottom are all named and tag ones and the ones on the other side of the path are none-tag ones, mysteries and seedlings.

This post was edited by barb13 on Mon, Feb 10, 14 at 14:35

In the middle are all of some of the cuttings I have started so far. My son called and let me know that someone had put a lot of cuttings in the trash can and that the trashman was on that street so he took them home for me. I used them to make about 30 cuttings and also had some yellow ones that my husband had trimmed early in Dec. I have cut some of my own but will pot them up in water bottles in the next week or so. Barb

WOW Barb!!!!! roxanne

Wow... look at all the space you have now... your plumerias are gonna be happy and have more room to stretch their branches out..

Hi Laura.
Very pretty variety. You do know that Exotic Plumeria renamed this variety right? It was officially registered as 'Toba's Fire'. I am telling you this because some people get really angry because E.P. apparently has the habit of doing this a lot. Another example of this is his 'Confetti' which was registered as 'Barbados Showgirl' first. Hetty posted this info on another plumeria site.

I know Fuzzy sells them periodically on Ebay, and maybe he was not aware of this. Hopefully the prices on this variety will drop. E.P. is selling it for $80 for a single tip cutting. James had mentioned in an older post that 'Toba's Fire' needs temps above 85 degrees to get the nice yellow and orange color. I know we get that warm here so I should be able to get those awesome colors!

I am going to plant my 'Sweet Lavender' cutting from Sonia tonight or tomorrow. She still looks very nice. The cutting is nice and beefy. You want to here something strange? My DSP has been sitting in a dark room with no direct sunlight at all since I brought it in last fall. It dropped all it's leaves and since has not only grown all new leaves, but it also has produced 2 new inflos! I am simply amazdd that it produced all these nice new shiny dark green leaves and now 2 inflos in a room with no sun light at all!

Congrats on your 'Toba's Fire' Laura!!! She certainly is a beauty :)

Andrew

Hi Laura, looks great! This is one of the ones that always catches my eye... a unique color combination. What a treat to have one this tie of the year!

Andrew, I can't prove this but I suspect that EP is also selling "canopy" Celadine cuttings branded as their "Patio Plumeria." And actually, they told me the Patio Plumeria has "the Celadine flower." I don't know about those guys, $259.95 for a 6-tip unrooted Embers. But, they seem to do a good business so what do I know!!!

Embers is really that high? Yeah that's probably right because of the # of tips. I believe what your saying is right. I was checking out E.P.'s website last night because me myself, I would really like an Embers and I though if a single tip is really under $90 and it also includes shipping, then maybe I would consider it. I don't know for sure if shipping is included or not. I read that on another forum I believe.

The thing is, it really bothers me that EP simply renames the plumeria and then jacks up the cost of the renamed variety.I would much rather buy it from a reputable grower instead but I also don't want to wait and try winning an Ebay bid for it. I myself have done that before and spent a small fortune on a rootes cutting. Well I really shouldn't say that because the last time I did that I won a two tipped J.L.Dane for around $155. Considering that I have see these go for over $200 and have them be just a single tip, I think I did pretty good.

I am going to put the word out there this spring/summer that I am looking for a Toba's Fire, and hopefully I can support a reputable buyer instead.

I also tend to agree with you in regards to the patio plumeria they are selling.It really didn't occur to me until a very kind Derrick Martin and my other friend JoEllen gifted me 3 plumeria last spring. I also got a nice candle. They were all part of a get well gift I got after my major back surgery. The most impressive cutting was a 9 tip Celadine canopy cutting. After seeing it and looking at EP's Patio plumeria pics, I thought that they were oddly similar and with it being a canopy cutting I though that explained why there patio plumeria was blooming at such a small size! They really do irratate the crap out of me. My friend Hetty said she refuses to order from them anymore because she doesnt choose to support someone who renames varieties so they can turn around and sell them at much higher prices.

Andrew

Hello Everyone!!

Glad to hear you all are getting some relief in Southern Cali!! We just had another blast of snow last night with more tonight! Ugh... I'm tired of the white stuff! Ready for spring!!!

Mahalo, Rox! I'm getting excited for summer too! Looking forward to my visit out there as well.. Sounds like fun to meet you guys and visit JJ's open house. I see Tex is giving a lecture at the SCPS that same weekend. Awesome!!! I'm sure you will have beautiful blooms all summer long. ;-)

Barb! Love everything you have done! I can see how filling in the pool will help you as well as give you more room to work with! Everything looks wonderful!! So beautiful and healthy! Simply gorgeous!

Hi Andrew! Thank you for the nice comments!! I do love this Embers and I have been reading about how the late Richard Tobas gave Allen a tree. It is interesting to see if they are one in the same and most think they are. I have seen Fuzzys as well and they look good too! Hopefully I will see it bloom in my heat here.. Should be a nice color with triple digits.. But the timing is everything! Lol

Hi Brian!! Nice to see you! Thank you! It is a treat o have these bloom in the winter, especially with all of this snow. It's to cold and I'm ready for a change!

I hope you are doing well!! Interesting to hear about the canopy cuttings.. They are beautiful!

Stay warm everyone!!!

Laura

Hi Laura,

Sorry that you are getting so much cold and snow. Hope that spring or early summer will be here soon. Weather here has been very mild for this time of year and I just love my new yard. I just got in from giving them a drink of water. It is so much easier to water also but not sure how long that will last since I have started about 75 more plants. Some I will sell later after they are well rooted. But most I will add to my own collection to enjoy later. Can not wait to see what will bloom this year and I know I am not the only one. LOL Enjoy your day, Barb

Love the colour on that embers. Would need several to keep one warm THIS winter, with all the cold and snow we are having in the east...

Christopher

Very nice! The color reminds me of a mango! Hope all is well Laura!

Mark

Cannot wait to meet you as well Laura.....roxanne

Hi Barb!!

Another round of snow for us tonight. This is getting really old.. Sigh!!

I am so glad to see all of your trees looking so happy! Who needs that pool anyway? Lol.. Not those trees!! Love all of the space you have now!! Enjoy your warm temps!! You will have lots of beautiful bloom 's this summer, I'll put money on that!! ;-)

Hi Christopher!!! If anyone needs Embers, it is you guys in the northeast!! OMG.. I don't know how you all deal with this. We here in VB are dealing with record snow totals and record cold temps . We had single digit temps here. Way to cold for me.. I have more Embers blooming on my tree to keep up the warmth.. Lol. We need the fire stoked in the south!!! What a mess. So nice to see you!! Hope all is well!!

Mahalo, Mark!! What a pleasure to see you as well.. Hope you are staying warm in Texas. I know you all have had a cold winter too!!! Have a great night!!! Lol.. It does look like a Mango, but has the sweet fruity fragrance too!

Rox.. Mahalo!!! It will be awesome!!! I can't wait...

Thanks for all of the information on the Embers. I have heard so many stories here and on FB. I love it no matter what!! Some say it is the same as Toba's Fire. Others say no. I know that the late Richard Tobas had a Friendship with Alan, but that is all I know. Embers from Exotic Plumeria is a beauty.. Toba's Fire from Fuzzy on EBay is a beauty too!

I am just very happy it rooted for me and it is blessing me with blooms. Just makes me happy.. That is what counts!! To my friend who gave me the cutting. Mahalo. It is doing very well.. Many thanks!! ;-)

Have a wonderful evening!!!

Laura

This post was edited by loveplants2 on Thu, Feb 13, 14 at 23:22

Dear Laura
Allen took the aloha spirit of Richard Toba and decided to
rename Toba's Fire to Embers and profit from it. Richard never sold or charged a dime from anyone interested in plumeria's. His only request was not to change the name. Most of his hybrid cuttings were Richard and Evelyn's Toba's grandkids, kids and extended family.

Richard was the most caring man whom I have ever known. His devotion to his family was first and then his passion to
not only plumeria, but anything you can plant and grow. He was very much a father to me. We all loved him so much and miss him everyday. His memory lives on with the TOBA'S FIRE.

It's a shame that he felt the need to be deceitful and change the name, if that is in fact, the case. (NOT truly doubting it). This is the only reason that I have not ordered an Embers from him. Not that I haven't almost given in to my desire, but it just feels icky to me.

The first I heard about Toba's Fire/Embers was from Stuart, who used to frequent this forum. Honestly, I have never seen such beauty! He got his from EP and then posted this link. Hope I can do it.

Years ago I purchased an Aroid hybrid only later to find out that the developer of this hybrid had been duped in the same way and her "good friends" decided to propagate, rename and profit from someone else's hard work.

I still have that plant and have never forgotten the truth behind it.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.plumerias.com/weblog/2007/03/tobas_fire_cont.html

Therealltobasfire... Thank you so much for this information... I can tell that you feel strongly in the aloha spirit and that I treasure as well. You actually gave me chills to read your story. Mahalos !

Do you live in the states ? You can email me if you don't want to share on the forum. I truly understand and want to say that I appreciate this.
Lmjusa@yahoo.com

I see that you just registered, so this is special to you... :-). To me as well...

I do have a Toba 's Fire. A three tipped beauty and I can't wait to see it bloom. I understand how this name causes pain... This " Embers" was a gift cutting from a friend who likes to share the aloha spirit... I love the story of Richard Toba and his family.. He seemed to be a generous person who loved to please. I truly wish that I had the pleasure To have met him. You were lucky to have him close to you and for that I am truly thankful that you reached out to me. Truly... I'm sure you have been touched by him and share much with others to spread the word.

I would love to hear more if you would like to contact me... I always love to hear stories of men like Mr. Toba and his wife.

Again, Mahalo nui loa...

Mona..

I miss Stuart... Wish he would return..

Thank you for the link!! You did it!!! ;-)

That's a great story and made me feel something when I read it. Touching!!

Have a wonderful night, everyone!!!

Laura

Oh My Laura....got out my wish list and Toba's Fire/Embers on my wish list....way too many, going to have to thin the herd????? roxanne

Richard Toba was the epitome of the Hawaiian IslandâÂÂs âÂÂaloha spiritâ and was the most kind-hearted, gentle, generous person. Whoever had the opportunity to meet him would not disagree with me. He took care of the land and of the island that he loved so much and always wanted to give back to the people of the islands, as well as visitors to the islands. He had a vision to share the beauty of the plumeria plant and to educate others who were interested in growing and cultivating this remarkable plant. He never expected or took compensation for cuttings and/or seeds and generously gave from his heart. He was aware that a certain person was receiving mass quantities of cuttings and making money off of the (free) cuttings, but in true Hawaiian style, he never stopped giving but asked the person not to rename the cuttings he started as seedlings, as they were special to him because he named them after his children, grandchildren and close family members. The âÂÂEmbersâ plumeria is one of many that were wrongly renamed by this person after Richard TobaâÂÂs untimely passing. The original and true name for this plumeria is TobaâÂÂs Fire. May Richard TobaâÂÂs beautiful plumeria TOBAâÂÂS FIRE live on in those with the true aloha spirit.

Saraketero...

What a truly remarkable gentleman Mr. Richard Toba was. May his spirit of giving remain in all that we do and share with others. I strongly believe in his passion and I am asked quite often why I give Instead of selling.. It just feels right... So, thank you for making me see an awesome side of a gentleman that we can all learn from.

May the name of Toba's Fire echo throughout the land.. in the islands as well as the States...he was truly one of a kind and I hope that many people read his story. How proud you all must be to have even known this gentle, kind hearted, giving man of both the heart , soul and of his beloved land and trees that he loved so much.

I am Truly touched and honored to have learned from you both... Thank you for taking the time to enlighten me as well as others here. We will do as you ask... ;-). in honor of Toba's Fire... May his name always be remembered, rest In peace, Mr Richard Toba. A hui kaua....

Me ka aloha pumehana,

Laura

Roxanne!!!

You are on a roll. You are still searching for the others on your list right?

To cute... ;-)
I'm excited to see what you have found. I'll check your thread...

Have fun!!

Aloha!!!

Laura!

Yes, still working on the list.....went from 32 down to 30 today....thankyou Lowes! roxanne

Now I'm all teary-eyed.

And Laura, the reason you are so touched is because you possess the same spirit. We ALL know that! :)

Loveplants2: That is a beautiful flower!!!!! The color is gorgeous...This is so wonderful ... To read so many beautiful stories and descriptions of plumeria cuttings and plants ... I am new at this ... Forgive my ignorance of the names that belong to the following: I have 1 white flower plumeria and 1 pink flowers... Someone gave those cuttings to me last year ... The pink plant bloomed last year , but it looks like if this year I will have only leaves, no sign of flowers... The white plant did not bloom last year but it looks like if it will give some flowers this year...

I have to learn all the names and jargon in the "plumeria circle"... I am in California and there are homes where I have seen plumeria growing but never paid attention to this plant till a friend gave me those cuttings...

Congratulations to all those involved in the wonderful "plumeria world"... Is one of the prettiest flower I have seen...
Canelita2

Laura,
Thank you for your message. There should be more people like you and Mr. Toba in this world!!! You have the same passion, generosity, respect and integrity and hold the highest principles and values in your everyday life. You truly are an inspiration to us all.

Andrew,
Thank YOU also for your post about supporting a reputable seller instead of EP!

Much aloha,
Saraketero

Beautiful Laura. Way to go!

Mona... You are so sweet, Mahalo!! I was the same as you... ;-)

canelita. Welcome to the wonderful world of Plumerias. It sounds like you have a few beauties and you sound so proud of your babies!!! That's what it is all about... Enjoying your Trees and loving and caring for them. You will see many beautiful blooms here on this forum and find so many helpful people..

Sometimes we don't know the names of the trees, but that is alright as long as you are happy!! Some register them with the Plumeria Society of America to have them officially named. You can just name yours as I did when I first started with No-Id maui.. Depending on where I purchased it or .. Pink. 2013. Just to know when and what color it is.. We try and keep the names correctly labeled because so many try and quickly place a name on them and then they are passed down to others that are incorrectly labeled.

Have fun.. Learn and enjoy .... Welcome!!!

Living in Cali... Ohhhh. Boy!! Get ready!!! ;-). You will have some great selections there!!! Again, aloha!!!

Saraketero .. I just don't even know how to express your kind words. Just reading your post made me feel wonderful, grateful and warm... I will never be in the same league as Mr. Richard Toba, but I'm honored to be mentioned in the same sentence... So kind of you. You truly made my day, and then some...Mahalo!!!

Kevin... What a feeling eh? It's what this is all about... I love it!!!! Thank you...

Have a wonderful night everyone!!!

Laura

Laura, that's a spectacular bloom! It will probably get even better outside.

It's such a shame there are people out there deliberately changing names, whether for profit or not. There's too much confusion about varieties as it is, and I feel bad for those new to the hobby who get mixed up and buy duplicates without knowing it.

Love the stories about Richard Toba! What a lovely man he must have been! Thank you for sharing them.

This has been such an interesting and moving post. Thank you to everyone who posted. It's so nice to have people to inspire you, when so much around us can seem cold and cruel, there are individuals who practice great acts of kindness even when that kindness is not directed back at them. Those are real heroes, not the celebrity ones manufactured in the media every day. Thank you, Mr. Toba, for your flower and your inspiration.

And thank you, Laura, for the way you continue to inspire me with your enthusiasm and your kindness!

Hi Saraketero. I will always choose to support legit growers. I actually have had the pleasure of visiting Florida Colors. I had the opportunity to meet Luc and Carol, and even had my own personal guided tour!

Andrew

George.

The " Aloha Spirit" touched me when I visited Hawaii for the second time. It was then embedded when I visited some special people in California who share this wonderful feeling. They were generous and kind to me and I truly believe in paying it forward.

Thank you George, I really appreciate your kind words.....

Have a Wonderful day!!!
Laura

Thanks a lot, guys. This thread "made" me get this little guy... Just came from Fuzzy yesterday and is happy to be out of a box. My husband loved it and asked how much I paid... "don't even ask" I said and he rolled his eyes. It smells lovely.

The local morning show did a few segments on Exotic Plumeria recently.

In the 9:20 segment, Alan talks about Embers. He says the he found it in someone's yard and bought the tree from them, to remain in place so that he could obtain cuttings in the future.

You may want to watch the video but as a warning it may make you sick to your stomach, based on what I've read in this thread.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/25587890/the-exotic-plumeria-celebrates-25-years?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=10190032

At a bare minimum it would have been respectful for him to at least mention Mr. Toba, or simply not feature this particular Plumeria at all if there wasn't sufficient time to show the proper respect.

Brian

Why to this day Alan is still allowed to take cuttings of Toba's Fire and Kapalua? That I simply do not understand.

So could it possibly be that he did buy the trees and now has rightful access to them?

For the record, I hate it when anyone not just Alan rename cultivars! It makes it very confusing and frustrating for a newbie like myself. Secondly, I have never purchased from Alan because I don't like his over inflated pricing.

Anyway, I just think there are more than what meets the eye. Unfortunately, we as outsiders have no idea what transpired between all parties.

Truly sad because I love both Toba's Fire and Kapalua and both come with such a stigma. That is not the Spirit of Aloha!

No-Clue, this is just my .02 but even beyond this situation, I think there is a fundamental problem with scouring neighborhoods searching for new, "undiscovered" commercial varieties that one intends to give a new name to and sell for profit.

The problem is that without genetic testing, you have no idea whether it is already a named cultivar, a close relative, or simply some other seedling that though the chance of nature happened to end up looking like something else. Plumeria are so commonly used as landscaping in Hawaii, from living there I can say the vast majority of homeowners won't know the cultivar or lineage of the 20yr old tree in their yard. They just know what really matters (a good lesson for us all really)- whether it looks nice, smells nice, and/or makes a good lei.

I suppose the role of the PSA is to help with this? However it still seems like an honor system type of thing at some point.

There's a little old lady on Kauai who says someone keeps coming around and insisting on buying one of her trees from her, despite her repeated "no" answers. Makes you wonder...

Hello.... This is an original Toba's Fire from the parent tree. AB does not own
The tree. The tree belongs to Mrs Toba.

Mahalo, therealtobasfire....

Jen.. I hope that lady keeps it up!! ;-)

Laura

Embers/Toba's Fire is so beautiful in its different shading depending on heat and sun. Love it.
Its common place in Hawaii to have developers/landscapers etc., come up to your property of you have a large flowering tree they want for a project. My aunt on the Big Island had a developer of a hotel come by couple times and offered her 500.00 to buy her 20 yr old Hilo Beauty tree. She ended up selling it to them and couple months later had a landscaper offer to buy her huge celadine, she told me it was not uncommon.
But I did hear that AB was calling Toba's plumeria patch his Maui Growing grounds with pictures of Hawaii on his site when he first started selling Tobas fire and the other Hawaiian/Tobas plumies. So sad.

Well thanks for sharing the pics.

Mine also Bloomed in February.

That is true... Some of the pics in the EP hard cover are from the Toba property.
You can tell by looking at the ground. If you see white PVC that is what Mr.
Toba used for watering.
AB did dedicate a very nice page to "Richard"