What a great set of pics, Tom. That was a lot of work. How long did it take? It almost seems a shame to cut it as it was soooooo pretty. It sure grew over the years and I can see how it was taking over and had to be cut back. The pics made it almost as good as being there. Thanks so much for taking the time to take and post all the pics of the process. Peg

Peg - it only took a couple of hours. Jen was a big help.
The branches aren't hard, so most of it was done with three
tools. A good set of racheting hand pruner, a lopper and
for a few, a small chainsaw.

I'd cut and Jen would hold the branch and let it down easy.
That's why the pile was so neat! I'd have just tossed them
down anywhere.

I had my camera on a tripod, so it was easy to cut a branch,
take a picture. When you watch them in sequence, it's interesting
and kind of fun to see the branches disappear, one by one.
And a ladder suddenly appears at one point. I'll post shots
of the tree later in the year. It should be fun to see
the tree fill out (I hope). I'm sure it will.

It's one tough, prolific plumeria.

Way to Go Tom!!! ANd JEN!!!

You guys did a great job!! It looks so much better and when the leaves fill in you will be so much happier with the space.

I know its difficult to trim, but you all did a great job!!!

Bravo!!!

Laura

I have a question on pruning, it seems when I prune the shoot that comes off the cut branch comes out from the side. Last year one of those broke off as they seem to not hold well. I did not have any problem with the one that broke off as it rooted and bloomed the same year in fact I got more blooms from the broken branch than I did from the parent plant. Is there a way when the branch is cut to get them produce nice shoots. So far the best shoots I get are from the tips but on the parent plant all the shoots come off from the side of the branch and do not look good in the fact that they seem too large for the parent plant and need to be removed to save or they will break off by themselves. So far I end up either giving away those shoots it produces as they seem to want to break off after they get too large to remain on the parent plant. HELP

Same thing here, I'm afraid. They all pop out the side
and aren't as sturdy as a normal branch split.

Haven't had much problem with them falling off myself,
but maybe I've just been lucky.

Sorry I can't come up with any suggestions or help for you.

Wally, you may want to try splinting the new side shoots as they grow until they're strong enough to remain firmly anchored on the trunk. The trunk and the union of the shoot will grow stronger after a couple of seasons and you can remove your splints then.

The advantage of using splints is that you can also force the side shoots to grow out at a more attractive angle. If you get slender bamboo stakes that span the length of the shoots and another foot or so along the length of the trunk then you can secure them with stretchy green gardeners' tape or even rubber bands. Good luck.

Just got back fromm Vegas and the NASCAR race. Great ro see your pictures Thomas! Thank you for letting me get involved in pruning your trees! I think I am going to have to cut my Singapore Whites into cuttings, they will never look the way they used to unless I make new cuttings.

Thanks again, all. I did was hold branches and set them down you did the hard work! Take care! Jen

Hi Thomas, at last results. This is what I found today. It's a good thing it was in a clear bottle as I would have thought it had roots long ago. It grew the longest claws I've ever seen without roots. They were over 6" long on 6/20 and still had no roots. I noticed today it was less wrinkled and the leaves are starting to unfold. Now I'm hoping there's an inflo in there. Thank you Thomas and Jen for helping make this possible. Peg

Looks good Peg!!!

MIne are behind yours.. They are doing well but the leaves aren't that long yet. They are about half the size. Both are doing well.

Ill post mine when they start rooting..

Thank you T!!! SOooo much!! Hi Jen!! Thank you for helping T...

Laura

Looks good! Is that schefflera in a pot? I had a heck of a time keeping that plant trimmed enough, another victim of Ike.

It`s amazing how fast they recover from a major pruning.
Looking forward to the recovery pics.
Tally HO!

Peg

My single cutting isn't doing nearly that well. I
had it in spot but don't think it was getting enough
light. I moved it and it's still slow, but it's put out
some flowers and the claws are nicely developed. No real
leaves yet though.

Glad to hear yours are going well.

Laura

They'll get there, just like mine will. It's one prolific
plant.

beachplant

That schefflera isn't in a pot. It's in the ground.

Recovery pictures to come soon. I've been thinking
about that. But right now, at 103 deg, I'm not going
to go out there until much later today.

A friend was over a couple of weeks ago and said....
Didn't you trim that tree this year. It doesn't look
like you did.

Looks like another even more major trim will be needed
this coming Feb. Plus more trimming on the other 11 plants
elsewhere in the yard.

beachplant

I see your confusion now about the schefflera. The first
picture shows it in a pot. The rest show it in the ground.
I hadn't gotten around to planting it when I took the first
picture. Good eye.

Well, I promised pictures and here they are. Looking back
at the previous pictures, I wonder myself if I had pruned
that plant!

And of course, a picture of one of the flowers.

Lovely! I remember looking at this post in the spring...I can't believe how much that tree has grown. It makes me look at my crowded terrace and think, yikes!

Greg

Oh no!! That big only in a few years!! Ok I'm going to be in serious trouble then! Yikes is right I better start leaning down my collection.

Beautiful tree though! What is this plumeria? Thanks!

I have no idea what that tree is named. I got it at a mall
many years ago and if it had a name, I've forgotten. I've
sent cuttings to a couple of people and they've named it
Thomas's Beauty. Completely unofficial of course.

It resembles Kimo though, just for reference.

Although you mentioned cutting down on your collection, I'll
offer a cutting to you in Feb if you want to come and get it.

I would love to thank you so much!! I have thus far killed all my cuttings so I'm going to wait to try again next spring. Hopefully by then I will have settled into our home and learned how to root so I don't kill it too. Many thanks!!

I just wondered how you kept the scheffelera short enough to fit there. I assume major frequent pruning? When the hackberry fell it took out the scheffelera in the backyard, it was about 15' and bloomed, I used to whack at it with the machete all the time.
Tally HO!

Hm, Laura, that bloom close-up Thomas just posted looks an awful lot like your "Intense Rainbow" photo in your August Pics post. VERY like it. Coincidence?

Wow Thomas it is hard to believe it has grown that much since spring. You must be feeding it "Wheaties" :) Great job. Peg

OMG Jen!!!

I was just thinking the same thing.. But this tree was from another sale...

T has given me two cuttings from this tree and my first thought was that it looked very similar.. I swear you and i think alike!! : )

i was going to go back to my thread and look again at the pic. But before i could finsh this thread..there you are saying this. I was stunned...

OK..im going back to look now..

Hi Laura,
Intense Rainbow is red and yellow. I have one. It is not pink and yellow. What you call Intense Rainbow is not that,
tc,
George

Jen... I just did a side by side and T Beauty has a white edge on the outer side.. my bloom is close .. but it has the same pink through out the outer edge.. It could be the same. Hmmm? Good eye as always!!!

T.. have you looked at my August pics.. Would you look at the third pick down on my thread and see if you think it is close to your beauty? Mine was labeled Intense Rainbow, but...it is not.

I love the coloration of the bloom..but i have no idea what it could be...

Thank you!!

I do have roots starting to show on one of my cuttings. It has taken a while to show roots, but it is finally growing like it wants to be a real tree for me!! Thank GOD!!!

Much appreciated, as always!!!

Laura

beachplant

Haven't done any pruning. It got a lot shorter when I
took it out of the pot. About a foot and a half. It's
getting to the point where it does need a trim. It's
around 12 feet tall now.

Laura

Yes, that's very, very close. Does yours have pink on
the back that corresponds to the pink on the front?

Your photo was taken with a flash, was it not? That can
change the shots a bit, but not that much I think.

My plants flowers change as time goes by. I've a few shots
that show the multitude of colors this thing produces.

These first two shots show the flower at it's finest, just
after opening.

And now a series of multiple flowers showing color changes.

Beautiful tree! I noticed the original pruning was in march, but it was fully leafed out - does it not go dormant? It's crazy to see how it recovered from that pruning!!

Thanks so much for the follow up.... I love to see longitudinal progress. I know it is hard to remember to post follow ups after months or years, but it is a great learning tool. Understanding how plants change over the long term is really a key part of successful gardening IMHO.

daogirl

That picture of the 'before' was as dormant as it got
this year. It usually looses a lot more leaves than
that. Most of them, in fact. That's why I didn't prune
until March. I was waiting for the full leaf drop which
didn't seem to happen this year.

Hi T,

I received some interesting info from Enerson.. He thinks it could be something that he has been searching for a name for his tree as well for several years, I friend had some trees but he passed and he thinks my bloom that was labeled IR is maybe one of his. He calls it Emerson's Beauty. somme have said they think it is Via Verde (dewaine mentioned that one too!) Thanks to everyone.. If i find the name, it could be the same as yours.. looks at the star in yours too. that is whar Emerson said about mine. Does your have a fragrance?

Very Interesting..

Thanks T bothe are rooting..

I guess the tag is coming off of the IR LOL...

George,

I knew that it wasnt an Intense rainbow.. we had been tring to id this beauty.. I waited for three years for it to bloom. Surprise!!! LOL

Take care,

Laura

The photos look Socal. lol,Growing a Plumeria below eaves on a roof with no gutters. That would be instant rot here in the bay area.

That home even looks like my home...I even have a Schefflera by my front steps. I need 10f warmer winters too.