Wow! So jealous you can plant them in the ground. I'm amazed the soil is warm enough already!
Love the pic of Loki in the hole. Too cute. :)

We'd love to see pics later in the season on how your babies are doing in the ground!

-Robert

Hi MJ,

Looks fabulous!!!

I think you will have great success with you trees in the ground there. Your layout reminds me of Bud's yard!! He has trees planted like yours on the side and they are huge now... Im sure you have seen his place..

Bill 's trees are very happy in the ground in Costa Mesa... not far from you!!! His are huge too! Have fun planting them!!! The cat looks like he is a big help!!! ;-)

Please keep us updated. I know they will do well in your area!! Oh.. to live in "Southern Cali..." sigh!!!

Enjoy!!!

Laura

Well, this is southern California. Temps were in the high 60's over the weekend, into the 70's next week, most nights above 50 these days, and the rainy season (what little we had) is about over. And yes, Loki is a character, almost like a dog sometimes ;)

Ah, Laura, thanks yes, I hope mine will do ok. I have never seen Bill's yard except in pictures, and he is a number of miles further inland than me, where it is warmer. Hopefully my cool marine layered climate won't interfere with my plants in the ground. Time will tell :)

Instead of commenting about your plumerias I'm gonna talk about your kitty which reminds me of mine. Mine always has to investigate an approve of what I'm doing. It isn't done right until it has the Jezzy ragdoll stamp of approval around here! LOL I'm sure if I was digging a hole she'd sit in it too. Cats are the darnest and funniest animals. :)

Do you have the thick adobe soil in Huntington Beach that I grew up with in Laguna? Did you amend your soil with anything for the plumies? I'm going to put some in the ground this year here in Riverside because the population of pots has proliferated beyond control. I'll worry about next winter later.

I was lucky enough to see Bill's yard once...huge trees in the ground. I am putting more in the ground this year but don't have a nice big yard like you but do contend with marine air. We are 1 block from the beach and I notice that those in containers that face all the morning sun do MUCH better than those I have in the ground on the street side that face the ocean. They are always behind in growth/blooming.

Also, sad but true in my area, theft is a big problem out on the street. And, the thieves don't even look at the shape of the tree....just grab, break and go...(pele will get them 1 day)

What are the names of those you planted? great job, roxanne

Gorgeous plants, love the lay out!! Huntington bch has good plumie weather as has been prove by Bud Guillot, so your plumies should blow up this season. The one perk is you will not have to water them as much, potted plants take so much more work.

Cheers

Beautiful trees! I think they ALWAYS do better in the ground if the climate is right. I never had one rot that was in the ground in the Keys,, but I've had plenty rot in pots when we got a lot of rain. Always ones that didn't have a lot of roots. Never ones that had lots of roots filing the pots.

Plumerias are easy to grow when they get larger, cuttings and babies not so easy, in my opinion.

I did the same thing this year too. An experienced grower in the Houston area (Emerson) told me that it can push peak bloom back by about a month but the ease of care benefits were worth it. Especially considering the long growing seasons we have. Best of luck with it.

Hopefully within a couple of months I will have some amazing pictures to share.

To "Toomanydogs" - the soil here is all silt - this part of OC is in the lower flood plain of the Santa Ana river. Not Adobe, and pretty fertile. I remember when my parents moved to this area in the early 70's, it was all celery and lima bean fields for miles and miles. That being said, I did mix some redwood compost and chicken manure in the soil to give them a head start.

To "Rox146", I am just going on faith that there won't be too many depredations on these trees from passers by. I have noticed several plumeria in my neighborhood and they don't seem to be bothered, and there is a similar neighborhood across the major cross street and there are plumeria everywhere, many 10-15 feet tall. So fingers crossed on that.

And now only one tree left to put in the ground. I have a Wildfire that I want to put where I now have a Samoan Fluff. The SF has pleasant flowers but kind of bland, no fragrance that I can detect so I will bite the bullet, and yank it out so that I can enjoy a full sized Wildfire instead.

Here is the next chore, removing this 8 year old SF. I am feeling guilty already :(

MJ,
the sooner the better on that big Samoan Fluff. Its probably already forming new roots and growth. Good luck.

WOW! Look at all those tips!!. BEAUTIFUL trees!

This post was edited by powderpuff on Sat, Mar 23, 13 at 11:24

You are doing a great job... ;-)

Laura

Beautiful job on the front yard trees! You have a terrific nephew, and the trees look great where you placed them!

I'd love to know what varieties you have; the growth habits are perfect. I do remember you were growing a very nice Multiple Gold, right? Did you figure out if that was the same as J-4 from JJ's? I ordered a couple from the same Thai vendor you said you had good luck with; hopefully I'll get them any day now.

Looking forward to your updates, M!

if i put a plumeria plant in the ground in virginia and then dig it up before winter will it do ok?

Your yard is going to be the most awesome one on the street! Wow! Great job!.

Good thing you got an official hole inspector, can`t be too careful.

Looking forward to pics when the blooms are out.
Tally Ho!

They look great mjhuntingtonbeach . Good looking inspector too. I too hope the thief stay away and it's the more common ones you put out there. I can't believe your digging up the Samoan Fluff. It's beautiful!!! Maybe you can relocate it to someone else's yard at least.
Peg

Hi Lablover,

I planted a few of my trees in the ground last summer (I live in central PA). They were in areas that got at least 10 hours of direct sun. They were in the ground from the end of May to the begining of October. I think they grew very good. It seems like the ground was the best temperature July and August. I mixed the soil with some sand for better drainage. I plan to plant a few again this year. It is worth a try.

Bill

I used to trade plants with a guy in Canada, he put his plumeria in the ground every spring and dug them up in the fall. He was in BC though not the middle of Canada.

I think as long as you get them dug up before the first freeze you can pretty much plant them in the ground no matter where you live. Kind of like taking the houseplants out for summer. Which, btw, is not a good idea in the south. Those suckers will outgrow a house in one summer here. I took the rubber tree out one spring, it grew 5` and could not move it, Ike finally killed it and it was 32` tall!!
Tally HO!