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tinamib

New to group - transplanting questions

tinamib
12 years ago

Hi all!

I have several plumerias and may buy another today from a local Austin vendor. I do have a question about my youngest plumeria. It is a two year old a friend brought me from Hawaii. It was pulled out of the sunroom two weeks ago and is the first of my three putting on leaves. The leaves range from 2 - 8 inches.

I need to transplant it due to a crack in the pot. It was originally planted in Miricle Grow Moisture potting soil. This is my first year to research making my own mixes.

My questions are

1. Is this a good time to transplant?

2. Do I remove all the prior soil from the rootball?

3. When do I start fertilizing after the transplant?

I was going to transplant in Al's Gritty Mix using a 1.5 turface, 1 gran-I-grit, 1 fir bark. Any suggestions on the soil mix?

Thanks in advance for all responses. I have really enjoyed some of the posts and pictures I have already read and seen!

Tina

Comments (6)

  • PRO
    the_first_kms2
    12 years ago

    Tina,
    here are fellow Texan recommendations to your questions.
    1. Yes now is the time.
    2. My assumption would be if you are actually going to use gritty mix you need to remove as much current soil as possible since gritty mix isn't soil and the mechanics of gritty mix will not work with soil still present.
    3. a half dose of fertilizer can be done right now based on your description of its new growth leaves. and then the next application can be full dose.

  • jandey1
    12 years ago

    Tina, how nice to have yet another Austinite here! Who have you found in town who sells plumies?

    I wouldn't recommend the Moisture Control soil since plumeria do like to dry out between waterings.

    1. Yes, this is the perfect time to transplant as they are breaking dormancy.
    2. Just remove some of the old soil, between 20-50% depending on how worn out it looks. A couple of inches of new soil around the outside of the root ball is usually plenty, plus a few new inches at the bottom of the pot. They like slow-release fertilizers mixed in, too.
    3. Start fertilizing at half-strength with solubles now.

    I've repotted and replaced the outside couple of inches of soil on most of mine with the gritty mix, leaving most of the original mix around the roots as it's still pretty fresh, loose soil. The pots are draining quickly and the plumerias all look very happy. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

    Jen in Austin

  • tinamib
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you for the responses!

    Jen, There is a nursery in South Austin called "It's about Thyme" that is a great source for Plumies! I was just there today for the first time. The guy that grows the Plumeria was representing their nursery at the Zilker Park Garden Show this last weekend. He said he and his daughter also sell at some of the farmers markets but I didn't ask which ones. He said they only sell plumeria and desert roses when they are at the fm's but the nursery is a full service nursery.

    I am most excited because I have been looking for an orange plumeria for a couple years. He said he should have some ready for sale in a couple months. I will definitely be checking in with them from time to time to see what colors they have available.

    I hope to post a few pictures of the ones I have soon. The plumie I am transplanting is a beautiful yellow one that I got pictures of last year.

    Tina

  • jandey1
    12 years ago

    Thanks, Tina! I went there last year and saw the DR seedlings the owner was growing from Thai seeds. At that time the plumeria guy, Kurt (I think), wasn't there and all they had was generics for sale. Would love to get in touch with him about attending one of our plumeria meetings. I talked to him at the Garden Festival last year but he said he was taking some time off plumies.

    Which orange in particular are you looking for? If you want to know when we have our next plumeria meeting email me and I'll send you some inflo, I mean, info! ;)

  • tinamib
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I would love to attend some of the plumeria meetings. Please let me know when and where. I am new to this forum so I am not sure how to send a personal email to give you my contact information.

    I am mostly an in ground plant person but devoted more time to learning more about container gardening this year. Even though I have had 40 plus containers for years, I am trying to perfect my method of container gardening this year. I had an awesome collection of succulents also but the 2010 harsh winter got many of them because we made an error trying to protect them.

    I have had my oldest Plumeria for years and can't even remember where I got it. My other two were given to me. For some reason, I have had good luck with them year after year even though I didn't give much thought to them till a couple years ago when a friend gave me my last one after she went to Hawaii. I got my first blooms last year after only a year in the ground. This is the one I hope to transplant in to the Gritty mix this weekend.

    Of course the orange one I want is Kapalua which is supposedley highly scented and vivid orange but it is expensive. I would probably take any orange one I found for a reasonable price.

  • jandey1
    12 years ago

    Tina, we would love to meet you. Kms2, honeybunny2 and a couple of others on this site have already met a couple of times in the past several months. If you click "My Page" next to my user name you'll see a link that says "send email". We get together and chat and swap plants.

    Sounds like you've already had many good plumeria years; you must be doing something right!

    Kapalua does sound amazing, doesn't it? Maybe we can share one between us, lol!

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