I've heard of people doing this before. I don't think they would be too deeply rooted. At least not with smaller sized plumeria. I have never done this before but I have seen pictures of people who plant them in ground, and then they bare root them and store them over the winter. I would check out the archives here.

Andrew

A lot of people submerge them in the ground IN their container - for a first season that may be your best bet - that way you don't risk damaging the root system if it's newly formed.

I would plunge the pot. first make it look like swiss cheese by drilling a series of holes (assuming its plastic) in the bottom and sides of the pot. be careful about maintaining the integrity of the pot.

Then when it is time to pull it up you can dig the pot out and essentially root prune off any roots which have grown through the drill holes.

I plunged some of my plumies last year and am doing it with all of them this season; in fact I just plunged the first ones earlier this week. I drill 1/2" holes all around the black plastic pots, about 2.5" away from each other. I have had issues with the pots cracking (too much gusto with the drill bit, I guess), but leaving the pots in the sun for a few hours first has helped.

Those plants last year that were plunged did way better than those above ground, so I highly recommend this approach.

Towards the end of the season I "root prune" around the pot like you'd do with a tomato plant. A few weeks after that I lift the pots from the ground. I leave them in the pots rather than bare-rooting them (I'm too paranoid about upsetting them... I'm new to plumeria growing and very cautious).

I store mine in the house (Sweetheart loves the collection of naked sticks that arrive in the dining room in late October!) so I set each pot in a pot of the same size without holes so as not to get the floors too dirty, though my cats enjoy spreading bits of perlite around the house all winter.

I've read some posts on this site where people recommend plunging one pot inside another, larger pot. I elected not to go that route, as I would have needed to buy plastic pots.

Don't drill - heat a nail or metal rod with a propane torch or use a stove burner (hold the metal with pliers - vise grips are better, please), or use a soldering iron to melt holes through the plastic. It automatically 'seals' the edges of the holes, reinforcing them and helping to guard against splits.

Al

Al, thanks for that tip. While I've found that most pots drill OK, I've had a few that split all to heck when I tried to add drain holes in the bottom. Related to the type of plastic, I'm sure. I was starting to become more careful, with tiny pilot holes and whatnot, but melting seems like a safer option.

But my question is - how should I store mine if I need to store bare root? Space is becoming an issue for me. My husband actually wants the garden room to be a room he can sit in! Imagine! With all of the orchids I won't have room for the 25 plumies of different sizes (all in big black pots) this winter.

I just gave away about 30 cuttings to downsize a little. Heartbroken - I'm heartbroken.....:(

RuthAnne in SC

My experience has been that smaller holes seem to be ineffective with Plumeria roots. I have seen roots completely plug up holes up to about 1/2 inch. Maybe it depends on length of growing seasons but i would not recommend small holes for anyone in a southern climate.

kms2 is soooo correct. I planted a few of my plumerias in pots with small holes and when I took them out of the mulch in the fall the roots had completely filled the small holes. I had to root prune drastically and cut pots to get them out. Needless to say I was repotting a few more than I planned to. I also told my husband to hide those pots from me :)

So if you plan to plunge your pots in the ground or in mulch, be sure the pots have "big" holes!!!

Joan

Hey Buddy,

I think I mentioned before that some people here in Texas plant theirs in mulch - directly into mulch, no pots. If you go online and do a search for Plumeria Acres, look at their album labeled backyard. This couple is very active in the Plumeria Society and they have beautiful plants. Their plants are mainly planted in hardwood mulch and they seem to thrive in it. Look at the pictures and you will see what I mean. They pull the plants up in the fall and pack them bare rooted into their greenhouse. Don't know how they get all those big plants in there but they say they do :)

Joan