Laura,
Gorgeous!!! Was that this yrs or last yrs pics? As for Metallica, she is still rare as you can not readily buy her from most places, JL and a few cuttings/plants being sold by individuals who bought her early on. Metallica is truly one of the most beautiful of the purples in my opinion, coming in 2nd on my list based on colors, size, scent etc., Violet Queen is my 3rd fav purple, but the most RARE and BEAUTIFUL is Kukiats Tropical Aurora

My Fav purple and ultra rare as Kukiat may have gifted a few close intimate plumie friends with a cutting or plant but will not sell any. I contacted Kukiat and basically told him to name any price he wanted for Tropical Aurora and Id pay it and he said no, that maybe eventually he would consider selling some later on but not now. So sad... :( But I give Kukiat major Kudos for integrity !!!

Oh and Kukiats Marble Ice Cream is another stunner and not available.:

Thanks for the show Laura :)

This post was edited by freak4plumeria on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 2:26

James.. STUNNING!!!!

Thank YOU for the show.. OMG Im am in heaven!!

I thought JL Metallica was somewhat rare, but wasn't sure..even with the price tag that it was. I knw i went to you for advise before i made that leap... HUGE SIGH...

That was last years pics of JL Metallica. SHe is doing great and im hoping for blooms, but im sure it won't be this year. Talk about being sad..

I am loving The Marble Ice Cream.. Beautiful and Aurora is stunning too!

Thanks for the beautiful pics.. lol.. you thanked me for the show? YOUR show is one to remember.. ;-) Always pleasing to the eye!!! Please send more pics. I love your collection and im sure other wwould love to see what your grow. Simple Beautiful!!!

Thanks Rox.. i love my Metallica!!!

Hi Lynn!!

I love it when my heart can skip a beat!! ;-)

These trees do a great job at that!! LOL.. Love to see aall of this beauty!!! Im hope the Viola G will continue to grow.. we shall see!!! Fingers crossed!!

Hope you and your family are having a wonderful summer!!!

Take care,

Laura

Laura,
Your Metallica may bloom again depending on your tip length, so wait and see, maybe by Aug.
Those are Kukiats pics not mine, I am showing as examples of ultra rare plumies, his Fantasia is available for sale (I do have that one.).

James are you kidding me? I would give up my whole collection just for Aurora and Marble Ice Cream. Well ok maybe not my whole collection but close. Lol.

I don't know I just have a thing for purple and plumerias with veins so i find these irresistible especially when you can't get them. So no one except Kukiat has these and he won't sell? What a bummer.

Keep checking with him and let us know if he is willing to sell one day. Thank you for sharing that! They are too gorgeous for words.

Laura your Metallica is stunning too. No wonder I am an addict!

I only know one person with a Metallica that I have seen, it is truly amazing in full bloom. Eventually it will be available for a reasonable price and I will have one.

Those are too gorgeous!
Tally Ho!

Lynn,

No there are a few of Kukiats close friends who have some of these like Lopaka, Brad, and a few others. But as for random plumie collectors they would not have them. These are Kukiats seedlings, so he is the original and only source for now.

If you like Marble Icecream then you will love Fantasia, Doug Jones has a few of them but may not sell any right now and Brads buds and blooms has them also.

Thanks freak4plumeria..You just cost me $100...Resistance is futile.

Derft1,

HAHAHAHA I guess you bought one from Brad based on the price.. Well at least the price went down this year. The first couple of Fantasia's were sold on Ebay in 2012 by Brad and went up to 180 to 200. Kukiat also personally grafted all the plants and his graft job was impeccable, the match with the seedling root stock was perfect. Mine took off right away when planted. Congrats!!!

I almost bought rooted Fantasia last year but I didn't like how the petals look in his picture so I passed. When Lopaka posted his blooming Fantasia, I was kicking myself for not getting it. Goes to show a bloom shape can vary as well.

I don't feel so sad overall because I managed to get Kukiat's Fireblast and it's doing really well. :)

I guess I should answer the question from the OP while I'm here. I think the rarest plumerias are the ones only a few have and they're highly coveted by many...but after a while as more and more get their hands on these, they become less rare LOL.

Kenny

Oh my!! That's gorgeous!! My DH is going to kill you James for tempting me. Haha. Did you buy one James??

derft1 - you bought one already? Grafted or rooted? Please post pics of your new baby when you get it! :)

No-Clue...Yes I did from BBB. It is grafted so I hesitated for a minute. Never bought a grafted tree before as I am a little worried about the graft. We shall see.

I have been wanting a marbled or splash for awhile so i took the plunge.

Still want to find a Marble Queen. Found one on Jacksonville, FL craigslist for $25. If anyone wants to buy it, I will buy a cutting for the price of the plant.

Lynn,
Yes I did buy one and it is grafted. I have only seen one other plumie (Black Velvet from Singapore originally from Lyndie Whye) grafted with such precision that I got as a gift from Jean Capini and it was impeccably grafted, just like Fantasia that was grafted from Dr Kukiat.
Personally I do not like grafted plants visually but Jeans and Dr Kukiats grafts are perfection and will disappear in couple of seasons.

Derft dont worry about the graft the plant will be beautiful and it should do well for you....again congrats on the Fantasia.

Ok James, you twisted my arm. I ordered it. I'm just going to blame you if DH finds out. I going to say you made me do it!

Lynn,
I think you should tell your hubby that Sonia made you do it, LOL.
PS... I called the guy who takes care of my plumies I told you about and asked him to go and check on your Hilo Beauty as he lives down the street. I was told by him that it looks rooted and actually is now multi tipped because of the inflo and is over 3ft long. Ill try to get down there and Ill pull it out of the pot and repot it on its own or put it in a bag to help accelerate root growth.

Cheers

OMG!! That Metallica is drop dead gorgeous....but the Kukiats Tropical Aurora about made me pass out! WOWO WOWOWO WOWOWOWOWOOW!

I saw on another forum that a cutting from it was $1300! Yikes.

That Fantasia is incredible!!! I am a True Blood fan so I immediately called it Fangtasia! Going to pick me up some of that. Off to Buds.

Happyvegan,

Hmmmm I wonder if someone Kukiat gave a plant to sold a cutting of it, or if it was stolen from him in Thailand or bogus?? Do you remember where the cutting for 1300.00 was being sold, I want it if its still available????
Tropical Aurora looks like it could be a seedling from Musk rainbow because of the colors like the brown/orange/yellow and purples and the shape...

Let me know thanks

Cheers

James,

Yeah about my Hilo Beauty! You are so sweet! I feel so much better.

Good luck James I hope you get that Aurora Tropical. At that price I am out. I would have to sell one of my kids just to get it. Lol.

Lynn,

Please post a picture of your Fantasia. I'd like to see how BBB's grafted plant looks.

hi James

I asked Kukiat earlier about Tropical Aurora, he said it hasn't been released to the US and he's not planning on releasing it any time soon. Also he hasn't gifted anyone a cutting of Tropical Aurora. Lopaka has his Fantasia and Marble Ice Cream and that's it. Hope you don't get caught in someone's scam trying to sell you a fake cutting.

Kenny

Freak4plumeria I got that information on the following link

http://allthingsplants.com/thread/view/16185/Most-expensive-plumeria-cutting-and-most-beautiful-plumeria-flower/

But according to Kenny, it sounds like it was a scam. Thank you for that information. I hope no one actually purchased it.

Oh and for some serious eye-candy. Check out Dr. Kukiat's Flickr page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kukiat/

Happyvegan,

Thanks for the info!! After my emails with Kukiat I thought it weird that he would be selling any as he was firm about not releasing any now.

Are you in OC?? Did you ever meet Veganbabe (MPG)name, think her real name was Barbara but cant remember now as its been forever? She made the most delicious, gorgeous Vegan Cupcakes, so sad she moved to Yakima Wa with her plumies..

(I suspect the plumeria that moved to Yakima are even sadder)........

I am actually in southwest Florida near Fort Myers. I have a soft spot for vegan cupcakes! I have to stay far away from them....nom nom nom..:-)

Washington is a great place for vegans. Lots of vegan restaurants and shopping. As there are becomming more vegans everyday it isn't hard to find vegan bakeries just about anywhere. Especially in the OC. There is a place called Lucious Organic Deserts that will make you cry it is so dang good and of course cruelty free!

http://lusciousorganicdesserts.com

I had some when I was there a while back.

Is there a way to get on Dr. Kukiat's email list to know when he will be selling anything? I will take anything he is offering. Nothing but good stuff on his Flickr page.

Happyvegan,
I think I have had their cupcakes before and they were delish.
When I would have a plumie get together Veganbabe would bring over like 2 doz of different ones, she baked for this vegan restaurant/bakery, so they were FREEEEEEEEE :)
It's like what Wendy Williams says "If its FREE, it's for me!!!"...LOL Just kidding, Id usually provide all the food.

As for Kukiat, he has a deal/agreement with Brad in Fl, of Brads Buds and Blooms, he is the sole and exclusive rep for Dr K in the US. Unless your a personal close friend of his Kukiat will not sell you anything, but he will refer you to Brad.
The few really, really close Plumie friends that Dr KT keeps are usually gifted with his rare plumies, before their ever released. Example would be Marble Ice cream, Lopaka in Florida has had it for at least 2 or 3 season, I would not be surprised if he had Tropical Aurora also and Lopaka does not need the cash so he will not be tempted by monetary offers (I offered to buy his JL Tropical Lightening or a cutting from him and no success.
Kukiat does have a FB page and his own website. But I do not believe there is any amount of jolly or money that will sway him....

Lynn, this is neither a rare or new or officially purple variety, but I read where you talked about liking purple flowers with veining while I was looking out the window at my Grove Farm, an old classic. Here is Simi, it's a purple and pink, with lots of crimson veining and a little yellow and orange in the center. It's incredibly beautiful, and I love the scent. One of my favorites.

Doesn't look like my "Blue Hawaii" from eBay has an inflo yet, so that I can confirm what everyone else has told me (after I bought it, of course) - that the pic in eBay was a Celadine PhotoShopped blue! Oh, well - win some, lose some!

Lynn,
I think I may have given you a GF cutting last season,or is on the RIP list..lol. If not you can have one when I see you...

George,

Grove Farm sounds lovely!! Can you post pics of yours?

James, I don't have GF. How do you like your GF?

Lynn, will post a pic as soon as I can (probably tomorrow). Thanks for asking.

I was so much more impressed with Grove Farm in person than in photos. It is very large and smells lovely, definitely one to consider! The only reason I didn't pick one up at the sale is because I have so many pinks already.

It probably does fade to a lovely lavender color, too.

Lynn, there is only one open flower on the inflo right now, and it's a little old, so let me wait for another to open. Jandey, you're right, it's even more attractive in person - there's something about it when everything comes together, it's a wonderful flower.

I found a pic of my Grove Farm from a few days ago

Mine Grove Farm blooms are about 3", not too small.

Simply amazing!! Thank you so much for posting that! I love and now I want.

Hi Everyone--as most of you know I do lurk on the forums though I don't have much time these days to post veryoften. However, after reading much speculation about Kukiat's varieties, the assumption that he only provides cuttings of rare things to his closest friends is true. He knows he can trust them not to propagate and sell them later on, but instead, they keep them for their personal enjoyment. Tropical Aurora will likely not be released any time soon. This is one that is nearest and dearest to his heart- like a few others everyone enjoys seeing on his Flicker and his personal website. However, Marble Ice Cream was released to me this year to sell for him in the USA. Unfortunately, the small number of cuttings I got all rotted except for one, which I posted on Ebay this morning. I also recently received an additional small number of pre-calloused ones I hope will successfully root this time, to be able to have available by August. Anyway, Scarlet Night, Carmine Glow, and Edelstein have also been released too, but are first appearing on Ebay before being listed on my website. Each year, Kukiat decides which plumerias he wants to release to me for resale and which he does not. It is always a mystery to me until he gives me the final list. I have learned that while he graciously listens to my hopeful suggestions, he ultimately makes the decisions about releases. Either way, it is always proven to be top-knotch stuff. He has a lot of really cool stuff the pictures and names of which probably haven't even made into any websites just yet. Interesting as well is that any money he makes through our partnership is used to offset the costs of maintaining his grove and farm rather than for anything else. At heart, this wonderful, generous, and sweet-natured gentleman loves plumerias and all things plants, and, is one of the most knowledeable Plumerians I have ever met. Anyway, I hope this answers some questions anyone might have. If you have further questions I can help you with, feel free to email me through my site, which I think most of you are familliar with. I cannot guarantee I will be on here again very soon to answer replies posted here. Anyway.........
Happy Growing everyone!
Brad

Brad,
Thanks for the info and letting us know about the auctions!!!

Thank you Brad!

I'm wondering which lucky soul will ended up w/ MIC. It already over my budget with days left to go. :(

Good luck if you're bidding.

Lynn,
Your too funny...you know whose bidding ;P

Well I do now!! LOL

THANK YOU BRAD!!

Now I have to decide which one I want in the Ebay auctions! This would be my first plumeria! I guess any of them would be an excellent start :-)

I do have seeds coming from Maui Plumeria Gardens that I just purchased....I ordered the mixed pack. I like the gamble of the unknown. Has anyone else ever ordered this from them?

Thanks for taking the time to post, Brad!

I have a question: Are you talking about a "Scarlet Night" by Kukiat, or Barbara Randolph's "Scarlet Knight"?

That would be Kukiat's Scarlet Night. He developed this plumeria a few years ago. It seems Barbara named and registered hers under a similar sounding name, probably because she didn't know about Kukiat's. Unfortunately, this is but one example of how names in the plumeria world can get mixed up. There's so many new plumerias out there now I often wonder if we will completely run out of nice sounding names for them in just a few years. LOL

I think they may have to start using a name generator.

Check this one out.

http://www.switchplane.com/awesome/business-name-generator/

LOL :-)

I was just coming here to post about brads email about new varieties. appears he beat me to it, LOL

Those are some really cool looking flowers.

Mike

Could some one tell me if Durham botanicals is reliable?

Tea, I recommend you start a new post with your exact question versus being buried on this old thread. I have no experience with them. Hope you get some feedback.

I have 5 seeds of Tropical Aurora from Brads on their way to me.

Me too

so much jabber!you guys are all Podagees!only Hawn's know what is that,cuz!ha ha!Best true to life photos of lavender/or close as can get to purple in my opinion is BBB[metallisa,purple serendipity[wrong spell]M<etallica!!They have a gorgeous deep red w/purple highlites[4got name]but its there.Fla.colors also has a metallica color plant,I think its called Geisha.Both of tese vendors have made my collection and life Very Brilliant!!They will always have a customer in me!Good sound advice for troubleshooting as well.GOD Bless you both!!L.Alligood

5 years later,I'm back!Aloha!has anyone seen at Jungle J's a plume called Fuji Mist?really lovely lavender!!!worth seeing,and not awful pricey.It has tendency to drift toward pink,but,eh!!!It has a gloriuos purple tint,pastel and lovely.I dont know how to get them to go to stronger lavender instead of pink.I know you can turn hydrangea pink to blue by fertilizing either acidic or alkaline.Maybe possible with plumeria?

Heat and Humidty will only help with deeper coloration on Plumeria.

Here is a picture of my Fuji Mist… 🌺