No Clue, since you are in So Cal, why don't you plant a Michelia alba instead of a magnolia. It's actually in the same genus as a Magnolia, but the flowers are smaller. It makes up for it with intensely fragrant flowers. It also blooms way more than a southern magnolia. Also available at many of the Asian nurseries in So. Cal.

If you thought plumerias are very fragrant, wait till you get a whiff of a Michelia. There's also Michelia figo which has a very intense banana-like scent (this one grows more like a shrub).

Musaboru,

Thank you for that suggestion. I will definitely look into it. Until I fell in love with Plumerias, Magnolia and Jasmine were my two favorite. I love the fragrance on both and the white flowers. I don't like bananas so I will pass on the Michelia figo... but definitely will look into Michelia Alba. Thank you!!

i think you'd be safe to plant any tropical plants in ground in So Cal.

gardenias and any citrus looks good and had fragrant blooms as well.

Hi No-Clue,

I am with you on newly paying attention to weather and the effect it has on our trees. Luckily I have always been oddly attentive to the weather. I am in your same zone and can report that we had many cold nights last year, several in the 40*s. That being said, I can easily find a great many plumeria trees in my neighborhood (both large and small) that are out perpetually. I've been warned that my Thai Splash is inclined towards rot, but otherwise I plan to leave everyone else outside year round. More than likely I will have frost cloth on hand for the cold nights; it is always nice to have a warm blanket on night, lol.

I hope that helps. I am too new to know what works well in our region and hope that others can chime in, but I am hoping we have little to worry about.

Wendy

Wendy, I was so disappointed when I was in your neck of the woods that there weren't many homes with plumerias out in the landscape. I rely on you to change that. ;)

Jen

I can't risk leaving mine out for the winter - I had several plants I put in a shed for the winter (a garage will do but NOT a shed!), thinking it would be enough coverage and it definitely was not. I lost every single one of them.

Even though I'm in Texas, our winters in this area can fluctuate so much from day to day, as well as have freezes. It can occasionally go down into the teens, and 30's, 40's and 50's are pretty consistent depending on the month. We've had snow a couple times in the last 11 years, and several freezes hard enough to close the roads due to ice.

So, mine are brought into the garage or the house and not watered all winter. When they get too big to bring in I'll be in trouble LOL!

See I simply don't remember if we have freezing temps at all! I'm sure there were some colder nights but I didn't make a mental note on how cold so until I know I can't risk planting them this year.

I do not see many planted in the ground where I am... maybe two homes. But when I went another 5 miles further in land I saw so many established plants in ground. I am so tempted to stop by and see what they are and if they will sell me a cutting to practice. :)

Here's the definition of zone 10, but the USDA zones are very blunt instruments.

Zone 10 Minimum winter temperature

a âÂÂ1.1 C (30 F)
b +1.7 C (35 F)

So zone 10a gets no lower than 30F. But that's low enough to kill a Plumeria. So yours will need a protected space that you can heat when the temps get below what a Plumie can tolerate, I'd guess 46 or so. But you don't want to get them so warm they wake up so you want to keep the heated temp below what I'd guess would be about 60 degrees. Someone will have to tell you the real best temperature range to keep Plumies dormant.

Sunset magazine has more detailed zones that help you know your climate much better and can help you know what plants will thrive outdoors and give you an idea how you'll have to manage your Plumies.

You'd be much better served by the

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunset Zones

Jenn- We have a few soft frosts each year but most plumies can handle it. I used to cover my plants with frost cloth but when I got to the jungle level I just let things go. In 2007 we had the worst hard frost in 75 years. I lost a few plants and had to cut back some others but most of mine survived. Some people further south had some major losses. When your plants are small, you can just drag them under a overhang or patio cover for Dec into Feb when the only real danger is. Some I know stretch a tarp above their plants during this time. This year I did not have any frost days and last year just one mild one. Perhaps global warming is happening.

I sure do remember that awful year of 2007. Not only plumerias were ruin, but the citrus growers here as well. Gless Ranch doubled the price of oranges at their fruit stands.

Kasie

Bill thanks for sharing that. I won't be planting anything in the ground for a while... until I figure out how I want my yard to look. Whether I'm going all hardscape for some grass. Not sure...

You should probably just make a grid of dots five feet from each other across the entire property as you will eventually put a plant on each spot and the rest will not matter. Anything you plant will be potentially torn out to make room for your addiction. I once had a ton of roses....gone. I had more lawn....gone for planters. This is just the start.LOL I do like slightly raised planters with brick or rock around to keep the weed seeds out. I also raise the plants in little volcanos and put mexican river rock on to stop erosion and keep in the heat.

Ohh Bill I LOVE it!! I can do my patio all the way up the edges of my property and leave the planter for my Plumies. How deep is your planter? I especially like the rocks around the trees. I am debating on putting higher and wider borders so I can sit near my plumies and admire them. But not if that takes up too much space. Wonder how many VW's I can fit in my yard.

Bill gets all the points for posting PICTURES btw. LOL...

the planter to the left I just planted in the ground and put in rock. this planter I dug down about 2 feet and replaced the soil. If you look at both groups of plants they grew about the same so the extra effort might not have mattered. These planters are about 9-10 years old. Here is another planter that is higher and made of rocks collected along the central coast:

Bill, your planters look great! I guess I could do something like that but put the plants in their pots into it so they could be pulled out for the winter storage. I don't know why I haven't thought of that before. I guess I just needed your pics to get inspired. Thanks for posting, Peg

Bill...Excellent--the planters & pics!!! I just love the planter in the 2nd photo with the rocks you collected! I have a friend who built an awesome planter using broken up concrete chunks that were going to be disgarded from a construction site near her home. The way she made her 'meandering' beds looked so natural; especially when she planted a variety of sedums in-between the concrete! An excellent semi-drought tolerant under planting for plumies...just giving you ideas NC! :)

Bill your yard is HUGE!! I only wish. Thank you for posting the pictures, I really needed to see in order to visualize what I'm going to do. Leaving them in the pots in the planter look great too... so now I have options. Thank you so much!

Everyone else please feel free to shoe my your yard. Thank you for sharing.

Hello Kasie,
I still remember the pics of your front yard after that nasty freeze. I was so sad and it wasn't even my yard. lol Hows the yard doing these days?
Brighty

Hi Everyone,
I've been visiting this site and reading all of your posts with great interest. I've learned so much as this site offers a wealth of information. I can't thank all of you enough. I thought I might share some pictures with you if I can remember how to post pictures, so here goes......

I hope all of you have much success this season and I wish you all well.
-Rick

Very beautiful. Everytime I see Divine I could kick myself for not getting it at the Lowes about a month ago.

Rick! I love how neat and organized your yard it! I really love it. You also have a wonderful collection of plumies!

Minderella - my Divine has been blooming since mid April w/ inflo on every tip. Now that the weather is warmer the scent is getting very nice too. I really love it how well it's blooming!

Wow Bill!!!!!!!!!

Rick Wow to you also!!

Mindy did you go back to see if divine was still there??? If another store has it would they send it over to yours? Never hurts to ask. I would love to have a divine. I would have to bid on ebay I guess. There are no plumies in Maryland :(
I am planning a vacation next june to Florida omg I have to start saving now lol

Jackie

No I haven't gone back. I was unable to do anything for a couple of weeks starting June 3rd. I will check probably later this week. My cat jumped over me and hit my cheek bone and I woke up with a black eye yesterday. I am embarrased to go anywhere, looks like I was in a bar brawl. LOL

Mindy

My yard looks kind of shabby right now (I'm the QUEEN of unfinished projects...), otherwise I'd post pictures, but my recommendation would be to put raised beds along the sides of the fence. That way you can plunge your pots the first year, pull them out, and monitor your temps over the winter. If it stays warm enough plant em in the ground next year. If not, plunge them again.
My plunged plumies do significantly better than those that are above ground. Just my two cents...

Rachel

Rachel what do you mean by "Plunging"? Thanks!

Plunging is putting them in the ground while still in the pot. Then when you need to store them for winter or haul butt from a storm you can just pull them out and store them! LOL!

Whoever said Sedum as a ground cover in the bed under a Plumeria is right on. Its drought and part shade tolerant (at least here in Texas it can't take full sun.) I also plant Hibiscus, Pittosporum dwarf, youpon dwarfs, lambs ear, and a few other perenials around my plumerias.

Yep, Emily's right on.
There were several COLD nights this spring and I had to bring all my plumeria inside again. Had I planted them straight in the ground I wouldn't have been able to do it, and probably would have lost half the forest. Another plus of plunging is if temps get cold where you are before they're totally dormant, there is less stress on the plant when you bring them in. I have a few "experimentation" plants which I plan on bare rooting, but the precious ones stay potted.
I drill lots of holes in the pots along the sides and bottom to let the roots roam the planter, which they like. Someone suggested melting holes; I will do this next year so I don't crack as many pots!

If I were closer I'd offer to baby sit your trees til your house is done, but alas, visitation would be difficult since I'm at least 6 hours away from you ;)

Enjoy the planning!

Rachel