Rcantor,

Great list...

Question? Are you trying to contribute to my addiction? LOL..

: )

I am reading this list and thinking of all of the ones that you have mentioned that i have but haven't bloomed yet.. Waiting with great anticipation...

So, i am hoping to see blooms on some of the above mentioned trees and hopefully let you know..

You asked about easy ones.. the first that i think of that is easy and has a wonderful fragrance, is the classic Celadine.

One that is compact and i really enjoy is Divine.

Hope you have some others that will chime in and give you some others..

I think that you have a great start in buying a rooted cutting that you mentioned on Ebay. You save a year or two in waiting for blooms. Growing a cutting yourself does give you great satisfaction though... It truly is a great joy when you grow a tree from a cutting and wait patiently for the blooms to finally appear after years of TLC. It is the best feeling in the world. I will admit, that it is fun to order a tree with an inflo and see it open and not abort. But, growing a tree and seeing it bloom from your own hands and patience it the greatest reward...

Have fun!!!

Laura

Could someone comment on those 'classic plumeria' scented ones, besides Celadine, please? :) Especially the Pacific Pearl or Singapore. How fragrant are they?

Unfortunately, several of the most desirable flowers are also tall growers, like Magnum Opus, Aztec Gold, Miami Rose, Daisy Wilcox, Jeannie Moragne and Veracruz Rose.

Lemon Drop (herbal/citrus to my nose) is compact, along with Penang Peach (strong peach), Pink Pansy and Divine (jasmine to my nose). Check the PSA and Florida Colors sites for more growth habit info. I remember Grove Farm being a much more beautiful flower in person than in phots, big and fragrant, too. Supposedly it has an average growth habit.

Bill raves about the spicy scent and bloom habit of Kimi Moragne. Others here I'm sure will chime in with good additional info.

Will the tall ones bloom if forced to branch low? How will container culture affect ones like veracruz rose? Thanks.

I would recommend Thornton Lemon Drop. It is a excellent brancher, grows short and then flowers and splits. I have all those on Jandey's list and I agree with the paragraphs except my grove farm is 8 feet tall. Charlotte Ebert is a tall grower but it has a powerful perfume-y scent. I have tall Celadines (9') and short Celadines (4') of the same age and I have no idea why (perhaps less sun).

Thanks for all the replies. One problem with that list is that it's been circulating with almost no change (except Penang Peach) since 2007.

If I have a Singapore and Mele Pa Bowen am I really missing out by not getting a Celadine?

Someone needs to talk Doug at MPG into have a one day GardenWeb special. All cuttings $10 each limit one per type and as many total as you want. I know Id buy at least 10.

RC

that would make your decision easy.

Hey doug if you see this Help us feed our addictions!!!, LOL.

Mike

I have a "shrubby" (low growing) form of Singapore (note: I'm not talking about Dwarf Singapore Pink), and it has a distinctive sweet and lemony scent. I'm not sure if all white Singapores have the lemony quality or not.

San Germain is very sweet and fragrant - I'm not great with scent ID, but I would say something like honeysuckle.

Hi Rcantor,
Yes, I really think you would be missing out if you don't have a Ceoladine! Mine isn't looking so hot, and I think I will be getting another this summer.

I want to add Dwarf Singapore to your list. Mine is 3 years old and is barely 2ft tall, with 9 tips! 4 of the 9 have inflos that are growing(Half of them are budded now, and the other half are just starting to grow). The added bonus is that due to its Singapore parentage, it's an evergreen, and it can be an everbloomer!

When I got mine from Stokes Tropicals, it was around Christmas time. Tree came in perfect shape, and by January it was producing it's first inflos!

In my Opinion, DSP is a very under appreciated, and under used plumeria. I don't think it recieves the credit it deserves. Flowers are more simple, color is just a light pink, no other colors on the petals, and the fragrance I.M.O. reminds me of a rose.

Andrew

Hi Jen,
I wonder....my DSP doesn't hav black tip on it. Is it possible that it's not suseceptable? My Royal Hawaiian/Plastic Pink on the other hand is. In fact I just cut off another chunk off of the one branch:(

Andrew

Mike, You trying to feed the addiction??? Shame on you. Boy do we like to feed each other or what. My pocketbook is screaming. Where do I sign up?? Peg

rcantor:
From your list I have Celadine, Pacific Pearl, Singapore, Cancun Dreams, and Gardenia and will comment on each. Take it with a grain of salt though, since I am VERY new at this.

Celadine- I agree with everyone else... you should really get one. The fragrance is unforgettable, flowers last for days (hence why it is THE lei flower), and the plant is definitely my hardiest, easiest keeper. I wish I would have started with a Celadine; it's an "ego boost" plumeria. Other than Thumbalina (Laura- ::wink-wink:: LOVE!), Celadine gives me the most satisfaction. A deer chewed off a branch a few weeks ago and it's putting out two new tips at that spot.
I guess what I'm trying to say is its tough to mess up a Cellie. Bug resistant too.

Pacific Pearl- They're not super fancy, but I really like the two I have. The scent is very nice; clean and sweet, no hint of lemon in my opinion (whereas Celadine is a bit lemony to me). Mine are around 2.5' now, but I fear they will get pretty tall. Both flowered last year and one branched three times, the other is rocketing up, and up, and up, with no sign of an inflo this year.

Cancun Dreams- I had two but one got CRAZY killer black tip last winter. It was dead practically over night. The other one is my slowest to wake up. Only three leaves on its single, very slow growing, tip. It hasn't flowered. Not my favorite.

Gardenia- This was my first plumeria; our one year anniversary was on June 6th =). It had an old inflo that stuck on and was all woody when I got it. This spring it started branching out off the side of the inflo. I ended up cutting it off since it was growing at a weird angle and looked kind of ugly. The plant has improved as a result, and is leafing out nicely. The leaves are very pointy at the end (I like this), but seem more bug prone than others. The trunk is glossy green with a nice texture. Hands down my favorite trunk (weird that I've ranked them, isn't it?). No inflo on this one either.

Singapore- I have Dwarf Singapore Pinks... I'm 99.99% sure (they were NOIDs). I rescued 5 from Home Depot and just LOVE these little bitty plumeria! They're all between 8 and 12" tall and have between 4 and 10 tips, more of a bush than a tree. They would make a very attractive hedge... wish I had bought more of em. No inflos on these yet, but with nearly 30 tips between 5 plants I have hope!

Andrew, you're spot on. DSPs are totally under appreciated. Maybe we should start a fan club?

Anyways, I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions let me know!

Rachel

Rachel, those are some terrific rundowns, good for all of us to hear specifics when considering which cultivars to invest in.

Andrew, I don't have Dwarf just regular ol' Singapore, and the cutting I gave Kms2 isn't giving him any problems in San Antonio. It's just my microclimate, I guess, but I'm tired of fussing over it and getting no joy after seven years. DSP sounds like a better choice for me, or anyone.

Thanks! I love the help.

About Thumbalina - JJ's site lists it as having a light fragrance. Does that mean you have to go right up to it to smell it and if it's cool it might not have any fragrance? Or does it mean you can smell it from 5' away rather than 60?

Thanks.

As far as plumeria goes, I think you're lucky if you can smell any cultivar from 5' away. Very, very few are strong enough to waft like jasmine or honeysuckle. I would take faint to mean you need to put your nose right into the blossoms to smell them.

If you want easy, compact and fragrant then JJ's Divine is the way to go. Or Dwarf Deciduous if you're okay with white, since it has a big flower as well as very compact growth and a big fragrance.

So many choices!

Here is a link that might be useful: Dwarf Deciduous