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jandey1

Totally worth it.

jandey1
9 years ago

We all fall in love with some of the more elusive plumerias out there, the really flashy ones that won't root or won't thrive or won't bloom. We've all done it: paid a lot for a chance to see an extraordinary flower, sometimes when we didn't even know enough about growing these plants yet to justify the hefty price tag.

I'm just glad I did it early in my collecting so that I could enjoy the blooms this year!

These have been four years (and a lot of fuss) in the making. Hope you enjoy them!

And one more under the full morning glory of Texas sun:

Here she is next to Pink Diamond:

I can totally understand now why Jen of 2010 wanted this one so badly, LOL.

Comments (25)

  • phalanx_viridis
    9 years ago

    uh oh...im getting the plumie itch! is that Toba's Fire? SO nice!

  • lazybonz
    9 years ago

    ..but which plumie is it?
    How large is the plant now?
    Did you get it as a cutting?
    Anyway, those flowers are gorgeous and look like they're pretty large, as well.
    Congrats on your patience and persistence.

  • barb13_gw
    9 years ago

    WOW! very nice. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Barb

  • disneyhorse
    9 years ago

    I've got both tobas fire and makaha sunn blooming right now, so I'm guessing yours is Makaha Sunn. If so, isn't the scent amazing?!? I've got a sweet tooth and love its sweet smell. It's my favorite and worth all the fuss. I feel your excitement! Thanks for sharing!

  • gidgetsocal
    9 years ago

    Gorgeous color! What a beautiful pair it makes with Pink Diamond!

  • texasplum
    9 years ago

    thing of beauty! That would def be worth the wait.

  • rox146
    9 years ago

    OUTRAGEOUS! roxanne

  • mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
    9 years ago

    Gorgeous flower Jen. That was a long wait. My scentsational finally bloomed after 3.5 years. Pretty white flower but the scent is far from sensational :(.

    Mike

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    9 years ago

    Jen,

    Makaha Sunn is worth the wait.. Simply stunning!!!

    I showed your picture to Bud when I was with him in California and he was very pleased! He really enjoyed seeing it bloom like this in Texas!! He is partial to Texas!! ;-). He told me to tell you " its beautiful.." Made him smile !!!!

    Love your blooms.. It's so worth the time we put in to see these beauties!

    Great job!!!

    Laura

  • PRO
    the_first_kms2
    9 years ago

    Love it J.

  • Andrew Scott
    9 years ago

    These are gorgeous blooms Jen! I had some really nice...more expensive varieties. I was so bummed because I lost 3 of them this spring.

    Someday I hope to have both of these!

    Thanks for the amazing pics, and good growing :)

    Andrew

  • tikitropic
    9 years ago

    ...Drooling!!!

  • jandey1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you, everyone! This was my love-at-first-sight plumeria #1. Disney and Laura knew exactly which one it was!

    Lazybonz, I got this as an unrooted cutting at the end of one summer because I didn't know any better. Didn't know that it was a tough one to root, and that end of summer/fall is the worst time to get a cutting because they don't like to root so late.

    The plant is about 3.5' tall now and thankfully branching at the inflo, but I had had to get it grafted the following spring because it just wouldn't root for me and I was getting panicked at the shriveling. Grafting was probably the best thing I could have done since MS is notorious for black-tipping!

    Mike, I'm sorry to hear that the scent is disappointing! Maybe it's the time of day or even the hot weather? I'm finding some are fragrant only the first day or two, or only in the morning, etc. MS, I'm happy to say, smells incredible! Not like candy to me, but a nice blend of floral/coconut/sweet. After being picked it goes a bit citrusy, too.

    Many of mine are getting tiny blooms or washed out colors, like Pink Diamond, from the very high heat lately. They all looked much better when we had 90's with cloud cover earlier this summer. Except TLD--she seems to like the heat as long as she gets her mega-gallons of water, lol.

    Laura, thank you for sharing that with Bud! I didn't want him to think that it's just been aggravation for everyone one with this beauty! It's still happily blooming away, fragrance and colors not daunted by the heat. I think I've found its happy spot in the yard.

  • disneyhorse
    9 years ago

    My MS was a love- at-first sight purchase. It was such a fat three tip cutting. I was nervous but it rooted quickly and survived the winter and is blooming this summer. It's my baby.

  • citizen_insane
    9 years ago

    Hi Jen, those are gorgeous. I got an MS last year and it was growing real leggy. I grafted all three tips on a dwarfing rootstock to see if it will grow better. So far so good. How do you keep yours from getting lanky?

  • jandey1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Disney, we have great taste ;)

    George, I don't! Luc cut this two tip fat cutting into four pieces and tried grafting them all. Only the two tips actually took the graft so I have two thin lanky plants now. Compact they are not!

    It will interesting to see if they slow down on your dwarf rootstock, but I imagine it's the scion that dictates the growth rate. You must be great at grafting to get three successful grafts like that!

    The growth rate has slowed down now like you'd expect for the age, but they put on a lot of thin length in that first couple of years and I don't know how you beef up a plant like that. The tips are of course much thicker.

  • citizen_insane
    9 years ago

    Thanks Jen. I have gotten pretty good at grafting, I batting 100%. I made dozens of rainbow trees with nine varieties on them.

    The MS grafts look promising. The leaf internodes are close packed together indicating a much slower growth. We shall see when they bloom.

    George

  • citizen_insane
    9 years ago

    Hi Jen, here are some pictures.
    This is the MS plant. It had four tips and I cut the three and grafted them on a dwarfing rootstock. See how lanky the fourth branch is growing. The other branches were even longer.

    Here is the tip. Look at the leave internodes how far apart they are indicating lanky and fast growth.

    For comparison here is one of the tips of the grafted MS plant. Look at how small the leave internodes are indicating compact growth. Both plants are in full sun and get the same amount of water and fertilizer.

    Here is a picture of the grafted plant. All tips are growing compact.

    The graft is well healed and not slowing the plant down. We shall see longer term. It looks promising.

    George

  • nativec
    9 years ago

    Jen- Congrats on your MS! I know you must be proud!

    As I read your post and the amount of time that you patiently(or maybe not so patiently) waited I started thinking that if I keep adding to my plumeria collection at my current rate I should have something new blooming until my final days...LOL

    So over the moon for you :)

    Take care

    Nicole

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    9 years ago

    Jen - your MS is beautiful beyond compare! I've had my eye on the ones that go up for bid but haven't pulled the trigger yet. But, I did go ahead and get a Toba's Fire. MS -might- be next. :)

    George - your grafting job is wonderful! I have only made one grafting attempt, and although it appears to have taken, it's not the prettiest. I just hope it is good enough for the tree to be healthy. Maybe in the future I will get the opportunity to try more grafting. I do fantasize about it often. :)

  • No-Clue
    9 years ago

    Jen, that's the most gorgeous MS I have ever laid eyes on! From everything I read about this plant I love it so much that I bought 2! One rooted and one grafted. Unfortunately, both are very young and small so I don't expect to see any blooms any time soon. In the mean time, we'll just admire yours!

    George, that's a gorgeous graft you did. I just made hubby do one this past weekend. We have no idea what we were doing LOL. I guess time will tell. :)

    Thanks for sharing the pics of grafts.

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    9 years ago

    Jen... Still looking at your beautiful tree!!

    I lost my inflo, but it branched into three.. So I'm happy.. I did cut another MS for a friend and sent it off.. The bottoms section is branching into five or six new stems.. This was one that had an awful dog legged right section.. I couldn't stake so a friend wanted one. So off it went.. Glad I could share the spirit!! I still have two others.. Lol. I love this variety and I'm So pleased to see your gorgeous blooms.. Bud really enjoyed the pics!! ;-)

    George.. Nice grafting. I'm ready to tackle it too!!

    Emily. I'll have some blooming during my final days.. I'll, say.." Is it open yet? ". ;-)

    Mona.. LMAO!! I also think ok ( fantasize ) about grafting.. Sheesh. I can't believe I said that!! But I would love to do a multi tipped tree.. That would be awesome... To funny.. ;-).

    Lynn.. Good luck on yours!! I am Sure it will work. My first try was on my California Sunset. I broke off a branch while I was Bringing it outside this spring.. I quickly ran and got my grafting tape.. Did a quickie and its doing great. I was so worried, but I think it's because we haven't tried it yet.. Once you do it, you feel better and more confident..

    Good night!!

    Laura.

  • barb13_gw
    9 years ago

    George, I agree great job grafting. That is something I need to try. Barb

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    9 years ago

    George, what do you use for a 'dwarfing' rootstock?

  • citizen_insane
    9 years ago

    Thank you guys. Dave, I use Manoa Pink for dwarfing rootstock. It stays compact and branches a lot (mostly 4's and 5's) and has a vigorous root system. It makes a nice base for compact pot plants. It is an expensive base though and hard to find. A 3-tip cutting sells for $35. I propagate it though with the intention of grafting on it so it is not that bad.

    George

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