I cant speak to any advantage other than for me it 1. makes it easier to stack pots once they come in and 2. keeps me from cleaning up handfuls of leaves as they fall. I just prefer to get it all done at once.

Mike

Hi Trishmick,

The only reason i cut off leaves is to store for winter. It cuts down on space when you have to fill a room with containers.. : )

If i only had a few, then i would let the leaves fall off naturally. This is the best for the trees ( to leave them on) But sometimes when you have many.. we need to cut down on space and force them to go dormant for the winter.

I don't believe it does anything to help with blooms for the year to come. Only properly fertilizing will bring out the blooms for next year. I have about 25 or so that i will let the leaves stay on and keep active this winter. The other.. have to go! Sad time, but neccessary for storage.

As far as you tree not blooming, sometimes they will not bloom every year. Some of the trees that bloomed for me last year were quiet this year. So it does happen.

You have a huge tree and a nice looking setup in your backyard!! Looks so tropical!!! What variety is your tree? is it a named tree or a Noid? Im sure it is beautiful...

Take care,

Laura

Laura, that is an "aztec gold" cutting from Cape Coral FL I got almost 10 yrs. ago now. It has grown quite large and difficult to move in and out of the house. It is actually missing 3 other branches. One of them I cut and repotted. It bloomed well this year, but is also getting too big for the house. I have 2 other cuttings from a tree that is growing next to the "parent" of those, that I planted next to my koi pond this year. They are still in the ground. My mother-in-law (the source for these cuttings) says those flowers are white, but I've never seen them in bloom...even when we go down there in March, since they are only just coming out of dormancy.
As for the yard, my intention was to get it looking as tropical as possible with living not imitation plants. It's not a large space, and much of it gets shade as the day progresses due to a large Maple. I first built the tiki bar, then added a Windmill palm, and bought other potted palms. Added bananas and voila, people walk through the arbor I built and decorated with driftwood and various clam shells (anything marine or nautical) into my backyard and feel like they're in the tropics. Fine by me...that was the game plan all along. But, the vegetation always had to be key. Nothing fake. Right now, the only things that stay in the ground are the Windmill and the many bananas.The Windmill is growing huge, and I mean, huge. About 8 ft. of trunk now and getting absolutely no protection the last few years. We are very close to the beach, so that helps. And the plumies...what can I say...if we had a bigger yard, I'd collect many more. I actually look forward all year to their bloom time. Sit at the bar with a pina colada or some good scotch on the rocks, tune in a radio station from Hawaii say, or the caribbean, on my wireless speaker, and there's no need to jump on a plane for the islands.
Amazed by all of your plants by the way...

trishmick, love the yard ! Even the little plastic house. Looks just like the small brightly colored houses you see in the islands. I bet the kids love it. Best house on the block. LOL Peg

There is always a need to jump a plane to the islands.

Very nice. have you considered pruning the maple to let more light in? Then you could get more Plumerias.

That looks like about a 15 gallon pot so it probably weighs about 80-90lbs and considering the height of the tree it probably is a bit of a struggle to bring inside. If its too tall, in the spring you could cut the large tree right above the first fork (of course root the cutting) and then let it start growing from there again. Then next year cut the other side of the fork to balance it back out. A tree that old will push out several branches at the cut. Only thing would be you will not have any blooms on the new growth until next year.

Trish, your yard is terrific--what a fun place to hang out! Your plumeria is fantastic, too, especially considering how long your winters are.

If your Aztec Gold didn't bloom this year, it may be too rootbound. Are those some roots at the top of the pot? Aztec is a very vigorous variety. If the roots haven't been trimmed back and repotted into a few inches of fresh soil in the last few years, that may be what's holding back your blooms.

In early spring you can pull the whole rootball out and pull or cut away the outside few inches of roots, which will quickly grow back, and refill the pot with new soil and a slow-release fertilizer.

Kms2 posted some photos of his repotting several months back, and his plants are even bigger than yours. He makes some good suggestions about pruning it gradually, and about pruning the maple above.

kms2

Agreed...there is always a need to jump on a plane to the Islands. If I had the wherewithall, I would, trust me. Back to The Baths on Virgin Gorda for starters.

Anyway, I had considered cutting this guy down and just starting from scratch, but my goal was to get it as large as possible. Wishful thinking as it turns out since, as you mentioned, it is becoming a real chore to move in and out of the house. Where exactly should I cut the branches above the fork? 1 inch, 2 inches, etc. to force new growth on the main trunk?

jandey

Those are indeed roots you see at the top of the pot. I had just transplanted it to that size since it was rootbound. Whenever I transplant something, I bust up the roots some. This one required extra effort. And, I also had to orient the plant on a "tilt" in its new pot so that it would stand up straighter, thus exposing a section of the top roots.

That plumie does not sit there during the growing season. It's over on the East side of the yard with the others next to my arbor, staggered in height, in an area I call "plumeria row". It's where my yard gets the most sunlight. As a result, most of my tropicals reside over there, so when you enter the yard you get hit with a lot of foliage. I have considered pruning the Maple in selected spots to provide more light to other areas of the yard. It's a big sucker, and very nicely shaped. Would be quite the project, so that's what's holding me back for now. But my sun-loving, beach-bumming ways will eventually win out.

Thanks for the advice. Also, I have a seedling from a few years ago given to me by a friend that is finally beginning to flower. No idea what type it is, but it's roughly four feet tall now, and certainly rootbound, even though I transplanted it this time last year. In the house, by one of my sunnier windows. Flower stalk is moving along very slowly. Should I just water this one, or maybe provide some fert? Eager to see the flowers...

I would cut it between 4 to 8 inches above the "v". Here is a comparable size cut due to storm damage.