Very Interesting.....mahalo, roxanne

Thanks for observations.

I think when my little girl gets bigger and and I have a bit more free time, I may plant more plumerias directly into the soil. It will take more time to dig up and I just don't have that time right now.

Currently I am 'pot-planting', that is, sinking the pots. The roots do grow out of the drainage holes and that helps a lot, but on several, they just did not send roots out and suffered as a result. The best blooming ones had extensive roots or were recently up-potted to larger pots where the roots had lots of room.

Barbra,

I may do the same thing next year, or at least change the pots in all of mine, because I've got a couple that didn't grow well, also.

Dave, I did not want to grow these cuttings, they were the result of windstorms, trees breaking branches that fell and broke my plumeria. I did not have anymore gritty mix, so I just stuck them in the ground. They were so small I never thought they would survive, but they rooted. I did not even use root tone, I was surprised. I lost the cuttings, that I got at the PSA sale in July that I had in gritty mix and water bottles. Wish I would have stuck them in the ground. Like I said its a learning experience. I have no trouble rootting cutting in the spring, but never could root plumeria during the summer, until now. Whats strange is the ones in the ground get watered by a sprinkler system every other day, that is why I am so surprised they rooted. Barbra

I've seen lots of anecdotes about the "mother tree" effect, how a cutting will root easily if just shoved into the same pot with a mature tree, whether it's the mother tree or not.

Maybe the root system of the mature tree wicks moisture away from the cutting, or there are beneficial microorganisms in its root system that help keep down the fungus that causes rot.

Good to know that it works with ground-grown plants, too. We can all learn from each others' mistakes; may as well get some good out of our small tragedies!

Barbra, we just took a huge tree out of our back yard so there's more space for the plumies, LOL! I'll be putting as many as I can in the ground next year. Will save me a small fortune on pots and potting soil!

Jen congratulations! On your new garden space. I can't wait until our next SA Austin Plumeria meeting. I cannot explain why, but I put the broken stem with the mother plant., and for some reason they root. I have no explaination, except it must be magic!. I did want to share this with everyone who grows in Texas. Barbra

Ok I'll add my lesson learned. I was pulling plants out in spring and found my largest tree had roots (small feeder roots) growing about 10 inches out of the pot. It was a top heavy tree so I had put it into a plastic bucket for the winter to hold it upright. It must have liked the dampness of the plastic and continued to grow roots. I didn't have the heart to cut those nice roots off so slipped it out of it's pot into the bigger one. I was surprised how easy it went. Well it was developing inflos on most tips and probably because of what I did it started aborting them. It kept only one but I watched bud after bud dry up and fall off. I did finally get a couple of blooms and one or two are still coming. Live and learn :(
Peg

Peg,
Barbra swears by the "double container" that you just wrote about by putting a pot in a bucket. Its roots come right out and just swirl around in the outside container. She said she has done it with glass jars and tumblers as well. I think it creates a warm humid micro-climate.

Thanks for the info "K". I think she might be right. I guess I should have just left it that way for the summer.

Barbra - I love the idea of planting the cuttings in with the mom but how in the world do you get it back out without leaving the roots behind? And do you let it callus first?
Peg

Peg, they are callused by the time I find them, sometimes even wrinkled. I still have them next to their moms, they are thriving. They are planted in the ground, so there will be no problem digging them up , keeping the roots intact. They should fit perfect in a 1 gallon pot. This month, I will dig up, and give them away. I have no desire to store them this winter. Thank goodness for plant swaps. Barbra