Well, I am not going to say that anyone told you so, lol BUT.....
None of that argument makes sense, lol
Where is this person from?

Somewhere in the frozen north, like zone 5. I'm amazed someone is trying to protect plumeria from sun. Ah, that's why I live in Texas.
Tally HO!

Go ahead, say it, "I told you so".

Hey There!

As you know, I live down here on the coast in Rockport. Yea, lots of sand too, maybe not as much as Galveston, but sand in some places and clay in others.

Anyway, I am on the South Texas Botanical Gardens board, and we have a plumeria garden exhibit which is contracted out through The Plumeria Society of South Texas. Two of the officers on that board are friends of mine.

Well, Tally I have to agree with you about the plumerias. Every year The Plumeria Society of South Texas "put the plumerias to bed". Now I'm far from being an "expert" on plumerias, let alone on anything, but I disagree with this "ritual". My daughter lives in Hawaii and over the past 5 years, I've been out there at different times of the year and have observed the plumerias. (This past spring, I brought back a red one for Barbra a/k/a honeybunny.) Yes, they live outdoors year round, in the sun, in the shade, water, no water, no special treatment whatsoever, and they survive and look great. And yes, just like here on the mainland, they lose their leaves in the fall and remain bare until spring.

So after seeing how they grow out there, I decided to plant a bunch of them in the ground and the others that are in pots, I put into my greenhouse to overwinter. So far, they are all doing great. And a neighbor of mine that used to live in Hawaii, planted one in the ground 13+ years ago, and it is about 15' tall today. It even survived our Christmas 1984 6" snow storm we had here in Rockport. She is always cutting it back so I get to have the cuttings which I hand out to my gardening friends. It is a pretty yellow with dark pink center plumeria.

So I think that I have to agree that just to leave them alone and see how they do. They should adapt and become a more hardy strain for our Texas coast.

And Tally, like Jolana always tells me, stay here in Texas or you will be grounded! HA!

Oh Yeah?!? But will it grow in Ireland?? :-P.....Billy

OK, Yeah I agree that they ought to be able to grow and thrive along the coast of Texas. And I also agree that Ireland and much of Texas are supposed to be in similar zones. But, I've been in Galveston in the winter and I've been in Hawaii in the winter and they don't feel the same at all. The wind off the water in Hawaii is warm and moist and the wind off the Gulf is colder than a witches elbow!

I've never been to Ireland but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that it's zone 7 winters are way colder than the zone 7 winters in Texas, Simply becuase of the size of the landmass.

Southern California was one of the coldest places in winter I have ever been, not because of freezing temps, but because the wind off the pacific makes it feel colder than it really is. I was there one year in October for a 5 day conference and I think I went sterile from the freezing wind. I never did get warm that whole week, even wearing silk long johns under my uniform. The only place I've ever been that was colder in winter than Southern California was Seoul, Korea.

But I digress, since we were discussing places where plumerias can thrive. They can't survive here in the ground, I'm sure. But since you guys are all fairly well versed in plumeria culture, please fill me in. I have one thats about 5' tall and hasen't even started to think about branching. Is there a way to get it to branch?

Cheryl

Not really, they kind of just grow how they want. There is always a lot of discussion on how to make them branch. Sometimes if you cut them off they will. My moms wouldn't branch so she traded it to me for one that was. Hers then started branching out like crazy and she took it back. And kept mine.

There are several on the island that survived the 1983 freeze, 7 days below freezing, and are still alive and thriving.

I've been on the windward side of the islands in winter, and up at high elevations in winter on the Hawaiian islands and it gets pretty dang cold. Not nearly as cold as California-one of the coldest places I've ever been in the summer!-or Texas with one of those Canadian/Artic fronts blasting us, but cold enough for long-sleeves and a jacket.

I know a guy that lives in Alvin area that has tons of plumeria, I see him at the tropical sale every year, he grows all his inground and has never lost a single one. They survived Ike here on the island.

Buy a plumeria or better yet get one of us to send you a cutting. You'll love them. They grow great in pots for quite a few years, but better in the ground. You can always dig them up in winter and put them in a box or hang them upside down or some such silly thing.

I wandered off the island on Friday and had a good time shopping. Something I'm not big on. Went to the pet store, Lowe's, JCPenney, Walmart, Sams, all the fun places. Picked up amaryllis and amaryllis belladonna bulbs on clearance and some new cacti & succulents. Next week we're going to wander all the way to the Renaissance Festival! Off the island twice in two weeks.
Tally HO!

Have fun at the Ren Faire, Tally. At least yours is at a time of year when you can stand the weather.

The one up here runs from April to June, and most of the time, it is just HOT!

Cheryl,

Do you want/need a plumeria cutting?
The last big wind took the umbrella off the table and while I was trying to get it closed up it took a branch off one of my plumeria. Its yours if you'd like to have it.

Be sure to let it dry a couple of weeks before planting.

I'm thinking of letting it just be dormant until spring anyway. :) A few weeks from now won't it be too late to pot up? Hmmm... maybe it would be happier stuck in a pot about the same time I start on the winter sowing? (January)

What say you knowledgeable people?

As I was cutting off leaves in prep for dragging them all in the garage I decided to cut off another branch that wasn't growing in the direction I thought it should so I now have 2 plumeria cuttings--though I'm not sure of the color I didn't mark them back when they were blooming. :( I can say they are either pink or yellow.