Plumeria var. "Stick"

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Ok so my plumeria looks like a stick. It's

Growing fine, putting out new leaves at the top. My question is, aside from chopping it in half is there a way to nudge the trunk towards branching below the existing fork? Can a clean incision in the trunk cause it to branch?  Any input is appreciated

 

[Silas_Sancona]

38 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Ok so my plumeria looks like a stick. It's

Growing fine, putting out new leaves at the top. My question is, aside from chopping it in half is there a way to nudge the trunk towards branching below the existing fork? Can a clean incision in the trunk cause it to branch?  Any input is appreciated

 

More than likely, you'll get one or two dormant nodes to produce new growth if you cut it below where it has branched..  That's it..  You also will prolong the time it takes to ever see flowers.  That looks looks like a taller cultivar, so it will just get tall again later.  Wash, rinse, repeat w/ repeated trimming = you'll never see it flower. 

For those who want  Dwarf or " Patio- type " Plumeria,  they're are cultivars that can stay under 10ft in height ( some newer ones from Thailand only reach 4ft ) and exhibit denser branching structure out there, if you know where to look.. Some are not cheap either.

Here's an example of a true dwarf cultivar offered by a long time Plumeria grower. Some other dwarf cultivars available for sale on their site as well.  ** Image credits to.. and courtesy of..   Brad's Buds and Blooms ** 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

8 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

More than likely, you'll get one or two dormant nodes to produce new growth if you cut it below where it has branched..  That's it..  You also will prolong the time it takes to ever see flowers.  That looks looks like a taller cultivar, so it will just get tall again later.  Wash, rinse, repeat w/ repeated trimming = you'll never see it flower. 

For those who want  Dwarf or " Patio- type " Plumeria,  they're are cultivars that can stay under 10ft in height ( some newer ones from Thailand only reach 4ft ) and exhibit denser branching structure out there, if you know where to look.. Some are not cheap either.

Thanks man, that's honest stuff right there. I'd purchased this at a local nursery on a whim. I'll probably just let it do it's stick thing for now.

 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

So the stick continues upward but looks much nicer with a crop of leaves also pushing a inflo They were smallish and white last year with not much in the way of scent. Are inflorescence on new cuttings indicative of later blooms or do they change? @Silas_Sancona I also took your advice and picked up a couple of dwarf varieties from jungle jacks,sunsplash and divine. hopefully these will be better bets for my container ranch

[Silas_Sancona]

6 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

So the stick continues upward but looks much nicer with a crop of leaves also pushing a inflo They were smallish and white last year with not much in the way of scent. Are inflorescence on new cuttings indicative of later blooms or do they change? @Silas_Sancona I also took your advice and picked up a couple of dwarf varieties from jungle jacks,sunsplash and divine. hopefully these will be better bets for my container ranch

Nice choices.. Ned to get each of these from them as well..  As much as i like taller cultivars, the shorter ones like Divine and Grace ( which may be Jack's Compact Yellow ) are great for limited space, or shorter specimens in the garden. ..Easier to move indoors to overwinter in colder areas too.

As for the other Plumeria.. Some cultivars can have flowers that change color between when they first flower, to the 2nd or 3rd year they flower.. That said, that is mainly seen w/ seedling plants vs. those started from cuttings ..on which the flowers typically stay true to whatever plant they came from. 

There are instances where the flower color on some cultivars can be influenced by cooler or hotter weather..  Hotter weather will usually bring out more intense coloration, while flowers that might open when it is cool may be lighter in color.  A few cultivars can be influenced by temperature enough that one could swear the plant flowering was completely different from what had been purchased. " Kimo", " Penang Peach ",  and / or " Dr. Brown / Musk Rainbow " come to mind as examples.

Here's a couple examples of how heat can influence flower color:

" Jean / Jeanie Moragne.. "

Flowers opened during your typical warm, but humid weather at the time ( in FL. ) Pretty intense coloration as - is.



About a week later, weather got a lot drier and hot.. As you can see, extra heat brought out the yellow coloration in the petals / intensified the red/ pink coloration.



Pretty sure this is " Tex Huestis "  ..Flowers are usually clear bright white w/ a nice gold throat / center ( 1st picture )..  Same few days of extra heat / drier air brought out the subtle  pink " blush " in the flowers / caused the yellow center to fade into, and spread out onto the petals more ( 2nd picture ).

[N8ALLRIGHT]

As always thank you for the detailed response! We may not be Texas hot but it's close, been mid 90s for a while now. Fingers crossed the blooms color up a smidge I'll post them when it opens 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

As always thank you for the detailed response! We may not be Texas hot but it's close, been mid 90s for a while now. Fingers crossed the blooms color up a smidge I'll post them when it opens 

Oh i remember summers in Kansas pretty vividly, haha..  There's at least a couple years while living in both Topeka and Lawrence i remember it getting to about 102F in July or early August ..combined w/ 60% ( or more ) humidity during the day,   then waking up to what looked like a literal Hurricane passing through outside at 1 or 2am.. Or closing the bar i'd worked at in Lawrence around the same time during the same surprise summer storms..  Good times.

 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Yep weather here is nuts. Maybe 10 years ago I remember seeing -17 in January and 113 that summer, these were unofficial temps just observed on my Malibu's dashboard. The low at my house that morning when I left my house was -5, but as I went down into the valley to the powerhouse I was working on, cold sink, and it dropped rapidly. Then the high temp I saw late afternoon on the way home from a different job site  was in the middle of I-70 , asphalt was cooking! Nothing official but close enough.

I used to hang in Lawrence alot in the 90s, fun town 

Edited July 6, 2022 by N8ALLRIGHT
Misspelled

[Silas_Sancona]

41 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Yep weather here is nuts. Maybe 10 years ago I remember seeing -17 in January and 113 that summer, these were unofficial temps just observed on my Malibu's dashboard. The low at my house that morning when I left my house was -5, but as I went down into the valley to the powerhouse I was working on, cold sink, and it dropped rapidly. Then the high temp I saw late afternoon on the way home from a different job site  was in the middle of I-70 , asphalt was cooking! Nothing official but close enough.

I used to hang in Lawrence alot in the 90s, fun town 

Craziest thing i recall.. Well, there's a few, but,  There was a day in October of ..2001, i think.. When it was warm/ humid  in the morning before a front came through.  Few hours later, Temperature dropped something like 30 deg.  and there was fog rolling into town ( West side of Lawrence ) off of Clinton Lake and they had freezing fog advisories up..  Think that was the same year as the big Ice storm we saw that winter.. Which was crazy itself..  Never forget the sight of 10ft Icicles hanging from the roof of my Apartment building the day after the storm moved out or the layers of ice and snow i had to remove from my car, lol..



Curious, ..Earlier or later in the 90's? ..and did you ever frequent a famous ( ..or infamous, lol..  )  bar at the south end of Massachucetts St.  ..Particularly on Thursday or Friday nights?

When i moved to Topeka ( Late 90's ) went into Lawrence w/ some co workers at the time one night that summer.. Went to several places but one in particular became my " home away from home " for awhile..  ..before i moved to Lawrence for a few years later.    Would also venture up to KC w/ some friends in Lawrence every so often.  Definitely a fun town..

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Mid to early 90s,was really into the music scene back then. Mostly punk and thrash and Lawrence had multiple venues, but spent the most time at the bottleneck or the outhouse, it was always a long drive back  young dumb and stupid!

[N8ALLRIGHT]

I remember that ice storm well,6 days no power, luckily I didn't have kids then. I slept in my carhartts, missed three days of work because of an inch+ of ice covering everything. But I had beer and a chainsaw,lots of work 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Mid to early 90s,was really into the music scene back then. Mostly punk and thrash and Lawrence had multiple venues, but spent the most time at the bottleneck or the outhouse, it was always a long drive back  young dumb and stupid!

  How funny.. i'll bet we  knew some of the same people since most of the staff either worked at the 'Neck and Granada, or frequented both places often..   Would make appearances at the Bottleneck every so often for shows / to help set up lights and sound, or when either place needed supplies the other had more of ( We always took most of their supply of Limes, haha )

Have to say ..didn't mind the drive between Lawrence and Topeka when i lived there, except the night i got my mom's car stuck in a ditch during a snow storm, out by Stull.. Long story short.. I'd tried to change the oil on my car that evening ( was raining and freezing cold and had like 4 layers of clothes on )  before going out and ended up dumping the oil pan all over myself while trying to tighten the filter.  ..so i took her car that night, haha..  Anyway,  still wish i had a phone to record what happened when someone stopped and gave me a ride back to the house.. No one i knew believed the story, but i'll swear on a bible to this day i didn't make anything up  ... and yes, lol.. i was completely sober.. Didn't drink much at that time.

Worst drive i remember was driving between Topeka and Longview Lake out by Lee's Summit to see someone i was dating at the time..  Then again, someone else i dated while i lived in Topeka was going to school up by St. Joseph..  Most of my friends lived and worked somewhere between Lawrence and downtown KCMO, and i had a 2nd job in Overland Park for a time when i first moved to Lawrence ..so i got used to driving all over the place..

 

31 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

I remember that ice storm well,6 days no power, luckily I didn't have kids then. I slept in my carhartts, missed three days of work because of an inch+ of ice covering everything. But I had beer and a chainsaw,lots of work 

We had power the whole time thankfully, but remember watching the ice accumulate on the stairs / balcony of my apartment, while counting lightning flashes when it started.. Before it snowed, then really iced over..  Remember seeing everything covered in Ice the the morning after,  and driving up to Overland Park after all the roads were cleared and seeing  trees down everywhere.. One of the craziest weather- related things i've ever seen. 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

I lived in Independence during that storm. It was an older part of town (all the electric service was strung overhead) I don't recall the exact time the power went out but I went outside and sat in my truck and watched transformers exploding in all directions,it was extra spectacular reflecting off the low storm clouds, kinda like an extra low altitude lightning storm in greenish blue. All the while trees snapping and popping in all directions. I knew I wasn't going to work 

 

Edited July 7, 2022 by N8ALLRIGHT
Misspelled

[Silas_Sancona]

On 7/6/2022 at 7:31 PM, N8ALLRIGHT said:

I lived in Independence during that storm. It was an older part of town (all the electric service was strung overhead) I don't recall the exact time the power went out but I went outside and sat in my truck and watched transformers exploding in all directions,it was extra spectacular reflecting off the low storm clouds, kinda like an extra low altitude lightning storm in greenish blue. All the while trees snapping and popping in all directions. I knew I wasn't going to work 

 

Knew a group of people who'd come down from Independence pretty regularly.. We'd rag on each other about Mizzou and K.U. during Football and Basketball season, but were always united on dislike of K State ( Always surprised me how many people would travel to Lawrence from Manhattan on the weekends )


If i remember right, that storm happened at the start of a week ..so i don't think i had to work ( no scheduled events until that Thursday ) but think i did go in anyway to work on lighting programs / that week's dj set after i was able to dig the car out..

Had the power die a couple times during nights we were packed, and during a couple shows.. during summer storms though.  Remember the basement flooding after the sump died one night and everyone had to help move kegs and other stuff in boxes down there that wasn't up on shelves. Talk about the opening scene to some cult classic slasher movie, haha..  No one ever wanted to go down there for anything.

Good times..

[N8ALLRIGHT]

On 7/5/2022 at 8:44 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Pretty sure this is " Tex Huestis "  ..Flowers are usually clear bright white w/ a nice gold throat / center ( 1st picture )..  Same few days of extra heat / drier air brought out the subtle  pink " blush " in the flowers / caused the yellow center to fade into, and spread out onto the petals more ( 2nd picture ).

Dude you're a F'n clairvoyant!

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Midday sun might be better to show the pink blush but I get home in the afternoon. Blossoms are bigger than last year and colored up to boot! Not good at describing the scent other than kinda sun tanny? Certainly smells good, didn't have any discernable scent last year 

[Silas_Sancona]

28 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Dude you're a F'n clairvoyant!

 

23 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Midday sun might be better to show the pink blush but I get home in the afternoon. Blossoms are bigger than last year and colored up to boot! Not good at describing the scent other than kinda sun tanny? Certainly smells good, didn't have any discernable scent last year 

  Honestly,  isn't the first time i was told that haha..


Will say though unless it was labeled when you purchased, it could be one of several white flowered cultivars.. or a seedling of one..  That said, pretty sweet it is showing similar first glance traits to the cultivar i used as an example..   " Sun Tan Lotion " scent is legit for describing the scent of various cultivars.. Is often lumped into the same category as w/ Coconut  or Vanilla scented varieties as well..  

 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

@Silas_Sancona, the stick is sick 

So we've had horrible g@) d@#π F'n japanese beetles, been eating my hibiscus,cannas, bananas etc. They also like plumeria flowers  . So rather than have the horde eat my flowers,I hit them with some imidacloprid. Only on the blossoms as they were not interested in the leaves. Also in the past week the heat wave has broken and we've received some much needed rain, about 2 to 3 inches. The stick basically overnight has gone from the picture from 10 days ago to limp leaves and wilting blossoms. My 2 plumeria from jungle jacks are chugging along fine if that helps, although there soil is coarser. 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

@Silas_Sancona, the stick is sick 

So we've had horrible g@) d@#π F'n japanese beetles, been eating my hibiscus,cannas, bananas etc. They also like plumeria flowers  . So rather than have the horde eat my flowers,I hit them with some imidacloprid. Only on the blossoms as they were not interested in the leaves. Also in the past week the heat wave has broken and we've received some much needed rain, about 2 to 3 inches. The stick basically overnight has gone from the picture from 10 days ago to limp leaves and wilting blossoms. My 2 plumeria from jungle jacks are chugging along fine if that helps, although there soil is coarser. 

 

Looks thirsty.. though if you got a good downpour within the last 24-36 hours, the flower inflo should be standing back up..  When checking it to see if the soil got soaked, also be sure the pot it is in is draining well, and gently press against various spots along the stem(s) to make sure they are firm and not soft.  Wonder if spraying then w/  imidacloprid may have caused them to wilt..  Surprised Japanese Beetles would even bother w/ the plant since they produce a toxic ( to bugs ) latex, similar to Milkweed ( Plumeria and Oleander are in the sister - family to Milkweeds as well ).. Would think one taste would be enough to deter any more chewing.

In pots, chunkier soil, like what i'm assuming the plants from JJ came in, is best compared to a soil mix that has greater than 35% organics ( Peat Moss, Compost, etc ) in it..  Honestly, the only organic component i'll use in my soil mix for potted things is Coconut Peat since it takes quite sometime to break down / doesn't turn into root killing muck like compost and Peat Moss can as they break down.

Turface MVP,  Pumice,  ..Not Perlite,.. and either small Lava Rock, ( or grit i collect from washes here ) make up the other 65% of the soil mix i put together ( the Chunky stuff that allows excess water to drain off / enough space for oxygen to circulate through the soil mix.

One thing i can tell you for sure is next spring, it will be time to step the tall Plumeria into a bigger pot.. 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

I make up the soil for our pots out of turface,coco coir,and topsoil. Roughly 1 to 1 to 1 by volume. It's pretty chunky, but I'd be willing to up the turface. My precision " finger" test felt a little moisture but not overly wet.  I wasn't sure if too much water was bad for plumeria? The bug spray has me wondering? 

Thanks 

[Silas_Sancona]

16 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

I make up the soil for our pots out of turface,coco coir,and topsoil. Roughly 1 to 1 to 1 by volume. It's pretty chunky, but I'd be willing to up the turface. My precision " finger" test felt a little moisture but not overly wet.  I wasn't sure if too much water was bad for plumeria? The bug spray has me wondering? 

Thanks 

Yep,  soil that stays too wet can be bad..  Could give it a little more, just to be sure,  then let it dry for several days.. Sounds like the watering it received from the rain was good so, maybe the bug spray caused it? Scratching my head..  ..If it was just needing a little more water, the Inflo should perk up in a day or two.  Some cultivars do produce inflows that will weep or hang a little, but yours doesn't seem to be one of those.