Plumeria finally flowering but stunted leaves??

[JeffM]

My in-ground plumie has had a very late start to this flowering season and the leaves have not fully emerged/developed.  I’m wondering if this is because of our cool wet winter and long cool spring?  

[Silas_Sancona]

9 hours ago, JeffM said:

My in-ground plumie has had a very late start to this flowering season and the leaves have not fully emerged/developed.  I’m wondering if this is because of our cool wet winter and long cool spring?  

Nice Plumeria..

A couple questions before my thoughts..

Which part of CA are you located?  -General area.. No need to share an exact location if you don't wish to share..  Seeing the Leucospermum / other Protea-Family plants in the background makes me think somewhere closer to the coast?

Fertilizing schedule? / -if you use any-  and what is used ( NPK Ratio ) ..This is important for both the Plumeria and Proteaceae plants surrounding it


If in an area of the state that was cooler longer than other areas, the " late start " caused by the prolonged cooler weather this year is possible, though most  Plumeria cultivars will respond to -even a couple weeks of normal / warmer than normal temps- pretty quickly.

There are some cultivars that will flower before  they push a new set of leaves though..  Even in always warm S. FL. certain cultivars a grower i'd purchase plants from did this. Sometimes, it can come down to the individual specimen.. ( Plant two " Aztec Gold " next to each other and one always pushes foliage first, before flower inflos., every year, while plant #2 does the opposite -most years- )

Fertilizer can also effect how / when Plumeria flower, esp if the fertilizer contains too much Phosphorus / too little K = Potassium..  That said,

To my eye, the plant looks healthy, so i'm thinking it is getting what it wants, but is running a little late due -in part - to weather, and the particular cultivar's nature. 

Basing it solely off the flowers, reddish-looking emerging foliage, and color of the wood ( Stems / trunk ) casual guess, unless you remember which.. but yours might be " Celadine " ..or maybe a seedling w/ strong Celadine traits.  While most specimens of that cultivar will push foliage ahead of.. or as the flowers emerge,  there are some specimens that will do the opposite some years..

This could be one of those odd years your particular specimen of that cultivar decided to push the flowers first, when it does the opposite most years..

Hope this helps and welcome..
 

[Josue Diaz]

I would double check the roots. I'm in Fresno so I get a lot of heat, and all of my in-ground plants leafed out as soon as we warmed. I did have one that lagged like yours and just put out claws that never developed into full grown leaves - when I went to check the roots I noticed they had rotted over winter and the bottom portion of the stem was dried out. My plant was basically a cutting sticking out of the ground. 

[aztropic]

53 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

I would double check the roots. I'm in Fresno so I get a lot of heat, and all of my in-ground plants leafed out as soon as we warmed. I did have one that lagged like yours and just put out claws that never developed into full grown leaves - when I went to check the roots I noticed they had rotted over winter and the bottom portion of the stem was dried out. My plant was basically a cutting sticking out of the ground. 

Spot on!!! Your plants roots have rotted,and it's trying to re establish! No spring growth is a bad sign,and you can only wait so long before diagnosing to provide treatment, or lose the specimen.🤷‍♂️ 

This late in the season, I would take at least 1 good cutting to root if you want to continue this plants heritage. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona