Hi, I bought a plumeria cutting while on our vacation in Hawaii back in February. It was from a grocery store, packaged in a plastic bag. About 4 wks ago I finally got it out to start rooting. It came with the instructions on the bag: "Soak the cut end of the cutting into a small container of water. Change water daily until roots appear. When roots appear to be plentiful, gently put cuttings approximately 3-4" deep into a container with porous soil,. Place 1-3" of gravel at bottom of container for best drainage. Place in a sunny and open location. Water until soil is soaked. Only water when soil is dry.Do not over-water. Leaves appear after the first year and blossoms in the second year." That's it. Does not explain how long it should take for the roots to appear. It' s been almost 4 wks and I do not see any roots forming. Actually, it seems like the bottom is starting to rot and its middle looks like it's drying out . But I've noticed that a few leaves are starting to form on the top (which is good, right?). Not sure what to do at this point. Is it possibly to save this cutting? Should I stick with the instructions or plant it into a soil before it's too late? Help!! I live in Nevada, we have plenty of sunshine. Someone mentioned to me the soft part could be the rot but this part is in the middle and if I cut it off I would be left with only two inches from the top. Not sure what to do before it's too late :-(

I have rooted hundreds of cuttings and never rooted one in water. Thus, I have no idea what to tell you. Those instructions that came with your plant run counter to everything I have ever learned or done.

If the plant is rotted in its midsection, I think it is a goner. Just my opinion.

how would I know if it is rotted? should I cut and check or if it is soft it is already rotted?

Stick a pin in it. If the sap is black it's a goner, if the sap is white you're ok. It could just be dehydrated.
I would take it out of the water and root in a perlite/soil mix.

The pin-prick test works but there is a vast difference in feel and look between "mushy" rot and dehydration. By the way, was that cutting in a sealed baggy or a baggy that could breath? I have never stored my cuttings in any sort of plastic but I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to store it for 4 months in a sealed plastic container. And we don't know how old the cutting was when you got it.

May I add some words ?

... in the middle of the rod, it seems this is dry because after 4 weeks, part of the water as been evaporated (rod dehydration), that's why it's soft, and this is wrinkled and most probably not rot. I would not be afraid too much.

Looking to the bottom, it looks like if there are some roots departure. I agree with previous comments, the rooting process in water .. is a bit Dangerous (this is working with Pudica, I've done it) but to be avoid with RUBRA's.

If you root in a transparent plastic bag with a perlite/soil mix this will take perhaps a few months ... putting some hormone could help .. From my side, I root in plastic bottles .. not bad. Plastic bag is better and now I proceed like that.



At the left, this cutting is almost 1 year 1/2, (18 months) it has "refused" to root, I've been oblige to cut a bit, but now seems to be OK to grow .. LOL. The second one with the blue stick, is almost one year old, also oblige to cut ... but now that's ok, in a dry perlite sustrat. Some leaves are growing. But normaly the rot process is taking a few months (from 2 to 4 or 5) .. See bellow.

I can tell you what I would do !! First I squeeze the cutting from one end to the other ..It should be hard with no mush ..If it is hard I would cut the rooting end back until I got nice clean wood with white sap.If It were squishy in the center I would stick it with a pin and see what comes out..If it were rotton in the center I would cut the rot out depending on how long the cutting is ..Then once you have a good section Dry it for a week to 10 days and then stick it in your rooting media..

Your very last attempt would be taking a sharp knife and cut the rot off then let the clean end dry (in A/C of your home) for a week. Then try to root the remaining end in perlite-no watering. I have tried this with a 3" cutting. I had no luck but always worth a try to save your souvenir.

Hi, yes sometime I don't know why the cuttings refuse to root ... after cuting, cuting, and cuting the very last try is to graft. I've done it 2 times last year, and lucky man it works !!. The smallest I graft is less than one inch ... And I have done it on a seedling from the same year ... Lucky man I am...

ShadyGreenThumb said:Your very last attempt would be taking a sharp knife and cut the rot off then let the clean end dry (in A/C of your home) for a week. Then try to root the remaining end in perlite-no watering. I have tried this with a 3" cutting. I had no luck but always worth a try to save your souvenir.

I have never had any luck rooting anything less that perhaps 6" long. I never even thought about grafting those really short cuttings/broken tips. I have many dozens of great root-stock plumeria, so next time I have to deal with a short plant, I'll graft it. I just have to keep up with my labeling when grafting. The scion needs to be properly labeled.

That is an impressive graft mbndupuy! Good save!

dropofrain, if it were mine, I would feel the cutting and cut off the rotting part, to try and save the rest. One of the things I have learned with cuttings. callus the cut off part, plant in a well draining media, water thoroughly the first time and leave it alone in part shade and warm area. The shade part is important, the plant is still acclimating. Till I see at least one fully opened leaf will I resume watering again. Sometimes some cuttings just take much longer to root. I know Nevada heat and temps are much more intense and drier than ours, so be very careful that it does not bake in heat. Plants will normally shut down further when temps are soaring to triple digits, so it will take its time and wait till temps are much better like in the low to mid 80's range before it resumes growing again.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I just wanted to give you an update. I wasn't brave enough to cut anything off, just tested with a pin like others suggested and the sap was white. So... I got a rooting hormone and a perlite/soil mix and planted my cutting into a plastic bottle. it seems to be happy and you could clearly see new leaves forming. I haven't seen any signs of roots yet but I am excited it may survive! With the fall weather coming, any suggestions on when to bring it inside of the house?

I want all my plumeria inside when the temperatures begin to get into the 40's. The plants will handle temperatures above freezing, but I would rather ere on the side of caution.

dropofrain said:Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I just wanted to give you an update. I wasn't brave enough to cut anything off, just tested with a pin like others suggested and the sap was white. So... I got a rooting hormone and a perlite/soil mix and planted my cutting into a plastic bottle. it seems to be happy and you could clearly see new leaves forming. I haven't seen any signs of roots yet but I am excited it may survive! With the fall weather coming, any suggestions on when to bring it inside of the house?

Hi every body, so finally it was only too dry ... let it enough time to root ... could be a few weeks up to more than one year !!! Let it in a warm place, and light, but no direct sun. Don't be impatient just keep it wet !!!

Michel

I am so excited about new leaves and growth but just came across some posts saying that plumerias must be kept dormant during the winter (?) I am not sure what to do now. I don't know for sure if my cutting has any roots (haven's seen any yet). Do I keep it active as long as possible? Do I need to keep it inside in a dark room and cut the leaves off like others are saying?? Should I stop watering now? How do I winterize this cutting without killing it? I know it's a lot of questions.

It will go dormant all by itself; will drop its leaves and stop growing. If you have leaves now the chances are good that you have roots.
Once it has entered dormancy it will require nothing from you (no light, no fertilizer, no water) except to keep it frost-free - until spring.

When you say root in perlite, no watering - does that mean DRY perlite? I have read to wet down the perlite and then plant, and then not water again until there are leaves. But sometimes it seems like the advice is to root in a completely dry medium - can that be?

I have a cutting that I bought (potted), thinking it was a rooted plant. When I went to re-pot it, it had NO roots whatsoever, apparently just had a blooming branch hacked off and stuck into dirt. The end in the dirt is still nice and solid but all the branches are wrinkled and a little soft.

It was SO pretty. Blossoms very tiny and delicate, white with pink, or pink with white. Tag on it says "Fire on Ice". I really hope it will make it! Any advice to help me save it?

Yes, dry perlite is fine, but it might be nice to wet it a bit; it will give the stick more stability.
If you want to root your cutting, you will have to sacrifice that inflorescence. At this time of year it will need all the energy it can get to root.

Thank you!

Do cuttings like grow lights? I have my rescue and some new cuttings bagged on a heat mat, near an east facing sliding glass door. Should I keep the blinds open for afternoon sun or closed for just light and warmth? I do also have a grow light if it would help.

How do you cut off the inflo? Right at its stem, or a bit higher? My cuttings has FIVE inflos. It's going to kill me to cut them!

If it roots, will it grow a new inflo there?

I pricked my wrinkly branches, and there is white sap. How do I rehydrate the tips without roots?

It would also kill me to cut off the five inflos, but be assured that those are draining the life out of your cutting. The inflo will not regrow but your plant will likely branch below the inflo, so you have more chances of blooms next time around.
Cut the inflo off about an inch above where they start; the remaining nub will fall off by itself.

I would soak the entire cutting in a tub of water for 24 hour; that will rehydrate it a bit.

Good luck. Oh and yes, a grow light will be good considering we are entering fall and shorter days.