It's me again with a question. DH came home from Hawaii with two red plumeria cuttings. Bless his heart. He knows my excitement about growing these beauties but knows nothing about choosing a cutting. The cutting is a bit soft mid way. top and bottom are firm. Here is is planted in the pot. I gave it a good drink and it has been sitting for about a week. In the day, it sits on the metal bumper for warmth. The gravel on top gets hot, too. At night I set it on the brick ledge and it takes in the convection of warmth while it lasts through the night. Our days are still near 90* Does it have a chance?? Hints and suggestions welcomed!

I've had a lot of cuttings that were a bit soft and would firm up in time, and I've had them go soft and then rot. But, those look good to me. I think the only thing I would worry about is the rocks getting too hot and burning the stem. Also, I don't put my cuttings in full sun for awhile, but I know people that do. If that's what works for you, then go for it!

That's good to know some of your soft cuttings have worked. I am new at this and not really considered successful with many cuttings. The last one grew 5-6 leaves then rotted on me. I tried in great vain to save it but failed. ChefMike told me Red is one of the hardest to root. So I have been reading up on planting techniques and combined quite a few ideas that made sense to me to prevent rotting. I thought they needed warmth to root? Seeds, cuttings, everything I read about them say to put them in direct sun. The rocks are to hold the cuttings stable as the roots I hear are quite fragile. But I also used the staking idea to hold them up. Overkill, perhaps? But I noticed the rocks got warm, too and assumed it would OK. I will move them away from the stem as they are not needed for stability. Probably, if I quit babying them and moving them between two locations, it would stay stable! I am a little Obsessive, I know this. Thanks for your opinions. You've given me hope. I am not to water again until they have 4 leaves, right?

I have had some success with rooting cuttings but I would not be considered an expert by any means. Once I got a little itty bitty sunburn on one of my cuttings that was in full sun but noticed it soon enough to keep the damage to a minimum. I do know some people will take a papertowel roll and put around the stem.

Bottom heat is great for cuttings, I guess you would say a necessity so they would do well sitting on that bumper. It's the sun in Texas I would worry about. One thing I will use to try to keep my cuttings stable is a chunk of styrofoam on each side of the cutting. Or use a stake. Truly, I really would worry about the rock but I think, being new to this forum and lots of different ways people root, I will refrain from giving you further advice and maybe someone else will come along and offer more.

Thanks, moonie. I would give you an acorn for your kind advice but I was told to keep collecting them for fabulous prizes. And you know I am all about the acorns! But from the looks of your pictures, you def have started waaaaay more cuttings than I have. So that makes you that much better at it than I. I will remove some of the rock and not make it as thick as one website said.

How did you do your other cuttings and did they do well?

How do you get fabulous prizes with the acorns? I just want some of those cool little badges.

My most recent cutting rotted. Badly. I planted it in soil. Nothing else. But it got rained on.

My first cutting 10 years ago did super good and I still have the tree. That was Beginner's Luck because I stuck it in the dirt outside and just left it. It went through several winters before I finally potted it and began treating it better. She still loves me.

I am new here, too. But you can earn these acorns by posting on the Plant Database or posting an idea. There are other ways, too. And I've just learned people can give others acorns. How cool is that! Go up there to "Your Profile" and see what collecting acorns is all about.

Badges cost 5 acorns so you have to work really, really hard at collecting acorns. They go as fast as real cash! I have been working as hard as a squirrel in the spring digging up all my acorns. Now they tell me you can win fabulous prizes in a raffle using your acorns? What fun!

Moonie I've sent you a 'starter-acorn' and now just get on with collecting more like Cheryl said!

Thanks for the acorn, I appreciate it!

Shady - I wished that I lived where I could decide whether or not I wanted my plumeria in the ground or in a pot!

Well, we do get the occasional good hard freeze and even snow in Houston. It's rare to snow but I have pictures to prove it. I choose to keep them in pots as they do like being kept warm in the winter and I have better control over that indoors. Some that have been planted in the ground and not winter-protected fail to thrive.

Shady,
Be careful placing gravel around your plumies. Here in our Texas heat & sun they will burn the plant.
Lonnie

Thanks, printmaster. I removed the gravel yesterday, placed it in a clay dish below the pot since moonie says bottom warmth is OK.

I saw 20 ft mature plumeria trees in the Yucatan. It was SO HOT there. The tree did not look pretty in the wild but I thought it could take a lot of heat since it was alive and flowering. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I will protect it more.

They do get large here in Yucatan, but it is also quite humid and rains in the hot season. In the winter, even though it is still warm it is not as humid and there is no rain. All but the native plumeria lose most of their leaves as if they were in a cold climate. Plumeria is called Flor de Mayo in spanish and they do have the most blooms in May. The ones out in the country that aren't watered in the winter don't look very good in the winter, they hold more leaves and look a lot better if they get some water during the dry season. Also, of course, they can handle a lot more heat when they are planted in the ground. I have my plumeria on a very hot roof which is full sun and reflected heat from the white floor. Mine do fine up there but I have to water them at least every other day and often every day.

Thanks for the info Jonna. You live in a very beautiful city! We got to see your City Hall and all the historical items within. Supposedly it would be closed by the then new Governor very shortly after our trip there in late May/early June, 2007. So that visit meant a lot to me. The people were very friendly, loving, and proud. I would love to return some day. My co-workers got a chance to go there on business. Maybe I will get to go paid by my boss!---I was shocked to see the plumeria tree amongst the rock and nothingness near the ruins. But I am sure it is well-watered being the cenote was so close by. And yes, it was in bloom. No leaves and blooming, much like a Tulip Magnolia. In fact I took many flower pictures while I was there and in Progresso. There was a particular large, orange flower that I was so impressed by. I think they were growing in trees. They really caught my eye!

It is a beautiful city, I'm glad you enjoyed it. You were in the building across from the cathedral with all the murals upstairs? That is open again, the mayor had the building renovated and the murals cleaned. I live about 6 blocks from the central square in the heart of the old city. We renovated a very old stone house with high ceilings and tile floors, we enjoy being in the middle of the city.

You were here at a good time to see a lot of flowers. The plumeria that are not white with a yellow center, there are several colors, start to bloom in the spring before they get leaves (the white ones bloom more then as well but they don't lose their leaves and bloom a little all year). It's a beautiful sight. The orange flowers on a tree could have been flamboyán (royal poinciana) or african tulip (Spathodea campanulata,). Both are quite common as street trees here (they get enormous) and the blooms on both are orange. The flamboyán blooms are a redder orange, profuse but smaller and cover the tree. The african tulip has a couple colors ranging from light orange to dark red/orange, my favorite is the light orange, exactly the color of the fruit. Those blooms are large and dot the tree rather than covering it. The flamboyán would just be beginning to bloom in May and the african tulip would be near the end for the season, it blooms in the winter.

Send me a message if you ever return, I would be happy to meet for lunch.

Update:
19 days later. Look at those leaves wanting to come out! Cross your fingers that something is happening under the soil. I know these reds don't like to root!






There is a sign on it for my husband. It reads:
NO WATER!
Zero
None
Zilch
Nada

They're looking good!

The soil is really, really, really dry. Should I moisten it a little?

You may take a mister and mist the cuttings if they start to dehydrate. The soil should be dry. Water will not do anything to make them root.

Ok thanks.