Hetty, or anyone else with this knowledge, how do you label seedlings? Even though the seeds come from a "parent" plant, their DNA cannot possibly be exactly the same as that plant. They had to have been pollinated (by the wind, insect, or by hand) from a different plumeria plant, and thus the seedlings by their very nature are a different plant. The flowers may be the similar or even look exactly the same as the parent plant, but the plant nonetheless will not be the same.

I have never grown plumeria from seed or bought a seedling (as far as I am aware), so I just wondered how the labeling is done. Thanks for the info. Ken

You are correct that seedlings cannot be given the same name as the parent plant (although some vendors do). They do NOT come true to the parent plant. I label mine 'Candy Stripe S' (for Candy Stripe seedling) until it has been deemed worthy of a name of its own!

Ah, ha. So, if the flower is different from the parent plant, you can actually put your/a name on it. That's neat. So, at that point, you drop the "S", huh? What if the flowers appear exactly like the parent? Does it always carry the "S" mark? That's where Madame Gallibert came from, right?

A seedling is NEVER the same as the parent even if it looks similar. This is the big difference between sexual (from seed) and a-sexual propagation (the latter being from cuttings etc.).

I meant that even though the "trunk" and leaves may be identical looking (of the parent), if the flowers are different you get to name the plant, such as your Madame Gallibert.

I label mine initially based on the "seedpod parents" this makes it easy for me to identify the "female parents" regardless of which "male parents" cross pollinated them. Since I have 65 seedlings I keep track by using the labeler sticker with the name of the seedpod parent. It will be a couple years or so before I expect to see any blooms from these.

The hybridizers can track both parents because they do "manual cross pollination" or "hand pollination" and nurture the seedpods in a controlled environment. This way, they have better success in making unique plants.

Sounds like a lot to keep up with, but if you get to put a name on some of them, how great that must be. I guess I will just continue to take cuttings and root them. The 4 dozen plumeria plants I have, plus the 400 or so orchids and hundreds of miscellaneous tropical plants keeps me far too busy as it is. Besides, I don't think I have ever seen a seed pod on one of my plants, perhaps because they only have approximately 7 months growing time. Thanks for the additional information, Gigi.

Yes, to be honest I stopped collecting and planting seeds. The 2 years + wait before it will bloom scared me. i don't have the time to care for them for that long and I certainly don't have a place to store them when it gets cold.

I got my first seeds from my neighbors, she gave me half of her seedpod. I planted half of them and several rotted and only 4 survived because I didn't know how to germinate them. The 2nd half I had more success, germination rate was at least 70%. Then I got hooked and bought a few packets on sale (less than $1 to $2) seeds from BBB but my germination rate was high I ended up with now a total of 65 seedlings.

It's hard to envision - when you have a package of seeds in your hands - that those will all be trees eventually

I didn't know if I was going to laugh or cry when the majority of seeds that I planted germinated my husband was shocked, he said I was growing a forest! I am still keeping the majority of them in smaller pots so they look stunted for 1 year old seedlings. The ones I replanted this spring in bigger pots are 1.5 feet tall. yikes!

Gigi, I twitched when I read that you have "65" seedlings. Oh my!!!! You've got your own plumeria nursery you've got to share your secret about your success in getting the seedlings to germinate.

Annette, it is very easy. I grow them indoor on the south facing sun. I have more success using the "jiffy pellets seedling starter" than "burpee" or "dirt". The good thing about using the pellets is that they transplant easy (with roots intact) and I can easily control the watering so the seeds won't rot.

The burpee pellets can grow big seedlings but per my experience it gets moldy, which never happened on the jiffy pellets.

Good to know about the best brand of pellets for sowing the seeds. I would love to see the blooms when your plants mature.

A blast from the past how my plumeria jungle started. I will have to update this with pictures of the blooms of my seedlings from this original thread.

I started my Plumeria hobby in late April with rooted plants and cutting donations from friends. Bought 2 10 packs of seeds. Decided that I did not want to mess with disturbing seedling roots to move to a larger pot.
I used the tiny peat pots and while they were dry punched 20 or 25 holes in the side with my moisture meter probe. Then I punched 5 to 8 in the bottom. Filled with my soil mix and inserted in the middle of a prepared with soil mix 0.8 gallon pot. Did 5 seeds at a time with wet paper towel soaking for 8 hoursand then into the mini peat pot center. 13 of 15 germinated. First 5 are 12 inches tall with 5 to 7 leaves and 1/2 inch diameter trunks. Second 5 are about 6 inches tall with 3 or 4 small leaves and 1/4 inch diameter. Last 5 are just getting real leaves and about 3 inches tall. Each group of 5 were planted about 2 weeks apart. My logic was that after they get a lot of leaves, I will just water the outside circle of soil and the roots will grow towards the moisture source and find all of those little 3/16 inches holes!

You are doing it right. Would love to see your seedling baby pics here.

I have to admit it, I have been very lax lately with my seedlings since I have too many. But I want to see them bloom so I have been keeping them in pots and I do not give non blooming seedlings any more. I kept getting questions on when will it bloom? how can I make them bloom? even with full disclosure that they were seed grown so might take years for them to bloom.

Tag says seedling of Sariah's Curly 8/2012. This is the first year bloom and usually curls will come second or third blooming cycle (this grew as twin branches from the base and is now 4 feet tall)



Second blooming cycle, tag says seedling of Maui's Beauty 8/2012 (this is currently 7 tip (5 feet tall)



This is "Starry Dust" Tag says seedling of Stardust 2/2013 (5 feet tall tree)



This is "Sampaguita's Curly", Tag says seedling of Sariah's Curly 8-2012 (8 feet tall tree generous branching)

It is so neat for you to have kept the tags with seed-pod information and dates, Gigi. Believe me, I know how hard it is to keep up with tags such as this. The sun, wind, and just the year-to-year repotting plays havoc with those tags.

I bought metal tags from Brad Buds and Blooms. They do well even with rain or shine. I lost some of the tags from shuffling them around during hurricane season.

It is neat to have these tags, and I had a lot of these tags. It is probably somewhere in the garage



Apologize for the blurry photo (the tag is not photogenic).

Yes, Gigi, those thin aluminum tags work great, but be sure to use stainless steel wire to attach the tag to the stem. These tags can easily be purchased off Amazon as well. Numerous sources sell them.

Yes, they came with a stainless steel wires. It was worth the money for me and less work than plastic tags.