First, I want to thank you for your informative posts and gorgeous pics. Perhaps you can advise on which plumerias are strongly fragrant, compact and very early bloomers. With 3 months of Summer, I need a sprinter! Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Terri

Hello Terri

Since you are in a zone that is definitely not kind to this tropical tree, the only way you will see blooms is if you supplement both heat and light to extend the growing season. Even if you had a longer season the quality of your sunlight isn't enough to make the plumeria happy. You could see blooms if you acquired a plant that already has an inflo, but repeat blooming would be highly unlikely.
Having said that, there are plenty of successful northern growers. @GordonHawk who is in Brooklyn may have some suggestions!

Thanks, Hetty. I treeemailed Gordon. Hopefully he will reply. I love Plumerias. There must be a way.

Terri

There is ALWAYS a way, Terri. I grow things here that I was told would be impossible to grow. I am forever expanding not only my knowledge of growing tropical plants but pressing that envelop of growing "difficult" plants. I like to experiment and that's the way I learn to (sometimes) fool Mother Nature. You sound a lot like me in that you want to grow tropical plants and just have to figure out a way to do so successfully. You can do it, regardless of what others might tell you. We all have God-given abilities to overcome difficulties and obstacles. Just stay at it.

Doanno if Terri determined things. I am in 5B as well and grow all kinds of Tropicals and things that are WAY out of zone. Some examples aside from Plumeria (my second year):

Brugmansia
Bird of Paradise
Commiphora
Boswellia
Gingers
Heliconia
Bursera
Bauhinia
Cassia
Lantana - 4th growing season

And a bunch of other things. Thank God for metal halide lights, heating grow pads and humidifiers.

I do however realize that when/if I get blooms on some things, they will not be pristene. But for me, just growing things is a pleasure.

Do you have a greenhouse or a warm place to help a plumeria get an earlier start before your warm weather arrives?

Me? I have a small non-heated neophyte starter type. I use it from March - November. My house is overflowing in Winter and living room looks like a jungle.

Last winter I kept my Plumeria in the basement. It was my first experience. I did give it a teensy bit of water a couple of times. Our Spring was quite cool and very wet, so it was after Mothers day before I took it outside.

This winter I think I will start some Plumeria seeds - what the heck, Never tried it before. WRT several years before bloom - no big deal. That is the case with many things I grow from seed; e.g. Dietes, Diarama, Siberian Iris. And I also do Bonsai where results are not seen for years.

If you have the patience to grow seeds, try bradbudsndbloomsandbloom. Look for seeds that are dwarf or from compact plants that way you can bring them in easy for winter.

David, just to give you a little encouragement, I have a 14 mo. old seedling that is now loading up with buds. It was simply luck that this variety (whatever it is) bloomed so much earlier than the "average" three year wait. I can't wait to see the flowers and then I get to name it! How great is that?

Plumeria Rubra Ken Ramsey

I like the sound of that, Gigi! I just want to see those flowers.

I like the sound of it too but I suggest you wait till all your seedlings bloom then Save your name for the best color and best fragrance Ken.

I don't know what you mean, Gigi. I only have the single seedling that will bloom this year. I have perhaps ten different seedling varieties, and they are all labeled with "A through J" so I know what they are. I also have each and every one dated with their germination. If I wait to see them all bloom, and that could take years, I might be dead.

Of course, I haven't even thought about naming anything. I guess I could name it/them 'Ken's Delight #1', #2, #3..........you know. Hetty has not only named a bunch of her plants but registered a number of them as well. I have to think about actually registering mine, but that might be just too much trouble. Compared to many of you, I am still just a novice when it comes to this sort of stuff. Orchids are my main interest and passion.

true I might be dead too if I have to wait all my seedlings to bloom.

drdawg said:David, just to give you a little encouragement, I have a 14 mo. old seedling that is now loading up with buds. It was simply luck that this variety (whatever it is) bloomed so much earlier than the "average" three year wait. I can't wait to see the flowers and then I get to name it! How great is that?

Yeah - I saw that. AWESOME I think that DrDawg1 has a nice ring to it.

Dumb ? Can a Plumeria set seed by itself? I have never seen information related to that, But am aware that they polinate and hybridizers do cross polination. But are they self fertile?

GigiPlumeria said:If you have the patience to grow seeds, try bradbudsndbloomsandbloom. Look for seeds that are dwarf or from compact plants that way you can bring them in easy for winter.

Yeah - I was checking that site out since I have seen several favorable references.

(Note to self. RESTRAINT I tend to get a wee bit carried away I do raise a lot of stuff to sell at our local Farmer's market and I have stuff that no one else has. During 2014 & 2015 I spent many many many hundreds of $ on seeds.

Gigi - thanks for the pointer on dwarf and compact. Will definitely keep that in mind as I already am at the stage of measuring available winter indoor space in square inches rather than feet,

Good thing I have an understanding wife who is also fairly passionate about horticulture. Mind you she is not in my league I am both a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist.