This cutting was planted 3 weeks ago. While it is trying to form leaves, there is something strange in the middle. Thought it was inflo but without grown roots.

Can anyone tell me what this is?
Thanks
Fr.Damien-Marie

Flowers! Flowers! Flowers!!!!

Email indicates reply from Shadygreenthumb but nothing written.
Fr.D.Marie

Let's try this again.
You're going to have flowers!!!

DearShadyGreenthumb,

Thankyou a zillion times as you have given hope while others have been negative.
Blessings

But it hasn't rooted yet? Sometimes an inflo (=inflorescence) will slow down the forming of roots. Keep an eye on that baby!

Thankyou Dutchlady,
Fr.d.Marie

The flowers forming is a slow process. It might take another 6 weeks or more before you see a bloom. And yes, it will slow down what you want it to do, that is grow roots. 6 weeks without roots could be trouble in other ways, for one rotting. But I have never had the heart to pluck off the inflo. (flower buds) Unfortunately, inflo will not continue it's blooming cycle once plucked. Keep us posted on your new plumeria.

Thankyou Shady,
What else can I do. I crave the growth of even one plumetia flower.
I do fear for the roots yet......
As everything in life, it's up to a,hope and a prayer.
Fr.D.Delourdes

By allowing your unrooted Plumeria cutting to bloom, you may be dooming it to death. The cutting has to root before the reserve in the stem is used up. As those buds develop, energy that should be going to root production will instead be used to develop the flowers (and ultimately, seeds). In the plant world, seed production trumps growing roots every time.

Daisy

Dear Daisyl,
Thanks for the input. After I can't remember how many cuttings fizzled out, I need to see some plumeris blooms as they bring to my mind the Garden of Eden..
I have a three foot Singapore pink dwarf that twice produced inflos, both of which turned brown and fell off. On the other hand, it has produced 4 branches.
Nevertheless, I live in joyful hope.
Seeds are not a bad idea if thats what it takes to breath plumeria fragrance.
Fr.d.marie

What Daisy says is true; but I have never been able to bring myself to cut off an inflo.

Neither have I. Of the two dozen cuttings sitting in two buckets of perlite, four have inflo. I cannot remember not having a cutting root (this time of year) because an inflo. formed. Of course my memory is perhaps not the best around,.

Congratulations! I'm the same way, I can never cut the inflo, but what I do is I keep the soil dry until leaves start coming out. I might mist the stem once in a while to prevent it from drying.

The most important at this stage is the bottom heat. I have 5 cuttings right now that have inflos. And they are already acclimated to full sun and they are on paver bricks for bottom heat. I keep them all dry.

My experience is Cuttings with inflo have better surviving chance around this time of the year.

Grrrreat advice, @gigiplumeria! Just to add, if you dont have enough warmth from the sun yet, you can use a heat mat made for plants to stimulate root growth.

Cheryl!

I do exactly the same thing as you, Gigi. My two buckets of cuttings are outside in full sun for 24 hrs. each day. I only bring them inside if there is a fair chance for rain or the temperature is predicted to dip below 60F at night. So far I have gotten caught with them outside once when it rained overnight. I simply took all of them out of their buckets and let the sun dry them. I changed the damp perlite (the buckets all have ample holes drilled in the bottoms and sides to allow for water to drain) for fresh, dry, coarse perlite, and back into the buckets they went. That was 10 days ago. There is not any sign of rot or stem softness on any of the cuttings.

Here is one of those cuttings that has not rooted. This is Plumeria rubra 'MM's Pizazz'. This flower only opened yesterday and it has a nice floral fragrance. This is the first time I have had one of these cuttings bloom. Cut off the inflo................no way.

Drdawg, here in DC we're having evening low temps in the 50s. Think I should bring my plumie cuttings inside?

This is simply what I do, and others can chime in with different opinions.

I have had all my plumeria outside for the last month and only covered them when the temperature was predicted to get in the low 40's. If much lower than 40F I added strings of lights for some warmth. I haven't worried a bit about my plants with temperatures at or above 50F and I have seen absolutely no damage. My cuttings stay outside if the lows are above 50F and so far they have done fine as well.