I am seeing some change in the flowers on this new seedling. This is actually still an un-rooted cutting that began blooming. The first picture was taken a couple of weeks ago and the last two taken this morning. The first flower has dropped off and these two just opened up yesterday. I don't know enough about plumeria to explain the flower-break. Is there something going on or is this just a commonality with plumeria.

4-29-16


5-12-16

Just a little stress. Nothing to worry about. It'll probably grow out of it once it's well rooted.

Thanks, Hetty. I kind of thought it might be related to its blooming before rooting. I thought you would know the answer.

drdawg said:I am seeing some change in the flowers on this new seedling. This is actually still an un-rooted cutting that began blooming. The first picture was taken a couple of weeks ago and the last two taken this morning. The first flower has dropped off and these two just opened up yesterday. I don't know enough about plumeria to explain the flower-break. Is there something going on or is this just a commonality with plumeria.

4-29-16


5-12-16

Looks like maybe virus...I had one plant bloom with a virus that caused the same color break..it was also on a pink variety, It kept blooming over and over with the color break...I actually like the look! I've read on some places that people separate them from any other plants because it can be contagious....LOOKS GOOD WHY NOT ENJOY!!

Found it.....

Time will tell, Mark. The first flower showed no sign of this and there is a third flower now opening, so I'll know soon whether this color-break carries to that third one. Hetty thought it was simply a matter of stress.

Mark that is typical of a virus infection. Dr. Dawg's splashing is very different.
The virus infection will weaken and eventually kill the plant (think of it as flu...) so no - not desirable.

So viruses will ultimately do the affected plant in? I guess in that regard, if a virus is suspected/known, that plant(s) should be trashed immediately.

@Dutchlady1 How do you tell the difference between a virus and a color break? And what does a splash mean? My eye is not trained to see or know the differences.

I destroy everything with a suspected virus. I didn't build a collection for 17 years to have them destroyed by a virus.

Mary it's not easy to tell the difference. The Virus splash is always a darker color than the petal (see Mark's post) and is uneven in appearance. It can sometimes distort the petal. If a 'color break' as it is usually referred to is white we call them chimeras and the cause is unknown, but considered to be harmless.

For a long time people would pay crazy prices for virus infected plants but eventually most of them have realized that it's not pretty. You can see many of them being sold on Ebay. Even if you wanted one, you would have no guarantee that it would repeat. From way back when, 'Princess Victoria' was always thought to have the color break. I've had a tree of this variety for many years and it has never displayed the phenomenon.

If a 'pattern' on a petal is even and repeats, it is not a virus induced one but part of the color of the flower. For instance in this variety (Madame Poni):

More good information. Thanks, Hetty. I will be (more) on the lookout for anything that resembles virus colorations.

@Dutchlady1 for the excellent explanation. I have seen pictures of what you describe and it does make sense now. There are so many beautiful & healthy plants to choose from. Doesn't make sense to willingly choose a sick one.

That cutting, 'MM's Pizazz' has bloomed some more. None of the flowers show that "break" that I saw two weeks ago. That makes me feel more comfortable that nothing untoward is going on with this cutting.