Viewing post #1144562 by dragonfly53

JamesAcclaims said:I am not an expert in any way, so maybe others will step in here, and I don't have much experience with osmocote. If it is a water soluble fertilizer, then you may want to get something with a high middle number (Phosphorous). Plumeria use a lot of phosphorous for blooming. You also want to use a "lower" nitrogen number. I believe the standard NPK balances of osmocote are 14-14-14, which may not be a good balance for what you are trying to use it for. You may want to look into getting a fertilizer with a higher phosphorous content (though, I'm not certain what your balances are currently). Also, what kind of potting soil are you using? Definitely the more sun the better, especially given your zone. I have known some growers in the northern areas, that due to their "short summers" (compared to other places), their plumeria only bloom once every other year, rather than yearly. While your plumeria may survive with dappled or bright light for 6 hours a day, they would relish a chance to get 12 hours of light reach day--mostly being direct exposure. Is your 9 hours of sun direct sunlight for the entire day or is it dappled or shaded?

Hi James,
Thank you- they are actually on a south facing slope so full sun from 8am til about 6pm, from the last frost day at the end of April til the temps get down into the 50's in October. They drink a lot of water so I was wondering if maybe I need to add fertilizer more frequently. I have them in potting mix with a lot of perlite so the roots never sit in water, which now that I think about may not be getting enough nutrients, although they have beautiful dark green heads full of leaves all summer. I've attached a picture of 2 of them outside, its raining a bit so the pics are a little dark,.

The osmocote is 14-14-14 and its granules you put on top of the soil. I only add it to the top dressing of worm castings mixed with Promix in the spring. I also water once per month with Super Bloom which is 12-55-6. Do you think if I increase the feeding of that to every other week, it might be better? I am just afraid to burn them, I have grown them from little 6" cuttings to close to 5 feet and would hate to lose them.

Terri