I planted this cutting in 50% perlite and 50% potting soil in June. Today I removed it from the medium and saw it has no roots whatsoever. No signs of rot though. I made a fresh cut, at an angle and left it to dry. How do I go about it now? Should I dip in rooting hormone and plant in pure perlite and not water at all? Temperatures here are around 21 C indoors and outdoors, that's 70 F. Should I treat with peroxide? Any advice would be welcome. Many thanks!

I always just take my cuttings (after the have callused) and stick them directly into the ground here and they never fail to root. I don't water them...they get rain or nothing at all.

Gina1960 said:I always just take my cuttings (after the have callused) and stick them directly into the ground here and they never fail to root. I don't water them...they get rain or nothing at all.

Alias living in Florida!

How's yr cutting doin now?
They recommend to let air-dry (callus) for 2 weeks. It is goin into winter with cooler temps : they say cuttings cut in the late fall goin into winter will not root until spring..a lot of people put them in dry perlite and forget about them . They might wake up or not.
Plumeria forum people can give you more advise though.
I took cuttings in dec in Miami FL when it was still 80f and the tree had leaves and blooms , I callused for 2weeks and put it in slightly moistened bark..on a heat mat .. nothing happened for a couple of months, then I found rot on one and had to recut ..rinse-repeat..
eventually they were too short and I chucked them. But instead I got 2 already potted ones and that should work better! As I am a beginner with them. One has 2 inflos .

Hey. I did the same with my cutting. I found some rot so I cut a bit higher up, I left it out for a week but then I noticed some new rot. I decided to pot it anyway. I watered it only once and then left it on the router as I don't have a heat mat. Now all leaves have turned black so I guess it's doomed. Shame cos it had a rare burgundy flower color. Oh well. The other plumeria I have has stopped growing but that's OK. I have only 66F indoors so I guess it's chilly for them.

We are having a mini summer now, temperatures are around 72 F and it's sunny and humid, so I took all my potted plants outdoors. The good weather will last a week. My plumeria is sunbathing right now. My two crotons are growing fast and so is my tropical hibiscus who is also sunbathing now. Alocasias are stuck though. I think I'll take one bulb out of the soil and let it dry out and overwinter it in some dark corner, then pot it again in spring. The other one I'll put under grow lights and see if it starts growing again. I'll also increase indoor temperature to 70F. More than that will cost me a fortune in electricity...

Kentia is growing a new leaf. Delonix regia doesn't grow.

I have had the most success taking cuttings after New Years, letting them dry until Mid-March and then rooting them .
I am in Sarasota, Florida

Mikel,
Are yours in ground? How low does it get at night in jan-feb? I thought it dropped below 40f?
wAnt , you can buy 2 heating mats that are long for seedlings/hydroponics and put the pots on them : the roots are more important then top temps. That'll be cheaper then hiking the thermostat to 70f. Or raise it during the day only.

skylark said:Mikel,
Are yours in ground? How low does it get at night in jan-feb? I thought it dropped below 40f?
wAnt , you can buy 2 heating mats that are long for seedlings/hydroponics and put the pots on them : the roots are more important then top temps. That'll be cheaper then hiking the thermostat to 70f. Or raise it during the day only.

Plumeria are hardy to 32F and even some below, depending on the microclimate they are planted in. Mine have taken 25F in winters past with some non-permanent damage. 40 is not a problem for mine, especially of they are already dormant

Gina,
So yours are in ground ? That's why I asked Mikel.
surely in pots 32F is too low?
Most people with pots take them indoors when temps drop below 40F. At least up north… your days are much much warmer, that is a mitigating factor, of course.

That's a very goo advice skylark! I'm gonna get myself a heat mat. They're so cheap anyway. To be honest I didn't know that it was the roots that had to stay warm. I'd think it's the entire plant.

Gina1960 does your plumeria drop its leaves during winter?

Yes mine are in the ground

Well, when it's cooler usually soil in pots when moistened is cooler then surrounding air. So if yr temps are at 66F the soil will be like 61F , which is cool.
Many people in Texas say that when night temps drop to low 60s their plummies start dropping leaves..
So, if you keep the roots on warmer mat and under some lights they might not drop the leaves.. if that's what you want.
Did you say it was newly rooted cutting? Or young plant ? Those they say it's better to keep growing thru winter if possible.
The mat will also raise the temp immediately near the mat. Of course it will dissipate if the room temp is cool. But it's better then nothing.
Many people prefer to put them into dormancy (even cut their leaves and put them in dark cool garages until spring).
It all sort of depends on what do you want to do with them over winter and how old and strong they are.

Dormancy or at least a slowing of growth is the NORMAL life cycle for this plant. Even in their native range, they slow way down, even if they do not stop growing completely, during the fall and winter seasons. They are a tropical SUCCULENT tree, and many succulents go dormant in the periods of less natural daylight. Trying to keep the plant going during this season is contrary to its natural life cycle.

Nevertheless many growers recommend to take the new cutting indoors the first year and provide growing conditions.
If I remember he has newly rooted cuttings. But i asked again to be sure.
People with pots take them in and they continue to bloom much longer.
I got 2 rooted plummies from Florida Colors past Jan and plan to keep them on the balcony in Miami growing as long as they keep leaves , but will be bringing them indoors if it drops below 55F at night. Since winters have been exceptionally warm I would like to keep dormancy to a shorter period.

In Miami they.retain the blooms and leaves almost until January (it is often 80-82f in December there) , while in northern states with colder climates people might take them in for dormancy in October.
So higher temperature and lighting conditions can prolong the growing season .
I remember many posts by @DrDawg before he moved to FL and he had them blooming and growing in his sunroom . But am not sure if they eventually dropped some leaves or not and when..
This post would get more responses
in Plumeria forum as the rooting and overwintering is quite different from other plants .
There was a recent post about overwintering newly rooted plants and seedlings:
The thread "Is overwintering seedlings inside with grow lights better than inside dormancy?" in Plumeria forum

i looked for specific posts on overwintering just rooted cuttings.
this is a quote from an experienced grower in Virginia:
'My seedlings and first year rooted cuttings will stay under my T-5 lights all winter ( 12-14 hours) on a timer and on seedling heat mats.'
from here:
https://www.houzz.com/discussi...

overwintering is not a subject of this post, but we were having a chat about overwintering Plummies and other plants in the other thread.

Very useful, thanks a lot skylark. That experienced grower in Greece that his plumerias only produce new leaves in May!

Yes, mine is a new cutting with about 6-7 leaves. I am planning to keep it indoors under grow lights starting from tomorrow or Wednesday. It has stopped growing since about a month now but no signs of dropping leaves.

Should I fertilize you reckon? Perhaps only if I see new growth?

While it holds leaves even if not growing and warm and in good lighting you can give it some fertilizer at weaker doze, may be even 1/4 of the usual.
I got mine in the end of Jan bare sticks and it was on the balcony all the time : it was mostly 70-75f with nites about 60-65f for a month and then it warmed up to 80F and over 65f at nite and it still did not leaf out until the beginning of May. Although the claws (tiny leaves) started a month earlier. And this with 6 hours of good FL sun.
So I don't know how long the semi-dormancy indoors might last ..but I will try to keep it warm: will drag it indoors at night when below 60f. I figure it will be for a couple of months without leaves..but we'll see..

Is it ok to take plants out during the day and put them at home at night? I mean, I know that plants ideally like being at one spot and not be moved.

It's ok 😁. It's better then low temps at night, especially when yr conditions indoors are not as good. It's just tiring..

It was a bit but I don't mind. It's only for 2-3 months a year, October and April or so. Now they are all placed on two tables in front of the window and under grow lights which stay on from 8am to 8pm every day. My first experience with grow lights. Let's see how they go.

Some of my plants can grow outdoors all year round here, like ficus elastica and kentia palms. I've seen large speciments in gardens. However, because my yard faces north and it's also very windy, I don't want to risk it. Conditions are marginal.