Dear All,

desperately looking for some help and advise I luckily found this forum.
In hopes of some professional advise, I will describe the problems I'm facing with my Plumerias.
Please apologize my English, as it is not my mother tongue ... I'm from Germany. :)


About the back-story:

During my vacation on the Maldives this year I got aware of these wonderful Frangipani trees for the first time and I fell in love with them immediately.
By chance our local garden center had various varieties as of May. Without thinking twice I bought my first Plumeria stem (Divine) and just one week later my second - a Captivate.
Both are potted and located at a south window and enjoyed a lot of sun the last weeks.
I currently pour them every 2-3 days, as the soil dries-out quickly. They are fertilized every 2 weeks.
After almost 3 weeks of the purchase, the first bloom opened up at the Divine, and a little later also at the Captivate.
So far so good. The initial joy, however, was suddenly gone.


About the problem:

On both plants, I suddenly saw transparent, small and sticky droplets (similar to those of orchids when they are under stress). These are located partly on the (closed) buds and at the "source"/beginning of the leaves at the trunk (sorry, I don't know, how this part of a plant is called in english).
After searching the net, I scanned both plants for pests. Of course, I found some, but could not specify them. In any case I tried to get rid of them.

On the Divine, I also found some reddish-brown (small) spots on and under some leaved. You can not feel them as they seem to come from within. In my despair, I washed every single leave (upper and lower side), with a soap/water mixture. Unfortunately these reddish-brown spots have now increased and spread.
So I guess that it could be a fungus, which I had transferred to other leaves by wiping.
I will try to upload some pictures.
Of course I have separated the Divine from the Captivate - hopefully still in time.

Does anyone know this issue and what can be done about it?
If it is actually a fungus, it is advised to remove the infested leaves, which I did two days before as a precaution.

For the pests I now ordered two biological peticides - one with Neem-oil and one with ingredients from the chrysanthemum blossom and rapeseed oil.
As soon as they arrive, I would start with the treatment with one of the products, but what can I do against these stains?


I am grateful for any advice, because I am really afraid of loosing these wonderful Frangipanis.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Kind regards from Gemany
Jenny

leaves:













droplets:

Jenny2503

The sticky droplets are not a worry unless you see insects.
The spots on your leaves point towards a fungus, for sure; It looks similar to anthracnose fungus which also appears on roses etc. You will need a fungicide to get rid of it.
Can you put them outside where you live, especially in the summer? They will benefit from fresh air....

Keep us posted!

By the way your English is excellent; no need to apologize!

Dear Hetty,

thanks a lot for your reply!
It's really appreciated.

Well, upon your advice I just bought a fungizide.
I guess, I should wait a while with the treatment, as I sprayed both Frangipanis with the Neem-oil today.
I don't want to 'stress' the plants with too many treatments at the same time.
How long shall I wait with the fungizide? Might one week be enough?

To answer your question: Yes, at the moment we got pretty good and warm weather and both plants are on the balcony right now. They really seem to benefit from the fresh air and the sun by showing blossoms that opened up.
I will keep them them outside as long the weather allows it.

Hopefully they will get well.
I will keep you in the loop of course.

And again... thank you very much for your post.

Best,
Jenny