Plumeria are easy to take care of. Many people over the last few years have joined the ranks of Plumeria owners because of thier beauty, frangrance and ease of care. Every now and then you do need to give your plant a spring cleaning to keep it in tip top shape. Follow the tips below and you will have Plumeria Trees to be proud of.

Repotting: After the first year or two, that 4-6 inch pot your plumeria cuttings started in will be too small to sustain vigorous growth. A 10-inch or even larger pot will sustain your plumeria for the next few years. Choose a good commercial potting soil and mix in a good drainage material like Perlite or sand. Add a little extra organic matter as well. Teas Plumeria Mix or Teas Rose Bed Mix make this very easy for you. You can also mix your own by combining 30% Perlite, 35% soil and 35% sand. Mix in a little Osmocote 14-14-14 pellets or other time-release fertilizer if you wish. Remember to provide fresh soil every year. Replant your plumeria so the stem is at the same level as before. Sometimes you can skip the repotting and just top up your soil. To do this, remove some of the soil off the top of the pot and add fresh mix. You can alternate this with repotting. Pruning the fine roots each spring is beneficial to the plant. The fine roots from the year before will die during the winter. These old roots take a long time to decompose, and may clog your pot. If you prune the roots, you can put fresh soil around the larger roots for several years, keeping the same pot. Just fill the space the old fine roots took up with fresh soil.

Winter protection: Once the temperatures begin to fall into the 40s, bring your plumeria indoors. Water them before you bring them in. You should not need to give them water very often, if at all, during the winter. Store the plants in an area with bright light. They can survive storage in a dark, cool place, but they will bloom better the next season if they spent the winter with warmth and light. You’ll see the growth will remain straighter and more compact if they continue to get bright light in the winter. If you have a greenhouse, keeping the plants at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal. Alternatively, you can store them inside by removing the plants from their pots, shaking off any loose soil and keeping them in a warm attic or closet. If you choose to remove the leaves, give them a couple of days for the latex to dry before storage. When the weather warms up in the spring, take them out and trim the roots before replanting. If you wish, plant them in pots and then submerge the pots in the ground for easy fall removal. This will also promote good growth during warm weather. Superthrive will help them get started, and don’t forget to provide some shade from direct sun for a couple of weeks as they adjust to the outdoors.

Pruning - THESE PLANTS CAN BE PRUNED AT ANY TIME with a sharp knife, cutting at an angle so the cut will not hold moisture. The plants will “bleed” their latex sap, but they will stop bleeding in a day or so. Dipping the cuts in water briefly will help stop the flow. You should prune them if they begin to grow tall so the blooms will appear at a more reasonable height. They will branch and bloom again even more prolifically from new branches. The cuttings themselves may bloom even before they leaf out.

Growing from cuttings - Cuttings for propagation should be at least 1 foot long. ALLOW THEM TO DRY in a ventilated area for a few days to a week (even longer if necessary). Use Superthrive to water the potted cuttings, which should be kept on the dry side in light shade. Plant the cuttings in a 3-inch hole you dibble in the potting mix. The roots will have to come from the bottom of the cutting, so planting too deeply is not advised. In a month your plant should be rooted. It will root better with bottom heat or warm surroundings. The pot should be about 4 - 6 inches wide and 4 - 6 inches deep. Cuttings are subject to rot if they are kept too moist or dark.

Growing Plumeria from Seed: Plumeria can be grown easily from seed, but the seedlings will not remain true to their variety. All named varieties are grown from cuttings from plants with excellent characteristics. If you want to grow your own seed, just let the pods develop and ripen over several months. The seed is explosive, so you may want to tie a paper bag around it to catch all the seed. Each pod holds about 100 seeds. Plant the seeds in a 3-4 inch tray with bottom heat. Use a soil-less mix such as Pro-Mix as the growing medium. Plant the seeds about ¼ inch deep. Tamp them down firmly and water them gently. You’ll be amazed at how quickly they sprout. Don’t overwater or your seedlings will damp-off. When they have grown at least two true leaves, transplant them to small pots. They will grow quickly and will bloom in about the same amount of time it takes a cutting to bloom.

Plumeria care is easy. Following the tips in this article will keep you plants healthy and more likely to flower.

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