I have a nice stalk i bought from a Hawaii native. It has three branches. Stangest thing, not long after i stuck it in dirt, it started getting flowers but only one full grown leaf, then babies starting. I was so excited. But something wasnt right. The first few flowers fell of and had black toward the center of the petals before they ever opened. I then noticed the one and only larger leaf was starting to curl. I emailed the guy i bought it from and i guess it wasn't getting enough water due to rot so he told me to cut the rotted part off and stick it back in dirt removing all the leaves. Hes pretty much a pro at these so i trusted him and did that tonight but now im seeing it has to callus first. Im panicked to fix this as this plant means so very much to me. So its currently back in dirt and i only watered a little. Im scared to death to overwater now but i also think its in need of water where it was deprived. I dont know what to do and i cant get him to answer me back. Should i pull it back out of the dirt? Also info on watering would be great! Should i water out aways from the stalk and how often/much? Any advice is much appreciated!

Cuttings have no way to take up water so watering will just induce rot. No watering until you have leaf growth!
Let it callous for a week, making sure the cut you made is clean. Then put in very well draining soil (preferably amended with perlite) in a warm spot.
The fact that your cutting made blooms right away probably slowed down the rooting process.

It would be helpful to know where you are, and also a picture would be great!

Just keep it its well draining media, just the initial watering when your repotted is okay for now. Position in part sun area, no full sun yet, Got to encourage it to grow new roots. Be very, very patient. No roots, no leaves, nothing going. What you had before as blooms may just be latent blooms of the previous growing season.

Wait patiently till it shows new leaf growth again. At least one fully open leaf before you can resume watering again.

Plant is in adjustment stage. Hawaii growing conditions is not easy to duplicate unless you live in the Florida area.

Thank you both for your response! This plant means a ton to me! I have pics I will upload from my phone.

Tarev, so you say its okay to go ahead and put it back in dirt, just take all the leaves and blooms off, or do you think it needs to callus first also? Its in dirt but I havent taken any leaves or flowers off.. guess I need to do that. I have watered a little but not up against the stalk.. maybe an inch out because i am so afraid of rotting again. I guess now i just leave it unwatered... for how long?

Dutchlady1 I live in Tennessee. The Plumeria sits in front of my french doors and gets a fair amount of morning sun.. maybe a few hours, not all of which is direct. There are leaves that had started as well as flowers... Guessing I need to cut those all off?
These are pics before I cut the rotted part off. Its now back in dirt. I didnt water much at all and didnt water right up against the stalk either. Will that be ok?







t

Thank you for the pictures!

It has no need of water until it has roots. You can mist a little if it looks dehydrated. I would say - amend your soil with perlite - at least 30% but preferably 50%.
Roots are encouraged by bottom heat, not water.

I understand it is heartbreaking to cut off the blooms, but as long as the plant is trying to make flowers less energy will go into making roots. If you want to create a healthy plant you will have to postpone your enjoyment of blooms until it is well rooted.

Good luck!

Dutchlady1 said:Thank you for the pictures!

If you want to create a healthy plant you will have to postpone your enjoyment of blooms until it is well rooted.

Good luck!

I greatly appreciate all the advice. One more question... do you recommend I get some of the anti fungal root stimulating stuff (ive read about)? Or is there something I can put on it to encourage Healthy rooting?

Some people swear by it, others never use it. At this stage it probably won't make that much difference either way.

I greatly appreciate all the advice. One more question... do you recommend I get some of the anti fungal root stimulating stuff (ive read about)? Or is there something I can put on it to encourage Healthy rooting?

I agree with Hetty. I've used it and I've not used it, and have never noticed any difference.

One of my plumerias is getting 1-2 very yellow leaves every 2-3 days. Is this a disease or water/no water issue? The other one was broken last year, but broken stem has come back but no flowers have appeared this year. I have fertilized with a "tropical" blend. I have also had a problem with rust, but have sprayed for that and removed leaves. I've now noticed some of the same issues with the smaller broken one. They both look very unhealthy. The larger one did put on some nice white blooms, finally, but they all fell off this week and no further buds are showing up. Suggestions?

Have you checked under your leaves for infestations of some kind? Spider mites, mealybugs etc. If not, it is probably just the seasonal leaf drop starting.

I haven't found and bugs, but I do live in Texas and it's been very hot. Could it be that I just need to give them more shade?

EXCUSE MY CAPS, I NEED THEM. I HAVE A ONE YR OLD PLUMERIA ABOUT 4 FT. TALL. HAS NEW GROWTH ON TOP BUT ALL LEAVES BELOW ARE FALLING OFF. CHECKED WATER WITH METER HAS ENOUGH WATER. MY SECOND PLUMERIA IS STARTING TO DROP LEAVES AS WELL. IS THIS THE TIME THEY START GETTING READY FOR WINTER AND GO DORMANT? I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT. HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Yes, no worries, they are starting to defoliate in anticipation of dormancy.

TY, AS I AM NEW TO PLUMERIAS I WAS A BIT WORRIED. I APPRECIATE YOUR FAST RESPONSE. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.