My late grandparents had a large plumeria tree in their backyard so I am planning to get one of these plants from a local nursery, keep it outside in pots and over winter it indoors. They are being sold in small 1g pots or maybe that was 3g. I can't remember now.

If it makes any difference, what type of pot material would you suggest for plumerias? Terra cotta, etc.

What type of potting mix do you recommend? I was thinking of cactus mix. Not planning to make my own unless someone convinces me to.

How often do you fertilize? I was going to get a low nitrogen, 30 or 50 P fertilizer and apply it every 2 or 3 weeks during the growing season.

When do you know it is time to water if they are potted? My grandparents rarely watered but that is not practical when temps here reach or exceed 100F. I wanted the plant to be more on the dry side while outside but then, I started wondering.... what makes you "feel" that they need to be watered. I try not to water plants based on a schedule so maybe I should insert a finger into the potting soil (but how deep) or how else do I tell if "it is time to water again"?

When do you bring potted plumerias indoors in non tropical locations? Based on temps only, when would you bring them inside? Below 60F? Someone suggested looking for drooping leaves during the Fall but eh, I can see temps going down faster... meaning, temps crash even before the leaves react and droop. So, at what temp range would you bring them inside?

When you bring them indoors during winter, is the garage considered "indoors"? My garage is an unheated garage. My Z8 winters are mild (20Fs usually) but there have been some years in which we got down to 13F-15F. Even 5F about 40+ years ago. I do not want them to dry out during winter. Online instructions say not to water them during winter but I am concerned the low humidity and heater vents will be a problem during winter.

In addition to this forum, does anyone have any other online favorite information sources? Maybe an online plant nursery's website? I saw plumeria101.com but found it lacking and with broken links so, are there any others that you go to?

TIA, Luis

My two plumerias are all grown in a container. Since my area gets windy, I have to use heavy containers otherwise it so easy to topple it. One thing to make sure, it must have drain holes, whatever material it is made of, always use one with drain holes so excess water and salts gets flushed away.

When they were still younger I can still move them in and out of the house when the winter season arrives. Pretty much they go dormant anyways once temps starts falling below 50F and light levels becoming weaker.

I use cacti soil and I add a lot of pumice to the media, like 50% pumice, since the past couple of years I have kept them outdoors year round and during winter time, we get rains here, so have to make sure the media stays very well draining. I used to try to cover it with burlap, but I find just let the plant feel the air around, and allow faster dry out time. Provided our outdoor temps during winter does not go below 30F, then the plant endures well. It also depends actually what Plumeria variety you have. Mine is a Celadine so it has higher cold tolerance. But if we do have a forecast at the 20F level, that is a dicey situation, I may try to cover it with burlap but it really is too tough for Plumies and for any other succulent I have. At those temps I can already expect extensive cold damage.

During the long, hot and dry period here, if the Plumeria is already awake, leafing out nicely, then I can water it everyday. It is actually quite water thirsty. And we do hit now a daily 100F and higher outdoor dry temps, so got to keep the plant well hydrated. It is after all a tropical succulent and thrives nicely on humid conditions. My area does not get rain for 6 to 7 months, so compared to other areas, I have to compensate for the excessive moisture loss this plant will suffer.

For most of my succulents and other sensitive plants, once outdoor overnight temps starts hitting 50F and below, then I have to start moving them back indoors, so they can acclimate slowly again. At times, some succulents, like Plumerias, they just go dormant anyways during the cold period. Got to wait again in Spring when overnight temps starts going 50F and higher before I attempt to bring them out. So less to no watering while indoors, just letting them rest safely.

The only plant I can put in my unheated garage is a Clivia. All the rest are overwintered in a room with either southfacing or west facing windows.

Thanks for the info, tarev. Have you used the website for the Southern California Plumeria Society in Encinitas (near San Diego)?