Hello all, I'm a gardener in Southern California, and I have three plumeria that I'm trying to decide what to do with.

I just planted these plumeria about two, maybe three years ago. Three of them took off like gangbusters and looks like they got too heavy for their trunks. I have three major branches, one from each tree, that have partially broken off and are resting on the ground. I'm trying to decide what my options are, and what the next steps should be. I'm guessing the damage is too extensive to try to graft them back together. Has anyone tried that?

As I see it, I probably need to fully remove the branches, cut them into smaller units, trim the leaves off and let them sit over the winter to root in the spring. That's hard to do though, because even just laying there they are so pretty.

So, one question is, would it be okay to let them lay there until they start wilting, then perform the steps?

Or, being only middle of September, should I try to plant them now and get them started before winter?

Any advice, including what to do with the remaining trees would be appreciated. I will probably end up trying to lighten up their other branches so the same thing doesn't happen to them.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

*EDIT: I'm not sure why my images aren't showing... I'll keep working on it but here's a link to the images: imgur.com/a/COnB94R


Plumeria 1





Plumeria 2




Plumeria 3

@Sh4d0wryder !

I think the base of all 3 are too short so not sure if they will grow back this late in the season. The only way to probably keep them growing back is to graft each base with a branch almost the same size as the base but not too long (maybe 6 inches long). The only problem with the graft is both the scions and the rootstocks need to be in active growth for the graft to be successful! I gave up on grafting, I wasn't good at it! However there are a lot of online DIY grafting videos you can probably watch.

You may have enough time to grow the branches but you probably will have to use sand and perlite instead of regular potting soil to minimize the chance that they will rot. Remove all leaves and let the cuttings callous for 2 weeks. You can keep them like mini-trees with multi-tip.

This late in the season, I normally would just place the calloused branches in the pot with filled with coarse sand and perlite. If they root then good, if not, I will grow them next spring. The idea is the coarse sand and perlite (instead of dirt) will prevent rot. It has no organic matters and very fast draining. I water them once with water and hydrogen peroxide and place them where it can get bottom heat/sun. Plus with our daily rain, they don't need to be watered.

Goodluck, hopefully other members will chime in.

Thank you for your welcome and your feedback Gigi! I will probably end up just trying to save the branch like you suggested instead of trying to graft it back on. That will have the best chance of success.