Our beloved trees are in the process of waking up. After the cold snap of this past week the 70+ temperatures combined with the longer daylight hours will start those tips glistening, and you can see inflorescences starting here and there. Please post your progress of spring 2015 here - especially bloom pictures, of course!
We had to clear a patch yesterday to drop a big Traveler's Palm which was getting too tall to be trimmed easily. A smaller pup is being allowed to grow up - I do love them. Now I am re-planting many of the dug up trees. Not all of them. Some didn't make the cut and will be donated... some got trimmed way back.
You'll have more branches than ever, Gigi, and many of those cut branches will be stimulated to produce inflorescences as well. At least, that's been my experience. I have a half dozen plants with seed-pods, but alas, they were donor plants received in the fall. 'Those plants were grown on the Mississippi Gulf coast. I have never had one of my own plants produce seed pods.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
Thanks Hetty and Ken for the encouragement. I checked today Aussie Pink and a No ID inflos survived. Huge seedpods from Barbados SG, as well as Pink Dwarf Singapore seedpods and a No ID adenium survived. I have a few promising shiny tips 'Red Dauvachelle' (sic), Giant Aussie Orange, to name a few.
Looked like everything might still turn out to be a good plummie year.
How do you know when the seed pods are ready to "pop"? None of the donated plants with seed pods have any leaves, though the stems look fine. They have all been in a greenhouse over the winter months. I hope our weather will finally be spring-like and I can begin to get the potted plumeria outside some.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
The pods stay on the plant an average of 9 months. They generally pop open just before the rainy season starts (another great trick by Mother Nature), but some break open earlier. The pod will start to look dull and dry out a bit, and there will be a distinct line down the center. When you squeeze it it will 'give' a little more than before. This is the time to keep a careful watch, or cover it so the seeds don't disperse before you're ready for them!
OK, thanks for that information, Hetty. I got these plants in the early fall, but the pods perhaps formed mid to late summer (what do I know? That's just a guess!). They all still look about the same as when I got those plants. So perhaps in late April/early May I might just cover them with panty-hose, tied at both ends. That should do the trick.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
I just finished fertilizing my Plumeria Patch this morning; have about 30 pots left to do and that will be IT for the year!! Let's hear it for timed-release fertilizer.
I have a plumeria that has rotted from the graft site up, and that scion includes a pair or seed pods. Will the pods continue to "ripen" or should I just trash those two pods?
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
Rotted is dead; those pods will not continue to ripen but you're not losing anything by opening them and trying out the seeds. They could be viable at this stage.
OK, thanks. I still have plenty of viable scions/pods, so all is not lost, regardless.
Here are the two (my first) seedlings that were started late Dec. 2013. One is 15 months old and the other one is 14 months old. Is there any way to tell whether there is a chance of blooming this summer? As you can tell, they are really large now but those terminal leaf areas are just, well, leaves so far.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
Really too early to tell, Ken, and it would be very soon for a seedling to bloom. Three years is the norm. Just give it room to spread its roots and fertilize it.
Thanks, Hetty. I will re-pot them both (they are in 3 gal. pots now) when I know they can stay outside. They will go into 5 or perhaps 10 gal. pots then. I have already fertilized them with slow-release fertilizer, 10-10-10.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
I'm behind this season. I just planted 7 of the cuttings and I have 10 (multi tips) more to go. My 3 year old Divine has 14 inflos on 29 tips I really need to add more soil and fertilize next week. Inflos on Aussie Pink is getting big (first bloom), Puu Kahea (just starting, a picky bloomer), and a No ID inflo. I think I will have a decent bloom this year.
My 70+ seedlings are stunted (still in tiny pots), so I don't think any will bloom this year. I like them with their miniature look, so am fine with it for now.
Last summer I was on my way to a friend's house in an unfamiliar neighborhood when I spotted a remarkable plumeria tree - I reminded myself to come back and ask for a cutting. I'm actually kind of glad I waited until now because with the tree fully dormant you can even better appreciate its amazing growth habit. Has anyone ever seen a tree that was more dense? I spoke with the lady who lives there and she said it was at the house when she moved in 17 years ago, so she did not know its history. Blooms were white so it's not impossible it's actually a species. More to follow!