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
