Plumeria is out of control

Sidney, OH(Zone 6a)

Early this spring, I planted 3 small plumeria in a large (30”) container. Since I have to over-winter them indoors in my zone 6 garden, I now have a rather big problem. The plants have sprawled sideways like a giant octopus to a 12’ width. They are healthy and blooming, but there is no way I can get this behemoth inside when temperatures drop. I know I shouldn’t prune it until late winter or very early spring, so how can I save it? Can I use bungee cords to gradually force upward growth? Or should I just chalk this off to poor planning and start from scratch next year?

Gainesville, FL

I have never actually tried this mind you BUT I have read in more than one source that you can take them out of the soil and stack them in a warm dark place and let them go dormant in winter then replant them in fall.

Delray Beach, FL(Zone 10a)

Take cuttings now. Cut most of the leaves off - do not rip them off. Allow them to dry in a dark, dry place for a week or two. Pot those to overwinter in your garage. Plant them in well-draining soil and water sparingly until new growth appears, indicating that rooting has taken place. Than, water normally. Take plenty of cuttings and spread the joy among your gardening friends next Spring.

Sylvain.

Sidney, OH(Zone 6a)

Thank you both for your responses. While trying to stake some of the wayward branches a little while ago, I accidentally broke off 2 of them. It's good to know that I can try to reroot them even though they're not dormant. I've made straight cuts along the bottom of each stem and clipped almost all of the leaves about 3/4" from the stem. They're drying indoors now. One of the branches has a cluster of flowers at the end. Do I cut that off, too? And what do I do about the stubby stem in the container where the branches broke off? I made a clean, angled cut and dusted it with a fungicide, but as you can see in the photo, it rained just a few minutes later. Can I use this same technique on the remaining branches when the weather begins to turn cold so that I can bring the whole container indoors? It's still too big to get it through any doorway, and our garage temperature often dips below freezing in the middle of winter.

Thumbnail by 1alh1

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