15 mos. old and the first blooms!

2 yrs. ago a friend gave me a plumeria that had been in a small original pot for several years. she had it in the shade and it never flowered. i planted it in my backyard and it really took off. in the meantime we were getting ready to move and i didn't want to dig it up because i didn't think it would live up here, but i did cut off two small branches and stick them in this big pot. well, when we moved the poor thing got stuck out of sight around the corner of the house. that was last november. we didn't break any cold records last winter, but i think it did break a record for longest stretch of unusually cool, wool jackets and heavy frost more than a few mornings. when i realized it had been left out i was really bummed. i stuck it out in the sun against the fence and by june the tips were turning green, by july it was leafing out and now here we are almost the end of september and i finally know what color the flowers are! i'm really excited and it is coming in this winter!!! debi

heres one more shot

That's a candy stripe I believe. I have one that blooms exactly like that and it also took over a year to bloom but boy was it worth it. I now have 4 new branches coming in around the bloom stalk so next year I hope to have a huge Plumeria with gobs of blooms. These things really thrive here, it's great.

do you bring yours in? i know you're on the coast, so you probably stay a little warm then me. i won't have a problem with it. they go so dormant, i plan on just setting it in the garage in an out of the way spot. debi

I left it out all through the winter last year and it just popped right back to life once things finally warmed up again. In hindsight though, I'm bringing it indoors this year since even though the plant itself was fine wintering outside, the ants used the pot as a hotel all winter and it was a pain.

i hear ya on the ants. although since moving up here, i find that i am having more of a problem with red ants than fire ants. red in the pots, fire everywhere else!!! LOL. i sprinkle alittle fire ant granular killer in all of my pots. it doesn't hurt the plant and it keeps the little devils outa there. i did that in the keys too, when every pot was fireant hotel. debi

When I researched plumeria this summer, the plant wasn't for zone 9, but it's nice to know that it can make it here, even if you forget about it.

uh oh, speaking of fireants LOL! yes, i don't think i would invest a bunch of money in a plant not rated for our zones, but having it in a pot, i can deal with that if it doesn't get too big. we do get that one big freeze every once in awhile. debi

track~

I am a plumie fan. I have a most prolific white that has been filling my yard. Pieces snap off in big winds -- I just stick them in the ground -- and wham -- another plant.

Here's what the flowers look like. I'll be cutting some back when I return to the key next month, and I'll be happy to send you a couple of cuttings.

Let me know if you're interested.

absolutely! i will d-mail you. i started a thread awhile back (battle of the sexes) in florida forum. was hoping you might pop in and give your take on it. thanks again. debi