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Email: theplumerian@gmail.com

Jimmy Buffett - The Key West Years

Jimmy Buffett - The Key West Years

2010 Featured Plumeria

Plumeria Care Through the Ages

 PLUMERIA CARE THROUGH THE AGES
A History of Plumeria Care and Propagation

Published in c. 1768

Plumeria were cultivated in England as early as c. 1690. The Royal Gardeners responsible for the Royal Botanic Gardens and conservatories of the Kings of France, England and Spain were among the early experts of tropical plant culture.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was created c. 1759

When reading these page images you'll need to interpret what looks like an f as an s. For example, the first image below reads as 'All these plants may be propagated by seeds, which must.. ; they should be sown in pots filled... should be transplanted into separate small pots.... observing the shade...' .

Plumeria propagation from seeds, c. 1768

continuation of seed propagation, c. 1768

The references to "the stove" which appear as "the ftove" are references to the room of the conservatory where the heat is provided for the conservatory which would be the same as a hot-house. References to the "flue" means the "pipes" that carry away the hot exhaust of the wood fire.

Propagation from cuttings, c. 1768

Notice above that it is recommended the cuttings have two-months before being planted.

You'll sometimes read references to the tan. Tan is short for tan-bark or tanners bark. Crushed bark has tannin which is applied to drying animal skins in order to tan the skin to leather. Bark is natures protection of trees and contain natural controls of plant diseases. Bark mulch is good for the garden, in potting mix and for rooting cuttings. Plumeria cuttings can be rooted in nothing more than pine bark.

Above is the recommendation to harden a plant off by slowing increasing the amount of sun exposure.

c. 1794

Two months to ten weeks prior to rooting, c. 1794

THE UNIVERSAL GARDENER, c. 1778

Propagation from seed and cuttings, c. 1778

continuation of propagation from cuttings, c. 1778

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDENING, c. 1824

A recommendation to use large cuttings and crushed bark (tan)

published c. 1825

From the Encyclopidea Londinensis, c. 1825

Propagation from seeds, Encyclopedia Londinensis, c. 1825

Propagation from cuttings, Encylopedia Londinensis, c. 1825

Published c. 1829

Excerpt from The Practical Gardener and Modern Horticulturist

 AMERICAN GARDENER'S CALENDAR, c. 1859

Bottom heat and the bell-glass as a humidity chamber

The bell glass assures a warm humid environment as bags do with bag-rooting, maintaining desired conditions with a minimum amount of water within the enclosure. The bell glass over cuttings or similar humidity chamber avoids excessive loss of water from the cutting.


An important recommendation for those outside of the tropics is in the above page image. It is best to have cuttings well rooted before winter storage to reduce risk of losing the plant by early spring of the following year.

SUMMARY

For those of us living outside of the tropics, most of what we need to know about plumeria culture has been documented over two-hundred years ago. An important lesson from the past is the emphasis of allowing ample time for the cuttings to become well callused. Typically, eight to  ten weeks of curing time is recommended. The use of bark, the bark bed and loose well draining soil mixes are recommended. Large cuttings root best. Warm and humid conditions for cuttings and plants and the use of bottom heat have long been practiced in plumeria culture. The plants should have little or no water during winter.

Reasons to Consider Grafting

ADVANTAGES OF GRAFTING

• A newly grafted tip can have root-supported new growth within 10-14 days. Rooting a cutting can take 4-8 weeks for new root support.
• Grafting has a higher success rate rooting the newer plumeria hybrids.
• The growth of a grafted plant will be at minimum one-year ahead of a rooted cutting plant.
• Seedlings of classic plumeria, particularly the white varieties, used for grafting under-stock will have better root structure and better disease resistance for both the roots and the grafted plant tissue. As with hybrid roses, the newer plumeria hybrids are selected for the blossom appearance and not the disease resistance of the adventitious roots.
• New introductions can be propagated more rapidly thereby speeding the availability of the variety to the public as well as bringing down the plant cost sooner.
• A single plumeria tree can display a variety of hybrids.
• The bloom tendency and appearance of a new hybrid can be determined more quickly if the seedling tip is grafted to a mature plant rather than waiting for the seedling to mature and bloom. With this method, the original seedling is preserved and markings matching the grafted scion.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF A SPECIFIC VARIETY WILL BE HARD TO ROOT?

·    You paid a lot of money for the cutting

·    You are in a hurry for it to root

·    You feel like you must do something to make it root

·    Varieties originating from Thailand are more likely difficult to root because grafting is the predominant method for propagation

·    A newly released cultivar is more likely to be difficult to root than the old American classics

·    Rare and hard to find plumeria are more likely to be difficult to propagate from cuttings

BAG ROOTING - Advantages and What Can Go Wrong

THE ADVANTAGES OF BAG ROOTING

·    Avoids extremes of too wet and too dry

·    Provides what developing roots want most, humid and warm air spaces

·    Bag method does not require adding water

o  Open containers can be over-watered or catch rain

·    Bags trap the moisture, heat and humid air inside

o  Open containers lose water through evaporation

o  When an open container becomes heated in the sun, warm moist air expands and is expelled

o  When a bag is warmed by the sun the moisture that becomes air-borne condenses on the inside of the bag, harmlessly away from the cut-end but available to maintain the humidity of the air spaces

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WITH 

BAG ROOTING?

·    The rooting media was prepared with too much water

·    Rain water can gather and enter at the bonnet unless sealed to prevent this

o  The bonnet can be turned down so as to not act as a funnel

o  Tape or extra tight banding can reduce risk of water entering

·     If the rooting bags are placed directly on a heating pad the temperature will be too high and kill existing roots

·    The delicate roots can break away when removing the bag

o  It is best to let the roots become crowded before removing the bag

o  Tear the bag at both seams that run vertical to either side from top to bottom

Rooting Basics

WHAT DO INITIAL ROOTS REQUIRE?

·    Warm humid air at the cut-end is required for initial and developing roots

·    Warm humid air is all that is required for initial and early root development

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF ROOTING MEDIA

·    provide air spaces

·    maintain humidity of air spaces

·    prevent stagnant water on new roots through absorption

Rooting with the Texas Two-Step

THE TEXAS TWO-STEP

A rooting process with two stages

The purpose of describing rooting in this way is to put more emphasis on the duration prior to committing a cutting into the rooting or potting mix

STAGE ONE

·    Cut-end dries and callus is formed

·    Through-out this Stage the cut-ends can be easily inspected frequently which allows for early intervention in case of a cut-end necrosis

·    At the end of this Stage the cutting is swollen near the cut-end

·    First roots may be seen emerging from the vascular ring

·    Duration of Stage One is from 3 to 8 weeks depending upon cultivar and time of year

·    Open air is recommended for first two-weeks after which cuttings can be stood up in a container with a loose media

o  Container media stores heat and maintains humid air spaces

o  Media can be lava rocks, pine bark, perlite or wood shavings

o  The cuttings can easily be withdrawn for inspection and reinserted

Stage One cuttings that can have rooting end easily inspected

Stage One - callous tissue is seen emerging around the vascular ring

Stage One - cuttings more than ready to throw out roots
Cuttings like these can complete Stage Two
or fill a bag with roots within 16-days

STAGE TWO

·    Roots emerge from callus or vascular ring

·    Small rooting container allows for early confirmation of success and for earlier potting up to a large container

·    This stage is complete when the rooting container is crowded with roots

·    Duration of this stage is often from 16 to 32-days with proper conditions and if Stage One was thoroughly completed

·    Rooting media provides fast drainage and humid air spaces

·    Rooting media should be from 80-88 F for rapid root development

·    Rooting media must not be allowed to remain saturated or wet and cold 

·    Fertilizer is not used

End of Stage Two - Bag rooted cutting ready for potting up

Stage Two - tube rooted cutting standing in wood chips

End of Stage Two - tube rooted cutting left too long in wood chips

Stage Two - gang rooted cuttings standing in shallow bed of pine bark
secured in place with lava rocks

Stage Two - cuttings rooting in tubes in tube rack

After massaging the tube, turn the cutting upside down. While slowly pushing up the tube with the thumb of the hand holding the cutting, push down on the roots through the hole at the bottom of the tube with a little finger or Sharpie Pen.

Using the hand that is not holding the cutting, gently take hold of the roots with your thumb pointing down. With both hands employed turn over the rooted cutting and place into prepared pot and mix.

A group of imported grafted plumeria have had their roots restored in a shallow mix of sphagnum moss and lava rock. Pure pine bark or a mix using pine bark and sphagnum moss also works fine.

End of Stage Two - gang rooted cuttings in mix of peat, fine pine bark, perlite and red lava sand. The lava rocks were to secure the cuttings in position.

Gang rooted cuttings. A shallow depth is adequate and recommended for climates with frequent rain.

Plumeria Workshop and Biomass Reduction Sale

SATURDAY  MAY 5, 2012

- 8:30 A.M. till 4:00 PM

Sunday May 6 after 12:30 PM by appointment

cell number will be posted May 4

Sugarland, Texas - address and map will be posted soon

WORK SHOP

Mike Janson and Mark Terrill will be demonstrating grafting and rooting methods and answering questions about plant care.

PLUMERIA BIOMASS REDUCTION SALE

Bargain Prices

Two large collections are being reduced in size

Large trees have been pruned 
- above is one of several 'Barbados Showgirl'

Mature plants available at below market prices

Large Cuttings Readied for Sale
- Additional cuttings not in photo. Fresh cuttings can be made upon request.

LARGE SELECTION

Countless varieties too many to list. Collection includes some of the best of Elizabeth Thornton, Moragne, Jack Turner of Yucatan and imported Thai varieties.

RARE VARIETIES GRAFTED TO YOUR PLANT

Save an additional $10 - $15 to acquire rare and collectible varieties if you bring your own plumeria plant as grafting under-stock. Examples of some of the varieties that can be grafted to your plant are 'Gina' (aka Jeena Red), Violet Jaded Dragon, Siam Red, 'Razzledazzle', 'Raspberry Sundae'.

Check back for updates. A table will be added to show what the various diameters of grafting scions can be matched (grafted) to your plumeria plant or seedling. The scion is the desired variety that is be grafted to your under-stock.

Barbados Showgirl and Raspberry Sundae in 2011

Barbados Showgirl

Razzledazzle

Amarron's Curly White

Razzleberry is a heavy bloomer