Plumeria plant thrive in AZ ? (Phoenix, Mesa: to buy, vs., title)

[DougStark]

Plumerias wouldn't thrive in the Bay area because it's not hot enough. They need extended period of heat and no or minimal frost (kind of like what naval oranges need.)

[veritased]

Yes, Doug that definitely seemed to be at least part of the problem. We do have some very hot days, not AZ style though, but those are not frequent in the summer.

[Rubee]

Veritase: For my potted plants, I move then under the patio for filtered shade (we built an extended ramada) in the heat of summer. For the ones in the ground, I try to plant them where they get afternoon shade and extra water helps. If I forget to to supplement, they seem to sunburn very quickly but less so when I water heavily (every other day with the hose at summer peak). I do notice, however that some varieties do better than others. I have a couple that are so tall they are in full sun all day and the leaves stay nice and green. None of the plumeria will bloom July-August in the summer though. The flowers sunburn, wilt, and/or get smaller, but they bounce back in the fall.

Ripper: I haven't had problems with rust, just whiteflies a couple of times.

[veritased]

Thanks Rubee, appreciate the suggestions and experience. I will keep them potted at first, move them around so as to figure out the scene in my micro climate. I guess the Hawaii sun is not much like the AZ desert sun.

[MalteseJane]

Originally Posted by Rubee

Hi,

I've been growing plumeria here in North Phoenix (Stetson Valley area) for about 10 years. Some are in pots and some are planted in the ground. Those planted in the ground do better than the pots (grow faster, flower more profusely) but you have to protect them from frost threat in the winter and sunburn in the summerr, although some varieties do better than others. My tallest in-ground plants are about 10 feet tall and my largest, a dwarf Singapore Pink, is this one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHYRGv1j_ER/

In the winter I move the potted ones underneath my covered patio and cut down on watering (cold wet roots will make them rot). You'll see too the colors here get really vibrant compared to the west coast. Let me know if you have more questions.

I have quite a few more pictures on my website, though I didn't take any photos last year.

plumeria - Write On Rubee

WOW ! that one in the picture is gorgeous. Is it planted in the shade or sun ?

[Rubee]

Sorry for the delayed response! It's under a ramada so it gets filtered shade. This is an old pic I posted on Pinterest. Wish I had a better one. But it's planted on the right side (we had a cut-out in the pavers put in to plant it).

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/132082201542977466/

[wase4711]

hi Rubee;

that's my sisters name too!

Anyways, I live about 5 minutes west of you, and would love to grow some plumeria too; where did you get your plants when they were small? I don't see alot of them in the garden centers I visit..I have some nice spots where they would do well..
thanks!

[veritased]

My plumeria looked amazing when I bought it at Summerwinds nursery, where they had a full range of sizes.

I got it home, we went into that serious heat stretch, and the freaking sun burned the leaves.
I really had to optimize placement for shade, rather than the 'full sun' that the plant sticker called for.

BTW, I just back from SE Asia, and holy cow, they got Plumeria TREES, as in big thick trunks with trees with hundreds ot bracnhes. They grow like weeds out there, planted in the dirt, not getting special irrigation or shade or food. They just thrive so well.

[wase4711]

weird, I was just at Summerwinds last week, and didn't even look for Plumeria; I got some other unique stuff there though..
I'll have to make another trip there and see what they have; thanks for the info!

[raimeiken]

Originally Posted by veritased

My plumeria looked amazing when I bought it at Summerwinds nursery, where they had a full range of sizes.

I got it home, we went into that serious heat stretch, and the freaking sun burned the leaves.
I really had to optimize placement for shade, rather than the 'full sun' that the plant sticker called for.

BTW, I just back from SE Asia, and holy cow, they got Plumeria TREES, as in big thick trunks with trees with hundreds ot bracnhes. They grow like weeds out there, planted in the dirt, not getting special irrigation or shade or food. They just thrive so well.

They can take full sun here only when they're fully acclimated. Theres lots of plumeria growers here that have big trees in ground around the valley.

Join this group on facebook to see all the local growers and their trees.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/216316992186907/