Plumeria plants are native to tropical regions like the Caribbean, Mexico, South and Central Africa. So, naturally, they grow better in warmer climates.
But even otherwise, they are quite easy to grow and come with the delightful advantage of aromatic flowers that grow in clusters.
So, anyone who has a plant or knows someone who does want to grow one (or more) of these for obvious reasons.
Luckily, it’s not that hard. Now, those who don’t live in warm climates need to know how to recreate those weather conditions to make sure your Plumeria plant grows just fine. It is not difficult, but you need to pay attention to a few details.
Even before you start researching all that, you must know that to take care of a plant, you first need to have a plant. So, first things first. Let’s take a look at how to propagate Plumeria and then perhaps learn about how to take care of the plant.
When Is the Best Time to Take Plumeria Cuttings
There are two ways to propagate your Plumeria plant. One is through seeds and the other is through cuttings. Now, propagating a Plumeria plant through cuttings, which is the second option here, is highly recommended because it is also the easier way to grow the plant.
Now, your Plumeria plant breaks branches at different points in the year. But if you want to propagate the plant, you need to gather the cuttings at the right time.
This time period varies based on where you live. But there is consensus that the spring season is without a doubt a good time to pick up some cuttings from the plant.
That is because it is in the springtime that the Plumeria plants come out of a dormant winter and are ready to grow.
If you happen to miss out on that, then early to mid-summer is also a good time. That’s because Plumerias are cultivars that grow roots easily but of course under the right circumstances.
If you have reached fall, you better give up trying to propagate them this year because this time of the year does not give the roots a good chance of survival. That’s because next comes winter when the plants are ready to take their long hibernation nap.
How to Propagate Plumeria Plants
As mentioned before, growing a Plumeria from cuttings is an easy process. But it does require some amount of preparation.
A week before you are ready to propagate the plant, you must harden the cuttings. This means you need to identify the spot from where you will collect the cutting and make a deep cut there.
A good cutting must be 12-18 inches long. Make sure the place where you store the cuttings is dry and has good ventilation. Give it seven days in this place to make sure the plant gets rid of the calluses and dries off. This makes it easy for the new roots to grow while also reducing the risk of infection.
Now, you can root the cuttings in both water and soil. But rooting them in water is a process that does not have a huge margin of success. That’s because the risk of root rotting is high and real with Plumerias. So, if you are not an experienced gardener, don’t try this.
Rooting them in the soil is easy, preferred and safe. Here’s how you do it.
Rooting the Cuttings in Soil
First, you need to make sure you have the right pot and that it is clear of any kind of contamination. You must also pick the right size (one that is not too big) because of the risk of overwatering.
Typically, a lot of gardeners like to get 4-inch pots and when it is filled with roots, they graduate to 6-inch pots.
What You Need
⦁ Cured Plumeria cuttings
⦁ Plant hormone
⦁ Clean pot
⦁ Potting mix (consider succulent soil mix or a mix of perlite, potting soil and sand)
A week after you get the cuttings, they should be dry enough for you to plant them. Any potting mix that is meant for succulents will work. If you are making one at home, you must mix two-thirds of perlite and one-thirds of potting soil in a large pot. But if you live in a region with a warm climate, you can just plant it in the ground.
Here’s the process of propagating your Plumeria plant through cuttings in soil.
⦁ Step 1: Add some plant rooting hormone to encourage the formation and growth of roots.
⦁ Step 2: Create a hole with a finger or pencil in the soil to place the cutting. If you did not add the plant hormone, you can directly push the cutting into the soil. That’s because then you don’t have to be concerned about the hormone rubbing off on the soil.
⦁ Step 3: Push the cutting into the soil (or into the hole depending on whether or not you added the hormone) and tuck the soil around your stem’s base. Make sure that the soil touches the cutting and both the items are tightly packed to make sure the cutting can stand on its own.
⦁ Step 4: Water the soil enough so that the excess starts to drain out of the holes in the container. Let the water leave the pot entirely before you take the container into a humid place where it will sit for the next few days or weeks drying up and growing roots simultaneously.
Remember that too much water can rot the roots. Keep the containers in a place where there is enough sun but also a little bit of shade. In the next 2-3 months, you will notice roots forming in the pot.
Wrapping Up
When picking a tree for propagation, it is important to find a healthy one. Water the plant the night before you get the cutting to make sure it is hydrated.
When you do get the cuttings, make sure that they don’t have leaves on them because they tend to absorb all the moisture. Removing leaves also means you don’t leave any chance for diseases to attack the nodes.
Plumeria plants are rather beautiful flowering plants. The colors range from white and yellow to pink and red. They could be in a single color or in a combination of any of these.
When propagating them, it is important to keep the cuttings dry and get the right potting mix. It takes 2-3 years for the plant to mature, which means you need to be patient for a while. And that’s all you need to know about how to propagate Plumeria.