Plumeria Not Blooming

Q: I have three (3) Plumeria or Frangipani, two I brought back from Hawaii and the other I rescued from a neighbor's trash. None of them have ever bloomed. There are some in the neighborhood and they are in bloom now. I fertilized with "red" dynamite and still nothing happened to them. What can I do to help them?

Hardiness Zone: 9b
Christy P from Jupiter, FL

A: Christy,

I would start with a process of elimination. Are you meeting all of your Plumeria's needs? Start with good, well-drained potting soil and lots of sunlight. Plumeria is unlikely to bloom when kept indoors, as it needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. I assume your growing yours in containers and will be moving them indoors in the winter. Water your Plumeria as necessary, deeply, but not necessarily frequently. Plumeria stems store water for a period of time, so be careful not to over water. Let the soil dry out just a bit between watering. If you are using Dynamite fertilizer in the red canister (commonly found at Home Depots and other large home centers), you might want to switch. That is a balanced slow-release fertilizer and you may need something with a higher ratio of phosphorus (the second number, e.g. 13-13-13) to promote flowering. Also, if these plants are young (1-2 years old) they may need more time to develop before flowering. Be patient, it will happen eventually. Good Luck!

Ellen

Answers:

Plumeria Not Blooming

Two things you should always keep in mind about Frangipani:

1. It doesn't mature as quickly as most plants, so it should be at least 3 years old before you can expect its first bloom.

2. You should never ever water Frangipani in the winter, or when it is in its dormant stage (this is obvious by the look of the plant).

Frangipani should be fed with a high nitrogen fertilizer beginning in spring when growth begins. To encourage the most blooms, switch to a high phosphorous fertilizer in early May and fertilize every 2-3 weeks through the end of August. (05/04/2006)

By Heidi

Plumeria Not Blooming

I have 8 mature rooted potted plumeria between 3 and 5 years old. They go dormant at the right time, put out beautiful and enormous amount of leaves from spring through summer. They are kept in all afternoon sun in summer and in my laundry room in the winter, but I have never had a bloom on any of them at any time. I live in Northern Delaware where temperatures go in the nineties in summer.

I use high phosphorous food, also time released phos., but they still grow roots and leaves and no blooms. Would you please help me? I would like to order more plants, but I don't even know what kind or color I have. Thank you in advance for your help. (08/26/2007)

By Sally