Oh Lovely!!!

Susie

I agree! What a beautiful flower!!

Mmmm - SCORE!!!

Good job!

So pretty! Maybe I should have gotten plumeria if they smell like roses. The roses I bought that are supposed to be "intensely fragrant" - aren't. You don't suppose there's a variety that smells like gardenias, hmmmm??

Plumeria grows lushly in Hawaii and I would be surprised if it will continue to thrive here in the arid desert. It really needs that tropical environment.

I'm assuming HD means Home Depot.(?) A recent experience has put me off buying plants from them. Maybe more knowledgable desert gardeners will have better experiences. I bought several 'black and blue salvias', planted them in full sun, like the tag said. They totally fried. I stopped in at Baker Nursery and mentioned this to the person helping me. She said they take full WINTER sun, but will fry in the summer sun. No kidding. [sigh] She said she does not even order that plant until it's time to plant it here. Now, THAT makes sense. HD is like Walmart, they order in huge batches and push to all stores regardless of location. Therefore, you will find items completely inappropriate for your area. So, that's my story. Sad but true. Good luck with the plumeria. I plan to find a good nursery close to home (west side/Glendale - any suggestions?)and develop a relationship with them. I have LOTS of landscaping to do over the next few years. Thanks to all here for awesome tips and advice.

TF--there are some varieties that smell like gardenias. I think the Singapores and a few other varieties which I am unable to name right name do. If I remember any others, I will let you know.

Mary, plumeria do quite well here provided they are protected from frost. They actually handle full sun quite well here. Magnetogram (detrick) had a picture of some large plumeria somewhere on the west side of town actually.

As for the tags, I ignore them from HD. The plants are usually shipped from California and are meant for their conditions, not ours. For the most part, very few things can take our full sun here. The salvia you are talking about are I believe S. guaranitica and they do require some afternoon shade. I think Garden Trolip and some others do grow it.

If you are unsure about the conditions required by any plant, ask about it here. Most of us have had many experiences with plants here, both good and bad, and should be able to provide better advice than a tag from HD.

GL

Here is a link that might be useful: Aztec Plumeria Thread

Mary... you must be new to the forum... luckily you are wrong about the plumeria... I have 4 of them and they are thriving and blooming and happy... a neighbor down the street has an actual forest of them in their front yard of the pink variety... I have a cutting from them... you'd be surprised... you should give plumeria a try, I've found that they are surprisingly easy to care for... and the picture above is beautiful... one of my thriving plumerias is a Lowe's unknown... but I do go to Lowe's from now on instead of HD... during the summer they don't pay anyone to water... I've watched them ignore their plants, when they die they just replace them... I hope my unknown is a color other than white, I have a white one (a Singapore?) blooming right now that I smuggled from Mexico...
Brittany

Well it certainly looks like I stand corrected. Good. It's just a tough concept - what grows in Hawaii will also thrive here. They are so fragrant, I will be sure to try some in my yard.

Yes, I am relatively new to gardening forums. We bought our house 1.5 years ago, it's on a huge (one-third acre) lot and needs lots of landscaping work. I'm waiting for the heat to break then will jump in and get to work.

As always, thanks for the help and please excuse my jumping to that conclusion! ;-)

Mary

Mary, welcome to AZ. There is actually a plumeria society in the metro-Phoenix area and I think a great deal of the regular posters on this forum grow them, also.

Like Hawaii, though, various parts of this state ban certain plants and gardeners consider many other ones nothing but noxious weeds. I've never met anyone who kept a hydrangea or a fuschia alive longer than a few months although I'm sure someone on here probably has.

There are some awesome classes and courses held throughout the Valley to help you get a 'feel' for desert landscaping, and I'm not talking about just cactus and oleanders.

No, I'm sorry, I read my post and it sounded rude... :) They grow beautifully here... once you get to know this forum and check it often, you'll find a lot of posts from plumeria growers... I've been surprised myself by the things that people are able to grow in this heat... if you have any questions about growing plumeria, or some other plants, feel free to ask, I'm usually a very nice person... :)
Brittany

Mo, watch out for Garden trolip... she may just have the record for hydrangea, but I wouldn't bring up fuchsias in her presence.... >grinMary, you'll find an incredible amount of stuff will grow here, it all depends on how much time and water you want to put into it, that's all.

Yup! My Hydrangea is doing great and bloomed this spring!
It was a little confused about what color it should be tho LOL!!
{{gwi:419175}}

tomatofreak, Our lack of humidity often means that the fragrance oil dissipates before it gets to our noses. If you still don't have fragrance in your roses in spring and fall, then yank 'em up and try sumpin' else. I grow roses mostly for the visual joy, have mostly given up on fragrance, though I have a few that are fragrant. If you really want fragrant roses, try some of the Antique roses, like the damasks.