Hi Gill,

How's your winter been? We're c-c-c-cold here!

Here are some more possibilites.

1) Colors do intensify when plants get more sun. My 'Siam Ruby' blooms white/yellow indoors in winter under a grow light and bright pink in summer. I have posted photos of this a while ago. I don't know to what degree your plant was in shade though.

2) Also, could the plant have been grafted and the rootstock is what is now blooming.

3) Or the plant was grown from seed and is just now showing its true colors.

4) could be responding to better overall treatment? (fert, etc.)?

5) Who knows? There are a lot of variables. LOL!

Hello Dave, thanks for the other suggestions...either one could be the correct answer as you say. Guess we will never know as it was planted in the garden when they bought the house. Anyway, I'll send a copy of your ideas to Oz and see if they can see a grafting union for example. Hopefully, as I said, we are going to visit them again this year...so I can have a looksee myself!!

Winter has been colder and frostier than last year here in the UK Midlands area. Have had small amounts of snow that lasted just a few days...more than in recent years, but FAR less than say 20 yrs ago when it used to snow and snow then last for days and weeks even. Highs have been around 12C and we been down to -degsC continuously for up to a week, lowest at our place was -9C. Today it's -2C and thick fog.
My plumies are surviving although Celadine has problems as you can see.

I decapitaed her below the shrivelled part and the lower stem looked OK, with green and clean wood, but I noticed there was no flow of latex when I cut it. However, after a couple of days the cut surface turned black, plus several 'pin-tests' gave no latex at all from any area of the stem.
I think Mme. Celadine is now well and truly deceased don't you?!
Thankfully, the 4 I grew from Lauri's seeds in March '07 are looking fine at the moment.
I think I will have to try and curb my desire to grow exotics and stick with plants I'm 'supposed' to grow here in the UK. Yeah, you reckon?? haha!!
Thanks again.
Gill.

Hi Gill, Have been so busy with school and work haven't visited this site in awhile. Thankfully only three more months and I am finished. Happy to hear that the four from the seeds I sent you are doing well. Happy to report mine are too. I was thinking that we were going to get through this winter without a cold spell, but I was certainly wrong. Ended up going out and cutting all the ones I had planted outside down and now have a bunch of "sticks" in my garage. Hurt like heck to chop down my biggest one, but better than having it freeze.
And now, I have a math test today so need to get to studying.
Lauri

Gill, more sunshine could be the answer to such a dramatic color change. The picture outside your window reminds me of our weather last week !! Dreary, cold, damp. Your Celadine looks very sad. Did you cut below that last scar on the stem ? (the big one ?) How about a heating mat (or human heating pad underneath it ? )

Cali

Laurie.. hope you did well on your test !! For gosh sakes, you chopped down all your in ground plumeria ?? Were they damaged, frost bit or something ? Were they too big to dig up and bring inside until you had warmer weather ?? Dang.

Cali

Yes, the past two years I haven't been able to save them from getting frost bite. And they were big too, one quite out of control with a very odd branching. I've heard that one doesn't want to damage the roots so I figured it was just easier to cut them down and root them over the next few months, and then I will plant them all in pots. I wish it didn't freeze here so I could plant them in the ground, to someday be glorious trees but seems that won't be happening.
Lauri

Hi Lauri,
You can cover your plants with a freeze/ice cloth all the way from the bottom to the top and bottom..put bricks around to keep the cold out. Cover your tips with newspaper, sheet, flannel tablecloth, plastic anything to keep them warm..Just remember fabric on the plant or newspaper first, then plastic..trash sacks even.. You should make it through cold temps hopefully that way. Or put them in cans to bring inside.
Karen B

Lauri...glad to see you are still dropping into GW again, I have just 'lurked' as they say, not much to write about at this time of year is there? Good luck with the studying BTW. Yes, thanks to you, my other four are doing fine, two yellow and two pink...unless I mixed the labels or seeds up LOL! I'm certain you will get the sticks to root for you. Planting in pots and plunging outdoors up to the rims in the warmer months sounds a better option to me than having to take drastic action such as chopping them all down. Must be heartbraking to have to do that. Would the resulting rooted stumps sprout if you potted them up?

Cali...Oz aunt reported temps in their area south of Perth were up to 40C, so moving the plumie from shady area into that heat would certainly give it a shock, maybe that did do it? Yes it's the same dull foggy day here again today, really miserable. I did cut immediately below the big scar..(that was from the only inflo that I got back in 2006, and its gone downhill since) but you can see a dark patch just below that greener area and another similar darker one lower down. I'm going to try one last thing...to progressively cut it off in small sections till it looks healthier. However, the fact that there are these two dark areas PLUS I have no flow of latex lower down makes me think I'm on looser though. I may well end up at the bottom of the pot searching for good wood at this rate!
Thanks to all who responded, will pass the info on to my rellies.
Gill.