I wouldn't cut off the whole top just because I'd be afraid that it wouldn't root. I also have absolutely no idea how to prune a plumeria tree. If you repot it and stake it do you think that would support it enough? It is a pretty shape with the nice full top but I can see where you'd be worried about the main stem snapping. Maybe Bill will chime in and give you some advice.
karyn

Hi karen , thanks for your reply. I dont have a clue how to cut it either lol. This plummie is larger now than it was in that photo. Each branch is close to 17 inches. The plant is currently dormant and I am planning to cut it in spring but am trying to figure out what I will do with it.
I kind of wanted to keep the top together -like cut it in half at a 45 degree angle. The bottom (from what Ive read) will already be rooted and will sprout new branches from its top. The top with the three branches is what I'm worried about. I think it would root but I'm wondering if the branches might die back and I would have to build a tripod of sorts to support it while it roots!
I guess another option would be to cut all the 3 branches off individually and root the top part of the trunk and all seperately. I was hoping someone might have some experience with a mess like this lol.
~SJN

What may be best for you to do is to cut it near the base, remove a section from the top piece and graft the rest of the top back on to the base. This will shorten the plant and increase the chances the top will survive. You can then try to root the center section you removed.
Mike

I guess that answers my question about when Mike is going to Florida and when he will return on line. Welcome back!!! For those of you who do not know Mike, I recommend you pay attention to his comments. He knows his stuff.
SJN- There are a number of things you can dol 1) Pick up a large pot, a stepping stone that will fit in the bottom and a large garden metal/plastic pole. Get a masonary bit the size of the pole diameter. Drill a hole through middle of the stepping stone and glue the pole into the hole. Put some small rocks in the bottom of the pot, place the stepping stone on the rocks and fill with soil mix to a level where the bottom of your present pot would put the ground level within 2" of the top of the pot. Remove your present pot and make a saw cut through the dirt and some roots until you come to the stem.
Slip this cut around your pole and situate the plant, fill in dirt around the sides and then tie your plant to the pole. (you can also fill a small cardborad box with cement to 3" and stick the pole into the cement)
2) Graft as Mike said but grafts can be tricky and must be kept dry and held tight.
3) Cut the stem at about the bottom of your deck height. Cut at a 45 degree angle and seal. Let the top part dry a week, then dust with rooting hormone, and plant. Use chunks of styrofoam from both sides between the pot edge and the stem to prop up the plant. I use a 5 gal pot for that size cutting. I use two sets of styrofoam, one pair north/south and the other east/west (directions do not matter- just that they are at right angles so the stem is pinned in one spot and cannot move while rooting.)
If any of this is unclear, just ask for more details. I may have pictures of some of this or could take some. Bill

Why don't you plant it in the ground? Or is that not an option? I would cut the main trunk in half and root the whole top half if you only want them growing in pots.
Good luck in what ever you decide to do.

These are all a lot of great ideas.
mikeod & tdogdad,
I never even thought of grafting and am intrigued by it. But the only thing I have ever grafted was a small tree trunk that split. Not really grafting (tied it back together and it healed). I definitely want to get into grafting but this seems scary to start with lol (for me anyways).
(I like the idea with the pole support and paver - very creative) this would probably work good for my monstera I have been trying to think of a way to make a support for it , of course that pole would be wrapped with moss etc. for a monstera).
A few questions:
1) If I tied the tree up and left it whole would it ever get a thick enough trunk to support itself? The plumeria has a 5" diameter trunk now and is a little thicker than it was in that photo (about 7 mos ago) before I moved.
2)If I cut the top off, I should cut it a little shorter than a half size of the plant, instead of in half, Does that give a better chance for the top part to root or just easier to support it? (The local walmart here has some styrofoam plant cover cones on clearance for like .50 cents I bet I could figure something out to support the cutting with those).
wanda662,
Oh how I wish I could just put all my stuff in the ground and be done with it lol. Its not really an option right now though, I am a travel nurse who takes long asignments and will probably move again soooo... I will probably keep it in a pot for now. (It is fun living and gardening in different parts of the country though-you learn so much!)
~SJN

SJN,
Regarding question #2, my experience is that the larger the cutting, the greater the chance of successful rooting. So, what I would do is to measure from the point of branching down about 2 or more feet. By doing this, I wind up with a plant that has a significant single trunk before the first branching. I think the plant looks better, but that's just my opinion/preference. That will also give you the bottom part that will be about 3 feet above the soil line. That one will branch from the tip and will also have a nice shape. Make sure if you do this that you seal the top with something. I use latex caulk, but things like spackle will do. You want to make sure water doesn't promote rot from the top.

Bill is right that rooting cuttings can be hit or miss, but all my failures have been with green or small cuttings. If your plant is 4" diameter, it should root well, but, of course, there is no guarantee. The insurance policy is the base of the plant that is still rooted and will put out new shoots. Last year I had a plumie with two long branches emerging from a short trunk. I had to support them because they kept bending over and threatening to break off entirely. I finally cut the branches about 1.5 feet above the fork and rooted the tops. The base has three or four new branches from each tip and will become a more attractive and stronger plant.
Mike

Plumeria are trees. Were do you live? They don't like the frost .If it were mine I would move it up to a much larger pot.
Mickey

SJN- Plumerias will eventually thicken up. I have used calcium nitrate to help this and a Vietnamese friend pours old milk on his. Scientifically I do not know if this is true but both of us have some beefy plants.
For rooting, remember, the taller your stem with branches, the more secure it needs to be to keep from moving and breaking off the young roots. Also, I have found that larger, multibranch cuttings have rooted easily. I have about a dozen right now from this year.
The reason for the cement or stone base is that I used to stick in a pole but the plumie would eventually bend it over. The cemented base keeps the pole straight up. I first bolted wood poles to the stone, but after 4-5 years, the poles snapped off in winds so I went to metal poles (a tip from Bud Guillot)
My grafting experiments have all failed so I have a bad taste for it.
Mike- Did you mean 4" circumference? Bill

Thanks for all the advice~now I have to decide what to do lol. If it will actually thicken up I may leave it as is and support and repot it. I will try the calcium nitrate as well. If run into problems, I guess I can always cut it later (now that I know what to do). I'm so glad there are such nice people on gardenweb to help out.
~SJN

Don't uses Calcium nitrate until March or when your plant awakens. Bill

Hi Bill,
SJN mentioned the plant was 5" diameter. That's what I was trying to type, but hit the wrong key. (Only missed by one!!)
Mike

Sorry I missed that Mike.
Sjn- I took some pictures to help with your cutting and I took some pics of stem diameters so all can have a measurement guide. Bill
Larger cuttings held in place with three, two or one styrofoam pieces wedged between the pot edge and the stem:
{{gwi:1149268}}
Two and a half inch stem (about four years old):
{{gwi:1149270}}
Three and a half inch stem (about 5-6 years old):
{{gwi:1149272}}
Four inch stem (about 10 years):
{{gwi:1149274}}
Hope this helps give a idea of plant stem size. Bill

Tdog thanks for those photos. They give a good demo of what to do if/when I cut them. Those are some hefty stems on yours. They all look really good. I took a tape measurement all the way around the my stem to get the 5". I guess I should have said 5" circumference ;P ?? lol. Sorry blonde moment!
~SJN