The SF Bay area is mild and frost free, so plumerias are a valid candidate to plant, although im not sure if they would like the lack of heat in the summer, but im no expert. You might want to plant it in a south facing wall to get the most heat. Home Depot, Lowes and other nurseries sell plumerias, theres no need to hastle with (usually) small plants sent via mail. The main thing is planting them in a place with good drainage (a raised bed for example). They do not like to sit in standing water and will rot easily that way, especially in the winter months.

Hello,
I live in the East Bay area. Have had some luck with a good size plant that I brought with me when I moved from So Cal. I brought it inside during the fall and winter as it was in a large pot. It was a Celadine and bloomed beautifully and seemed to grow bigger and thicker for several years. I became optimistic and purchased several varieties I had dreamed about from a place in Corona (driving 8 hours to get there;totally worth in in my opinion )I had 11 beautiful plumies including my original Celadine.I think I rescued them too late from our chilly Fall evenings because they all died. I cried and grieved over those beauties and blamed myself for not bringing them inside sooner. Not to mention the guilt my DH laid on me for all the time and money, I became very discouraged. I have layed low for a year from plumies and this forum, but now I am back- and ready to try again. I figure that if I limit the mumber of plants, for now anyway it will be more managable. I was excited about that heatwave, we had last week, but now the evenings are windy and chilly. I have been bringing them inside in the early evening and setting them out in the morning sun. I'll see what happens.

Cindy

"Not to mention the guilt my DH laid on me for all the time and money, I became very discouraged"

Hmmm...isn't that typical? I experience that as well. In addition my in-laws do a great job about criticizing my hobby since they absolutely lack a green thumb...

Anyways, keep up with what you believe in. Good luck with your plummies.

Hi,
You have to keep trying..2006 like most, I too lost most all of my plants to freeze.. But..bought more the next spring and kept trying. Now I am wintering my plants on my south patio, covered in freeze cloth, one large one inside. I keep learning how to keep them warm and hope rains will make it.. so far doing ok. I Was down to 5 plants, now have about 40.. so stay in there. YEs a expensive hobby, but worth it when they finally bloom!!!
Karen B

Okay, I'm giving it a go. I just bought a beautiful plant and will follow all your instructions. Just wondering what medium I should use to pot it or are they slow growing were I can leave it in the nursery pot. How frequent should we water, full sun? and any feedings?
thanks all

Well, Trudy, welcome! I don't know if you noticed, but this specific thread was started almost 3 years ago so I did start a new one just recently. So far we a a small lot of people.

I'm in Novato, north of SF, spring painting is in Livermore and then you. I will give you as much info as possible, but I am such a novice at this that I'm pretty sure there is lots of nuances I don't know about.

I found this forum a few years ago when I first got the bright idea to grow Plumeria up here (after all, southern and northern California isn't THAT different in temps, right?) AHAHAHA! soooo wrong! I think I have read everything I could about growing and dormancy etc, but I'm still learning. Dave from Nova and Laura from VB I think have the closest temps to us and if you just skip thru each of the threads and read them, look at pics etc, you can pick up a lot about your questions. Tdogdad is a guru on here as far as I'm concerned and is very knowledgeable too. Unfortunately, he lives in SoCal and is in a totally different zone than I am. But he still gives great advice!

Where are you in norCal? I see you are in zone 9 but that doesn't mean much to me as I am supposed to be zone 10 (a-b) but it sure doesn't feel like those kind of temps up here.

I will try to help as best I can since there only seems to be three of us active on this forum - I haven't seen any of the other names in this post recently, but I suggest you just set aside a little time (while you are waiting for those blooms) and search thru this forum for the info you are looking for and then adapt it to your area as best as you can.

I also started a new posting called NorCal plumeria growers anywhere?? For a more recent posting. Good luck!

And three years later... Plumeria outdoors in ground in the bay area need more then full sun- they need heat bouncing off a wall. And,its a must they not only be protected in a freeze,but heated (light bulb). Even then,cold rains cause tips to shrivel. It might not be a long term plant in ground.It would take a very special spot for them in ground here. In pots? They can last decades placed under cover in winter..roof overhang. Just an Amazing difference in growth.
Also..watch for Gophers. They will turn a old rooted plant into a big cutting.

I live in Santa Clara, N. Cal. My plumeria plants have been outside under an eave since 2004 in pots. 2015 has been the best year for them. I've been considering hanging a protective sheet against the cold this winter and perhaps bringing my starters indoors. When l visit S. Cal. l try to find a tree from which l can bring home a stick to propagate. Two summers ago l brought two home and the pinkish-yellow bloomed immediately (not this year though) and the the white bloomed this summer and still has buds on it, Thankgiving weekend. My two oldest plants bloomed the best it ever has and had huge, dark green leaves and also still has buds.

This year l am trying to start lilies of the valleys.....

I live in Pleasanton and I am having a hard time figuring out when to water them? I have a moisture meter, but what number should it be on? I take them in the house when it's going to be too cool.

Outdoors in summer you cant over water them. You should use Nursery pots..with the 4 big corner drainage holes. In summer a saucer underneath helps.

Remove that when winter gets going.

Pleasanton can grow potted Plumeria's great. Warm to hot summers.

Hello erinaura, a friend of mine in Mt. View has great luck with his plumeria which are in pots. He fertilizes weekly in the spring/summer with a fertilizer somewhere in the 10/50/10 range. The high phosphate (middle #) encourages blooms. He soaks his plants weekly in water combined with his fertilizer..

All of my plumeria plants are in pots. The top phot is a white bloom (on the left) along with a plant with little yellow plumeria and another plant with very pale pink blooms. These bloomings are from last summer/fall 2015. The second photo is the plant on the far left in the top photo. Last year year was an especially good year for these plumeria. I'm not sure why!

Surprisingly,Plumeria obtusa is worth a try. Its overwintered for two winters uncovered in a pot for me in Hayward. Better would be a sunny patio with overhead protection. Lost leafs the first winter...held half of its leaves the second winter,and now in the third summer its really branching (small though) out. Maybe a bloom soon. Nice glossy tropical foliage.

I wonder if the Singapore dwarf evergreens would be as hardy?

I live in Hollister and have 2 plumerias. I found them online from a grower in Hawaii. I asked what varieties would do well in my area. I was told Samoa Fluff and can't remember the other one. Samoa Fluff has a large white flower and the other one is a pink dwarff plant. I have gotten both of them to bloom, but this summer they didn't do well. Hardly any leaves and no flowers. I think maybe I under-watered them. I'm about to put up a garden shed/greehouse so I will bring them in over winter and hopefully they survive. That grower also told me to use fertilizer (wish I could remember the ratio) in the spring, and then a 10-50-10 in the summer.

This was a cutting 2 or 3 years ago. Doing great...but hasn't flowered yet. P.obtusa here in the bay area.

Almost five years ago, I bought my three from a lovely gent in Maui. He gave me advice and tips after I received them, and I've had many flowering years. The pink is tall enough that I can smell it without bending, so I might have to take cuttings for keeping it smaller since I have to bring it in in the winter. The white and yellows have sprouted many new stems out from all the flowering!! :-) From what I believe, it's from semi-heavy fertilizing, and getting those blooms. I'm also in zone 9, but I'm in a little town called Orland. I've even acquired some new ones! I love gardening, so this was a fantastic project/piece for me :-)

Hi Stephanie, I shall be traveling to Maui in October and had hoped to meet with Doug from mauiplumeriagardens.com. Unfortunately a family emergency will have him on the mainland and will postpone our meeting. So he is shipping the three plants I had intended to purchase in person. He is ultra friendly, helpful and generous with his time on the phone. If you go to his site......here are the colors I shall be receiving: the Scott Pratt, Grove Farm and the India, all which he assures me are robust varieties. I'm very excited to receive and add them to my garden.

I believe I have been to Orland. Isn't that quite a bit north?

(*';') Aileen

Those Orland Plummies look as lush as the ones in the hot and humid southeast. You must have those hot Sacramento summers.

Whats the plant in the background with variegated leaves?

Aileen and Stan,

Thank you both! I am proud of my babies :-)

Aileen, I look forward to seeing what you got!

Orland is quite a bit north from you both..I'm in the Sacramento Valley, but right in between Redding and Sacramento. A little closer to Redding. It gets super hot and dry here, but I keep my plants well taken care of in partial shade, and man! watering is a hard chore before and after work during the heat waves. Ugh! WORTH IT! :-)

Stan, I think you might be referring to the sun hitting my orange tree leaves on the left? I only have that, and a tall "hardy Aster" is what it was named at a local plant sale/garden tour that is behind the reds in the pic...but neither are variegated..but I see what you mean, I think haha!

The red I'm actually considering cutting all tips off for cuttings, and hoping and praying that the original will shoot more stems out and won't look bad. It is super tall now, only has three main stalks and looks leggy, whilst my others have gone from 4 stems to 7, and 5 stems to 11!. More possible flowers from each tip! The red be taller than me next year if I dont. It makes me nervous, as this will be my first time cutting these, and I might chicken out....articles say to take cuttings in spring, but videos look like they are taken in fall. My plumeria are not flowering in the spring...they are barely waking up! I received mine in the fall, and I almost lost mine due to too much rain intake while trying to root them (rookie mistake). They lived because I just overwintered them inside my house/outside of soil like living sticks to dry them out, and re-woke/planted them in spring. Everything in my gut tells me to cut them now, but I would cry if I lost any of them.

Stephanie, your plumeria plants look incredible. I hadn't enlarged your picture the first time I replied to you. I was so excited that you might have received your plants from the same vendor from whom I will be receiving mine. Do you have trees behind your plumeria plants to protect them a bit?

Whatever, they must love where they are and the care they are receiving!

Take care........Aileen

UPDATE: I almost lost the P.obtusa. The last winter was worse then most in history...very wet and cold. What these plants hate. Its sprouting new small branches,after the large branches you see rotted. I had forgotten it had ever looked that good..sigh.

I have decided to keep my DSP in the house during winter. One winter, fresh eating rot started on one branch and I have to cut it almost all the way to the bottom to save the plant. It is evergreen leaf so it was good house plant for the winter....

Here is my first bloom of 2017! It seems I will have only three of my 20 plants blooming. This is a cutting I got from a front yard in LA in 2015. I drive down there quite often and that is from where most of my cuttings come.....relatives, friends and strangers who like to share.

Of the seven plants I ordered from Maui Plumeria Gardens last October only three are still among the living. I planted and kept them indoors all winter. These are the first plumeria for which I paid. I will try to go back to Maui in September and purchase a replacement for the Scott Pratt (red) variety.

All of my other plumeria remained outdoors under overhangs during the winter. I planted a large four foot cutting into the ground a couple of weeks ago in Prunedale. I live in Santa Clara during the week which is warmer so I will definitely have to cover my newest addition over the winter. I'll keep my fingers crossed. It was a freebie from a very fragrant yellow plumeria tree in LA that some ladies gave me from their front yard.

I'm sure your are all also enjoying your blooms........ Take care,

Aileen

Hi, just found this page. I have a size foot tall plumeria that has been living very healthily in a large plastic pot. She (Plumie the plumeria as named by my daughter) blooms, puts out leaves and is very happy. I've placed her on our patio under the eaves and she has thrived...but she's starting to lean and get too large for her space on the patio. I'm thinking of planting her in the ground or making a large planter box for her. I know plumerias have small root balls compared to their height but how deep would a planter box be for her to thrive? Thanks for any tips re in ground planting also.

Kawagoe has the first word on growing them in ground outdoors- he has posted a Celadine thriving in a brick planter under the eaves of his house- ideal placement. No root rot that way. If you plant in ground? Maker sure you mix in lots of perlite or coarse sands or pea gravels, or grit. Never plain clay in flat ground in the bay area. At the very least raise bed it up at least 4".

In pots,its straightforward, bigger pot for bigger Plummies. ALTHOUGH just pot up instead of starting with overly large pots and wet potting soils.

Hi Linda, Stan is right. I have my Celadine in ground for over 6 years and doing fine.

I dig twice large hole (in pot plant was in it before) and as Stan said placed the soil mix then place the plumeria in the ground. I do not know how much root penetrate clay soil but it is fine so far.

Also, if you are have facebook account and in bay area join the "Silicon Valley Plumeria" in the face book

Hello Stephanie, I live in Tracy Ca. I just got two cuttings of Plumerias and my husband surprised me with two larger plumerias from Southern CA. I am curious how much you water them during our heat waves? I suspect they will have some shock but I do not want to over water as well. I have stuck my finger in the soil and it is still a little damp two inches down. Do I wait to water or go ahead and give it a drink?

In summer- water...no need to let it go dry.

I would think Tracy is too cold for in ground planting. There is a youtube vid of large Plumeria growing in Modesto,but I would bet the soils is very sandy not clay. ALL the difference in the world for them.

I plan to keep them in decorative pots so i can bring them in during the winter. we do have 100 + degree days coming up later this week. should i move them to a more shady location on my patio?

No,they want full all day sun. They grow great in the low desert and hottest socal. They just can't take wet cold soils with our longer winters up north. Unless..lol,then we are back to raised beds,lots of reflected warm and cross fingers a frost free winter. Tracy usually has a few good frosts.

I live Frangipani- remind me of another life in Australia. It’s m now in Northern California- Santa Cruz!! I’m guessing they won’t grow here!):