Oh dear that's a tough one. I honestly don't think any one can tell! I had some tiny newly rooted plants 12-18" with just one tip bloomed last summer. And I had some larger trees 3-4 feet tall with multiple tips that didn't. This year I'm staring at my largest plant 4.5 feet with at least 7 or 8 tips with tons of leaves yet no signs of an inflo in sight!

I know it's still early in the season.... but the 11 plants that have inflos pushed inflos before they pushed out leaves. So I really don't know how or why some will bloom and others won't. If I know I would make them all bloom on command.

Maybe other more experienced folks can shed some light on this issue?

I can say this from experience. My plumeria bloom better when I have them in a flowerbed on the south side of a building. Barbra

That is a thoughtful idea. You might consider ordering some plumerias online? I know of at least two places that will ship them- either loose flowers or made into a lei. I believe they do an overnight thing possibly with dry ice, so you're sure to get them in good shape.

You could still tell her the story of how you tried to grow them yourself which I'm sure she would appreciate.

For really beautiful leis you might want to try www.molokaimadeinhawaii.com Phone is 1-808-553-3391. He also sells some plumeria but not a huge reserve of varieties.

Assuming you are watching the tips, let's hope you will get lucky. The tip will be the place where you will see the start of a bloom. Do a search in this forum for postings that say "is this an inflo?" or derivatives of that phrase. To see what it looks like early on.

How long they last depends on the cultivar.

Hi D!

What a sweet plan to do for your lady... That says a lot about you already and that you like Plumeria? She is a lucky lady!!!

Like others mentioned, there are so many reasons they bloom on their time..it is another phrase.. " plant time". Not our time!!! They usually start to produce Inflos on mature branches and takes time. If you are lucky and the cutting has had some time to mature on the mother tree before it was cut, you may have a better chance on seeing an inflo.

Since you want to do this for your girl... I think ordering some blooms is a wonderful idea and then presenting her with your cuttings that are growing will be a very special gift and one to remember.

What a special time for you!!! Congratulations!!!!

Welcome to the forum and glad you are not lurking anymore!! ;-)

Take care,

Laura

Wow, I wasn't expecting so many responses so soon! Thank you all for your advice and well wishes.

I will definitely consider ordering flowers on their own....I was led to growing because I had a hard time finding a place that would order them in for me.

Researching "inflo" now.

Thanks again.

...with the intent of having my girlfriend's favourite flower on hand when I propose (hopefully this summer).

I would definitely NOT count on getting blooms on your rooted cuttings this season, or even maybe next season, especially in Canada. These plants bloom in their own time and usually have to get quite large and established first...even more so in a cooler climate. Strange things can happen though!

I love the idea of ordering a fresh lei though!

A newly forming inflo looks like a miniature broccoli spear at the tip of the branch. -

One thing I will add from my limited experience.
Here in north Texas, it takes about a month from the time I see a small inflo on the stalk until it actually blooms. I imagine it would be more than that in Canada. I definitely agree with others that ordering the flowers and presenting her the cuttings is a good idea, though.

I would guess 6 weeks is a good number if you see an inflo start. Warm southern exposures will really help out.

I was stuck on a ship with a bunch of Canadians once, well twice... I told them I had a whole bunch of their quarters that I wanted to trade with them. Now I think I'll just keep them. They are worth more.

When its time to propose. Please post and maybe we can collectively find a way to get you some flowers.

D, that is a very sweet idea you have--major points for the sentiment!

The chances of seeing blooms on new cuttings is small, unless those cuttings were from trees about to bloom themselves. But here is a pic of what you're looking for from the very tip of each:

After a few weeks you'd see this:

Then this:

And this:

Then if all goes well, you get something like this:

Best of luck to you! Let us know how it goes!

Wow, thanks again everyone. From my research and Jandey's photos, I can see that I still have a long way to go before I may see any flowers. I have no inflos yet. :-(

I did contact the site that Plumygirl suggested, but they won't ship to Canada because Customs is unpredictable. I do know someone who works there though, and if there's any legal way for me to import them, perhaps I'll just have them shipped to my PO Box in NY State.

In the meantime, I'll keep nursing these plants. Worst case scenario, they'll make nice house-warming gifts for our first place together.