i've heard of people doing this. i guess it's a fertilizer of sorts?

Thanks for the opinions.

I din't think "grounds" would be much of an advantage, but it seems like it would take quite a bit of material to accelerate growth in my plants to the point where I will be looking UP at the flowers! That almost sounds like a PLUS, for a few more years?

I do wish someone would come up with a good way to recycle coffee grounds, now that I'm thinking about it? Fortunately, I have a princess plant that might benefit, in the meantime.

Thanks again. LB

am new to plumeria, so dunno re coffee grounds on them, but they are great to put in your spreader and put on the lawn...also, lantana love em.

I have heard of epson salt around base. They are acid loving and feed with azalea food. Any photos of your flowers?

My particular problem is the weather. I have one phumaria with a bloom starting, but the rest look like they won't be blooming this year? I have had an isolated frost the past two winters, and no flowers last season and none this year, except as noted. A lot of growth, though. I'll go take a pic in aminute. LB

I have no idea if I did this right?

Here is a link that might be useful:

Ya, looks good... frost damage can slow things down too, especially if the growing tips were damaged... try feeding with a bloom booster fertilizer for awhile...
Brittany

After more checking, I was wrong. The general feedback is that slightly acid is preferred and that the coffee grounds would be fine as the nitrogen is very low. I also heard that roses enjoy coffee grounds too although I can not say I haven't had some misleading information from some very reliable individuals before. This is all I know.

The most beautiful plumeria I ever saw were planted in a cemetery on Grand Cayman Island. They were everywhere, pink, yellow, red, white, all were in full bloom in April when we were there several years ago. They were 12-15 ft tall many branched trees. It was extremely arid and dry there.
I have to say this surprised me. I had always been told that plumeria needed a lot of water, that you should never let them wilt, etc etc etc.

I later talked to one of the professional horticulturists that worked at the resort we were staying at. I told him that I was very surprised by the lack of what I considered "tropical" vegetation on the "tropical" island as a whole. I had somehow expected to see heliconias, plumerias, Ti leaves, mangos, everywhere and orchids and what have you dripping off of every available perch.

He just laughed and told me many people have that misconception, but that the majority of the Carribean Islands, including Grand Cayman, are "arid tropics", with lots of heat but very little natural rainfall, and fresh water being at a very expensive premium, only the big resorts can afford to irrigate and actually fertilize.

I asked him about the plumeria in the graveyard and he said that they planted them there to "help cover the grave smell" (Uh Oh...) He said that they thrive there with no additional irrigation or care and they are never fertilized, they are growing basically in hardpacked sand on top of a dead marine coral bed. He also emphasized that the profuse blooming was directly related to "being grown hard".

I took a lesson from this for my own plumeria, and I use no high nitrogen fertilizer. I sprinkle a little 10-50-10 from a jar directly onto the soil around the base as a top dressing, and water it in, no more than a teaspoonful per plant, once a week from April-November. Unless it rains, I don;t water the plumeria AT ALL. My blooms have probably doubled or tripled in numbers since I started doing years ago.

Bihai= you made a wise deduction. Like Brittany said, most of the places where plumie take a lot of rain are either sand and coral islands, volcanic soils or limestones all of which can handle tons of rain but it goes right through in a few minutes. Also, you now know why the celadine was once called "graveyard yellow" because this practice was also popular in asia and on many tropical islands. It was also believed that the constant flowering with the dormant season following signified an eternal life as well as hiding smells. In some asian areas, plumerias have been slow to become household plants because of the past connection with graveyards. One thing I would add is that it is that nitrogen is not bad for the first year to encourage leaf, stem and root growth. Then as flowering begins, switch to high K. Bill

bihai,
How much rain do you get where you live?? I think they would fry here in southern california without additional water.

Tony

In the Valley, you may be right. I used to live in LA, I had a friend who lived in Sherman Oaks. It was always hotter there than in LA (I lived over by Venice).

Its not that we get more rain (although in a normal summer, its possible for us to get a brief afternoon thunderstorm almost daily...this summer we are almost 50% BEHIND on rainfall and its severely dry here, and that has been in combination with temperatures in the 92-97 degree range daily...however, Tropical Storm/Hurricane ALberto is now almost here and we are getting some showers YIPPEE!!!!) that keep ours from frying...its high humidity, which you don't have there. EVen in more coastal areas of So Cal the marine layer can;t take the place of real humidity

Yeah, there seems to be many methods! I feel the same as the above writer. (pharoah) I'm some distance east from the San Fernando Valley, but it gets much warmer here than along the coast. I'm a rank amateur, but I feel that my plumarias "need" water all summer long. The question is; how much? Since this is a judgement call, I tend to err on the plus side, figuring that a little too much is better than withholding water and possibly killing my plants....especially those in pots. I also think that bloom boosters this time of year won't help me if leaves are already sprouting and I don't see inflows, right off the bat. I do not see flowers starting in the late season; in my experience. LB

In my experience, I have cultivated and raised over 500 plumerias. I have never lost one to too little water and I have not watered some for several weeks. I have however recognized that probably all I have lost over the years were due to overwatering, incorrect soil mixes (too much water), plugged pot drainage holes from lack of root pruning (too wet) or planting in incorrectly drained soil. You can take your chances as they are your plants. If I had it to do over, I would have bought a water meter a long time ago. When your favorite plant goes down to stem rot, it is heartbreaking. Look at your plant. It is not a skinny little stem- it is a fat little water tank designed to make it through the dry periods.

LB,
You are correct that in our area the plumeria need more water. We get into single digit humidity and that's where the difference lies. By keeping the soil moist, the evaporation leads to increased humidity around the plant and enhanced growth. The only time rot is a concern is when the soil is cold and wet... and also if you have dead soil with no microbes to inhibit the bad fungus. With lots of circulation and warm soil your chance of rot during the summer is almost zero.

By the way, I have 29 inflos on 30 plants and yes, most of them showed up as the first leaves appeared, but last year I got several during fall as well. Those seem to be the two times that inflos pop (late spring and fall), so don't give up hope.

I feel like a chemical higher phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is beneficial for a foliar feed only. I only use organic fertilizers in the soil because as I said, it will keep the soil alive and healthy allowing the roots to be healthy and able to absorb the nutrients they need. Coffee grounds are wonderful for plumeria as is alfalfa meal, kelp meal, fish emulsion, etc.

Tony

I never, ever use fish emulsion. On anything. I don't have the knack. I once rotted a rare heliconia that was well established and growing by using fish emulsion. I am convinced it infected the plant with some type of fungus. It was an experiment I should not have tried. I am perfectly happy with the results of crystalline water soluble fertilizers like Miracle Grow or Peters. I get the flowers I want, the plants stay healthy, every one is happy. I have found that here, whenever I try to do something "organic" like use eggshells, banana peels, etc it backfires on me in some way and I get pest problems or worse.
LOL I remember when we first drove across the desert to Los Angeles from Texas in the mid-1980's to move there....as the car went through extreme West Texas (I was from the beach, Gulf Coast, Corpus Christi and was used to HUMID)it got dry. In New Mexico, it got drier. In AZ, I had to start putting Carmex on my lips every 2-3 hours. By the time we rolled into LA I was using Vaseline Intensive Care lotion on my entire body twice a day. I felt like every molecule of moisture was being sucked out of my body. But now I am back where I belong, relative humidities between 50-95% most of the time.

As mentioned, the only problem I ever had with excess moisture was when it was cold and wet one year, and many of my tips got soft and started some kind of a rot. In the spring I progressively pruned the tips down to where I got milky white sap. All the plants recovered, but I lost a whole year's growth, in some cases.

From the perspective of a rank amateur, (for what it's worth) I think many people here are doing things correctly, for their area, and those practices may have varing degrees of success, in other zones. All I am sure of is my plants appear to do better if I give them water during the summer, every second or third day. Again, depending on the plant and whether it's in the ground or potted.

Okay, I will go out and get some bloom booster, a few fall flowers are better than none. The above pic I posted is of a Jack something? very deep red flowers on a long stem, which has bloomed every year except last year and this year. (so far) I have a friend in Poway that has about 300 plumarias (some quite large) most in the ground and has almost zero luck with reds, so he might be a little bit envious of mine....he seemed so?

LB

Read before you choose a brand:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/AdeniumsofHawaii/miracle.html
http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2307/

Hi,
question Tony.. "Plant needs lot of circulation"? not on the concrete in our 90 degree weather that is coming? Better rooted pots sitting on soil?
Karen

Karen,
Plumeria respond well to a warm rootzone, but scalding hot can cause leaf scorch. They should be okay on concrete up to 90 with adequate moisture, but if our temps get above 95, then I would move them during the hottest part of the day.

I have found that if you put the pots on soil, the roots are drawn down in search of the soil, so if you want additional root growth, that is something to think about. How much sun are your babies getting?

Tony

Hi Tony,
my babies are mixed, ha at this minute. Most are on the concrete on the end of my un coverd patio, up against a block wall west sun. Some are on the covered patio now, there get east sun, but when the grass is watered and I water my hanging plants, would have to constantly move them. They need to find a permanent place somewhere..
Don't have much east sun, back of my property faces the north with large twisted junipers/trees accross the back of my property, then after noon the back of my house is in west sun.

To put them on the ground, would have to take out a established bush, to face west sun, can do that if you think it would be better, to get them off the concrete?
Karen

Karen,
Don't kill a bush for your Plumeria LOL!! The concrete will be fine, just make sure you water well if you know the temps will be approaching 100

Read before you choose a brand:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/AdeniumsofHawaii/miracle.html
http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2307/

Hmmm? Well, I didn't buy their brand "Bloom Booster" but was thinking of it. It didn't say specifically for use with plumarias?

I came home with something called Colorburst which says 15-30-15 on the package? Works pretty good because in two days ;) I see three tiny inflows started, at least, so far?

LB

Hi Tony,
eventually I have to take out that bush to put the plumies in there, to make them a part of the back yard..Such a big area to dig, take out all the grass...thats where I feel old and make it look like a nice flower bed, whew..:Then can adjust the sprinklers to water the yard..thanks for you help.

So can tell my husband.."Tony says you have to take out that bush" , and dig up that part of the yard..mercy my that will go over well..ha ha
Karen

Hi Tony,
Yes, seriously, will make sure the plants are out of the intense heat if it goes up to a hundred..don't want burn, I watch them daily.
Karen

Y'ALL REALLY JUMPED ON THAT COFFEE GROUND THING LIKE GANG BUSTERS......

I USED TO PUT COFFEE GOUNDS ON MY PLANTS BECAUSE I WAS SIMPLY DISPOSING OF THE GROUNDS AND DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE THEM.MY GRAND MOTHER USED TO PUT HER OLD COFFEE GROUNDS ON HER PLANTS AND MY MOTHER PICKED THAT UP FROM HER MOTHER LIKE I OBVIOUSLY DID AS WELL.I USED TO PUT THEM ON THE COLOR BREAK PLANTS AND I WAS CONSIDERING IT AS JUST A SPIKE OF SOMETHING FOR THEM LIKE COMPOSE.

I USE MIRACLE GROW ON THEM AND FIND THE LIQUID FERTILIZER IS BETTER SINCE IT PASSES THROUGH FASTER NOT BURNING THE PLANTS AS EASY.I USE 24-8-16 IN THE BEGINNING OF THE GROWING SEASON AND USE 10-52-10 LATER IN THE SEASON.ITS MY OPINION.I COULD BE WRONG.I HAVE BEEN AT THIS FOR 12 YEARS.OF COURSE THAT'S NOT A LONG TIME IN COMPARISON TO THE MORAGNE'S OR THE LITTLE'S.I READ THE EGGENBERGER BOOK 12 YEARS AGO AND FELT HE WAS PRETTY WELL KNOWLEDGED.

I got here from searching for something else, but I can clear up the coffee question. Coffee grounds are actually about neutral in p.h. about 6.9. All the acicidity goes into the coffee itself and is washed from the grounds. It is used as an organic nitrogen fertilizer, and will not burn your plants. It will repel water if you put it on real thick and it dries. It is comparable to a 2.0-0.3-0.2 fertilizer. Starbucks bags up there coffee grounds and puts them in a container by the door free for gardeners. It can also be used in a compost bin as a green with a 20 - 1 carbon ratio. Using them on the lawn, gardens, or compost bin is a great way to keep millions of pounds out of landfills.

Lee

Coffee grounds are great for attracting earth worms in the garden.

I have always used coffee grounds(and old coffee) on my plumerias, along with epsom salts, fish emulsion, and an organic fertilizer formulated for flowering houseplants from Gardens Alive(I used to use bone meal). I won't use synthetic fertilizers. Not to preach, but they screw up the soil and are causing serious problems with waterways and the ocean(overgrowth of algae and other microscopic organisms, causing environmental problems). They are also like steroids for your plants(juiced!). I figure, its all good for everyone involved to use organics. I'm pretty gung-ho when it comes to organic gardening.
I really think the difference is how much sun they get. I've never got so many blooms as when I found a really sunny site for them(hard in the city). I also found that one of mine bloomed really early, and has another inflorescence coming up as we speak, after I plunged the pot in the ground last year. Maybe it got extra nutrition from the bottom of the pot from the garden soil, plus all the late afternoon sun from that spot. The two that are blooming/going to bloom are my yellows. I have yet to get my Key West Red and Miami Rose to bloom. So I put both of them in the ground this year, and hopefully they will bloom next year.
I hardly ever water them. They do great. When I lived in Hawaii, they grew like crazy whether they were in wet Hilo/Puna(thirty foot trees!) or dry Kona. But in Hilo, there was hardly any soil, just lava rocks, so like mentioned before, excellent drainage(I swear the only thing keeping the plants alive in Hilo was the rainLOL).
Bihai, I laughed at your story of moving to drier climates and the discomfort caused by them. I know exactly what you mean. After staying in humid Hilo/Puna for three months, I found it hard to sleep in Honolulu, with the dry air going over my lips, into my mouth and throat! I wish I would have had lip balm. I was definitely drinking lots of water!
Speaking of moving to dry climates, I'm moving to the L.A. area(Whittier) this November, and many of you answered what I was going to ask on this forum;can plumerias be grown in SoCal? I guess I will have to bring plenty of lip balm and moisturizer! (its funny, I find the opposite problem with people from the Southwest, they usually freak out with the humidity here in the Midwest and out East)
Brian