Emily! OMG! How do you do this with your seedlings! That is one sexy girl! It reminds be of JL Black Ruby. The veining is so gorgeous! You must be so proud. Of course I have such a soft spot for any of the reds!

Congrats!

Nicole

Thank you so much Nicole - I am overjoyed with this one - shocked really!!! I never expected to get something this pretty!!! To have a substantial flower size is such an added bonus, I'm happy about that too.

To be honest, I did a lot of things they say not to do to your seedlings LOL! I put them in a lot of sun as soon as they can take it and push them to their limits a bit. I use Foliage Pro and ProTekt & I fertilize them from the time they are very small, and also I do not dilute the fertilizer like they say to do for seedlings - they get fertilized the same time and with the same stuff as the grown ups. I also tend to not let them get all that root bound. By the time this year rolled around they had been graduating containers up to 3-5 gals or so? I also kept them growing over winter under lights.

Aside from my other Penang Peach seedling I posted about and this one, I have I think 5 or 6 more 1 yr seedlings that are forming true inflos and several with false inflos that just branched. The ones forming true inflos are Kimi Moragne, Intense Rainbow and I think the rest are Penang Peach or Thai Mango Blush. It's getting pretty exciting in the seedling department!!!

Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

Can I just send you my seeds from now on and you can grow them for me? LOL You are really doing some fabulous stuff. This bloom is a WINNER!

Geez, for the second time I forgot to ask...What is the scent like?

"Wow "Emily! You sure have the touch. I guess I better start treating my seedlings better. She is a beauty.
Peg

Elucas - she is a stunning lady in red. The kind that stops you in your tracks, then makes you walk right into a wall because you can't stop looking at her. Excellent work!

I agree with your methods & do the same. Lots of light, lots of pot changes, good food (kelp meal, fish emulsion, bat guano, potassium silicate, fulvic acid, aloe, & some extra b1). Great minds think alike huh.... :P

Holy cow, that is STUNNING! You are swimming in over-achievers, E! And is that a side branch? Her foliage is graceful, too. You have the gift with seedlings, that's for sure!

She does look like JL Black Ruby. Big congrats!!

Mine are all just growing taller so they can fit into the family, lol!

Absolutely stunning! Congrats!

Do you use a slow release fertilizer or only liquid ones?

Mima

That is so exciting!! So pretty too!! Congratulations!!

Kasie

Goodness I can't even think straight seeing that flower!!!! Stunner!! Such beautiful color and picture too! Congrats and very excited for you. :0)

Chuy

OMG Emily!!!

Stunning.. Speechless.. Second one this season... You have a gift...

You made me keep a few of my seeds.. I wasn't going to keep any.. now I kept two of each.. LOL...

Beautiful!!

Congratulations!!!

xo

Laura

Emily,

Wow that is stunning! Of course I had to say that because I love reds. :)

Kenny

Wow thats a keeper for sure! Sign me up for a cutting of that when it gets bigger LOL!!

My seedlings are one year old but not relatively tall enough to form an inflo year. My VCR that branched is 12 inches tall and my Queen of Hearts is about 6-8 (its a slow grower) but it is showing signs of reddish-orange in her leaves so I am hoping for a nice red or deep pink flower from it. :)

This is Fantastic. Your success has encouraged me to up pot those few seedlings I have. I'm going to replicate your process. The "E method"

You peeps on this forum are the best, thanks for all of your nice comments on the new arrival!

Nicole you are too funny! *thinks to self about seedling rearing* I wonder if it would be hard to give them back to the parents after a year? LOL! Honestly I cannot detect much scent. Hopefully that will mature with the plant? Only the slightest floral right now, barely there.

Peg thank you so much! Even I feel like maybe I should start treating them even better LOL!! - I had no idea I would even get a flower this year, much less something nice, I'm shocked!

PlumieJunkie, thank you! They really do seem to need the space faster than expected. I agree, letting them stay root bound is stunting their growth - they want to GROW!

Aww, thanks Jen!! Ya know, this one has TWO side branches! I don't know what is making these able to flower right now but I'm loving it!! As you know it is truly an exercise in hope and patience to do seedlings so it's very encouraging to see they can do something cool, and in less than 5 years. The other seedlings have very high expectations set on them now though!

Thank you very much SagoLover! I am only using liquids, just the Foliage Pro and ProTekt.

kasie that is so nice of you, thank you for sharing in my excitement! It wasn't fully open when I went to work that day so as soon as I came home I went straight to it & dorked out at the surprise! haha!

Chuy you're so sweet, I appreciate your nice comments! It's tricky to capture those reds.

Laura you are too kind! Thank you! I'm glad you kept a few, hopefully there's room in the greenhouse for a few babies this winter! They really are a gamble but I have seen some nice seedlings others have grown too so maybe the odds are a little better than we think?! I had very low expectations but high hopes for them so this is truly a joy!!!

Kenny thank you! I love them too and I was just thinking I only had 2 reds so this is exactly what I needed!

Thank you Kim! I will put you on the list! LOL! Your Queen of Hearts sounds promising, I can't wait to see how it grows! And you never know, my Penang Peach seedling bloomed at 21" and this one is not much taller so I was surprised, I thought it would be taller but not too bad at all.

Haha K! If you have the space for them I really think you should at least keep a few! The E method has not been scientifically (or otherwise) researched but I'm not seeing any adverse affects at all. BTW, the large pot at 11:00 behind the seedling is the new mix you and Jen recommended - I had to bail on the lava rock, too labor intensive for me but the Hapi-gro/ MG/ perlite seems completely awesome so far, thank you!

***Also, of course I can't say if other fertilizers would burn the seedlings since I have only used FP.

Here's a preview of the upcoming seedling inflos!

Penang Peach #2 - this one looks promising! This looks like it may open in the next few days too!

Kimi Moragne - this one is going to be a huge inflo.

Penang Peach #3.

Intense Rainbow:

Yet another Penang Peach! #4

That's it Emily. expect a FedEx full of my seedlings for you to take care of! You got a knack for it.
Great job!!

Mike

That is so cool! I`m going home and give my seedlings a talking to.
Tally HO!

I'm so jealous! She is a sexy lady! I have no luck at all with seeds...planted 35 on 1 June and not a single showing of any life- probably have to toss them, but I'm not ready to mourn yet! They all passed the float test but i think our stupid high heat cooked them. boo! She's beautiful, great job!

Hi Emily - OMG...I have been around this forum for a long time and have enjoyed reading everyone's excitement of growing plumerias, as I find that it's always a learning process. But NEVER have I seen so many beautiful 1 year old seedlings bloom and getting ready to bloom. You are truly amazing! Please keep up the fantastic job that you do. I am looking forward to seeing your new baby's bloom.

I second kms2 that this should be called "The E Method".

Kasie

I'm going to use the emethod on my seedlings.... I've got 25 that are a couple months old and twelve that just sprouted. I hope just one blooms by two years but I'm not holding my breath...

Wow! That is impressive!!! Great job!!

Mark

BEAUTIFUL! Nicely done! What do you have them potted in?

This post was edited by powderpuff on Fri, Jul 19, 13 at 18:53

I think I'm gonna try the E method too, I just need to get my hands on some foliage pro LOL!! :P

Mike LOL!!! Thank you, I will keep my eyes open for the FedEx man! :)

Tally, tell them the tale of the seedlings that got thrown away over the winter because they looked weak or let the spider mites get to them *shudder* - that should straighten them out! HAHA!

PickledPink- aw man! Sorry to hear they aren't performing, it could also just be the seeds! In the beginnng it's a little tricky getting the moisture right but once they germinate they get much tougher & can handle fluctuations in moisture & heat much better. Don't give up!

Kasie, that is so awesome of you to say that, thank you!! I don't know what is really making them bloom-at first I thought it was just the Penang Peach seeds but then a couple other varieties got going. I'm curious to see how others perform in the future, I hope they keep it up!

Disneyhorse, please keep us updated on your progress! I'm learning as I go but one thing for sure is the seedlings aren't as fragile as I thought they were. They do need some special care but I think they can handle more than is commonly recommended for them.

Thank you Maark, I appreciate the nice comments!

Powderpuff, thank you! I have them in Miracle Grow potting soil mixed with perlite.

Kim, I have to order it from Amazon, I don't know where else to get it? Recently I had one of those 'you know you've lost it' moments when my GALLON of FP showed up LOL! It looks much bigger in person!!!

Thank you all for the interest in my seedlings & all the nice comments, you guys are the greatest!

What lights do you use to keep them growing in the winter? You do know that you are going to make everyone want to grow seedlings right? They are fun, waiting to see what they are, but the wait is so long many lose interest, especially if they are all white, or all look a like or have inferior blooms, but you have ignited the flame! :)

This post was edited by powderpuff on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 11:07

Powderpuff, I have 2 of the 4' x 4 light T5 lights. I got thm on ebay for about $100 each including shipping. I think I can let them go dormant on their 2nd year, is that right?

I apologize in advance to anyone who has been convinced to grow seedlings LOL!!! They are a lot of fun although they do require patience, as much space as a regular plant at this point and enough persistence to keep them going through at least 1 winter not dormant. If I had plant after plant that produced all white or inferior blooms I would be really discouraged too. I have yet to see what the others will bring, hopefully more good ones than bad!

Aside from Bali Palace I haven't planted any seeds from a white plant, I don't
know if that helps up my chances of color? Good luck to anyone who grows & hope to follow your progress!!!

Love it... " THE E METHOD......"

;-)

Laura

PS. Emily.. i buy my FP buy the gallon too! If you have any hydroponics stores around, they usually carry Dyna Gro products. Ask, and they can order it for you...if not I have ordered it from EBay with free shipping. Great stuff!!! I love it!!!