Laura! This one's for you. I found a praying mantis on a rotted cutting, and I gently moved him and promoted him to protecting Bill.

Check him out in his new home (he's at the bottom - note our bloom on the top left).

Friday, July 12th, 5:15pm, 88 degrees F

Almost

Friday, July 12th, 5:51pm, 88 degrees F

Went from camera phone to regular camera. Still a little while left before it's fully open - but you can start to see the yellow in the middle. Kms2 - I'll let you know when to get that grape Slushie ready!

OMG... My lips are purple from sipping my Koolaid..

Now people will think I have thrush!!! LMAO!!!

IT has to be soon... I think it needed the "Protector" to give it some security... "Strike A Pose.. Vogue.."

I can't go outside tomorrow with purple lips,,

COME ON BILL!!!

He is looking quite handsome, I will say... "come on.." show us what you have, Bill...

Please?

"i'm waiting..."

;-)

Laura

Friday, July 12th, 6:51pm, 88 degrees F

Just about! Going to pull out the grape Koolaid at 7:45, to give it a little more time.

Laura, this has been fun. And it's even got its own plumie protector now.

Got it ready...

One more for now!

OMG.. I feel like im waiting for the final ending on Ebay...

My heart is racing in anticipation...

Is their "refresh button..." ;-)

Im going to say "CHEERS GEORGE" now....

Now.. my teeth are purple too! lol...

Congratulations, DAD!!!

Wonderful job, my friend!!!

Laura

Friday, July 12th, 7:50pm, 84 degrees F

So here, my friends, our webcam journey ends. Bill Moragne has opened!

I have to confess, I did push the petals back - ever so slightly!

But here we are, in all it's glory -

Isn't is a beauty?

Worth the wait!! And an angle view:

Here is where we raise out glasses of grape Koolaid (or symbolic other available grape beverage) and give a toast to a beautiful little rainbow flower that brought us all together! Note the daughter-in-law flower, Jeannie, near Bill on the left.

It even got the plumie protector a new home and job.

And at this special moment, friends, all is well with people, flower, and bug.

Thank you all for making this so much fun.

And thank you the most to the man who made it all possible, Mr. Moragne, Sr. himself.

You did good work, Bill, you did really good work.

Thank you Bill, for Bill!

What's that you say, Freak -- that's not a Bill Moragne flower? What? Oh - then never mind, folks, ignore all the above!

(Just kidding!)

Way to go, George! You petal-pusher, you!!

CHEERS!!!

Just beautiful... I know you are so excited!!!!!

Im so happy for you George!!!

;-)

Laura

Way to go! Whoo-hoo! Gorgeous! I've added Bill to my wishlist!

Congrats Dad for your newborn! ;)

Superb bloom indeed! Lovely! And to smell the scent on top of that... heaven!

Mima

Cheers

Darn I didn't get my scratch and sniff card in time to enjoy the moment. Maybe next time. I'm ready for "Honey Boo Boo" though. Cheers and Congrats. Peg

Thanks for sharing the toast, LOL!

And I like that scratch and sniff idea for the next webcam!

Woohoo! The veining! The Day-Glo pink! The grape Kool-Aid scent! What a flower!

Post some more shots when he opens all the way, 'kay?

I'm waiting in fidgety anticipation on his granddaughter, Edi. This is the only white I fell in love with through photos, so you know she'll be amazing in person.

Congratulations George!! You are definitely a plumie addict :)

Kasie

Wow. I'm speechless and amazed with the colors!!! Hilarious thread I must say. ;). So exciting it bloomed finally. Cheers to everyone.

Chuy

Congrats!! Bill definitely lived up to my expectations! I can't believe how much more intense he is in your area vs. James and mine.

Have fun at the Open House today!

This was a great thread. congrats George. Bill is a wonderful flower.

Mike

Thank you, Nativec, Mima, kms2, Peg, Jandey, Kasie, Chuy, Lynn and Mike!

One quick note - in case anyone is in Southern California and is interested - I saw a beautiful app. 3.5', 2-3 tip Bill Moragne with a big inflo at Upland Nursery today for about $89. Looked like Freak's, as Upland has cooler weather than I do. Great inflo.

Jandey, here it is a couple of days later...

Hubba, hubba! Imagine when Bill matures and blooms "basketball-sized" inflos!

More pics

one more...

Simply gorgeous!

Mima

OMG George,

Bill looks more amazing as he matures!!!

I think I am going to feed my Bill tomorrow. Maybe one day , I will have an inflo on my Bill... We all will have to pass the "Bill Cam " all around the country!! LMAO!!!

Your "Protector" is doing a fantastic job too! I am sure with all of the interest in this beauty, he is probably ready for some peace and quiet.. Did you tell the Mantis what a job he has taken on sitting on "Bill?" What an important job he has!!! Maybe you should give the dogs and the Mantis an extra treat?

Love Bill.. He is so handsome!!! Now, you have started everyone searching for one. Glad I already had one!! ;-)

So is hubby... no FedEx this week!!! No allergies either.. lol

Have a wonderful night!!!

Laura

Jandey, I've seen the huge inflos - one of the things that attracted me to this plumeria. If a single flower looks so good, wait till the inflo is covered with blooms!

Thanks, Laura and Allison.

Only sad thing is that I had bought a really expensive rooted Bill cutting (I'd heard it was hard to root) before I found the big tree! It's doing well in the sunroom, I guess!

My next cam may be on one of the trees I bought from the lady in Orange County. I have a "Sundance" and "Bridal White" that frankly could be anything (in fact, I'd count on them being anything but the above!). No inflos yet on any - but it would be interesting trying to guess what they will be before they open. What if one is a Kukiat Marble Ice Cream or Carmine Glow? One can hope - maybe she went to high school with Kukiat in Orange County and they traded cuttings (I know that's unlikely, I'm just being optimistic here)! She's shown good taste along with her misidentification skills before! Although frankly, I'd be happy if one of them was just a Sundance! In fairness, though, her Celadine was a Celadine - and a nice one!

Bill's flower has maintained the grape Koolaid scent since Friday, and has only been looking better each day. If he lasts a little longer, there are several other buds waiting to bloom - off camera this time! But I'll get the camera back if anything exciting happens!

George, I was channeling you when I nearly got an Edi bud up my nose! She surprised me by unfurling so fast, in a few hours. Figures, the youngster!

Gorgeous sweet scent on Edi! I'm so pleased with her.

Hey, if you have to get stuck with a plumie bud up your nose, Edi M. is one of the best choices!

I saw her for the first time this weekend. I'm not usually drawn to white plumeria, and I've seen most of the Moragne whites, but this one grabbed my attention and pulled me in. And the scent is incredible! Edi is one of my favorites now.

WOW!!! Great bloom and I agree, very fun thread, I have enjoyed coming back to check the progress! That sure is a vibrant and unique bloom, I love it!

Other buds on the inflo are opening!

I've got a way to go till it has as many blooms as this one at Upland. I would love to see my intense colors in an inflo this size!

Plumie Cam. Brilliant! Bill is beautiful and well worth the wait! Congratulations!

I can't wait to see the next episode of "Plumie Cam"!

Simi - I can see you had a blast with Bill! Even though I was a week late, this thread was really fun to read. Isn't it fabulous how the blooms can change from day to day? Love that about plumies!

That was really cute that you managed to fool James. I don't think that would happen very often! :)

James - wow, I love the cool weather coloring!
I was reading about your trespasser. How disturbing. How old do you think he is? I was thinking about someone near and dear to my heart that was making neighbors uncomfortable. She has dementia and did some weird things. She is safe and sound now in her current location.

One week since the first bloom...

Absolutely divine, Simidude!!

Mima

Amazing! Bill is one handsome guy! This has been a great thread thank you for sharing!

Nicole

WOWzers!

This was a great thread. Made me laugh and smile. Can't wait for the next episode of Plumie Cam.

BTW do you have a step by step instruction sheet for plumeria surveillance? I wouldn't know where to start to set up the camera but would love to try.

Cointx, I got my camera about two and a half years ago, so things may have changed considerably since then. At the time, cams were either PC only (no Mac) or were so freaking complicated to set up that you had to be a network engineer. The one I got, DLink 931L, was the easiest I could find to set up and get going. It connects wirelessly to your wireless router, so you only need a power connector. And you can call up your cameras using any web browser, or from your phone. I would love a better picture, but would think in 2.5 years the quality hopefully improved big time. Someone else might have some recommendations for newer webcams with better quality, easy setup, and easy to-use features.

Bump... Just because!!!

;-)

Laura

and now this goes on my wish list...roxanne

Well, I guess if it's bumped, I need to provide some update photos!

Just have to post one more!

Late to the party, but what a fun thread! Your Bill M is simply GORGEOUS!

The photos are killing me!! I've searched all my normal vendors and can't find Bill :(. Simi where did you get yours? Just stunning!

Nativec,

I got my tree from a friend.

I also have a 1 tip rooted Bill M. from last year (got it before I found the big one). If you'd like to trade for another plumie let me know. I had heard that it's a hard one to root, that's why I paid more and bought a rooted one. I thought I got it from Brad's Buds and Blooms, but I'm not seeing it on his website now.

Upland Nursery has unrooted cuttings, and they also sell small trees of Bill M. They had a beautiful blooming one there recently, abut 3.5', don't know if it's still there. They also ship cuttings.

I believe I saw a plumeria online seller in Australia who had it, I'd be curious if Bill M. is popular Down Under!