Jo,
Plumeria tend to bloom on their own schedule despite our best efforts. You will get advice to use a high middle number fertilizer, also known as a bloom enhancer, to see if it encourages blooming. Others advocate stressing the plant slightly by withholding water, letting the soil dry out more than usual. If the leaves start to droop, you need to water it again.

Regarding the tall plumeria you saw, some plumeria tend to be "leggy", developing long stems before they bloom and fork. If yours exhibits this tendency, you can cut off the top 16" or so, leaving at least a foot of the original stem and root the top part as a new cutting. The lower part will develop new branches where it was cut. It takes a while for these branches to develop, so don't lose hope. The result will be two plants where you only had one.
Mike

thanks for your response mike. as a rule, i stress all my plants every so often, thinking this will stretch and strengthen the roots...not hard to accomplish in this texas heat! lol we had particularly long hot and dry spell this summer and the plumeria seemed to love it! odd isnt it for a plant so prevalent in the tropics? just about ruined my bamburanta tho.
as for cutting off the top to encourage branching - should i do this in fall when i am ready to bring it in for winter or should it be done in spring when the plant awakes? and the cutting - just let it dry? or pot right away? i've been told you can take the cutting and just put it in water and leave it as long as neccessary but i knew one person who tried it this way and immediately lost his cutting. what do you suggest?
TIA
jo

Jo,
If you have a couple of months of good, hot weather ahead, I would cut the top off now. If not, I would wait until spring when the latex is flowing again. I would root the cutting immediately, using rooting hormone with fungicide and quick draining potting soil. It takes about two months for a cutting to develop a good root system, and it takes heat for that to happen. You could also use a heat mat and grow lights indoors or in a greenhouse if you want to. But I don't have either, so I have to get it done "naturally".
Mike

Jo,

Don't cut it off!!!

You will only be delaying flowering another season!

Your plant is still small.

Plumeria's branch automatically when they bloom.

When you get them as small as you did, they take a couple 3-4 years to bloom.

The best way to keep the from getting leggy is to give them as much sun as possible in the biggest pot you can tolerate, minumim 18" diameter. Sounds like you are giving it the right amount of sun.

Also, while it is growing in the Summer, I would increase your MG feeding to full strength every week.

For what little Winter you have in Austin (The Hill Country is so beautiful!) I would keep it by a sunny window in a warm room and continue to grow it. You'll be impressed next year if you so so, it will flower.

Wildcat

wildcat-
i thought they had to have dormancy in order to flower. i can grow it in a greenhouse this winter - neighbor gave me his - 10X20...am tickled to have it. i had not planned to put the plumeria in it tho, thinking it would be better to let it go dormant. guess i should re-think that.
ty for your response.
jo

btw--
i repotted it this spring into a 12" clay pot (doubling the size of its pot). I have an 18" black plastic pot i could use. tho i dont generally like to put plants that like good drainage in plastic pots, i read in someone's post not to use clay for plumeria because the roots attach to the sides and will break when transplanting. would like to hear more thoughts on this.
TIA
jo

Jo,
I have all my plumerias in plastic. In the summer I have to water many of them every day. Clay would dry out too fast. You should be able to keep your plumeria in the greenhouse, provided you are able to maintain the temp at least above 40 or 45ºF during the coldest spells. Cut way back on water too. Plumeria don't like being both COLD AND WET.

Jo,
To clarify my earlier post. If your plumeria is top heavy so that you are afraid it will tip over, or bend over from its own weight, you can stake it upright, repot it into a larger pot (some feel the trunk will thicken if the pot is larger), or you can cut/prune the plant. If you cut the top off, it is correct you will not have blooms that year. If you root the cutting it may, or may not bloom next year. The bottom part will likely not bloom next year. However, if you leave the plant alone, and it blooms, you will wind up with a leggy plant with two or more branches at the top, which may make it even more top heavy. It really is a personal decision. If you have been waiting deperately for the plant to bloom, you may want to let it bloom and then take the top off. This will leave you with two plants, one of which has multiple branches already, and one that will develop multiple branches.

Good luck
Mike

thanks to all for your posts!

mike - i would be more disappointed in a plant unable to stand on its own than in waiting another season for blooms. so if i see no evidence of branching, i will definately 'top out' my plant. right now the plant is still small (esp in comparision to some i've seen) so i will do nothing this year except to continue to read these posts and learn all i can about plumeria care. i do hope i will have blooms next year! i will make a decision about topping off as things progress. thank you so much for your instructions on how to do that.
as you and wildcat have stated that branching happens after blooming, i suspect my best course would be to try and enhance blooming - not just for the blooms but also to avoid a 'leggy' plant. is this assumption sound?

i will definately be re-potting into plastic as all have suggested this is better than clay for my plumeria. i do think i will wait until spring to do so though.

thanks again
Jo

Yes,
Plumeria branch when they bloom. Different cultivars will bloom differently in that some will develop an inflo on a fairly short branch, while others develop new inflos only after a branch has grown a great deal. Keep it well fed and watered, and keep your fingers crossed! One of my friends acrually threatened one of her plumies with a chainsaw because it hadn't bloomed. It developed an inflo the next week!
Not that I recommend that method. But, if your really desperate?!?!

Mike

I have a plumeria in a pot that has grown in one 6' stalk. Can it be cut into several pieces to make more plants and hopefully fork into a better looking plant? Right now it looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book.

Laura- was it a cutting or a seedling? There are several things that can be done. It can be cut into 3 18" cuttings and all rooted making sure the center cuts are planted top side up (smily leaf nodes not frowning ones) I would seal the top cuts with a tub and tile sealant and let the lower cuts harden over for a week before normal planting. You could have flowers on the top cut but the center cuts and the rooted stem will take two seasons. Or if you know how to graft, you can graft the top cut onto the bottom rooted stem and then plant the other two center cuts. Grafting can be tricky if new to it. bill

I just planted a plumeria cutting that we brought back from Hawaii. We live in Texas and it is still "winter" (mildly chilly, wet and rainy). I just planted it in a sandy/topsoil mix per the package (it was sold in a bag in a gift shop). Its been in its pot for about a week, and the only real change I see is that it is slightly greener. Otherwise no real change. I water it when the sand is dry, about every 3-4 days and try to give it as much sun as possible (we live in an apartment.) About how long should I expect to see some change, or at least note that it is indeed alive and growing. I really don't want to kill it. Any advice in caring for it in the meantime, or encouraging its growth?