Getting ready for putting to bed:(

13 years ago

Sadly it is getting to be that time of year for me when I have to start thinking of getting my plumeria ready for bed. This year my plan is to keep all my 1 year old trees and rooted cuttings going over the winter. Any trees that are blooming or are getting ready to bloom. This year it looks like I will only have 2...maybe three that will be bloom over fall and maybe winter...with the exception of my Dwarf Singapore Pink. I have to admit, even the D.S.P.'s flowers are smaller and not as fancy as most of the other plumeria, it's biggest advantage is that I can have it blooming almost all year long. My tree has 4 inflos on it right now.

Ok so besides those plumeria, I plan on starting to cut off all those leaves over the next few days. I can realistically only do 20 maybe 30 a day without it affecting my back. After I get all of them done, I will start spraying the trees with F.E. I also know I have to repot a few of my trees. This past week was really strange weather wise. I had to move the bulk of my trees because the winds were gusting and knocking over my pots. My largest Psycho was knocked over and it was in a terra cotta pot. It probobly weighed about 15 pounds. The pot broke, and this time, I am going to put it into plastic.

So besides, spraying with F.E., cutting off leaves, and repotting any of the trees with pots that were broken because they were knocked over during these weird wind storms, am I forgetting anything? I also plan on moving the naked trees to a spot where if it rains, they wont get wet. That way I cna make sure the pots are good and dry. Last year I lost about 5 or 6 trees because the soil was completely dry. I wont make that mistake again!

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

Andrew

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Comments (6)

irun5k
13 years ago
Hi Andrew, I'm not much help at putting them to sleep since I'm in FL- but I don't think I'd use the word "only" along with 20-30 a day. That is a lot of work!

I know you also have fruit trees and so forth so I can imagine this time of the year is quite busy for you. I admire the dedication but honestly if I ever live in a colder climate I'd be doing the same exact thing!!!

Best of luck.
moonie_57 (8 NC)
13 years ago
Andrew - is it really so bad that we are about to hit the resting period? Just remember what the spring brings and what an exciting time of year it is. :)

Nahhh... forget that! Let's move further south!
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beachplant
13 years ago
I`m tired just reading that!
Tally HO!
Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
13 years ago
I hear you Andrew!!

My trees are going to be assigned the number..lol

Which one will get to stay "awake" ?

Which ones will get to stay in the backroom?

Im not looking forward to this task!!!

I fill you in later...

sigh..

Laura
PRO
the_first_kms2
13 years ago
Think of this time as investment in next year's blooms. I'm going to start searching the box stores around here for end of season deals on pots, fertilizers, equipment, etc.

Curious to know what the purpose of "F.E." would be in your prep for winter? Assuming FE is fish emulsion?
I typically repot, root prune, and branch prune in the early spring (last Weekend in Feb and 1st Weekend in March). Do you just replace damaged pots or are you upsizing for next year as well?
Andrew Scott
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi km2,
The Fish Emulssion is like a natural insecticide. It helps to rid the trees of spider mites, and any other insects that are not visible to the naked eye. I chose to skip this step last year, and trust me, I paid dearly for it. Not spraying led to some serious insect infestations that ended up claiming the lives of several of my tropical fruit trees, and other potted plants.

This time of year, I really don't want to move any plumeria up, unless there so large that they cannot stand up straight in the pot, and they just fall over. I really don't have any that fit into that category right now, but I will have to repot a few next spring when they go back outdoors. Right now I can only think of my 2 Psycho and my DSP that would be candidates for repotting because there top heavy but I have about 30 or so that are in 1 gal pots that will have to be moved up into 2 or 3 gal pots.

Andrew