Ruth Anne,

That is a good question.... : )

Some say wait, some say go for it!!!

Most say wait until spring, but if you have some fresh cuttings that you are ready to try, its your choice!!!

I will say that someone sent me a few Hong Kong cuttings and i was going to wait myself. But after looking at the cuttings, which were very fresh, but thin, i decided to go ahead and root under lights and use a warming mat. I was worried that they would be to thin to wait until spring.

My thicker cuttings i wouldnt worry so much about waiting.

Bill had mentioned about getting cuttings in the spring because they are more viable. Sometimes when we receive them as gifts, you have to make that decision!!!

Good Luck on what ever you choose!!!

Let us know..

Laura

They are 3" and 3.5" around. If I put them in the liter bottles on top of the light cart, what grow mix should I put in the bottle? I have one now on top of the cart that has new growth (started in September) but I forget what I put in there. We start getting warm weather in February (but not warm enough to put outside) and I usually cut back and repot then. Just wanted to know if I should wait or go for it!

Thanks for the advice!

RuthAnne,

I've rooted cuttings in Dec and January with 100 percent success, but only like 6 different cuttings over the year. The issue with waiting on rooting is that you don't know how long ago the cutting you received was harvested, so it might be near its expiration.

If I root this time of year I use 100 percent perlite and you should use a heating mat, or in one case I used a Delongi Oil filled space heater and kept it on a low setting and put the pot with the cutting on a aluminum pie tin like you get at Marie calendars or Coco's or a pie shop on top of it, and a light above it, and I do add water to the medium keep it slightly moist NOT wet.

Actually here are pictures from the time I had it on the oiled filled space heater..its Golden Pagoda Cutting 2005 January.

No light on but on heater, early on but inflo popping.

3 weeks into rooting light on and on heater

5 weeks into rooting on heater in 100 percent perlite with leaves and inflo

So a cutting will root even in Jan if you give it appropriate heat and light. During the day I would open the shutters and keep the light and heat on.

By the way, UNCLE ROBBY is a GORGEOUS Plumie its one of he Toba's famous plumies that Jennifer at MPG sells..Congrats and Happy New Year

Good Luck

Hi James!!!

Happy New Year to You!!!!

Thanks for the info...

Its such a hard choice to make when you have the cuttings in hand.

Im going to use the tin as well on the heating mat...

Thank you!!!

Cheers!!!

Laura

Laura,

Happy New Year!! Always GREAT to see you posting!! If your on the heat mat I do not think you need the pie tin, I used it on a upright oil fill space heater as I could not find my heating mat as I was packing up my house getting ready to move. I used the Pie tin to diffuse some of the heat even though the space heater was on a low #2 setting I wanted to make sure it did not get too hot...
Well great to see you online and have a Happy NYE!!

James

Hi James-
I'm a newbie here and want to thank you for your info! I have a few opportunities to receive plumie cuttings in trade, and didn't know if I should wait to root them, or what medium to use. I have a HUGE bag of Perlite, (about as tall as me) so I'm thrilled to know I can use it for rooting plumies. Thank you also for the fine photos, so I will know what to expect!
Happy new Years!

Hey Kasha,

The winter months are really never the prime conditions to root a plumie, but if you have to you have a good chance of getting them to root if you have the right set up.
Good Luck on the winter rooting and Happy New Year!

James

RuthAnne and kasha77,

Plumeria is my new hobby as well. I bought a cutting from Maui Plumeria Gardens last November and started the rooting process. If you follow the directions from their website, you should be able to get your cuttings rooted in about 8 weeks.

The harsh weather here makes it impossible to root plumerias outside this time of year. I use a storage room in my house with a south facing window. In the morning I would let the sunlight in to warm up the room and at night I put my plummies under a grow light and have a space heater set up to keep the room warm. I agree with James that heat is very important to the rooting process. I read somewhere that the optimum temperature for growing plumerias is at least 60F. People suggest using a heating mat as keeping the bottom of your pots warm would increase your success rate. I didn't use a mat but it still takes me exactly 8 weeks.

Here are several pictures I took throughout the rooting process.

Raspberry and Mystery cuttings
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4 weeks later (claws are starting to open on the tips)
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8 weeks (as of 01-01-2012)
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Also it's very important that you don't overwater your cuttings. Everyone will tell you that after you potted them, you should thoroughly wet the pots and that's the ONLY time you water your cuttings until they have leaves.

Here's a rooted cutting I bought from eBay before Thanksgiving last year. I've been growing it under a grow light in a climate controlled environment (aka my storage room LOL). It has started to have an inflorescence in just over a month.

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So it's very possible to grow and root plumerias indoors as long as you can duplicate their growing environment.

Thank you everyone! I've decided to go for it. I have a room with overhead grow lights and a heater that won't let it go below 60 but no heat mat. I'm going to put them on top of the light cart for warmth, I think. The other plumie has leaves that I put up there. The room has orchids blooming in it so it must be warm enough!

RuthAnne