what part of a zone 9 are you? roxanne

I would have to suggest Penang Peach as my #1. It's a reliable bloomer, blooming all season long. Compact growth habit. Branches nicely. Good thick petals and smells like you would imagine. :) My avatar is a Penang Peach flower, and I feel a bit of deja vu going on here. Did I just make this exact same posting recently? lol

With all my plants still dormant, I can't come up with a top 5. It's never the same list, but Penang Peach is always tops. :)

Thornton Lemon Drop (the coloration)

Aztec Gold (the smell)

Golden Rainbow (don't own it but if forgot who listed a pic...awesome colors)

Raspberry Sundae (the coloration and texture of the wood portion of the plant...weird but for some reason I like it)

and I would choose a red but I haven't seen any lately to really pick one. I'm partial to the white and yellows...and my kids love the rainbows.

Oh...or one of those blue ones :)

I always like Aztec Gold, too. It's a plant you can keep taking cuttings and it never slows down. And, it's sooo easy to root. The scent of AG is better than Penang Peach, to me.

You're right about the wood on Raspberry Sundae, but I will admit that I was disappointed in the blooms last year. I hope to see better. Last year it was still very small.

Editing to add that as far as photos go, I will put Toba's Fire up on the top 5, too. Hopefully mine will bloom this year!

For me one of my favorites is dwarf Singapore pink, compact, round leaves, beautiful blooms and smells great

All great photos, James! Love that Thai Peach and Butterfly Gold. That one never takes a bad pic.

I'm Sold on The Purple & Rainbow Cat ! Great Wow Factor ! , Thanks for the great , I have a AG , Will be googling the other suggestions, But my Daughters are Voting for the Purple Cat ;) , Where Did You Purchase Your Purple / Rainbow Cat ?

I don't see that variety in Florida Colors .

Thanks Ed

all such beauties, you have a real eye for this... roxanne

Mona,
Thanks... Ill send you TP this season to you, think I still have your addy.

Ed,
Thanks!!!
The Purple JL Metallica came from Jim Little, bought it in 2004 from his daughter in law Sandy.
There is a Thailand Mattalica (sp?), and Jim LIttle Metallica. You can get JL Metallica from him via Ebay or 1stopaloha aka Matt, Brads Buds and Blooms and Florida Colors have them from time to time. As for the Rainbow aka Candy Lemon, I imported it from Thailand in 2008 or 2009. I know someone else in the US has to have it, but I have never seen anyone else post or mention this variety in past years. I know that via the FB groups, Nui in Thailand sells them and a few people I know purchased some from him last year. I know you can buy Candy Lemon from Ebay from time to time, but I have never found any sellers here in the US.
Generally I like to buy from the original grower/source to make sure I get the real deal, but the seller I bought my CL on Ebay from stopped selling a year later (I know he had been selling for couple season, maybe too many issues with exporting to the US..not cost effective for him with replacements and refunds.).
Hope this helps

Happy Growing
Cheers

Rox,
Thanks.. Hope your babies are up and about! I checked JJ and the 1 plumie I wanted from him is sold out for the 2015...grrrrr Hope you find and get everything on your list :)

Cheers

Wow, James, you are way too generous! But if you have my addy, I'm not going to argue. lol Thank you. And later, I'll be posting photos of Bonnie Fox because I have another inflo. I am wishing flowers don't open before the weather gets hot. So gorgeous!

Thanks for the Lead !Enjoy They Look Great !

I do like Butterfly Gold, Metallica, and Musk Rainbow so I thought I would add some new ones from my 150+ children.
Kalina

Bill
Loving all your beauties you posted. I luv Firestorm (amazing coloring, huge blooms, always changing in appearance.)! I especially luv your Sherry (Note to self, hide a pair of clippers in trunk or under seat when visiting Bill..lol). Great pics.

Ok Firestorm & Lava Flow added to my wish list ;)

Ed,

Do u live in So Calif? Depending on where you live Firestorm can look different, but always gorgeous...if I could have picked more than 5, I would have added FS.
I got mine from John when I went on a field trip there with some others in 2009.

Same plant and inflo I believe, but different temps. The Warmer, saturated colored one was during a heat wave (was like 88..for my patch that is a heat wave). The lighter, pastel colored one was when it was in the 70's and overcast at times.

Compare it to Bill, who is close to the coast and see the differences off all 3. This is why i love FS, would definitely rate it in my top 10 (Lg Flowers, good bloomer, Changing colors). I dont know about Bills or others who have it, but the one issue I find with mine is its growth habit as mine is a bit leggy.

Cheers

I Live in St Augustine Florida, Zone 9 , I Think 1 Stop has a Nice FS, Thanks For The Info ..

Ed

James, your JL Metallica looks awesome! Just received mine today - grafted, heard it is a beeyatch to root. Looking forward to blooms soon. Does BG perform well for you? I figure my summer weather and your not heat wave weather are about the same, temperature-wise, although you probably have a little night time temp advantage. I have mine for 4 years or so now and have yet to see flowers on a 4ft. stick. Beefy plant though.


Ed, 5 is tough indeed. I'll give you 10 of my faves - 5 for scent, 5 for blooms/colors.

Scent:

1. Aztec Gold - strong, buttered peach
2. Dean Conklin - spicy floral, carnation
3. Grove Farm - spicy, resembling nutmeg
4. Kimi Moragne - cinnamon/musk
5. Mary Helen Eggenberger - like a classic perfume, rose, floral

Looks:

1. Musk Rainbow
2. Black Purple/Muang Anchan
3. Tropical Aurora
4. Marble Ice Cream
5. Fujisan

David - do you have Marble Ice Cream? I can remember not so long ago one going for $600 or $700. Too steep for me! lol

In fact, I do - I'll keep you updated on the rooting process. Just got it today in my shipment with Metallica and a few other goodies. TA and Fujisan are not released yet, as far as I know. I can see TA go for twice as much or more. :-/

Nice! It sounds like you have a wonderful collection. Hope you don't mind that I'm envious. :)

It's alright. :) I have a bit of everything but this year added some true Hawaiian classics I always felt were missing, Dean Conklin, Grove Farm and the like... I think I'm pretty much done collecting - now if only half of these darn things would bloom like I want them to (LOL). After a natural selection process (hard early frost) some years back and downsizing my collection, I now only buy plants that I actually enjoy and that I like in my climate for various reasons.

Thanks For All The Great Suggestions ! , I'm Updating My List As I Read On ...

Ed ...

I love all of the beautiful pictures..

Here are a few of my favorites too!!!

Penang Peach for the coloration and fragrance...

Xquisite

J-105. Love this profuse bloomer too. Great fragrance as well...

Have to put in Hong Kong.. Love this one too!!!

Have a great night everyone!!!

David.. I rooted J L Metallica here in Virginia so I'm sure you will have no problem in. California!!! Congratulations on your new beauties!!

James, gorgeous pics..

Bill.. Beauties.. I agree.. Sherry is a gem!!

Have a great night everyone!!!

Laura

Thanks, Laura. I'm in zone 5a, Germany though. Expecting snow next Wed to Sat again. Although winter this year had nothing on yours. Still have to find me that TLD. Your blooms are beautiful!!

David,

I water rooted my JL Metallica with no issue, rooted in 6 weeks for me, similar to rooting a Jeannie Moragne. I also rooted a 5" tip that broke off, again water rooted.

As for Butterfly Gold, it does perform well for me. I have read and heard people complain that it took up to 5yrs before it bloomed for them (Sonia and Lynn and many others). My BFG was grafted from Florida Colors, received it in early fall (Oct), then bloomed for me in July.
Here is a pic of mine last season, I had just root pruned it and repotted so the inflos is not performing like it usually does with size and shape, but color is typical for me. I used Chris Durhams pic because of his intense color, excellent prime example of what a BFG should look like. My BFG does not get as much color but shape wise it performs.
Again this was take the season I root pruned her:

I found that plumies that seem to have requirements to look like their parent tree in its original growing environment (hot and sunny) , like Shapes/Patterns/Colors esp purples, the longer you have a plumie and the larger it gets the closer it looks to parent. When Metallica bloomed for the first time looked saturated purple(but did have a heat wave for a bit), but is one of the best purples for cooler temps.

Hey Laura....Waving @ ya.

Thanks for the info, James. I didn't mean to sound like I was questioning your assessment of BFG when posting Chris' image. I was rather surprised you'd recommend it for cooler temps, as I only read that it is a little stubborn to get going, bloom-wise and based on my own experiences. Mine is grafted as well, so there's hope. I definitely like the shape and texture of BFG and I have to say I would be more than pleased with a look similar to yours. I really had a tough time with pagoda shaped blooms in the past, like Bali Palace, that always needed assistance unfurling its petals...

My weather here definitely fluctuates more than yours... we can have 90 degrees for 2 weeks, a short period of rain and more of 90 degree weather but often times it's 80 to 90 for a few days, a few days 65 degrees with rain... certainly not ideal but whatcha gunna do? Really looking forward to JL Metallica and how it eventually compares to my other purples. Lilac Clouds, Muang Jack, Black Purple, Purple Rainbow and Siam Lavender.

Funny you mention Jeannie... that is one I gave up on. Same for Nebel's RB and Kauka. They root (but take forever) and then for some reason or another give me the finger. They do not even like it here grafted. LOL

David,
I had the same perspective about Pagoda shapes as my first was JL Golden Pagoda, got it around 2004/2005. When it bloomed in 2006, it was kind of anticlimactic as it did not perform.
Just showing you some phases of GP without sun and heat and with:

Without heat & sun:

With some heat:

I have learned that even with the cool temps in my patch and overcast days there are some plumies that will perform shape wise like Taj Mahal from JJ's:

So try out what you like and you might be surprised @ what performs.

Cheers

Ed, as usual, I like to play the kill-joy and point out that some stunners are also big pains-in-the-patootie. But being in FL you'll probably have more luck than many of us.

These are all fantastic Wow Factor plants that also aren't too difficult for new plumerians:

California Sally, big BIG blooms and a long-lasting inflo

Lemon Drop, a reliable bloomer and photogenic rich yellow

Desert Sunrise, which needs no explanation

Pink Diamond, wonderful scent and gorgeous color on a small plant

Serenade, this one recommended by Jungle Jack, great scent and long-lasting inflo on a small plant

You can't go wrong with either Florida Colors' or Jungle Jack's recommendations. There are too many wonderful ones for folks who have the right climate to be able to whittle down to only five!