Is sunaplash from JJ?

I Have my eye on it.

So it is a late bloomer?

and details about your experience with the variety would be appreciated.

Looking good kms! Hey, did your black ruby turn black? This year the heat made mine look quite black. Ruby & black with black veigning is the best I can describe it. The heat also made the edges of the petals curl. I actually have 2 & one was a ruby base, the other more maroon.

Dupefl

it is a JJ variety. The Austin/SA plumeria group pooled shipping on an order from JJ in 2014 and I think all of us got one each. It bloomed in a cool/wet (by central Texas standards) November of last year and it was a nice creamy yellow. I liked the ubiquitous JJ flower shape but thought it looked like 90% of the other JJ varieties. It seems to be compact growing but its still too soon to tell. This year its blooming earlier and I suspect it will pick up speed as it matures. Next year I bet it will bloom in early July. The heat really brought out a great color contrast as compared previously. I am not sure how well it branches as I haven't had much time for my plants this year. So far I would recommend it.

P.J.

Seems like the flowers fade relatively quickly and its in full sun est. 10+ hours / day. It certainly seems pretty black but the image quality is cell phone auto-level in low light. The inflos are nice size and branches are thin. I have not looked to see how it branches. It bloomed earlier this year with rather small underwhelming flowers while in a more shady location. I tend to think it responds well to brutal full sun and 95+ temps.

Both varieties are spectacular!!

Thanks.

K, how are you liking your sunsplash this year? How has it grown for you since you made this post? I am considering purchasing one, but want your opinion. Thanks!

Plume, where are you located in Bay Area. I am in San Jose.

They both look great, K!!

Sunsplash keeps making me look twice at this beauty. Maybe I should add just one more next year? Lololol.. I'm trying to be good, but this one is strikingly beautiful!!

Laura

Chris,

I think it will be a nice mature cultivar. To me the flower has the shape of a Super Round but larger in size and to a certain extent more interesting/unique coloration. It does have a scent but I don't have a description committed to memory.

it has been blooming in moderate quantities (3-5 blooms at any given time) compared to some other JJ cultivars but the blooms are large and have great color. I suspect it will be ready for a light shaping up this spring. Maybe one or two branches will be pruned back to improve the look. I may also have to reset it in the container as a couple of branches have made it lean a bit.

I'll post a current pic this afternoon.

Thank you for that description. Looking forward to pictures!

Chris

Here it is. Rain knocked off most of the blooms but you can see the plant structure. Now that I am looking at it...it did get lanky on me the first year and then began branching fairly well. It may have been in too much shade. i'll likely prune back the low branch and correct the lean next spring.

Backyard and spring 2017 · More Info

Backyard and spring 2017 · More Info

Backyard and spring 2017 · More Info

Black Ruby this evening

Backyard and spring 2017 · More Info

Awesome, thank you for the pics K. Can you tell me about your drip setup up? Emitter sizes, timing, ect.? I'm thinking about growing all mine in pots next year and doing a drip setup, so I would appreciate your insight!

Sure. I did it as a stopgap measure over the summer to water the Plumeria grove while we were out of town. Knowing we were building a pool I had our home builder remove most backyard irrigation from the construction plans. Once the pool was done I would have the irrigation company come back and add 5-7 new zones. I guess 5 zones isn't enough to entice those guys because the only thing I can get from anyone is lip service and then they never show up. So this winter I am renting a trencher and knocking it out myself. Probably save $3k and it also gives me the opportunity to multi zone the plumeria patch.

I used all Drip brand materials and equipment from Home Depot. While no longer made in Israel it's still to Israeli specs and better designed than other brands. Like most of their stuff its probably longer lasting and can take more of a beating too.

In the small grove I laid out a main supply line with a hose connector, anti siphon, a 25lb psi pressure step down and ran main supply trunks every other row. I used compression fittings for corners to keep the hose from kinking. I then ran dedicated 1/4 line to EACH container and placed multiple emitters in some for better coverage. I placed a timer and sediment trap at the hose bib and ran a garden hose to supply the water. I routed the hose to keep it under shade as much as possible.

In the Big Grove I ran supply lines/anti siphon/pressure reducer as before but placed the line across the containers. This is where I used Variable emitters directly tapped into the flex line. I then staked the line down and connected to a hose bib and Timer. The variables give better coverage. See below

Backyard and spring 2017 · More Info

I liked the Dig brand timer because it was powered by a 9 volt battery vs 2 AA batteries. Again...IMO better design. During Dry summer I ran the system for 1/2 hour starting at 9am 4x per week.

Here is my current emitter schedule:

1 to 3 Gallon Container - 1/2 GPH emitter (brown). = 1 gallon per week per plant.

5 to 10 Gallon - 1 GPH emitter (black). some of the 10s have (2) 1gph emitters = 2-4gal/week

10-20 Gallon - 2 GPH emitter (green). Some with 2 emitters = 4 - 8 gal/week

20 Gallon + - Variable 1-15 GPH emitters (black twist)> I estimate most of these are emitting around 6 GPH considering volume and pressure. Some may be higher. = 12 - 16 gal/week. These are in use on my large very mature plants which are up to 15 years old.

As I use the system I will probably fine tune it and adjust emitters but the above schedule got me through the dry part of Summer. I think there was some waste in the schedule but it will take me some time to optimize. For those that may not be familiar I am in the Texas Hill Country (near San Antonio) where July and August are very hot and often dry.

There are some inefficiencies where I can see wet ground around the bottom of the container but still see dry soil at the top. particularly in squat containers. That is why i am adding emitters to better spread the water out and will probably reduce run times. I think the sediment trap and anti siphons were not actually needed in my case. Once they go bad I will not replace them. My Plumeria patch is a continuous learning environment for me.

Phase two will be to tie the drip system into the new irrigation system to eliminate the garden hoses and timers. I'll also rework and elevate the supply lines to a network of Rebar supports and PVC pipes which can also be used to prevent plants from blowing over.

Nice. Thank you for taking the time to go into detail on your setup! I have a DIG timer that I used to do some propagation stuff with, a couple water valves and some 1/2 poly.. So I'm half way there! I'm with you on the irrigation work... I plan to get a trencher and do the work myself! Save a lot of money and more flexibility to customize.

A question or two for you K?

i installed my drip system last May with the idea that I'd only use it on extended periods of time away from home. That usually means about November and April every year. Even though I put multiple emitters in the 1-3 gal pots, when I used it in May/June the water just ran right through the plants like a sieve (1 gal/wk/pot). I tested it out weeks ahead to see what would happen when the soil was dry vs wet before the drip cycle, and didn't make a difference- water just drained right through.

Those 1-3 gal plants went a bit dry the 4 weeks I was gone, but they still looked ok. The larger containers 5-7 gal had adjustible emitters (3 gal/wk/pot) and did great. May have overwatered a bit but will be better next time.

I still have about 20 plants in 1-3 gallon containers that will be on the regular drip emitters 2-4 emitters/pot. But considering converting those to adjustible emitters too so I don't have to worry. Did you have that problem with your emitters for your small plants? Running right through the plant like a waterfall? My soil is 5:1:1 pine bark fines/miracle gro/perlite. When I hand water I usually water lightly, wait 5 min, and re water till it drains. Haven't had a problem over or under watering.

The solution I guess is to just stay home.

Nancy,

That's a fast draining mix (in a good way). I have similar issues where from the emitter downward in almost a cone shape the soil is well hydrated and then it exits out of the container and into the ground via drain holes and wicks. In my mind the options are to change the types of emitters in use and/or change how often they are used and/or change the media at the drip point. in a 3 gallon container, 2 low volume drip emitters should provide relatively good coverage for the whole container. One option is to slow down the dripping water by placing a large piece of pine bark immediately under the emitter so that it breaks up and spreads out the water flow. I have used large lava rocks, bricks, pine bark chunks to basically force the water to go across and around it and then your "cone of moisture" is wider to begin with at the top. Another option may be to use a mist sprayer type of emitter. Probably not a good idea since you are primarily inside growing. At this point I would defer to anyone with indoor drip irrigation experience to offer their recommendations on the best equipment for Nancy's conditions.

In addition to improving the coverage/distribution of the emitters. What if you segment watering times out on your smaller containers? i.e. if you run the irrigation for 30 minutes and it takes 7 minutes for water to begin leaching out the bottom of the container then run the irrigation system four times for seven minutes. In other words less time more often. Its kind of what you have already discovered by watering lightly to get some moisture in the mix and then circling back to top it off. The idea being to provide enough water to keep the media (5:1:1 mix) at optimum hydration.

K,

Thank you for such a detailed response. I really like the idea of putting some kind of a barrier to spread out the drips- like pine bark chunks, lava rocks, maybe tiny seashells. I think that would probably do the trick. I have tried spreading the irrigation into smaller periods over a week. But I found that the regular emitters set on for 5 minutes cause the water to pour out. Then I run a 2nd and 3rd time during a week period, and the same happens and the plant is dry. I put somewhere between 2-4 emitters on each plant depending on size and usual thirstiness of plant. 4 emitters causes 4 skinny waterfalls to pour forth exactly under the emitter.

But I think your idea of trying to spread things out is what I'll try first. If that doesn't work I'll just switch everything to a mist sprayer. As you say the nice thing is that I know the soil is fast draining.

Thanks again for your helpful reply.

Nancy

PS. Curious, do you also just use yours when you're away or do you use it regularly?

What size are the emitters? Based on your description I am now wondering if they are possibly too fast.

I would go with a mulch which is big and chunky to slow the water down and force it over and around the chunks.

I use it regularly and was doing some supplemental watering during high summer. Right now its turned off because we had about 4 days of rain last week and passing showers again today.

K, here are the emitters I used these on the 1 and 3 gal 2gph https://www.dripdepot.com/item/antelco-ceta-cleanable-pressure-compensating-dripper-flow-rate-half-gph

This is what I used on the 5-7 gal with a lot more success and that I'd consider switching everything to. https://www.dripdepot.com/item/adjustable-dripper-on-6-inch-stake-pattern-360-degree

Input from the place that sold me and helped me put the system together in next post.

I gotta say K, those two plumeria are absolutely perfect. I've not seen such an unusual coloration like Sunsplash. Makes me drop my socks. And it must be a joy to have the Black Ruby fostered out and see it bloom spectacularly. You chose a good substitute parent for that plant. Both are gorgeous and I wish I could hold, touch and smell them in person.

With regard to my drip system...the online company I ordered and got help from is Drip Depot. Overpaid but I'm a novice and needed help understanding even the terminology. Anyway they suggested this emitter that I think I may try next with your input maybe? I'd use some on a stake and some barbed depending on the canopy of each plant.

https://www.dripdepot.com/item/adjustable-vortex-fan-sprayer-connection-type-threads

Hi Nancy,

That seems to me to be a good solution. IMO you will just want to stay away from anything which atomizes or mists since you are indoors. I wouldn't worry about thinking of overpaying because they also gave you an education and service which the big box stores try but can't reliably do.

Black Ruby made it back to me late summer 2016 after our move was complete. it's been blooming all of the 2017 season. Here is a recent pic. You can see the inflos are essentially buried in the foliage now. All the green growth is new this year. I think when this plant matures it will be able to produce multiple inflos per season per tip.