I'm not an expert but I do know if you trim it will grow from there. Might take a while but it will. I do notice one issue though. Will you put the new soil mix in both? I ask because the pot in the pic looks like it's getting too much water. Your idea on mix sounds good. As long as it's well draining soil it'll be happy. Living in FL makes it easier to cheat with mixes hehe. I was lazy and used miracle grow potting soil with added perlite...

You don't have to wait for fall but if you do it now put it in shade for 1-2 weeks. Do you fertilize it?

I'd remove the leaves now. Unless you have super-high humidity.

Beautiful gardenia.

Thanks Dave! My humidity right now is 65%...this time of year it starts out in the 90% range in the morning and drops down in the 50%-60% by afternoon. Should I go ahead and remove them now?

Thanks dupefl...I keep my gardenia real small so it doesn't take up so much room. They can get pretty large here :o)

Looks great! I'm in Daytona and every day it looks like we're going to get rain but it always passes me

Thanks Milan! I know that feeling...I love rain but it seems to pass right by me most of the time also, very frustrating as we really need it! If we don't get rain during our rainy season when will we **sigh**

Looks good. I think it might have wanted a bit more sun. Once it starts to leaf out again do you have another spot with some shade for the clay pot?

Once the cut hardens off a bit you should look for a sealer like caulk or wax to limit water from sitting on the stem. Hopefully the cut on the stem is near multiple leaf scars which is where the branch(es) will develop. I try to find the ideal place to prune and then adjust to get the most number of leaf scars just under the cut. It results in multiple branches more "sometimes" than not.

Generally speaking I remove the leaves from the cutting by clipping on the leaf stem to prevent dehydration. the left over stem will eventually dry out and fall off.

T"hanks kms2, I do have a spot for it in shade once I start to see some new leaves. I'll give it more sun once our temps taper down a bit ( maybe mid Oct)...it will be in the upper 80's to mid 90's here till almost Nov. :o(...I'll give it filtered sun till then.

I probably should go ahead and remove the leaves so it can concentrate on roots once its caloused. The only reason I haven't removed them is because the variegated leaves are so pretty Lol...do you think I can leave them on till its caloused in 5 days or so?

Looking great Nancy!!

i would remove the leaves so it won't lose moisture through transpiration! This will keep the rooting stem protected . I would dip the end in rooting powder and a little Sulfur and let it callous for a week -10 days and then pot up to root. Give it bottom heat either by natural heat or seedling mat.

I have done a mid or center graft to remove the tall section, but you will see new branching from your newly cut tree. Keep the new cut protected from moisture. You can seal it or let it seal naturally.

I love Maya.. so happy to see yours is doing well!!

Laura

Thank you Laura!!! I really love the leaves on this plumeria :o)...wish me luck!

So its been 7 weeks since that original post...hot hit pretty bad here from Irma, brought most of the plants inside. Considering we got a direct hit here from Irma came straight through here ( middle of the state), 115+ mph gusts for many hours we are very lucky we only had minor damage to the house, others not so lucky...tons and tons of trees and storm debris down, flooding and NO power for over 7 days in 95+ degree days... slowly but surely its getting a little better with each day... We are very grateful as it could have been so much worse!!

7 weeks later leafing out nicely...She's looking pretty good, even the cutting I took seems to have some tiny roots :o)

Glad things turned out to not be as bad as could have been. Also glad to see your plant leafing back out.

Glad you are doing ok Nancy and you had minor damage. I just can't believe all of the damage from all of the hurricanes. Still shaking my head at what is happening around the country and world with these disasters.

I am glad to see that your Maya is doing well. Being a proud mama looking at your little one. The sister to your Maya just had her leaves cut as well as all of my others trees with the winds coming with the hurricane Maria off of my coast. It's just a few weeks early that I would be trimming to get ready for the winter preps anyway.

Congratulations on your cutting as well. I'm glad you are having success with your Maya's. ( smiling when I hear of the ones I gifted doing well..)

Laura

Thanks so much to both of you!!

I too am shaking my head with all the damage these hurricanes are causing/caused!! It's all so heart breaking and very,very sad!

Laura... it's my favorite :o)