Last year at the State Fair I took a chance and bought a piece of plumeria. It looked like a tuning fork and didn’t have roots at all. I planted it in a large pot and crossed my fingers. This week I was thrilled to see it blooming! The secret is the fertilizer they sold me along with the “plant.” It’s a clear liquid called Roberta’s Hawaiian Flower Magic. You just put half a teaspoon in a gallon of water, and sprinkle the plant with that instead of plain water.
You can see the pot I used on the lower left. Plumeria is known as “frangipani” in other parts of the world.
We can leave it out year-round in California, but all the leaves will drop off in the winter and the thing will look dead. Just keep watering it sparingly and wait until spring to start feeding again. I wish you could smell the flowers–heavenly!
Hope your week’s going well so far.
{carole}
Pearls & Prose 
Beautiful! Wish I could trade cuttings with you – I have 3 large pots full of pale yellow with a pink tinge. In the winter I just keep it in the garage without watering it.
Wish I could too, Meg! I once had a white one tinged with yellow and the scent was even stronger.
Carole, this flower is fantastic, so beautiful and so gentle! Gorgeous!
Thanks so much!
What a terrific shade of pink. I love the way the petals are splayed out.
Thanks, Jackie. I’m glad I waited–there weren’t nearly as many open a few days ago.
You made me so happy with your post, images are gorgeous….. and your advice for a fertilizer is greatly appreciated. I had a few Plumerias , blooming for a while but somehow they decided to take a turn. But your advice will give them new light in their lives. Thank you for sharing.
Oh, you’re so welcome, Cornelia! I had one that refused to bloom for a year, then boom. Hope this helps!
waiting patiently for the boom.
I only knew the name frangipani. I remember them from Sri Lanka.The white ones are vey fragrant. Do these smell too? It’s such a wonderful experience when something we planted blossoms.
Lovely.
Oh yes, they smell wonderful. Not quite as fragrant as the white ones, but very nice.
I was really dubious when I bought the thing–it looked like a dead tree branch. 🙂
Now that makes it even more wonderful. 🙂
🙂