Plumeria: home care and breeding methods
Content:
Plumeria is a very beautiful, tropical flower with unique inflorescences. The plant belongs to the genus of tropical trees of the Kutrov family. The flowers exude a pleasant aroma reminiscent of a mixture of citrus notes with jasmine, spices, gardenia and lily of the valley. They have the most intense smell in the morning hours. Depending on the species, the flowers are pink, white, yellow, red, or covered in combinations of these colors. Several flowers appear on the stalk at once, up to 10 cm in size.Each has 5 petals, usually oval in shape, but they are also in the shape of a spatula, both narrowed and wide, can be flat or with curved edges. Insects flock to the smell, but, unfortunately, there is no nectar in them.
History of appearance
In the tropics, a very beautiful and incredibly fragrant flower grows - plumeria. Flowers grow on trees, differing in a variety of colors. Depending on the species, plumeria can be white, yellow, or colored red. Some inexperienced growers may confuse rhododendron with plumeria.
Plumeria
Flowers were popular several millennia ago in the South American continent, from where they spread across the globe. Ancient tribes attached great importance to them: they decorated temples. Today, in the homeland of plumeria, flowers adorn the hair of women. Moreover, the location of the living jewelry indicates the marital status of the Tropicans. If the flower is located on the right side, then the girl is in search of her soul mate. Married women wear plumeria on the left.
In Europe, this plant appeared in the 17th century, its name was given in honor of the botanist from France Charles Plumer.
Common varieties
The family includes eight species of semi-evergreen trees. Some of them can reach eight meters in height. Trees grow very quickly, the reason for their activity is their unpretentiousness to the soil and climate. Rigid, straight branches are covered with shiny leathery leaves and bunches of charming inflorescences. In one inflorescence, the number of flowers can reach hundreds.
A very large number of varieties are bred on the basis of red plumeria, popular among them:
- Mardi Gras. A tree with a large leaf blade. It has a slender trunk. The buds bloom bright yellow, smoothly turning into a pink-lilac color. They give off a rich aroma.
- Pink Pearl. A wonderful plant that can bloom with dark pink or crimson flowers. Their petals are round, ovoid. They have an interesting orange to reddish orange color.
- Tricolor. A small tree with very fragrant flowers that are quite large compared to other varieties. The petals of the buds have a flowing color from pinkish edges to a white center and a yellowish base.
- Lutea. This tree has beautiful lemon-yellow flowers, sometimes you can find plants with golden-yellow flowers at the base and a white edging at the end.
- Chupa Chups. Sprawling plant. It can have 2 forms: shrub or tree. The flower petals are rounded in shape, have a white-pink color, in the center of them you can observe the manifestation of a bright strip of crimson color.
The first plumeria flowers appear in March, they continue to bloom until September, sometimes until October. In addition to its amazing beauty, plumeria is famous for its delicious aroma. It is noteworthy that the smell can change due to the conditions of the surrounding space. The sweet scent is so strong that it attracts many different insects.
Plumeria red
All existing species were bred on the basis of Frangipani plumeria:
- White Plumeria is a species with large flowers and a bright aroma;
- Plumeria blunt is a rare species in Russia, it is more common in China and America. After flowering, it forms fruits that are unfit for eating.
- Plumeria red - a very large number of varieties have been bred on the basis of this species, the flowers have a very wide variety of colors.
Home care
The leaves are dark green elliptical in shape, but there are also lanceolate (very similar to ficus leaves). The stem is grayish-brown in color, usually glabrous, with foliage only on top. Flowering occurs in the summer. After flowering, pods with brown seeds are formed.
Plumeria care
The tropical beauty fell in love with flower growers very much and now decorates window sills in many houses. Plumeria grows not only in the tropics - due to its unpretentiousness, it pleases the whole world with its exotic beauty.
Watering
Frangipani's homeland is the Rainforest (a place with a very humid climate due to heavy rains). This should not be forgotten when the culture of the house is grown. Watering is necessary frequent and abundant; you can use settled warm water for this. From chlorinated water (directly from the tap) Frangipani can die. There must be drainage holes at the bottom of the pot, and drainage is installed. There is a pallet under the container. Excess water will collect in it, which will need to be drained. This will prevent soil acidification and the development of putrefactive microorganisms. Watering is carried out as soon as the top layer of the soil dries up; from drought, the leaves can be observed at the flower.
Humidity
It is necessary to spray the room where the flower is located a couple of times a week.
Temperature
The tree feels "at home" at room temperature, you can raise the temperature bar to 28 ° C, not higher. With the onset of summer heat, it requires additional shading, you can completely remove it from the window.
Lighting
Frangipani needs a lot of diffused light, so you need to make sure that the leaves are not exposed to direct sunlight. If the sun is not enough, the plumeria will begin to stretch and lose color brightness. Place the plant on eastern or western windowsills and provide adequate lighting without direct sunlight.
Top dressing
In the spring, before flowering, they are fed with complex mineral fertilizers for decorative deciduous plants. When inflorescences appear, they switch to fertilizers for flowering. Do not forget that you need to fertilize only 2 times a month and strictly observe the proportions indicated on the package.
Pruning
Pruning for a plant is required in several cases: when you need to form a crown, and also when an adult tree needs rejuvenation. The best time for the procedure is early spring. Immediately after the snow melts, the branches are trimmed with a sharp garden knife or pruner. Previously, the tool must be treated with an alcohol solution, so as not to subsequently infect the culture with fungal diseases.
Laying the buds after pruning
Plant transplant
Young plantings require an annual change of substrate, so they need to be replanted every year. Mature plants can be replanted once every couple of years. The transplant should be carried out in the spring, it is at this time that the trees adapt best and recover faster. For transplanting, you need to take a new container, which will be 2-3 cm larger than the previous one.
Substrate for plumeria can be purchased at the store, you can make it yourself, it is very important to observe the proportions.
Description of soil composition:
- sand (1 part);
- peat (1 part);
- humus (part 1);
- sod land (2 parts).
Pebbles are necessarily laid out at the bottom of the pot, soil is already poured on top of it. A plant is planted, and the roots are covered with the remains of the earth.
Reproduction methods
Basically, plumeria at home is propagated by two methods: seeds and cuttings. They are simple enough and always give good results.
Seeds
Sowing seeds of an indoor flower is carried out in the spring. At the beginning of March, a container and soil for sowing seeds are prepared. They must be disinfected with drugs. To reproduce plumeria from seeds at home, you need to take pots that will be at least 6 cm in diameter. Soil is poured into them, then the seeds are sown.
The composition of the potting mix:
- peat;
- perlite;
- sand.
All components are taken in equal parts.
After sowing the seeds, the soil is shed by sprinkling, then a film is stretched over the pots. The container is placed in a warm room, before the first shoots appear (they will appear in 10-15 days). In the phase of 3-4 planting leaves, they dive, all plants are planted in separate pots.
Cuttings
Breeding cuttings can be harvested at any time of the year. This is usually done when pruning is done. Cut branches are excellent breeding material. Each cutting should be 20 to 25 cm long. Before planting, the cuttings are removed to pour, they are placed in a warm, dry place. Only then the planting material is planted in the ground at an acute angle. After 2-3 weeks, buds will begin to form on future plants - this is a signal that the plantings have begun to take root. For planting plumeria, home care should be carried out as follows:
- soil testing and watering;
- spraying and maintaining moisture;
- tracking the condition of seedlings.
Propagation of plumeria by cuttings
Plumeria flowers differ in color and shape. The petals can be widely spaced or closely spaced. The five-petalled plumeria flower home care is quite simple - if you take all the recommendations into account and take proper care of it, you can easily grow a beautiful plant. Step-by-step instructions on reproduction will allow you to breed this culture yourself in the house.
