How to Grow a Plumeria

Video Transcript

"Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment we're going to learn all about how to grow a plumeria. Now plumerias or frangipanis, are so beautiful and they smell just like the tropics. If you've ever been to Hawaii and you got a lei, the odds are that it was made from a frangipani or a plumeria plant. And they just smell like a tuberose or they just smell really, really good. And they have a long and really interesting history. So it's said that the first plumerias were found in Central America by the Spanish and then they brought them back to Europe so way back in the 15, 1600's into the 1700's, they were bringing plumeria back to Europe. But it's also said that they were found planted around Asian temples and burial grounds and that plumeria has been honored by the Buddhists for centuries as a symbol of immortality and in Sri Lanka, it is sometimes known as the tree of life due to it's remarkable ability to continue flowering even when not in the ground. So when you buy a start for a plumeria, it's usually just a little piece of a branch. So it doesn't even have to be a long piece if you've gone to garden shows or garden centers a lot of times you find them and they're just a stick. And you can put that either in a cup of water or a bucket of water and it will start rooting or you can put it right into the ground and keep it pretty moist but actually let it dry out so it's not really sitting in a bog but just moist soil. And they'll start to root and they'll grow immediately. And if you live in a really warm tropical climate, they grow all over in the tropics. And they love humidity and I always remember that when I'm growing plants, their native areas, if it's a humid hot area, then they're going to like a humid usually hot area in your garden as well. So they're easy to grow if you live in a tropical area. But if you live in a milder climate or somewhere where it freezes during the winter, they're a little more of a challenge. And you can start the sticks right inside the house in April, May and then put them outside whenever it gets 75 and above and they'll grow. It's really difficult to get them to bloom but a lot of times if you bring them in and out of the house for a few years, they need a really good set of roots in a really good plant before they bloom they have to be mature. Because they can get over 40 feet tall, they're just a beautiful plant to grow even as a house plant or outside if you live in a tropical climate."