Plumeria (or frangipani or melia) is a tropical plant sometimes used as an indoor plant, but more often grown in the gardens of the aforementioned areas. Since it does not come from a seed (young plants do not look at all like adult ones), plumeria often propagates from cuttings, precisely to have a clone of the mother plant. Growing it from a cutting is a little different than the same technique applied to other plants, but it is not difficult. Here's how you can make your own plumeria from cuttings.
Steps
Step 1. Towards the end of winter, take cuttings using shears and wearing latex gloves
- Choose freshly ripe, gray-green throws for best results.
- Get 30.5 to 61 cm long cuttings.
- Remove all leaves, flowers and buds present.
Step 2. Let the cuttings dry for a week in a warm area away from direct sunlight
Step 3. Prepare the mix for repotting
- Use two parts of perlite and one part of common soil reinforced with fertilizer, all well mixed.
- Moisten the culture medium until it is compact but avoid dripping water.
Step 4. Fill a 15-17 cm diameter pot with a good drainage hole of at least 5 cm with the mix of soil and perlite
You will need a pot for each cutting.
Step 5. Drill a hole at least 10 cm deep, which is a little larger than the diameter of your cutting, in the center of the pot
Use your finger or the handle of a scoop.
Step 6. Dip the end of each cutting into the water then into the root hormone and insert it into the hole
Step 7. Gently compact the soil around each stem
Step 8. Cover the top of the growing medium almost to the brim with aquarium gravel or slightly larger
Step 9. Place your cuttings in the ground in a warm and sunny place (above 15 ° C), where they will not be disturbed
Step 10. Water lightly, with a couple of cups of water after a week and each week after the leaves appear
Step 11. Water until the water drains from the drainage hole, once a week after the leaves are born
Step 12. Transplant into the ground or into larger pots before the plant develops too many roots
Advice
- It takes about 45 days for the leaves to emerge from the cuttings, less if you place them in a very sunny area.
- If the cuttings soften after producing the leaves, you may have given too much or too little water. If the pot looks dry, water it; if it feels like it is holding water, check the drainage.
- If a cutting becomes mushy before it produces leaves or doesn't after three months, throw it away.
- The cuttings keep for a few weeks.
- The root hormone is bought in seed and garden supply stores. You may be able to grow the cuttings even without it, but it will take longer and you will have less chance of success.
- The cuttings root best towards spring.
Warnings
- Do not crush the cuttings into the earth. You would damage the growth points. Make a hole with your finger or something else where to insert them.
- Avoid moving or squeezing any cuttings that have rooted. Too many movements could cause them to die.
- The sap of the plumeria causes skin irritation. Wear gloves when touching freshly made cuttings and keep them out of sight.
