When your Plumeria cutting arrives it will already have been pre-treated with commercial grade rooting gel to give it a major kick-start for when you plant it.
Growing Media:
When we root our own Plumeria cuttings we prefer to use coconut coir or coconut dust to do so but you can use another growing media of your choice as long as the media is quick draining and will not remain water logged for example a 50 / 50 mix of cactus compost and perlite is a very popular choice as is 1 part potting soil and 2 parts perlite - quick draining media is the key to success.
Preparation:
Your cutting is going to be placed into the media at slightly more than 3 inches deep so take a ruler and mark up from the base to just over 4 inches and draw a line on the cutting at this spot.
Prepare your media in a pot that is big enough to house your cutting leaving around 1 inch between the media and the top of the pot.
Place your pre-treated cutting into the media so that the line you marked earlier is level with the top of the pot.
The inch gap that you now have between the growing media and the top of your plant pot can now be filled with horticultural gravel or pea gravel or something similar for stability. This is one option that you can choose if you have the items available but the same results can still be achieved by just planting the cutting at a depth of just over 3 inches and by following the rest of the instructions.
When to root Plumeria Cuttings:
The ideal times for rooting a Plumeria cutting is in the Spring and Summer months as they require lots of daylight and of course warmth however you can create these conditions artificially with the use of a heat mat which will provide steady 'round-the-clock' heat and grow lights but the choice is up to you.
Watering & Care:
The cuttings do not need to be watered once planted and should not be handled or moved if possible as this may damage the developing roots.
Your cutting can develop roots within as little as 4 weeks and a full root ball in less than 100 days. You will know when roots have developed by the welcoming site of new leaves appearing from the tip of your cutting. You can at this point mist the growing media a little if it really needs it but you should still refrain from watering until the new leaves have reached full size upon which time you can gradually introduce a light watering of your new plant. Increase watering in stages making sure not to overload the plant. Once more leaves begin to appear you can increase to more regular watering. As a rule with Plumeria if the growing media is still wet do not water and if it becomes dry then water and feed your plant accordingly once established. Too much water and your plant may rot.
How long until flowering:
We have known cuttings to flower very quickly, some within 5 weeks from being planted but some do take longer. It depends on many variables so we recommend just giving your plant the best possible conditions available.
Protection:
Remember that Plumeria are topical plants and do not like the cold or frost so bring them indoors if it gets to cold or just grow them as a house plant.
*The best way we have found to obtain a collection of named Plumeria plants that are 100% guaranteed to come true to type without it costing a small fortune is to grow your Plumeria plants from quality cuttings. This guide is put together from our own experience, things we have learnt along the way and advice from some very experience Plumeria farmers in the USA & Thailand but you may wish to look online for alternative methods that others use or that you are familiar with.