The Other Plumeria by Paula Szilard Though there are eight known species of plumeria, most of them are relatively unknown to horticulture. The two most familiar species of Plumeria are Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa. P. rubra, has long leaves which can be pointed or blunt at the tip and flowers in white tinged in yellow and various shades of pink, red and yellow and even mixtures of colors, such as the yellow and pink of ‘California Sunset.’ Plumeria obtusa has thick, glossy green leaves with rounded tips and white flowers that have yellow centers. In Hawaii it was called “Singapore Plumeria” because it was introduced from Singapore. Plumerias are commonly grown small trees in Hawaii where they are a perennial favorite for making fragrant leis. P. rubra has undergone the most extensive hybridization and is the most commonly available plumeria. If you go to a garden center, this is the plumeria you are likely to find. All plumerias are in the Apocynaceae family, along with oleander, periwinkle, allemanda, mandevilla, natal plum, trachelospermum and adenium obesum. Plumerias were named in honor of Charles Plumier, a French botanist, Franciscan monk and plant explorer who first discovered them in the Caribbean in the 1690’s and depicted them in his drawings. In European countries and in Australia these shrubs and small trees are commonly known as frangipani. None of the plumerias tolerate very cold temperatures, however both P. rubra and P. pudica will go dormant and lose their leaves in temperatures below 50 F and will leaf out again when it gets warmer. (As with all tropical plants, freezing temperatures are deadly.) The Singapore plumeria was always the lone plumeria that kept its leaves when the weather got really cold in Hawaii, down into the upper 50’s. A couple of summers ago there were two plants covered in pure white flowers at the entrance to O’Toole’s Garden Center on S. Federal Blvd. I was intrigued. They looked like plumerias, but the leaves were fiddle shaped with a very pointed tip. The yellow-throated white flowers were funnel shaped and they were not fragrant. Chris, the manager, checked with his source and confirmed that they were indeed plumerias. Botanically, this type is known as Plumeria pudica, sometimes also Plumeria caracasana, but it is also called Bridal Bouquet and Fiddle Leaf Plumeria. It is native to Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela and is a common landscape plant in Florida. Like P. rubra and P. obtusa, it requires a lot of sun and an open, well drained potting medium. I use about ½ Fafard #2 potting mix and ½ cactus and succulent mix. In an ideal environment like South Florida, it is a prolific bloomer with a bloom period sometimes extending to 185 days a year, April-December. The plant was blooming when I purchased it in late July. It bloomed through early fall, but much more sparsely. I put it into the sunroom for the winter and it eventually stopped blooming altogether. Unlike the two most common species of plumerias, plumeria pudica retains its lower leaves and remains bushy and full. It does need cutting back, though, to maintain this bushy look. The University of Florida Extension Service recommends pruning young plants in January each year for three years to increase branching. Mature plants, purchased at garden centers, need just routine pruning. Sometime during the winter months, I noticed an infestation of thrips and dealt with it by spraying it with ultra light horticultural oil mixed into water. In late winter, I cut it back considerably and it sprouted new branches. The following year, lacking space, I gave it to Nancy Styler, but then got cuttings from her and propagated it. Maybe I’ll have luck growing at least one of the cuttings to a more mature size.

The Other Plumeria

Paula Szilard

Though there are eight known species of plumeria, most of them are relatively unknown to horticulture. The two most familiar species of Plumeria are Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa. P. rubra, has long leaves which can be pointed or blunt at the tip and flowers in white tinged in yellow and various shades of pink, red and yellow and even mixtures of colors, such as the yellow and pink of ‘California Sunset.’ Plumeria obtusa has thick, glossy green leaves with rounded tips and white flowers that have yellow centers. In Hawaii it was called “Singapore Plumeria” because it was introduced from Singapore. Plumerias are commonly grown small trees in Hawaii where they are a perennial favorite for making fragrant leis. P. rubra has undergone the most extensive hybridization and is the most commonly available plumeria. If you go to a garden center, this is the plumeria you are likely to find.

All plumerias are in the Apocynaceae family, along with oleander, periwinkle, allemanda, mandevilla, natal plum, trachelospermum and adenium obesum. Plumerias were named in honor of Charles Plumier, a French botanist, Franciscan monk and plant explorer who first discovered them in the Caribbean in the 1690’s and depicted them in his drawings. In European countries and in Australia these shrubs and small trees are commonly known as frangipani.

None of the plumerias tolerate very cold temperatures, however both P. rubra and P. pudica will go dormant and lose their leaves in temperatures below 50 F and will leaf out again when it gets warmer. (As with all tropical plants, freezing temperatures are deadly.) The Singapore plumeria was always the lone plumeria that kept its leaves when the weather got really cold in Hawaii, down into the upper 50’s.

A couple of summers ago there were two plants covered in pure white flowers at the entrance to O’Toole’s Garden Center on S. Federal Blvd. I was intrigued. They looked like plumerias, but the leaves were fiddle shaped with a very pointed tip. The yellow-throated white flowers were funnel shaped and they were not fragrant. Chris, the manager, checked with his source and confirmed that they were indeed plumerias. Botanically, this type is known as Plumeria pudica, sometimes also Plumeria caracasana, but it is also called Bridal Bouquet and Fiddle Leaf Plumeria. It is native to Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela and is a common landscape plant in Florida. Like P. rubra and P. obtusa, it requires a lot of sun and an open, well drained potting medium. I use about ½ Fafard #2 potting mix and ½ cactus and succulent mix. In an ideal environment like South Florida, it is a prolific bloomer with a bloom period sometimes extending to 185 days a year, April-December.

The plant was blooming when I purchased it in late July. It bloomed through early fall, but much more sparsely. I put it into the sunroom for the winter and it eventually stopped blooming altogether. Unlike the two most common species of plumerias, plumeria pudica retains its lower leaves and remains bushy and full. It does need cutting back, though, to maintain this bushy look. The University of Florida Extension Service recommends pruning young plants in January each year for three years to increase branching. Mature plants, purchased at garden centers, need just routine pruning.

Sometime during the winter months, I noticed an infestation of thrips and dealt with it by spraying it with ultra light horticultural oil mixed into water. In late winter, I cut it back considerably and it sprouted new branches.

The following year, lacking space, I gave it to Nancy Styler, but then got cuttings from her and propagated it. Maybe I’ll have luck growing at least one of the cuttings to a more mature size.