Plumeria

Yeah I think it's pot luck as to how good the flowers are but good you got it to flower.

 

Yes, I think far better if one got cuttings of named varieties. You used to be able to get them from Thailand via eBay

 

I think a few plants are available in the UK but at stupid prices mostly.

 

An update, it turned out not to be a flower bud forming but its just branched into four.

 

Mine has one leaf left And none on my two Bonsai ones.

 

Have you dried them off?
If not are they under cover, some of those night temperatures you have mentioned could be the cause.

 

No. They are still out in the sunniest places. I thought it probably was the cold nights. The Protea is almost leafless as well. Our coldest temp last for a hour or so and we go up very quickly, It hasn't affected any of the Hibiscus.

 

I doubt it should affect a protea either, so surprised that has lost leaves, but plumeria are more sensitive to low temperatures, I would say, especially if wet.

 

I expect mine to lose their leaves, even tucked under the roof and against the house wall/terrace doors. They're kept very dry as although it's frost free there the overnight temps are consistently low.
What a beautiful plant @pete! No problem for you getting it kick-started in the spring I think I'll bring the smaller of my cuttings (50l pot, 1.2m high) into the house to get it going earlier and hopefully get it flowering earlier too. Formally baptised 'Son of Twig'

 

Yes I'm not drying mine off this winter, not entirely anyway, trying to keep some tick over on most at least, it was a long time getting them into leaf last year, probably lost more than 2 months of the growing season.

 

This is a different plant from last year but its growing like crazy in the winter just like last years one, the leaves are so much bigger on the winter growth than on the summer growth.



A winter leaf as opposed to the size of the leaves it was growing last summer.

 

Is this the named one you bought after I did?
If so it's looking better than mine!

 

No its one of my seedling plants supposedly from a named variety.
The one I bought from E bay that is supposed to be named hasn't even grown a leaf since I've had it, but I think it might be making a move now.

I'm wondering as they are from the tropics maybe they actually prefer shorter day lengths????

 

The same named one I got from eBay has put on a few new leaves - so I'm keeping it growing over winter instead of letting it go dormant. It has unfortunately had some red spider which I'm finding hard to get rid of.

 

When I lived in Sydney, Oz, pre WWW, I tried several times to grow Frangipani, in the garden.
Same issues every time. The longest lasted about 3 yrs, then black ants bored up the trunk from below the surface.
With improved access to info, i believe that growing them in 100% organic compost from the council's Western Sydney Recycling centre was NOT the best idea I ever had. Too rich and water retentive.