Frangipani or Plumeria is a houseplant that requires some specialist knowledge to care for. Even small care errors can cause the plant to become ill, not develop flowers or even die. Tips for caring for frangipani.
How do you properly care for a frangipani?
When caring for frangipani, please note the following: water abundantly in summer without waterlogging, water little or not at all in winter; fertilize carefully from March until flowering; Repot every three to five years; correct location with lots of sun and warm temperatures; Overwintering in low light and cool temperatures.
What should you pay attention to when watering?
In summer, frangipani needs plenty of water to avoid waterlogging. Water regularly and pour water out of the saucer or planter straight away.
In winter, watering is significantly reduced or stopped completely.
Do not pour water directly on the leaves, but always water plumeria at the trunk.
Why should you fertilize frangipani carefully?
Overfertilizing Plumeria makes the plant lazy to bloom. Then it hardly develops any flowers. Fertilization takes place from March until flowering begins. Then stop fertilizing completely. Use nitrogen-rich fertilizer (€3.00 on Amazon) while the plant is still young. Provide older plants with phosphate-based fertilizer.
When is repotting necessary?
You should not repot a frangipani too often. Younger specimens only need a new pot every three years, older ones only need to be repotted after five years. Repotting too often puts too much stress on the plumeria.
When repotting, the root ball is shortened by a quarter to stimulate the plant's growth.
Are you allowed to cut frangipani?
Cutting is not necessary. However, you can cut shoot tips directly above an eye in spring so that the frangipani branches better.
If you want to grow cuttings, take cuttings in the spring for propagation.
What diseases can occur?
Illnesses are almost always due to care errors or incorrect location.
Many fungal diseases occur because the substrate is permanently too moist.
What pests do you need to watch out for?
- Spider mites
- Thrips
- Aphids
- Whiteflies
Spider mites and thrips cause the frangipani the most trouble because they eat into the trunk. An infestation should therefore be combated immediately.
Why does frangipani lose its leaves?
The fact that the frangipani loses all or almost all of its leaves in autumn is a natural process. It indicates that the plumeria's dormancy period is beginning. If it is not given this break, which lasts four to six months, only a few flowers will develop.
Why do the buds fall off?
If the buds fall off without being opened, the plant is too dark or too cool. She also doesn't like being moved around frequently.
In a favorable location it is as sunny as possible. The temperatures don't drop below 15 degrees even at night.
How is the frangipani properly overwintered?
During the rest period, place the frangipani in a bright place in the cool winter garden, entrance area or greenhouse.
During the winter the frangipani is not watered or only watered very little and is not fertilized.
Tip
The frangipani is also called the temple tree. The poisonous ornamental plant needs a very bright, sunny location if possible. The substrate must be permeable to water and rich in nutrients.
