Plumeria sun adaptation

[AZPalms]

Recently picked up a nice sized Rubra locally. It was clearly shade or greenhouse grown. I have set it in the area I’d like to plant with eastern exposure. Some of the leafs have shown sunburn so I put shade cloth over it to help. 

How long does it take for plumeria to harden off? Or should I remove the shade and let them learn the sun naturally?

My first plumeria. I know they like good drainage because of rot in the winter. Advice?

[Silas_Sancona]

39 minutes ago, AZPalms said:

Recently picked up a nice sized Rubra locally. It was clearly shade or greenhouse grown. I have set it in the area I’d like to plant with eastern exposure. Some of the leafs have shown sunburn so I put shade cloth over it to help. 

How long does it take for plumeria to harden off? Or should I remove the shade and let them learn the sun naturally?

My first plumeria. I know they like good drainage because of rot in the winter. Advice?

Here, they have to have filtered shade from 11am /noon- until sunset thru the summer.  After loosing 22 of the 44  varieties i had when i moved here, mine are all under shade cloth all day, with the trunks whitewashed.. Same w/ the white one i stuck out front. Just had to fix gaps in the shade cloth after some of the ones i have there started showing leaf burn where the sun was hitting them..  Won't be able to take on full sun until they have formed a good layer of thick, grayish colored wood..   Green / greenish colored stems can burn real quick in our sun. Sun burnt stems can cause bigger issues come winter as well.

[jimmyt]

I would think the AZ desert sun would be murderous on plumerias.  Sometimes mine get stem burns/leaf burns if they are not acclimatized to the Texas sun. The leafs will replace but sometimes the burnt stem will die off or weaken making it more susceptible to rot later.  So I have to be careful if the plumeria has been in shade for a while and then moved to full sun.

jimmyt

 

[Silas_Sancona]

34 minutes ago, jimmyt said:

I would think the AZ desert sun would be murderous on plumerias.  Sometimes mine get stem burns/leaf burns if they are not acclimatized to the Texas sun. The leafs will replace but sometimes the burnt stem will die off or weaken making it more susceptible to rot later.  So I have to be careful if the plumeria has been in shade for a while and then moved to full sun.

jimmyt

 

Yep, exactly.. Murder is probably not doing the sun here justice though, lol   Lack of humidity through the worst of... combined w/ our summer heat / extreme U.V. exposure can really do a number on them in full sun. Seems kind of odd since Plumeria growing at the northern extant of their range in Northwestern Mexico grow full sun, though usually up on rocky ledges/ shelves overlooking river canyons there.. and have a lot of grasses/ other low growing stuff growing beneath or around them to help keep the soil cooler/ keep shade on the trunks.

Was completely shocked how quickly many of the specimens i lost sustained sunburn the first summer i was here.. and mine were all grown in Florida's version of blazing summer sun w/ no issues.. Even established specimens / rooted cuttings i'd put under the ( covered ) patio that first summer had sustained bad sunburn by the end of that summer.. Heat wasn't quite as extreme that year compared to 2017.  2017 did in others that i'd situated in places where the sun hit them briefly in the late afternoon Most of which were already in recovery from the previous summer.  That is why i was quite aggressive in whitewashing the trunks / pots of all my potted specimens. Might not look all that attractive, but i'm more concerned with keeping them alive than how they look to observers..  Whitewashed the trunk again on the white one i'd planted out front also. Its already showing some sunburn on the leaves, which, as you said, compared to damage to green wood is minor. 

As mentioned, once plants put on a good layer of that corky, thick gray colored bark, they're less likely to sustain damage, inc. cold damage in the winter. Many people assume sun burn can only occur lower on the trunk but i have seen and experienced stems with damage 3-8' above the ground..

I'd had kept my potted specimens in more shade this year but they all were starting to thin in an attempt to reach for sun under the patio. Plus, wasn't planning on being here to endure another summer. My Singapore and a couple others ( Linda, JJ Purple, & Blazing Star ) are questionable in regards to them making it past the summer due to damage they received last year, then going through a cooler/wetter winter already weakened..  Neighbor's specimen planted where it gets full sun is also looking rough atm compared to another planted up against a west facing wall.. It is almost reaching the roof line. One in more sun is stuck, for now, at about 4ft in height.

Max, Since yours was greenhouse grown, yes.. keep it shaded, more so than if it were already established in the ground / acclimatized to our heat. Recently added a 10" cutting of  Daisy Wilcox from a grower in Hawaii and could tell it was rooted in a greenhouse.. Has been, and will stay on the patio w/ two other small plants i recently repotted. Pots and stems are whitewashed also.. Taking no chances.

[AZPalms]

Thanks guys! I figured with our sun here that it may not be the easiest of things to grow, but I’m up for a challenge. Our sun here is something else. There’s full sun and then there’s full Arizona sun!