Plumeria rust/ plumeria care question

[Golden10]

Hello,

I planted this plumeria in the ground early summer and it nearly tripled in size, got a fat trunk and bloomed, however after the early November frost this year I noticed the typical rust fungus that these get. which has affected almost all the leaves on the plant

My question is, I would hate to lose the growth as you can see it has sprouted off 3 new branches and the base has gotten tenderly wider: should I remove the leaves and wait out through winter. Is it a goner? Should I prune at all and when should I prune? These are still new to me so any advice is much appreciated. 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, Golden10 said:

Hello,

I planted this plumeria in the ground early summer and it nearly tripled in size, got a fat trunk and bloomed, however after the early November frost this year I noticed the typical rust fungus that these get. which has affected almost all the leaves on the plant

My question is, I would hate to lose the growth as you can see it has sprouted off 3 new branches and the base has gotten tenderly wider: should I remove the leaves and wait out through winter. Is it a goner? Should I prune at all and when should I prune? These are still new to me so any advice is much appreciated. 

While some varieties do it sooner than others, What you're seeing this particular specimen doing is a perfectly normal response to weather conditions during the cooler months.

Leaves will fall off on their own.

If you want to prune off any remaining green leaves,  leave the leafstalk ..where they attach to the trunk.

They will fall off on their own later. 

Do this with all of my specimens that refuse taking a winter season nap ...which all but the evergreen types of plumeria ( Singapore / crosses with lots of singapore blood in em ) should do.

NO fertilizer / any extra water while they nap this time of year either. 

You have a few years of growth ahead before considering any pruning.

[Golden10]

35 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

While some varieties do it sooner than others, What you're seeing this particular specimen doing is a perfectly normal response to weather conditions during the cooler months.

Leaves will fall off on their own.

If you want to prune off any remaining green leaves,  leave the leafstalk ..where they attach to the trunk.

They will fall off on their own later. 

Do this with all of my specimens that refuse taking a winter season nap ...which all but the evergreen types of plumeria ( Singapore / crosses with lots of singapore blood in em ) should do.

NO fertilizer / any extra water while they nap this time of year either. 

You have a few years of growth ahead before considering any pruning.

Thank you. So no worries about the rust fungus? A few weeks ago before th leaves were dying off  they had the orange fungus on the bottom of the leaves consistent with frangipani rust

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Golden10 said:

Thank you. So no worries about the rust fungus? A few weeks ago before th leaves were dying off  they had the orange fungus on the bottom of the leaves consistent with frangipani rust

No worries about it.. 

While somewhat annoying at times ..particularly when rust episodes are particularly heavy, it doesn't hurt the plants at all..

SoCal Plumeria Society / FL. Colors Plumeria have written  some great info. regarding plumeria rust and how ..99% of the time.. it isn't an issue.

Btw, when it awakens / starts leafing out again come spring, that is when you want to feed it any fert that contains 5+% Phosphorus.  In most areas, the native soil contains lots of Phos.  ..so you may not need to add any more.

Rest of the growing season? K ( Potassium ..15 to 20% ratio number ) is what they want. 

" Bloom boosters " you might see at a store?  Way too much Phos.  Avoid em. 

Drenching with good ol black strap molasses ( non sulfated ) once a month is good too. Lots of k and other minor nutrients they like. Helps give the micros in the soil a boost as well 

May help reduce the amount of rust you might see also.

[Silas_Sancona]

A little perspective...

Noticed yesterday that the leaves on one of my in - ground specimens started bowing out for the season..  interesting because this specific plant has been in all day shade since October..

It should've been the first to drop all it's leaves for the season..

 

Compare to another nearby that gets sun until about 3pm this time of year but is hanging onto it's leaves, for now.. 

Both have seen one or two mornings in the 37- 39 so far this " winter "

 

Samoan fluff in a pot that sits under the ficus out back..  Same cool recent mornings convinced it to drop it's remaining leaves ..yet I'm still getting a couple more flowers before it completely shuts down for the winter.

 

 

Out front,  potted plumeria i have out there are dropping their leaves ..some I'm forcing to.. 

 

..can see what I mean when explaining about leaving the leaf stalk ..if.. you were to trim any remaining green leaves.

 

Nubs that are left fall off on their own after a few days.

 

At the same time,  a seedling of a variety called San Pedro Du Lac is still pretty green ..though it too will eventually shed it's leaves.

 

 

On a side note,  ..if you ever see small surface  " cracks " anywhere on older stems / the trunk of your plant(s)  is a good sign they are adding size / trunk ..and / or older stems are gaining girth. 

 

White paint you see on some of them is tree paint ..have to use it here to protect smaller specimens from our summer sun which can easily cook these plants.