Plumeria Rubra YELLOW SUNSHINE

Plumeria Rubra 'YELLOW SUNSHINE' - Red frangipani 'Yellow Sunshine', Plumeria rubra, Frangipani, Yellow Sunshine.

Plumeria is a genus of tropical trees in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). They grow in Mexico, Central and South America, on the Caribbean islands, and in cultivation have spread throughout the tropics of the Pacific and Asia.

These are large deciduous trees with thick succulent branches. The leaves are leathery, dark green, sometimes with a purple or grayish tint, elliptical, more rarely lanceolate. When shoots are damaged, white milky sap exudes.

During the flowering period, large inflorescences of very fragrant flowers form at the tips of shoots, usually five-petaled, although four-, six-, and even seven-petaled ones are not uncommon for plumeria. The shape and coloration are extremely varied, with the diameter of the flower reaching 10 cm (4 in) and more. The aroma is difficult to describe: it varies depending on conditions and resembles citrus, jasmine, gardenia, or spices, being strongest at the beginning of flowering and during morning hours.

Plumeria rubra is a deciduous shrub or, more commonly, a small tree 2-12 meters (7-39 ft) in height. The bark is light green, thin, smooth or warty, and young twigs are glabrous. The leaf blade is 12-50 cm (5-20 in) long and 3-15 cm (1.2-6 in) wide, elliptical, obovate, or oblanceolate, with an acute tip, leathery and glabrous, on a petiole 1.5-10 cm (0.6-4 in) long.

The inflorescence is corymbose, rather loose, with flowers being very fragrant. The corolla can be pinkish, red-pink, white, or yellow, but always with a reddish or purple tint on the outside, with the limb up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long. The calyx is divided into ovate-quadrangular or ovate-triangular sepals. The fruit is an oblong yellow-green follicle, with seeds 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long, dull yellow, with a white wing. The cultivar name 'Yellow Sunshine' indicates the yellow coloration of the flower.

Plumeria seeds are large, 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long including the white membranous wing, dull yellow, ripening in paired oblong follicles. Their coat is dense, so the seeds need preliminary treatment before sowing. Scarification and stratification are not required.

The seeds are kept for 1-2 hours in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, then soaked for 12-24 hours in warm water with the addition of a growth stimulant: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon. Then they are sown into loose substrate vertically, wing upward, so that the wing remains above the surface while the seed itself is buried approximately halfway. The sowing is moistened from a spray bottle, covered with film or placed in a greenhouse, and germinated in light, but not in direct sun, at a temperature of 25-30 °C (77-86 °F).

Under favorable conditions, the first seedlings appear within a week, the main germination is completed in 1-3 weeks, and individual seeds may delay longer. Sowings are regularly aired; both waterlogging and drying out are unacceptable. Pricking out is performed after the formation of 2-3 true leaves, into individual deep pots. Seedlings do not replicate the cultivar of the parent plant: each of them is a new, unique plumeria, which is a particular fascination of seed propagation.

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The plant needs the brightest possible location with direct sun: with insufficient light, plumeria stretches out and does not bloom. In summer it is beneficial to take it out to a balcony or into the garden.

Keeping is warm, optimally 25-30 °C (77-86 °F) during the growth period. In winter, when the tree sheds its leaves, the temperature is lowered to 15-18 °C (59-64 °F), but not below 12 °C (54 °F).

During the growth period, watering is abundant, after the top layer of the substrate has dried out. With leaf fall, watering is curtailed sharply, and in winter with cool keeping it is almost stopped: waterlogging during dormancy leads to rotting of the roots and trunk.

The substrate must be loose, nutritious, and very well-drained, with a large proportion of coarse sand or perlite. A layer of drainage is mandatory at the bottom of the pot.

Fertilizer is applied during the active growth period using a fertilizer with elevated phosphorus content: it stimulates flower bud formation. Fertilizers are not needed during the dormant period.

Repotting is performed in spring, before the onset of growth. Pruning shapes the crown and stimulates branching: flowers form at the ends of shoots, so the more branches, the more profuse the flowering. Working with the plant requires wearing gloves because of the milky sap. In addition to seeds, plumeria is propagated by cuttings.