Massive Frangipani/Plumeria gets a hard winter trim

My Frangipani gets a winter trim
Keep in mind that all of my first vids are dramatised to some extent. I know a thing or two about turf but I want you as the viewer to see these experiences in a way that is similar to how you would experience them. Later we will all get more advanced, together!

[@angelajohnson8890]

Good explanation ThankQ

[@thefireking5729]

Very nice 👍

[@BackyardBushveld]

Thanks bud

[@user-lh2nd3wh2f]

Thanks, Haven't seen updates of it ?

[@BackyardBushveld]

Hey, yes I’m planning an update in Spring. It’s a little bald at the moment 😂

[@donaldcplaird2037]

Some years ago I planted a 5 foot stalk of Frangipani into very hard ground. It was very difficult and I supported it with a metal rod and watered it for a few weeks. I expected a failure, but now after around 10 years it has grown into a handsome well balanced tree flowering with white blooms.

[@oscarscamachowaters]

Do you sell trimmings of your plumeria? I live in Las Vegas and my mother before she passed gave me a few of her trimmings and I wanted to grow a few more. To keep her memory of her gardening living on.

[@BackyardBushveld]

Hi Oscar, no unfortunately I don’t sell the cuttings. It’s a great idea to keep her memory alive! Just work on your one and propagate cuttings from the same plant. They take very easily in warmer climates

[@donaldcplaird2037]

I live in Malaysia with a very wet tropical climate, but currently it is the dry season and the foliage has thinned out. I have 4 Frangipani trees outside and quite close to the building. Today and yesterday I have pruned them back pretty hard cutting almost all the leafing branches. I make a small cut below the branch or on the side and then cut through from the top or the opposite to avoid tearing the bark ….that is important. After that I painted each exposed new cut with black motor under-seal which I hope will deter rot or insect infestation. I find a lot of small black ants where previous pruning has been done, but luckily very little actual rot.

[@BackyardBushveld]

That’s a good way to prune. Definitely try not to let the branches tear bark. I’m not sure what motor seal ingredients are but I’m sure so long as it’s not poisoning the plant that’s perfect.

[@Nismo65]

these are the worst tree's i have ever lived with i recently moved to a new house that has 3 large one's in my driveway. what a mess they make in winter having to sweep up the leaves every day and clear them of my car and all stuck in my garden plants. i hate them

[@BackyardBushveld]

It appears you’ve described deciduous trees in general. At least it’s only a headache for a short while in winter. If you look after them, you’ll benefit from awesome flowers the rest of the growing season

[@Nismo65]

i know they are deciduous, try three of them in your driveway then park your car under them all caught up in your wipers and vents every day in winter . @@BackyardBushveld

[@M-78-76]

Very informative . Out of curiosity did you plant and share any of the cutting ?

[@BackyardBushveld]

Thanks! Yes I shared some but unfortunately a lot of it was not in the best condition with some rot. I didn’t want to hand over issues! I’m glad I did it because it’s tightened up nicely since then. I’ve thinned it out at least twice more I think

[@M-78-76]

@@BackyardBushveld My Plumerias are all in pots so I have to be careful to watch for the rot myself. Very nice to have a Plumeria that your children can actually climb.

[@BackyardBushveld]

Indeed it is! And the kids make use of it every weekend. And the birds! Yes I’d love a few in pots but my climate is mostly okay to have them outdoors in winter. It sustained some frost damage this year, but still not nearly as bad as colder climates would be for them. I’ve actually planted a few of the pink variety around the garden over the last few months. Cuttings from my neighbour. We both got hit with some frangipani rust this year too. Our entire region for that matter

[@p1katie]

Our tree is taller than yours and we're getting ready to prune it, but not this drastic. We've never pruned it back that much. We're in San Diego, CA.

[@BackyardBushveld]

That’s great. Definitely don’t prune this hard. I only did it because of how close it was to our gutters and I was afraid of kids climbing it too high. That being said, I am glad I did it. Pulled out many rotting branches which would have transferred to the rest of the tree. In future I’ll follow bonsai principles to prune this one as it’s created many water sprouts now. A bit top heavy now.

[@p1katie]

@Socal_2498 Yes, it sure has! I've held off pruning due to the rain. Surprisingly, I still have dead leaves that haven't fallen off the branches yet. The last couple of seasons have been very wet and overcast, so the timing of our plumeria has been off by a few months.

[@vidyayinirajendra5383]

👍👌

[@megcsa]

Thanks for this video! I took cuttings from my grandfather's garden down in Westville before he sold the house some 2- years ago (his frangips and azaleas were his pride and joy, so the smell of frangips always remind me of him). I'm up in Joburg, so they grow in pots in a protected courtyard, and last summer, they'd grown to where I could no longer smell the flowers. I didn't realise I could prune them down like that, so I've brought them down to head-height now, following your guidelines. Will they shoot and flower this season already, or only next year? Thanks again

[@BackyardBushveld]

That’s great! I think we all have that one, or many, family members that we associate our green fingers to. Mine is my Father and my Aunt! My frangipani took about a whole season. As soon as it feels like it’s taking forever, it just all of a sudden catches the wind and goes

[@megcsa]

@@BackyardBushveld Good to know, otherwise I know I'll start worrying that I traumatised the poor thing!

[@megcsa]

@@BackyardBushveldOne month later and the new shoots are already sprouting! Each cut branch is ringed with little shoots.

[@BackyardBushveld]

Awesome news! Well done! I’ll probably do my update vid in the next month or so.

[@jankamps9511]

What about now whit this plumeria , how is he now? Good informative, great story

[@BackyardBushveld]

Thanks! At the moment, winter has left it bald. Still good all in all. I thinned it out a few months ago. The canopy was a bit too dense. I’ll try remember to do a follow up vid in spring again!

[@michaeldiaz5641]

Following up on this, about to do this myself, great vid man 💚

[@rdl1862]

is there any special treatment after pruning ? few months ago i have cut my plumeria that having 9 cm (3,5 inch) diameter, but they not growing again.. and yesterday i cut the other trunk with the same diameter.. should i cover the trunk with plastic and put toothpick in the middle of the trunk ? how long your plumeria grow again after pruning? please advise.. thank you 🙏

[@BackyardBushveld]

Depending on your specific climate conditions and season, this might change. If you have a lot of moisture and dirt sitting in the wound then you should cover it with something clean. I just try to make my cuts perpendicular with the ground to avoid infections. Seems to work for me in my area. They do take a while to recover. I trimmed mine in winter and it was full of leaves my the beginning on summer. Now it’s about half way between where is was before the trim. Granted I trimmed mine nearly by half but it was old enough to survive. No special treatment otherwise. Let the wounds callous

[@rdl1862]

@@BackyardBushveld thank you for your reply on my comment.. my country Indonesia, and now its raining season.. so the plumeria will get wet, and sometime also getting the direct sunlight.. do you have suggest for me, is it better to cover it with transparant plastic bag or not ? i would glad if you can suggest and thanks again for your sharing.. tk care

[@BackyardBushveld]

Yes I think you should cover them. If the wounds were a smaller diameter it wouldn’t be much of an issue but this potentially a problem. Just put a plastic bag over with an elastic band, just over the would. Not too far down the trunks

[@BackyardBushveld]

You can also feed it some potassium rich fertilizer or kelp to help with the stress

[@kjwhitma]

Is it regrowing well?

[@BackyardBushveld]

I must do an update. It’s full of leaves again, they grew back relatively quickly, and is starting to flower now too. It just hasn’t started shooting longer branches everywhere, only one or two. It was an incredibly hard prune though😂

[@BackyardBushveld]

I’ll put a pick up on Instagram

[@robbiej2805]

Can you hard prune them? And how and when? The tree in the yard has been pruned but a heap of rot and rust on it.

[@BackyardBushveld]

Yes you can prune them relatively hard, but only if it’s fairly mature. Stick to the one third rule where possible, but I’d say it’s safe to at least remove all the rotting branches. The right time to prune is winter or early spring. Basically when all the leaves have fallen. Another tip from my side it to prune when it’s dry. I find the moisture helps the infection to fester. Rust on frangipani has become popular worldwide over the last few years. Even mine picked up a very bad rust infection a year or so ago, of which I treated by physically removing all the leaves and then removing ALL the leaves from the area entirely. I then fed the tree with a micronutrient fertiliser called Nutrimix Complete by Compo-Expert. Sorted the issue out in a matter of weeks and it hasn’t returned.

[@robbiej2805]

Thanks for the reply. This plant is 100yrs old. Like most plants in the charters towers region they are as old as the town and it is a dry climate. I know rust is a nasty problem not to just the host plant but to all out plants in the yard. I've done alot of puning of trees and it's obvious this plant isn't the same as others I also noticed dead wood running up the inside of trunk shoot. Not sure weather I should cut and see if it's hollow? There are white ants in the area and they may of made there way up inside the dead wood. I have pictures of the plant

[@BackyardBushveld]

Is the ‘dead wood’ running up the side just hard and petrified looking? Or is it rotting? If it’s hardened, you can leave it alone. If it’s rot, you’ll need to treat a lot more carefully. Start by removing all the infected leaves from the tree and the surroundings, and then work of the rotting branches by completing removing them, and then take your time with that more serious side

[@robbiej2805]

If I could post you pictures you could zoom in and see what I'm talking about. Thanks for the reply. The new plant has incased the dead stuff but up higher on that limb it seems to be good wood( healthy). Hesitatent to cut it any more. The trunk doesn't look healthy. It should be a smooth dark green colour but it has chunky bits all over it. I sprayed with a fungicide today. May help not sure. Time will tell like all things.

[@BackyardBushveld]

Pop me a pic and let’s see

[@schalkwolhuter8406]

I also have one that I need to cut. Too late now?

[@BackyardBushveld]

Best time is end winter into beginning of spring but technically anytime in our region. Just make sure you cut using clean saws etc to avoid disease. And try not to trim as heavily as I did😂

[@hotglasschick]

How old is this tree?

[@BackyardBushveld]

😂I think as old as I am. Somewhere between 30 & 38 years old

[@imho2278]

Watershoot, not waterspout. Waterspouts are tornadoes over the sea. And 'watersprout' is 'watershoot.'

[@BackyardBushveld]

Hey, thanks for the comment but not sure what you heard there. Only ever refer to watersprouts which is correct. Granted, I do speak unclearly on occasion. Glad you found the need to correct that. It could really have ruined someone’s day