We are growing a Plumeria and it is doing very well. My question is whether they lose leaves as they grow or do they retain all there leaves that merge for the summer months? We have had a few leaves start to show faint mottling and then slowly go yellow and drop off. These being the older leaves. This is same thing that happened when the leaves where fading going into dormancy. The other leaves on the plant look fine. Have sprayed it with water a couple of times, just in case it was spider mites.
They do lose their leaves; here in the tropics they're considered to be a deciduous tree - every year after blooming they drop almost all of their leaves and go dormant through the dry season, then bloom and leaf out again when the rains start.
Hello Lorax, Thank you so much for your answer. It is nice to see that you are still accesssing this website. I for one, very much enjoy this site. Do you find that the 'plumeria's' lose leaves as they are growing in the spring and summer months where you are or do all the leaves produced in the current year remain until they go dormant? I just want to rule out any problems with possible spider mites, etc. Am not seeing at this time. Thanks so much
Everything produced during a given year stay on until the dry season, then drop off. The cycle seems to be flowers --> leaves --> dry season --> dormancy with no leaves --> wet season --> repeat. In areas with no pronounced dry season and very high humidity, like the Amazon, leaf drop still occurs, but only on about 50% of the leaves, and there are two blooming phases - wettest season and wet season - about 6 months apart.
