I am so in love with Plumeria plant/small tree. I live in Canada. I am wondering if they can be grown in Toronto ?
Plumeria is a tropical plant, that can grow also in some sub-tropical locations. You could grow it indoors in Toronto. The only significant problem I can think of : if grown indoors, any cut stem or broken off leaf will give you lots of white liquid 'latex-like' sap that will leave black spots on anything it drips on.
You should be aware that Plumeria require very high light levels to produce blooms. In a house you aren't ever likely to see a blossom. They are also deciduous and will drop all their leaves in roughly November and will be bare until March, more likely late April. The biggest problem is growth. In their native environment the tree grows to close to 15 meters in height, fortunately they are slow growers. If you manage to keep one alive it will eventually get big. Any hard freeze will kill the plant. We have one in NW Arkanas (Zone 7) but it is planted inside a tall atrium that is temperature controlled year round. And the sap can truly be a problem. People often panic in the fall when they grow this tree since it produces a natural fungus on the underside of the leaves. That fungus is part of the tree's natural cycle and the use of fungicide is both futile and inadviseable. I suggest you read this before you buy one: http://www.plumeria.info/Plumeria Care.aspx
Thanks alot for your help Photopro But i think i would not buy one... it is so heart breaking to know but i guess i would not be able to take care of it .... sap and fungus seems like a big issue and i would want it to bloom but yeah, light seems like an issue too... My cousin has one in her backyrad back-home [Pakistan] but since winters are never harsh there and summers are very hot and long, the tree is doing great ther and i love their bloom and fragrance... my luck i cant have it. Thank you both of you for your great help. I appreciate it alot. Have a great day.
They are beautiful trees but they do need the sun and warmth to flourish and bloom. I used to have four large ones in my yard in Florida and I've seen many full grown trees in the Caribbean and Pacific region.
I have successfully gotten blooms on mine, and I live in your neck of the woods. I bought a plant light from Home Depot. Around March I have it placed in a south-west facing window and have the light focused on the base. I found in my case that the Plumeria likes heat on the roots, but I do give the top leaves 2 hours a day of extra exposure. So my sched is as follows: 1 hr in the morning 6 hrs in the aft 1 hr in the evening My first blossom opened in late June, but don't forget to water as well.
I love my 3 Plumeria plants which I bought more than 12 years ago as cuttings at a garden show in Toronto . I'll take them outside, depending on night temperatures, starting in late May and take them inside in September . Every year, they surprise me with growth and blooming changes. Once back to my bedroom, which is facing south , I'll take most leafs off . I protect the floor with an old duvet cover. Once I had the first flowers for Easter ; but it also happened at times that they never bloomed at all during the summer . They need to be cut short occasionally to prevent them from getting too tall. My friends are happy to receive cuttings but not everybody succeeds in growing them. I guess I'm lucky with the 3 windows that practically surround them, it makes for a great start in springtime.
I am in NS and I have a 2-year-old plumeria as a indoor plant in winter and a outdoor plant in summer. If you want them grow year round, buy a grow light clamp with a heat bulb (200-250W). Mine grows very well, even better in winter than summer because the light bulb generates a lot of heat.
