Plumeria Rubra, Frangipani "Mixed varieties", 10-100 fresh seeds 2025 from Thailand! New stock!
Plumeria rubra is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus Plumeria.
Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, it has been widely cultivated in subtropical and tropical climates worldwide and is a popular garden and park plant, as well as being used in temples and cemeteries. It grows as a spreading tree to 7–8 m (23–26 ft) high and wide, and is flushed with fragrant flowers of shades of pink, white and yellow over the summer and autumn.
The common name “frangipani” comes from an Italian noble family, a sixteenth-century marquess of which invented a plumeria-scented perfume. The genus name honors Charles Plumier, who was a French monk of the Franciscan order, and a botanist.
Plumeria tolerates a wide variety of soils, from acid to alkaline and sandy to clay. These plants grow best in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun and will bloom throughout most of the year in tropical areas. They do not grow well in wet soils and in areas with temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F) during the winter seasons, the plants will stop blooming and shed their leaves.
Established plants are also very salt tolerant and tolerate even salt-laden winds. Widely available in nurseries, frangipanis are readily propagated by cuttings of branches taken in cooler months and left to dry for a week or more.
Plumeria rubra is an important crop in Hawaii, with over 14 million flowers sold to be used in leis there in 2005.
In temperate areas P. rubra must be grown under glass, in a large conservatory or similar. However it may be placed outside in a sheltered sunny spot during the summer months. In the United Kingdom it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
Germination method
Pre-treatment Soak the seeds in water for 4-5 hours or overnight
Sowing Prepare potting mix with 1 part of substrate for seeds and cuttings and 1 part perlite. Fill containers or pots with soils and put the plump seed tip in soil leaving the "wing" outside. Optionally you can remove the seed coat. In this case you push the seeds in soil just below the surface. I found the germination rate slightly higher this way. Water moderately but do not allow the medium to dry up completely. You can put a few seeds in the same pot/container, plumeria tolerates repotting very well. Germination temperature +22°C and above. The new seedlings usually emerge in 7-21 days. The warmer the weather the faster germination process, seedlings are less vulnerable to decease and healthier. I found it best to sow in late spring - early summer, the seedlings started popping out just after 5 days and you can see significant grows every week. Unlike in winter when you would need to use additional heat like heat mat, lights, and still can lose some of them due to damping off like it happened to me.
Propagation in water There’s alternative method to germinate plumeria. Take a Jablo tray like the ones you buy fish or meat from the supermarkets or sometimes take away. Cut about 1-1.5 cm holes with the sharp knife. Push the seeds through the hole halfway with the “wing” on top. Fill a container slightly bigger in size with water and place your Jablo tray with seeds in it. Change water regularly until the root emerge (I should recommend every day but if you skip a day nothing going to happen to it😊) Do not leave your ‘’nursery” in the open because it will be blown away with the first gust of wind. Once the seeds germinated you can move them to the pots. I found quite difficult extracting the seeds from the tray without damage. Maybe you will have a better luck with it.
Repotting Once your plumeria made 4 true leaves you can repot your seedlings into individual 10-12 cm pots. Use soil mix of 1 part on all purpose compost + 1 part perlite. Repot the new seedlings as they grow once a year into a slightly bigger pot. For fertilizing plumeria use the fertilizers which contain higher percentage of Phosphorus and low in nitrogen and Potassium. For the seedlings which just appeared use half of recommended dose. Do not fertilize during dormancy period.
Receiving proper care and under favorable conditions the young seedlings may flower as soon as at 18-month-old (in tropical climate), but most common after 3-4 year.