Plumeria Repotting Guide – Tips On When To Repot Plumerias

Potted Plumeria Plant
plumeria
(Image credit: levkr)

If you grow the beautiful and exotic plumeria, you may have questions about its care. Growing the plant in a container requires repotting a plumeria yearly, in most cases. This encourages optimum growth and beauty. Plumeria repotting is not complicated, requiring a gentle touch and clean pruners. Let’s look at the specifics.

How to Repot Plumeria

Repot this small tree when it is dormant, in fall or winter. You can check the roots to make sure it is time to repot. If it has been over a year, you’re likely to see a rootbound plant. This limits health and growth. Check the root system by removing it from the container.

Loosen the roots, removing old soil. If roots are spiraling around the plant, gently cut through with a single cut, using a sharp knife or pruners. Tease their roots downward with fingers.

Use a new container just a size above the one it grows in currently. Using a container that is larger than one size above leaves room for soil to remain too wet, which will damage the tree.

Have a well-draining soil mix ready. Add it one-third up in the new container. Put the prepared plant into the container and backfill, tamping the soil down as you go.

Water in lightly. Moisten the soil, but do not drench. If you did not fertilize before dormancy, give it a light feeding of liquid houseplant fertilizer high in phosphate.

Other Plumeria Transplant Tips

You may take cuttings from your plumeria to start new ones. Cuttings should be from the end of a healthy, unblemished plant and 12 to 18 inches (31-46 cm.) long. Plant them in a small container and be careful not to overwater. You may include more than one cutting in each container but allow room to work with each. These will likely bloom the first year.

Get the soil right for repotting a plumeria. You may make your own soil mix from two parts each peat and potting soil and adding one-part compost and one-part coarse sand. Mix well in preparation for your repotting. This will encourage fast drainage, needed to keep the tree from rot. Always be careful not to overwater.

Clean pruners between each cut with alcohol on a paper towel or an alcohol wipe. This prevents the spread of fungi and diseases that may attack your plumeria.

Becca Badgett
Writer

Becca Badgett was a regular contributor to Gardening Know How for ten years. Co-author of the book How to Grow an EMERGENCY Garden, Becca specializes in succulent and cactus gardening.