The Handbook on Plumeria

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NEW AND DWARF VARIETIES

NEW VARIETIES

As we travel to different areas of the tropics each year we continually collect and evaluate new plumerias. Through our plant exchanges we have been fortunate in acquiring rare hybrids that are now under cultivation and study. One of these is reported to be the world's first double, 'Bali Whirl'. Another, 'Petite Pink', is truly a rare treasure. It is extremely compact in habit, densely branched and bushy, with small but lush dark green leaves like that of P. obtusa. In fact, we believe it to be a variety of P. obtusa as it is also evergreen. In addition to all these wonderful characteristics, it is also covered with tight clusters of the most delicate white blossoms flushed pale pink with pale pink buds. This is the first dwarf to appear exhibiting color and will be ah ideal container plant.

In the coming years we will be working with hybridizers and collectors in different parts of the world with a view towards introducing new varieties that have not been seen in the U.S. thus far. We have recently learned of varieties in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and some of the Caribbean Islands that are totally different from all the wonderful ones we have collected to date! Future work will concentrate on three major areas: methods of propagating the rarest cultivars in greater quantity so they will become accessible to more people; development of more dwarf varieties for container culture; research into developing hybrids that will have a greater range of cold tolerance.

DWARF VARIETIES

The increasing popularity of plumerias and the necessity of growing them in containers in so many areas has convinced us that dwarfing should become the major emphasis for the future. At the present time there are few dwarf varieties and these are in very limited supply. We have described 'Dwarf Singapore' and 'Dwarf Deciduous' as well as 'Petit Pink' in other chapters, and these are basically the only dwarf forms known in cultivation.

We look forward to the advent of more dwarf varieties (and hope that this work will be a part of our own research in the near future), as breeders realize the potential that exists in color, shape, form and fragrance when plumerias can be cultivated as Impact container plants.

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