Frangipani

Frangipanis (Plumeria spp.) are pretty well known. They adorned many a car back window in sticker form in the early 2000’s and are found in plastic lei’s in the costume section of your local two dollar store. At the moment they are also easily seen around town as all the trees are in bloom!

Despite their slightly kitsch reputation, frangipanis are still really popular. This might be because of their beautiful fragrance, or it could be because they are ridiculously easy to propagate. Take a branch of any size, let it dry out a little (maybe a few weeks), stick it in the ground and voila! Instant tree. This is usually best done in late spring/early summer, but it can work all year round. Take care not to water it too much or it might rot and consider staking it to give it some support while it puts out roots. Frangipanis like full sun and fairly well drained soil, but are adaptable.

Frangipanis are deciduous and will lose their leaves in winter - which is either an eyesore or a structural masterpiece, depending on your point of view. There is an evergreen frangipani (P. pudica) which has a different leaf shape. They are a more upright tree and branch out less, but will keep their leaves over winter. I find the base of the tree can be quite bare though, so I like them best underplanted with other shrubs.

The most common frangipani here is P. rubra. They come in the classic white with yellow throat, and a variety of pink and orange tones, some a lot more exotic or rare than others. There is also the Singapore Frangipani, P. obtusa, which has fatter (hence the ‘obtusa’) petals that overlap more. This species is also evergreen if the climate is warm enough.

I’ve co-planted a white and pink frangipani in the same hole (both taken from cuttings from our first rental). I took inspiration from a tree around the corner from us that looks like it produces both white and pink flowers, but in actual fact is two trees which have grown into each other. So far mine have flowered at distinctly different times, but I hold out hope that as they mature, their flowering times will overlap.

The frangipani around the corner. You can see pink (mostly on the left) and white flowers. If you look at the trunk you can see that it’s two trees that have grown into each other.

Lastly, frangipanis are often subject to frangipani rust, a fungal disease that causes yellow-orange pustules on the underside of leaves. You can try fungicides but I find that the trees tend to only succumb at the end of the season when they are ready to drop their leaves anyway. Good airflow is the best preventative, and removing affected leaves can keep it at bay for a while.