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Frangipani

Hans Hillewaert / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0

Frangipani

Plumeria rubra

Frangipani (also called plumeria, temple tree, or nosegay) is a small, rounded, deciduous tree from the dry, hot regions of Mexico and Central America south to Colombia and Venezuela, now planted throughout the tropics for its intensely fragrant flowers. Thick, blunt, grey-barked branches carry large leaves clustered at their tips, and from late spring to fall each branch tip ends in a cluster of five-petaled flowers, pink to red in the species, while garden forms run to white, yellow, and bicolors. In a frost-free garden it reaches 15 to 25 feet tall and wide. It is frost-tender and grows in the ground only in USDA zones 10b-12b; UF/IFAS warns that plumerias can be susceptible to cold damage, so anywhere colder it is grown in a container and wintered indoors. Broken branches bleed a milky sap that irritates skin and eyes, and the RHS lists the plant as harmful if eaten, for people and pets alike; UF/IFAS adds that plumerias are not particularly poisonous compared with other landscape plants such as oleander. It is the national flower of Nicaragua, where it is called sacuanjoche. Wikipedia reports it naturalized in most parts of tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands, but the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk weed risk assessment found no evidence of naturalization and rates it low risk.

Climate fit: narrow (17/100)

Focal point

Structure

Container

Light

Full sun

Water

Low water

Mature size

15-25 ft tall · 15-25 ft apart

Hardy in zones

10b-12b

mild to frost-free winters

Life cycle

Perennial

Native in Illinois

No

Not a food plant: treat every part as harmful if eaten.

°C

°F

Cold hardiness

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

Plotwright

USDA Zone 6b

-5°F to 0°F

Won't grow here

2050

2100

Zone 7a

Plotwright

0°F to 5°F

Won't grow here

In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.

✕

Out of range today and still out of range in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Low water

Spacing

15-25 ft

Habit

Small, rounded, vase-shaped deciduous tree with thick, fleshy, blunt, somewhat brittle branches and milky sap

Care tips

•

Plant it in the ground only where it will not freeze: UF/IFAS calls plumeria a tender plant that can be susceptible to cold damage, so below USDA zone 10b grow it in a container and bring it inside when cold weather strikes.

•

Give it full sun and sharp drainage, and water sparingly once it is established; it is drought tolerant, and wet or poorly drained soil causes root rot.

•

Expect bare branches in winter: below 50°F it drops its leaves and stops flowering. Keep wintering container plants cool, around 50 to 55°F, and nearly dry.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in full sun in well-drained soil: the RHS lists loam or sand and acid to alkaline pH, and the Missouri Botanical Garden warns to avoid wet soils, where root rot sets in. Plant it in the ground only where it will not freeze (USDA zones 10b-12b); UF/IFAS warns that plumerias can be susceptible to cold damage. Anywhere colder, grow it in a large container of well-drained, sandy potting mix that can come indoors for winter.

Transplanting

Frangipani is usually planted as a cutting, which looks like a leafless stick at first; UF/IFAS notes that plumerias grown this way grow fast. Container plants move easily; handle larger plants carefully, because Wikipedia notes the branches are somewhat brittle. Wear gloves when handling it, since every wound bleeds an irritant milky sap.

Early growth

Water to establish, then let the soil dry between waterings: it is drought tolerant once rooted and rots in soggy ground. Watch for scale, nematodes, spider mites under glass, and plumeria rust, a fungal disease that builds up on the undersides of the leaves through the growing season; UF/IFAS advises collecting the fallen leaves in fall to reduce rust the following season.

Maturity

A mature tree reaches 15 to 25 feet tall and wide with a rounded, vase-shaped crown and flowers from late spring to fall, blooming through much of the year in the tropics. Where winter temperatures dip below 50°F, it drops its leaves and stops flowering until warmth returns (Missouri Botanical Garden). Winter container plants indoors at 50 to 55°F with reduced watering; the RHS keeps them almost dry in winter at a minimum of 50°F, and warns that pruning wounds are prone to rot, so keep pruning to a minimum.

Propagation

Easily propagated from stem cuttings. Let the cut end dry before planting: the RHS takes ripe cuttings of leafless stem tips in early spring and lets the base dry thoroughly, and Wikipedia notes that cuttings taken in the cooler months are left to dry for a week or more. Seed pods are rarely formed in cultivation, but the RHS gives sowing at 64°F in spring.

Native range

Worldwide native range.

Climate notes

•

The Missouri Botanical Garden's PlantFinder rates Plumeria rubra hardy in USDA zones 10 to 12. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says plumerias as a group are best suited to zones 10B-11, and Wikipedia repeats that range, for the mainland United States, from a UF/IFAS fact sheet that is no longer published. Plotwright publishes 10b-12b: the colder 10a edge is left out because UF/IFAS warns that plumerias can be susceptible to cold damage, and the warm edge follows the Missouri Botanical Garden, since 11 is the warmest zone Florida has, while frangipani blooms through much of the year in the tropics and is grown as a lei-flower crop in Hawaii. It is native from Mexico through Central America to Colombia and Venezuela (per Kew's WCVP), not to the United States.

•

Frost is the limit: UF/IFAS calls plumeria a tender plant that can be susceptible to cold damage. In zone 9b, which covers most of interior Central Florida, UF/IFAS says gardeners do grow it in protected spots but should accept the risk of heavy damage or death; a cold-damaged plant can often regrow if it was not killed to the ground.

•

It is deciduous in the cool or dry season: where winter temperatures dip below 50°F it drops its leaves and stops blooming, while in the tropics it blooms through much of the year. Below zone 10b, grow it in a container and winter it indoors at 50 to 55°F with reduced watering (Missouri Botanical Garden); the RHS, which rates it H1b, grows it under glass at a minimum of 50°F.

•

Drought and salt tolerant once established (UF/IFAS; Wikipedia adds that it tolerates even salt-laden winds) and tolerant of acid to alkaline soils (RHS), but not of wet ground, where root rot follows. UF/IFAS names rust, a fungal disease that builds up on the undersides of the leaves, as a persistent problem for plumerias in Florida.

•

Planted throughout the tropics and subtropics. Wikipedia describes it as naturalized in most parts of tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands, and USDA PLANTS lists it as introduced in the Pacific Basin, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk weed risk assessment, by contrast, found no evidence that it has naturalized beyond its native range, scores it low risk (-5), and quotes assessments that it has little, if any, invasive potential. No source consulted lists it as invasive.

•

Also sold as plumeria, temple tree, nosegay, pagoda tree, and West Indian jasmine. Labels still carry the epithets acutifolia, acuminata, and lutea, which Wikipedia notes are not valid names, and some garden plants are hybrids with Plumeria obtusa, which have rounded leaves and are less likely to be deciduous.

Plant this, not that

Better fit for this place

For Chicago, IL, these are replacement suggestions: similar plants with a stronger hardiness fit now and/or in 2050.

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Better fit now and in 2050

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Better fit now and in 2050

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Taxus baccata

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Better fit now and in 2050

Now: well-suited

2050: well-suited

Similar plants

Browse lateral options with similar roles, light needs, size, or native-range overlap; these are not filtered for a better climate fit.

Acer ginnala

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Educator packet

Plant packet

Frangipani educator packet

Frangipani (also called plumeria, temple tree, or nosegay) is a small, rounded, deciduous tree from the dry, hot regions of Mexico and Central America south to Colombia and Venezuela, now planted throughout the tropics for its intensely fragrant flowers. Thick, blunt, grey-barked branches carry large leaves clustered at their tips, and from late spring to fall each branch tip ends in a cluster of five-petaled flowers, pink to red in the species, while garden forms run to white, yellow, and bicolors. In a frost-free garden it reaches 15 to 25 feet tall and wide. It is frost-tender and grows in the ground only in USDA zones 10b-12b; UF/IFAS warns that plumerias can be susceptible to cold damage, so anywhere colder it is grown in a container and wintered indoors. Broken branches bleed a milky sap that irritates skin and eyes, and the RHS lists the plant as harmful if eaten, for people and pets alike; UF/IFAS adds that plumerias are not particularly poisonous compared with other landscape plants such as oleander. It is the national flower of Nicaragua, where it is called sacuanjoche. Wikipedia reports it naturalized in most parts of tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands, but the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk weed risk assessment found no evidence of naturalization and rates it low risk.

Scientific name

Plumeria rubra

Plant type

tree

Hardiness

10b-12b

Light

full-sun

Moisture

low

Spacing

15-25 ft