Are you also confused whether your Plumeria needs full sun or not? Let’s find out! It is definitely recommended that before growing a Plumeria plant in your garden, you must read whether it should be kept in bright light or shade. Let’s learn about the origin of this beautiful plant to understand it’s sunlight requirements.
Key Takeaways
- Plumeria loves the sun.
- It requires at least six to eight hours of sun to produce blooms.
- It won’t bear stems if it is not provided with adequate sunlight.
- Full sun is better but should be kept in the shade during summers to avoid overheating of leaves.
Plumeria plants, also known as Lei flowers and Frangipani are small tropical trees belonging to the family of Apocynaceae. These exotic flowers are used in making beautiful, scented hawaiian leis. Plumeria trees have aromatic flowers, and they bloom from spring through fall. You can find these fragrant flowers in various colors like white, yellow, red, and pink.
As Plumeria is a tropical plant having its origin in the Caribbean, Central, and South America, and Mexico, bright and direct sun are the most favorable conditions for its growth, especially during their active growing season.
However, they can be grown under partial sun and partial shade using Plumeria cuttings as well.
There is a different level of light required for different ways of growing a Plumeria plant. It also depends on the location where you’re planning to grow this plant. If you’re growing Plumeria in the US, you must consider that the farther you’re from the equator, the more humid it would get so you might want to give your Plumeria plant as much light as possible. This will prevent Plumeria plant roots from rotting or spider mites. These problems can also occur if you keep Plumeria under direct sun for more than 6 hours.
Tip: You can place your Plumeria plant in such a way that it can receive indirect sunlight passing through other tropical plants as they would soak the hot light of the sun and pass on the lighter one to the Plumeria.
In this article, we shall try and understand the meaning of different types of light levels and the most suitable level for growing plumeria trees. Though some of you might want to grow it using Plumeria seeds you can also grow Plumeria using its cuttings. The light requirements will be different in both cases.
Sunlight Preferences for Plumeria Plants
Plumeria Rubra has its origin in Mexico, Central, and South America, however, they can now be found across the world. Hence though plumeria is a tropical plant, it can be grown in other climates as well, keeping in mind the right conditions. Plumeria plants grow best in full sun. Plenty of sunlight is required for proper flowering.
Full Sun and Partial Sun Requirements for Growing Plumeria Plants
Full sun is when there is direct sunlight which is unobscured for 6-8 hours in a day whereas partial sun is when the plant needs direct sunlight for approximately 6 hours per day.
If you have an indoor plant, it should be placed 1m from the window in the south or within 1m if the window is facing east. You can keep it in dappled light that appears to be partial shade at first instance. It is good for those plants that might need full sun sometimes or partial sun. It would protect the plants from overheating and their leaves from scorching.
Though the full sun is most favorable for fully-grown Plumeria trees, they do need some shade when it is very hot in the afternoon. While Plumeria plants can tolerate some shade, they will likely bloom less and may become leggy if they do not receive enough sunlight. The ideal way to enhance the beautiful bloom of Plumeria flowers is to provide suitable light to the tree. The Plumeria plant’s normal growth is hampered under unusually cold climates and low sunlight.
Plumeria plant which has dense branches are likely to produce more flowers than those which are leggy. However, more shade will slow down the growth making the branches thin and leggy.
Ideal Sun Exposure for Plumeria Plants
Are you still wondering if your Plumeria plant needs full, partial sunlight or full or partial shade to grow? Let’s dig deeper into this topic by understanding the light levels required by Plumeria plants.
If your Plumeria plant gets unobscured or direct sunlight for around 6-8 hours a day, then it’s getting full sun exposure. In case you’ve kept the plant indoors, keep it within 1 m of the south-facing window of your home.
Honestly, there’s not much difference between partial sunlight and full sunlight except that you must keep your plant for at least six hours only in direct sunlight. In case you’ve kept it inside your house, the condition remains the same as mentioned above or you can also keep it within 1 m of the sunny window facing east in your home.
Some plants might need shady light which means they can be kept under a canopy of trees in such a way that they can get dappled light for 4-6 hours per day. If you want to grow such a plant inside the house, place it in a dark room. Note – This type of light requirement will not suit Hawaiian Lei trees.
Even if the plant needs partial shade, it will still require enough light exposure per day. Without getting sunlight exposure, the flowers won’t bloom so they must be kept in a sunny location for them to grow properly.
Dappled light is recommended by many gardeners as it prevents overheating or leaf scorching. In the case of the Plumeria plant, it might get spider mites if it gets overheated It is different than partial shading mentioned in the above point. Dappled light works best for Plumeria kept indoors.
Signs of Too Much or Too Little Sun Exposure for Plumeria Plants
Too much sun exposure or too little sun exposure for Plumeria plants will not help them to grow. Plumeria plants need direct sunlight or dappled light to grow properly. Too much sun exposure can result in overheating and too little can stop its growth. So, a perfect balance between the two as explained in the above topic is a must for ensuring the Plumeria plant’s optimal growth and blooming.
Plumeria Plants Need a Balance of Direct Sunlight and Dappled Light
Being a Plumeria plant owner one must pay attention to the sun exposure provided to the plant. As discussed above it can be kept in direct sunlight with a limited no. of hours of exposure or in dappled light for around six hours. If kept indoors it shall be kept in south facing window and at least 1 m away.
You must carefully observe your Plumeria plant from time to time to make necessary arrangements in its location as and when required. It will help your Plumeria plant to ensure optimal growth and bloom fragrant flowers.
Frequently Asked Questions on Sunlight Requirements of Plumeria Plant
Plumeria needs full sunlight, but it is preferable to put it under some shade during the hottest hours in summer. If you’ve kept your Plumeria plant indoors then it must be kept facing south where it can get a minimum of five hours of light daily.
Frangipani or Plumeria is a Hawaiian lei flower. It is an exotic tropical plant and is easy to maintain. It can be grown in a small container or the garden as well. It needs sunlight from 6-8 hours a day.
Growing Plumeria plants in pots is always preferred. Growing Plumeria in pots and then shifting them to the garden is better as it becomes easy to dig them up and keep them away for some time.
You need to check whether your Plumeria plant is getting enough sunlight. This needs more attention during winter. Though they’ll shed some leaves during this time, it is recommended to put them in a dark and cool room. You must reduce the watering frequency at this time and also shall not put any fertilizer. You must protect them from freezing temperatures.
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