Plumeria du Jour - Roscente
(Plumeria • )
This is a Thai variety I obtained as a cutting more than two years ago. It’s growing on its own roots and is not as vigorous a grower as some, and it’s only been coaxed to bloom in this its third summer.
It was worth the wait. The flowers are a beautiful deep red, graduating to a red-magenta at the edges and a red-orange in the very center. They’re very fragrant, with a sweet, sometimes spicy smell. I don’t know if it’s because of the extreme heat we’re “enjoying” this summer or if it’s just the characteristic of this variety, but the flowers tend not to stretch open all the way, somewhat resembling little tulips. They’re slightly smaller than the Salmon Pink, and several of them have four pointed, oval, curling and overlapping pedals instead of the usual five. The flowers are pretty long-lasting.
The large leaves are long and medium green. They’re somewhat sensitive to the steam-iron semi-South Texas sun, and I had to move the plant to a location with partial shade, after which it seemed noticeably happier.
Click the photo for a bigger version.
→ B.Dunn, Jul 11, 2009, 06 03 am
