How the wind effects plumeria growth. Solving the need for plumeria tree staking with best horticultural practices.

Many plumeria growers jump to conclusions about where plants grow best. Growers from islands feel plumeria grow better on Islands and growers from the mainland and interior say this is where plants grow best. We can all conclude that success may be due to good cultivation practices. However there is scientific basis for better plant growth due to environmental conditions.

If all things are 'equal' i.e. plant care, plants that are exposed to more air movement will photo transpire more and so loose more water. This rapid water loss will allow the uptake of more nutrients when you water, provided the nutrients are available to the plant in the root zone. Plants in a windy area (as long as they are not stressed) take up more food, photosynthesize more and so they grow more.

Also, wind affects the growth of plants in other ways. Bending and movement will strengthen the root system, leaves and stems. In large commercial greenhouse tomato nurseries and some houseplant and bedding plant nurseries, crops are mechanically 'wiped' (brushed with rubber blades) to strengthen them.These 'wiped' plants are more robust and look stronger. Plumeria plants are strong but this might be happening at a micro climate level. Many greenhouse growers of various plants, who use fans for air circulation, find the best plants grow near the fans. My hypothesis is...if your plants are exposed to more air and wind movement, plants grown where "trade winds" are predominate may be getting better growth than mainland plants. Or you could be a better grower who pays more attention to your plants! Micro climates are very important in affecting how your plumeria grow.

When winds are howling, naturally the plumeria grower is concerned about the safety of their trees. Many of them could be young. And most of them are tied-up as tight as a drum to the wooden stakes and plastic ties that they came home with from the nursery.

Helping a young tree survive is a good idea when you live in place where the wind blows. The problem is you can help a plumeria tree too much. A tightly tied tree creates a bigger problem in a few years. If a tree is not permitted to sway in the breeze, it will develop a rigid trunk that will snap or crack as soon after the stake is removed. What's more, horticulture science has proved a tightly staked tree does not develop the strong anchor roots it needs later when it eventually outgrows its nursery stake. Tightly staked trees create an additional problem. A strong wind can cause trunk wounds when the tree rubs against the wood stake and these wounds eventually invite disease and pests to enter. And finally you might have a young tree that is staked below the height of the tree. Any new growth above the stake is especially vulnerable to breakage.
You want to help a tree survive high winds, but in a way that it can sway with the breeze. A flexible plumeria with deep tap roots is a healthy and sturdy tree later. Always remove the stake that was sold with the tree, and all the plastic ties, and replace these with appropriate support.

Here is how to do it:

• Bring your tree home from the nursery and remove the wooden stake and all the plastic ties on the trunk (these can strangle your tree later).

• New science admonishes dig a hole that is as close to the size of the original root ball and as deep. You don't want to plant your tree too low or too high, but at the height it was growing previously in its nursery pot. Lay a shovel across the hole, plop your tree in and check the height so the crown is even with the surrounding soil surface.

• Plant your tree and back fill with native soil. Do not use amendments. The new thinking is that amendments rob the soil of nutrients as they break down, setting tree development back by months as it settles in.

• Anchor two sturdy 1-by-1 or 2-by-2 stakes that are at least as tall as the tree after they are pounded into the ground 18 to 24 inches deep. Place these stakes a foot out from the trunk on either side of the tree.

• With native soil, create a berm about two feet out from the tree depending on its size, to hold water. You will want to deep soak the tree according to the season and local weather.

• Use green plastic garden tape to tie from stake to stake (not from stake to the tree) so the tree can lean into these when the wind blows.

• In a hot climate mulch the tree around the root zone to conserve water and keep soil temperatures even.

• After a year, remove the stakes and let the tree develop its own strength.