What is wrong with my frangipani tree?

[rocketlad78]

Hi all,

 

Bought this 2-year-old frangipani tree which was blooming and in good health about 2 months ago from the local Garden center.

 

Within 2 weeks of me putting it in my garden the flowers have fallen off and there's a white fungus on the bark.

 

Google has thrown up a number of different causes (rust, scaling, etc) but I'd like to hear from fellow Thailand expats. Please see pics below and please let me know what I can do to bring this fella back to life ????

[HashBrownHarry]

I can't answer your question but why is it in a pot and not in the ground, it's a fair size tree for such a small pot, maybe the roots are restricted.

 

I have some huge frangipani in my garden and have never had any issues.

[bamboozled]

I don't know about the fungus and my knowledge is pretty anecdotal but this "rust" thing is extremely common. All the leaves will turn brown and fall off and the tree will remain like that for a long period. Then, eventually, the leaves will regrow and for a brief period the tree will look pretty. But soon the rust starts again and the cycle repeats. If I remember correctly, you can get flowers even though the tree has no leaves which at least softens the blow. But I've gotten rid of the ones I had as they were too much trouble and spent most of their lives looking pretty ugly.

 

Cheers, Bamboozeled

[fondue zoo]

It looks lonely

[RJRS1301]

1 hour ago, bamboozled said:

I don't know about the fungus and my knowledge is pretty anecdotal but this "rust" thing is extremely common. All the leaves will turn brown and fall off and the tree will remain like that for a long period. Then, eventually, the leaves will regrow and for a brief period the tree will look pretty. But soon the rust starts again and the cycle repeats. If I remember correctly, you can get flowers even though the tree has no leaves which at least softens the blow. But I've gotten rid of the ones I had as they were too much trouble and spent most of their lives looking pretty ugly.

 

Cheers, Bamboozeled

Spray with selol or seaweed liquid fertilizer, every fortnight to build resilience discard and bag all infected leaves, do not compost them.

Use the spray regularly until the leaves begin to fight the infection. You could add about two tablespoons of vegetable oil to the seaweed fertilizer per 5 litre sprayer

[bradiston]

I have almost the exact same problem, except my tree is in the ground. All around me, I mean outside a 20m radius, they grow beautifully. But I've had other plants that don't do well in my garden, while others bloom. Could be soil related, mineral deficiencies, virus, too acid or some such. Try planting it out, decent sized hole to cover the whole root ball, mix in a good quantity of mulch or compost, and water it in thoroughly. Check the root ball for grubs too, and check the roots as much as possible without too much disturbance. Feed if required.

[Denim]

Frangipani trees shed their leaves once a year around about this time. Pretty normal. Righ now our is shedding leaves very quickly. However from the previous years I know that in about 2 months from now when there are few leaves left it will quickly throw out new leaves and flowers.  Frangipani trees are VERY tough and must be the easiest tree to take cuttings from. Just clean slice off a branch, plant it in compost and away it goes. Already given a couple to friends which are now thriving. Ours has quadrupled in size since we bought it so don't plant too close to a wall or fence as it will quickly  expand .

[wombat]

packet of blood and bone from wherever you buy garden stuff mix it with water and pour on the roots fixes  most problems

[jak2002003]

I gave up trying to grow these trees at our last property for the same reason.

 

They would always get the rust red powdery fungus and drop their leaves. Tried many treatments. They just did not like our soil.

 

Different story at the new place. They thrice there...I just snap a branch off and stick it in the ground and after a couple of years it's a good sized flowering tree.

 

 

[1FinickyOne]

21 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

It looks lonely

if you were named frangipani, you would probably be lonely too... 

[crazykopite]

First thing you need to do is remove it from that pot it’s way to small for the size of the tree and plant in a very sunny area of your garden and somewhere that has good drainage don’t worry about the leaves or the stems it’s nothing to worry about Frangipani or temple trees as the Thais call them do not like the rain or wet areas they thrive in dry and Sandy areas I have many in my garden they are that easy to grow it’s nigh on impossible to kill them as I said take the tree out of the pot and place in an area of very good drainage and don’t overwater 

[crazykopite]

41 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

I gave up trying to grow these trees at our last property for the same reason.

 

They would always get the rust red powdery fungus and drop their leaves. Tried many treatments. They just did not like our soil.

 

Different story at the new place. They thrice there...I just snap a branch off and stick it in the ground and after a couple of years it's a good sized flowering tree.

 

 

They hate wet conditions they need to be in extremely good drainage ares of your garden as for the leaves this is mainly caused in the rainy seasons the leaves fall off and grow back the other thing is they need as much sun as possible no good placing them in shady areas . My first experience with this tree was in Florida whilst on holiday I was in the Epcot centre and bought a 30cm cutting for $10 took it back to the U.K. placed it in a pot in the conservatory it thrived there and in the summer I would put it out on the patio. It ended up the same size as the one I see in the photograph there are many species of Frangipani and the fragrance is wonderful the best smelling one is yer evergreen shiny leaf with the white flower if you have good sun and good drainage they will thrive I live on the beach and the best ones are bang in the sand when we get a lot of seaweed on the shore I collect it up and put it around the base of the tree as seaweed has a lot of nutrients in it and once dry after a few days I return back to the sea

[crazykopite]

[MayBeNow]

Krazykopite, those are 4 very nice looking Leelawadee you photographed!

[millymoopoo]

On 7/24/2021 at 12:46 PM, rocketlad78 said:

(rust, scaling, etc)

Could be some sort of bacterial infection.

But first get it in the ground, in a square hole, (round holes cause the roots to grow in circles) with good compost/fertiliser.

Then spray it with wetable sulphur in the evening (avoiding the heat of the day).

Or maybe a general fungicide.

[arick]

Why would you ever buy one! 555 listen to me just walk up to a tree if the owner is around ask firs. Break off a three foot branch and when your back home stick the broken end in the ground. 

Can you tell me how much you paid for your tree. 

[rwill]

If you have a local fertilizer store I would go show them and get their advice.

[ThaiFelix]

The pot looks way too small for a start.  This leads to the tree being stressed.  Pests and diseases have a much better chance of thriving on a stressed tree/plant because natural defenses are greatly reduced.

 

First thing I would do would be to put it in the ground with some compost mixed with the fill soil.  Make a solution of 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 drops of liquid soap and a drop or two of vegetable oil.  Spray the whole tree, particularly the infected trunk and branches and especially underside of leaves but not in hot sun.  This could be a long term task spraying every 5 to 7 days and dont be afraid to increase the baking soda by small increments each time if results are poor.  The baking soda will also reduce the acidicy which mildew thrives on. 

 

Lastly I would also spend some time searching on Google for pest and disease symptoms on leaves that include yellow circular spots with black centres.  It somehow rings a bell but I cant remember for what unfortunately.  Some sites include picture charts showing symptoms of disease, pests and mineral deficiencies as well as incorrect Ph levels in the soil.  Good luck.

[drtreelove]

On 7/25/2021 at 5:12 PM, rwill said:

If you have a local fertilizer store I would go show them and get their advice.

Poor suggestion in my opinion, local garden shops will likely recommend a high NPK chemical fertilizer and or chemical fungicide, which will exacerbate the susceptibility to the common plumeria problems like rust-fungus infection and mealybugs pest infestation, etc. 

 

Use a new generation COF (complete organic fertilizer) like the "bokashi" from Organic Totto, or the excellent new line of organics from Best Garden State on Facebook. There is a revolution going on with emerging science and profound positive experiences with organic and regenerative agricultural and horticultural methods and materials. 

 

Other suggestions here about the tiny pot, well drained soil etc are right-on in my opinion.  Plant health care is primarily all about species/variety/cultivar selection and placement with compatible plantings, good growing conditions, soil and water management.  With the right conditions and management, plants have remarkable capacity to fullfil their genetic potential and for resistance to pests and diseases. 

 

TV member Seajae is a plumeria expert and collector. Maybe he will comment.