Plant of the Month
This Month: the tough, but beautiful, frangipani:
What tree ushers in summer holidays? What provides shade when you need it; is a garden sculpture when bare? What flowers in a rainbow of scented colour? What ensures the excitement of the changing seasons, even if you live in a tropical climate? Is maintenance-free, water-wise, and will thrive in the face of salt winds? It is, of course, the frangipani (Plumeria spp.), named for the 17th century French botanist and explorer, Charles Plumier (1646 – 1704).
The tough but beautiful frangipani, the prehistoric-looking member of the poisonous Apocynaceae family, is a genus of just eight species, mostly deciduous and native to central America. Trees can reach up to 14 metres in height; the fragrant salver-form flowers, from 50mm to 130mm in diameter, appear in early summer at the end of somewhat bizarre, tortured, rubbery branches, and before the leathery, deeply veined mid-green leaves appear.
Frangipanis come in thousands of varieties, most derived from Plumeria rubra. The easiest to grow, and probably most common in this country, is the yellow and white P. rubra var. acutifolia.
Plumeria alba, native to the West Indies, is the largest species, with a canopy as wide as the tree is tall; the leaves grow to more than half a metre in length. Plumeria obtusa, from Cuba and Jamaica, reaches some eight metres, is evergreen, and bears very white, recurved flowers, often with pale yellow centres.
The pink to carmine flowering P. rosea has gorgeous orange to yellow centres that evoke dreams of tropical sunsets. Plumeria rubra f. rubra bears crimson flowers on a broad canopy; P. ‘Moiliili Gold’ bears large trusses of deep golden and yellow flowers, while P. ‘Peach Glow Shell’ blooms in fruit salad colours.
Also known as the temple tree, the pagoda tree or the West Indian jasmine, these treasures are very slow growing, so an established frangipani will add value to any property. They can be successfully employed in many ways in gardens large or small. They make wonderful features for courtyard gardens, creating shade in summer, but allowing in the light and warmth when bare in winter. In Hawaii they plant frangipanis in avenues, to bend artistically over a double hedge: often clipped hibiscus teamed with a lower hedge of foliage plants such as crotons, or even bromeliads. The dwarf cultivars are suited for growing in containers in cool temperate climates, where they must be taken inside for winter protection.
Frangipanis are extremely undemanding, requiring only a frost free environment, well drained soil and several hours of sun daily. In the West Indies, and in southern Mexico to the Americas, they grow naturally on hillsides in poor, but well drained, soil, in blinding sunshine. They become deciduous in a climate with a dry season; many will thrive outdoors south as far as Sydney, where they lose their leaves in early winter. In the cooler climates place frangipanis near a north facing wall that will retain warmth. Fertilize with a high potassium product.
Frangipanis are easy to propagate. Take cuttings in late spring and summer, up to half a metre in length, from branches that are not flowering. Leave in the sun for up to a week so that the cut end can dry out, forming a callus. Root in a well drained pot of sand. The milky sap that seeps from cut branches, or when leaves are removed, is poisonous, and can damage eyes and cause skin irritations, although research is being conducted into its anti-inflammatory properties.
The bare branches that display their summer costume in yellow, cream and white, pinks and reds, apricots and orange are the sight, and scent, of summer, create welcome shade and a soothing play of light and shadow over a warm climate garden. They are beautiful, and useful. You can read more about them in my latest book, The Constant Gardener.
Above: Plumeria rosea