Growing Plumeria: How to Care for Frangipani

If you’re curious about what kind of effort it takes to grow plumeria, you’ve come to the right place.

Who wouldn’t want this gorgeous specimen in their landscape? Also called frangipani, it’s worth the effort to bring its bright, stunning blooms and interesting structure home, but you may be thrilled to learn that the work required is minimal.

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We’ll cover all the details about this shrub or small tree – including cultivars to choose for container growing so they can grace your garden with flowers that add a lingering aroma and stunning beauty, no matter where you live.

Without further ado, let’s talk about planting, growing, and caring for plumeria!

Here’s what to expect:

Plumeria is a genus belonging to the Apocynaceae family, also known as the dogbanes. They’re closely related to milkweeds and oleanders, and often referred to by the common names frangipani, dok champa or champa, and melia.

Currently, there are 11 accepted species in the genus, although there are others that are under debate, with hundreds of additional known cultivars and hybrids.

Species of this genus are native to Central America and the West Indies where they grow in forests as understory trees.

Because of their relatively compact size, large leaves, and showy bloom clusters, they’ve become staple landscaping plants throughout southern Florida, Texas, California, and the Hawaiian Islands, as well as many other parts of the world.

Their blossoms are often recognized as a symbol of the tropics. And there is some confusion about where these plants originated, as many