The Plumeria Project #1

As many of you may know I went to Disney World's Epcot in May for the International Flower & Garden Festival, and yes, I will eventually post more pics from my vacation but it will have to wait till my life evens out a bit and I get moved into my new home. Anyway, while there we came across a woman selling sticks that were actually Plumeria cuttings. The photo to the left is the actual booth at Epcot and you can see that they really are just sticks in baskets. For those not in the know the Plumeria plant is what produces the flowers that they make leis out of. Here is the Wiki description.

Plumeria is related to the Oleander, Nerium oleander, and both possess a irritating, milky sap, rather similar to that of Euphorbia. Contact with the sap may irritate eyes and skin.^[4] Each of the separate species of Plumeria bears differently shaped alternate leaves and their form and growth habits are also distinct. The leaves of P. alba are quite narrow and corrugated, while leaves of P. pudica have an elongated shape and glossy, dark green color. P. pudica is one of the everblooming types with non-deciduous, evergreen leaves. Another species that retains leaves and flowers in winter is P. obtusa; though its common name is "Singapore," it is originally from Colombia.
Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.
Plumeria species may be easily propagated from cuttings of leafless stem tips in spring. Cuttings are allowed to dry at the base before planting in well drained soil. Cuttings are particularly susceptible to rot in moist soil. Propagation can also be by tissue culture from cuttings of freshly elongated stems or aseptically germinated seed. Pruning is best accomplished in the winter for deciduous varieties, or when cuttings are desired.
There are more than 300 named varieties of Plumeria.

So...I get home from vacation on May 16 and planted it the very next day. Planting this sucker went against everything I am inclined to do with a plant. It had to be in loose cactus soil and you could not water it for 2 weeks and then only 1/2 a cup of water a week. It looked so sad just sticking this stick in the dirt. It almost fell over in the loose dirt but i followed the instructions and didn't water it and kept it outside in the heat and sun and sure enough, It is starting to put on leaves. As a matter of fact it is putting on leaves that are growing FAST! I am shocked. I wish I gad taken photos from the very beginning but I never thought there would be something to show so quickly.
I took these first photoa last weekend June 25

  And the following photos are from today July 2 2011

I will now take weekly photos and I hope by the end of the summer I have some flowers to show off. Mine is the pink and white Plumeria...I believe...and should look like this some day.