Story: Grow Your Own Frangipani
Episode: 3
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Air Date: 16th March 2024

Neville shows us just how easy it is to start growing your own frangipani at home.

• Tropical frangipanis stand out as one of the most beloved small trees in suburban Australia, cherished for its captivating flowers, delightful fragrance, and resilience to drought once established.
• Propagation of these trees can be easily achieved by taking a cutting, preferably from a truncheon-sized branch, and ensuring a clean cut with sharp secateurs.
• After cutting, it's advisable to remove all the old leaves and rather than stripping them, a better approach is to cut them off close to the stem for optimal results.
• To facilitate the drying of the wound, leave the cuttings in a cool, dry place for a couple of days before proceeding to the next step.
• Various methods can be employed to encourage root growth, known in horticultural terms as "striking the cutting"; one effective approach involves using a mix of perlite and peat to create an open propagation medium.
• Once the cutting has developed a new head of foliage, it is ready for transplantation into the garden.
• Alternatively, frangipani cuttings can be grown in a jar of water in the kitchen, but it is essential to change the water weekly to prevent stagnation; only once roots have formed in the water can the new tree can be planted.