Plant profile: Plumeria (frangipani)

Fragrant flowers and tolerance for hot weather make this a great option for the UAE.

Kathleen Konicek-Moran for The National
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If aesthetics are a key consideration when you’re choosing your plants, try Plumeria, also known as frangipani. Its dark-green leaves and delicate white-and-yellow flowers make a beautiful addition to any garden. And if its sweet and heady fragrance wasn’t enough of a bonus, Plumeria is also very easy to grow.

It does well in direct sunlight, can tolerate drought and flourishes in poor soil quality. It works either as a shrub or a small tree. When choosing younger plants, the best options are those with branches emerging quickly from the main stem. Propagation is from cuttings of freshly elongated stems or aseptically germinated seeds. The plant’s genus, Plumiera, is named in honour of the 17th-century French botanist Charles Plumier. Native to Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean, these plants are now naturalised in southern and South East Asia.

sdenman@thenational.ae

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