Elegantly delicate and beautiful, frangipani flower will bring a tropical atmosphere to any type of garden.
The flowers commonly bloom in spring and summer, rewarding you with colorful blossoms and pleasant scent.
In addition, they are quite versatile and can be used for different purposes, from decoration to floral arrangement.
Let’s take a look at more information about frangipani, including its meaning and care guide.
Table of Contents
1. Getting to Know Frangipani Flower
To answer the question regarding what is frangipani and where this flower comes from, you can trace back to the origin of the plant.
Frangipani belongs to genus Plumeria, the deciduous trees or shrubs that grow largely in the tropical areas of Central America.
There are over 300 different varieties of frangipani which come in various colors, including white frangipani.
The colors of the petals vary from bright shades of yellow and orange to darker hues of red and purple.
Some varieties also consist of more than one color, while some others produce patterned blooms.
2. Frangipani Meaning and Symbolism
Different flowers represent different meaning and symbolism, including frangipani. In general, this flower symbolizes shelter and protection.
Frangipani symbolism is also associated with peace and tranquility due to its simple, yet beautiful features as well as the flower’s nice fragrance.
There are many well-known uses of frangipani. For instance, this flower is commonly used in Christmas decoration to adorn ribbons, gifts, as well as the Christmas floral arrangement.
Back to its origin in Central America, the showy flowers are arranged into a Hawaiian flower necklace called lei. In addition, frangipani is chosen as the national emblem of Laos.
However, in some Asian countries, frangipani meaning is connected to supernatural folklore.
In Malaysia, for instance, the scent of frangipani flower suggests that a ghost or vampire is present nearby.
Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, white frangipani is believed as a sign of dying or death. In this country, frangipani is also used for funerals.
3. Requirements to Grow Frangipani
To get the best features of frangipani, you need to provide a proper growing environment.
Here are some requirements that should be fulfilled to make your frangipani blossoms bloom better.
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Soil Requirements
Just like most types of flowery plants, frangipani will thrive better in well-drained soil.
The plant can grow in almost any type of soil, especially sandy soil. A piece of advice, clay soil is not the best option for frangipani.
This soil type may stunt the plant growth as it takes longer time to drain.
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Light Requirements
Frangipani needs a plenty of sunlight to grow. For that reason, you need to plant frangipani flowers in a sunny location.
However, remember to keep them from frosts or heavy rain.
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Temperature Requirements
This tropical flower prefers warmer temperature. Due to its tropical origin, frangipani cannot tolerate heavy winter or frosts.
If you still want to have frangipani during cooler months, it is better to plant the flower in pots or a large container.
Therefore, the flower can be brought inside when the winter comes.
4. The Best Location to Plant Frangipani
Frangipanis can be grown as a flower border that will give your property a lovely shade during summer.
The plant clumps which shape like an umbrella are also a great addition to the garden.
To get the frangipani shade while enjoying its natural beauty, the best location to plant this flowery plant is on the western side of the house.
Such location will allow the plant to prevent your house from direct light throughout hot season.
Meanwhile, in the winter months when the flowers fall off, the bare stems of frangipani plant can let the sunlight streams through them.
Placing frangipani near the front porch or balcony is another good option since you can smell its pleasant fragrance more closely.
Alternatively, the plant can be used to frame the front gate, so it presents a nice welcome to everyone who comes along.
5. Frangipani Care Guide
Frangipani can thrive well, even with little maintenance. Nevertheless, there are some important things you should note regarding frangipani care.
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Watering the Plant
Frangipani should only be watered throughout the warm months, from spring to summer. Leave the plant be during fall and winter.
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Fertilizing
In general, fertilizer is not the primary needs of frangipani. However, if you want the plant to produce more flowers during the blooming season, you can spread an ample amount of fertilizer under the branches.
Fertilizing the plant should be done in spring and summer.
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Pruning
Frangipani can reach up the height of 6 meters tall while spreading around 5 meters in width.
The plant can even grow taller in the tropical climate zones. As the plant grows taller after years of growing, you may need to prune it.
While pruning, remove any spent branches or leaves, so the plant can make room for the new ones to grow.
6. Some Problems with Frangipani
As mentioned earlier, frangipani is not well-adapted to cool weather.
Exposing the plant to wet weather for a long time will cause several problems, such as fungal disease and the rot of tips, branches, or root.
The stems which turn spongy indicate that the plant has been infected by winter disease.
When this happens, remove the infected stems immediately, or you can bring the plant inside if possible.
In spite of its beautiful features, it is important to mention that frangipani may have poisonous chemicals.
The plant produces white sap that can irritate your skin or cause rash and blisters.
If ingested, the sap may also cause allergic reactions such as vomiting and diarrhea.
As a word of caution, you should prevent direct contact with the stems and always wash your hands after touching the frangipani plant.
That’s all what you need to know about frangipani flower. In conclusion, this tropical flower will be a great addition to your property, whether you plant it in the garden or in the containers.
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After looking at frangipani’s planting and care guide—which is not that difficult—you can try to grow this beautiful flowers on your own.
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