A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum what are those 2 rather rare houseplants ?

Hi all,
I bought a couple of houseplants on a plant market in China today, and I haven't seen those before, at least as far as I remember. Anyone has any idea what kind or family they belong to ?
I need to figure out how to take care of them ;)

Plant 1


Leaves are shaped like rubber plants, though they are bright dark green. Leaves clearly drop after a while.

Plant 2


Bright warm green leaves, rather sturdy, with small needles on the edges. Grows on a round wooden stem.
Any ideas ?
Thanks !

Welcome, sob.
These both look like some kind of caudiciform plants but I am not finding specific ones. The good part is that most need similar easy care. They store food and water in the fattened stems/base. Look up caudiciform plants and see if you can find yours.

ah thanks,
I was able to figure out that plant 2 is actually an amia furfuracea , or cardboard palm. Cute, but very poisonous !

Plant 1 could possibly be one of the many Madagascar Euphorbias or Pachypodiums. I guess I can pinpoint it down when it ever starts flowering.

Your first plants look like plumerias to me. They grow in tropical climates, especially Hawaii, Malaysia, Thailand, etc, and their flowers are the ones that are used to make leis.

You are right ! There is a distinctive leave pattern which I find on other pictures of plumerias.
Thanks!

You're welcome! I grow these plants, and am quite familiar with their leaves and flowers. I hope they grow well for you, and that you get flowers sooner than later. Since I live in NY, I have to bring them indoors for winters, so they don't grow as rapidly as they would in more tropical climates, and I will have to wait years to see flowers on most of mine. Will you be able to grow them outdoors year round?

Also, these are trees in their natural environments and will get VERY large if given room for their roots to grow fully. Otherwise you will stunt their growth dramatically if they are not going in the ground. I would suggest separating the 4 stems into their own larger pots. They are usually sold 1 stem to a pot. This is very unusual to see.

It can get slightly frosty here during winter, so best kept inside.
I think the reason they sell them 5 stems in one pot is because of esthetics I guess. In China it is rather common. I will see what they do and maybe change them to a new pot next year. I saw pictures of them growing tree like in full ground, but I have to stick to pots, so I will have to keep them bonzai size.

They most likely will not flower unless you give the roots enough room to grow. They also need at least 6 hours of direct sun during summer. If you keep them indoors, I would suggest a grow light, like many who live in colder climates use. Otherwise they will just grow very tall and skinny, usually do not branch out, and probably won't develop flower stalks - commonly referred to as "inflos".

I really suggest putting them outside, until night time temps reach down to below 45F.

If you are into Facebook, there is a terrific group called "Plumeria Growers", which is a great resource for all sorts of information about plumerias.