Your Hole
After you have decided where to plant your frangipani, it’s time to start digging,
You should measure the pot, or bag, diameter and height. Your hole should be wide enough so the frangipani root ball can go into the hole without breaking it up. Ideally, you should dig ten to twenty centimeters deeper. Putting potting mix, fertilizer or even broken up ground dirt underneath will allow the roots to spread and flourish.
Frangipani Root Ball
It’s usually best to take the frangipani root ball out of the pot and put it into the ground keeping it together as much as possible. However, if the roots are clearly well established, it’s a good idea to tease the bottom roots, pull them gentle to untangled them.
If you are limited by other tree roots, boulders, fence posts, retaining walls or the like, you’ll have to reduce size of your frangipani root ball. Break it up as much as you need to and if you can, cut torn roots off with a clean cut.
Bag Sizes
A 45 litre bag is approximately 40cm wide and 50 cm deep.
Mound
If you are worried the ground might be too wet, plant your frangipani a little higher and put ground dirt around the trunk so the rainwater will flow away from the trunk.
Taking A Frangipani Out Of A Pot
If your frangipani is in a large pot, you should lean the frangipani on a 45 degree angle. Press the side of the pot near the base and keep pressing as you rotate the pot. Gently pull the trunk or gently hit the pot away from the plant.
If your frangipani is in a small pot, you can press around the base of the pot just in case. You can hold the plant upside down and pull the pot up. If the pot is still sticking, gently bang the pot upwards.
Taking A Frangipani Out Of A Bag
Frangipani root balls don’t slide out of bags as easily as pots. To keep the root ball together, it’s usually best to cut the bag away with a knife. If the frangipani roots are clearly strong, just cut away the bag however you like.
It’s often better to be cautious, cut around the lower side of the bag and remove the base of the bag. If roots are growing out and clinging to the bag, it’s best to cut the bag more. If you see torn roots, you should cleanly cut off the damaged roots.
You should now have your frangipani near you hole with only the sides of the bag. There are two ways to move your frangipani from here. Sliding the bag into the hole or lifting the whole frangipani by the trunk. The third way is to use the bag handles but that doesn’t work.
After your frangipani is in the hole, facing the right way, the right height, straight up and down, and balanced, cut up the side of the bag to remove it.
Positioning Your Frangipani In The Hole
Make sure you have your frangipani tree rotated to show off its best side. If possible, you should have the trunk perfectly vertical, and the branches positioned equally either side over the base of the trunk.
If I have a frangipani with more branches on one side, I tilt the trunk slightly, so the heavily branched side becomes more centered.
Water After Transplanting
Like other plants, it’s always a good idea to water after transplanting. If roots are damaged badly during transplanting, it’s a good idea to flood the roots.
If damaged roots can soak in water for a day or two, they will recover better.