When I plant a plumeria seed, I am interested in more than the flower it might produce. I want to know where that seed came from, what its family has produced, and what we can learn by following those seedlings through the years.
A good family tree gives us a place to start. Add dependable offspring records, and we can begin looking for patterns in growth, flowers, fragrance, and flowering age. Those patterns may eventually help us make better breeding decisions. The important part is keeping what we know separate from what we hope to find.
The history comes before the prediction
Although many people associate plumeria with Hawaii, the plants have tropical American roots. Kew lists the native range of Plumeria rubra from Mexico to Venezuela. Their later cultivation around the world is part of their garden history, but where a plant became popular does not necessarily tell us where it originated. Kew: Plumeria rubra.
One particularly useful breeding story is William Moragne’s work in Hawaii. Grove Farm’s account dates his successful controlled crosses to 1953, using Daisy Wilcox as the female parent and Scott Pratt as the male. It reports 283 seedlings, with 35 retained through selection. That history connects named parents, a breeding effort, and a population of offspring. The Moragne Plumeria.
It also reminds me that the plants we remember are often the selected favorites. A collection of beautiful named seedlings does not describe everything that germinated. To understand inheritance, I want records of the ordinary seedlings and the disappointments too.
For more background, see The Moragne Collection: A Family’s Plumeria Adventure. Family names, introductions, and collections are valuable history, but each parent–offspring connection still needs its own supporting record.
What a plumeria family tree actually records
The seed parent, also called the pod parent, is the plant that carried the seed pod. The pollen parent supplied the pollen. When I record a cross, I put the seed parent first and label both roles explicitly.
If I know the pod came from Camelot but do not know which plant supplied the pollen, my record is Camelot × Unknown. A nearby blooming plant is a possibility, not an identified father. “Unknown” preserves the truth and leaves room for better evidence later.
Seedlings are new individuals. A cutting preserves the selected plant through vegetative propagation; a seed introduces a new genetic combination. The University of Hawaii’s plumeria guide explains why seedlings cannot be expected to reproduce a named cultivar faithfully. Plumeria in Hawai‘i.
Penang Peach → Camelot → King Arthur
This is a useful example because it follows a family through two generations of seedlings.
↓ Reported seed parent; pollen parent of Camelot unknown
↓ Reported seed parent; pollen parent of King Arthur unknown
Florida Colors Nursery identifies Camelot as a seedling of Penang Peach and describes King Arthur’s Camelot lineage. Our earlier parentage research also recorded Camelot as King Arthur’s pod parent, citing the nursery’s seed-growing presentation.
Camelot’s database entry identifies Penang Peach as its pod parent. King Arthur’s structured parent fields still need completion, so the nursery account and retained source record matter. These are reported horticultural relationships; the diagram does not claim genetic verification.
What would I study in this family? I would compare branching, growth, flower form, fragrance, and flowering age across multiple offspring. One attractive descendant tells me the family is worth investigating. It does not tell me how frequently the next batch will produce the same qualities.
Following the wider Penang Peach family
Penang Peach gives us more than one line to follow. The database reports it as the pod parent of Camelot, California Sunset, Elsie, George Brown, Purple Jack, Sherbet Town, and Capalaba. The strength and completeness of those records vary, and Capalaba has additional identity notes that need review. I treat each connection as a reported relationship, not a genetically verified cross.
My earlier seed-selection article describes planting about 15 Penang Peach seeds and selecting the seedling that first flowered in 2009 and became Camelot. It also describes raising another generation from Camelot. That is the kind of history I want to connect to the flowers and growth we see today.
Penang Peach
- Camelot → Avalon, Guinevere, King Arthur, Merlin, and Dreamcatcher
- Other reported offspring: California Sunset, Elsie, George Brown, Purple Jack, Sherbet Town, and Capalaba (record under review)
- Tropical Aurora → eight named descendants compared in the expanded section, plus an unnamed seedling illustrated by its breeder
- Super Round: an additional relationship in our retained nursery-presentation research; parent role unspecified and current database parent fields incomplete
This is a selected research map, not a complete pedigree. Pollen parents are unknown in this initial comparison; the expanded section below includes a separately documented cross with both parent roles known. Each connection needs its own source; a named collection alone does not establish a relationship.
Kukiat’s article on plumeria coloration offers an especially useful example. Figure 6 places Penang Peach, its reported seedling Tropical Aurora, and an unnamed Tropical Aurora seedling together to discuss brushstroke-like petal markings. That is a breeder’s illustrated observation of a recurring feature across generations. It does not tell us how often the feature appears in a full seed batch.
Comparing the family, one trait at a time
I have brought the descriptions together below so we can compare the plants without losing the source of each detail. FCN means Florida Colors Nursery. These are published descriptions checked in November 2026, not measurements from a single growing trial. Where two fields disagree, I show the disagreement. “Not recorded” means the reviewed source does not supply the detail; it does not mean the plant lacks the trait.
On a phone: tap a cultivar name to open its comparison card. Elliptical means oval with the widest part near the middle. Obovate means broader toward the tip. Thickness, curvature, and outline are separate petal features, so I record them separately where possible. Photo-specific observations on the database are not silently promoted to permanent cultivar traits here.
Penang Peach — Family starting point
- Fragrance
- Peach / very sweet (FCN)
- Flower size
- 3 in FCN; 2–3 in database
- Growing habit
- Compact; low spreading (FCN)
- Petal shape and texture
- Thick petals; cultivar-level shape not specified in the reviewed description
- Color and other traits
- Apricot-peach and yellow; blooms on short branches
- Record notes
- Flower size differs between descriptions.
Camelot — Penang Peach offspring
- Fragrance
- Sweet/spicy (FCN); mild plumeria/spicy (database)
- Flower size
- 3 in FCN; 2½–3½ in database
- Growing habit
- Compact; database also says broad
- Petal shape and texture
- Elliptical in database; curved/slightly wavy in FCN
- Color and other traits
- Pink/yellow/white blend in FCN; color varies with exposure
- Record notes
- Different fragrance detail and size ranges; retain source wording.
Avalon — Camelot offspring
- Fragrance
- Sweet floral; papaya-like note (FCN)
- Flower size
- 3½ in FCN; 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Tall/upright in FCN narrative and database; medium in FCN attributes
- Petal shape and texture
- Slightly cupped; tips curl inward (FCN)
- Color and other traits
- Orange with darker center; FCN reports occasional extra petals
- Record notes
- Growth category conflict; do not score this plant as consistently medium or tall.
Guinevere — Camelot offspring
- Fragrance
- Sweet / tea rose (FCN); sweet/rose (database)
- Flower size
- 3½ in FCN; 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Compact in FCN narrative and database; medium in FCN attributes
- Petal shape and texture
- Not specified in reviewed cultivar descriptions
- Color and other traits
- Multicolor with orange center and striations (FCN)
- Record notes
- Growth category and size differ across fields.
King Arthur — Camelot offspring
- Fragrance
- Sweet/spicy
- Flower size
- 3–3½ in descriptions; 3 in FCN attributes
- Growing habit
- Medium
- Petal shape and texture
- Obovate in database (broader toward the tip)
- Color and other traits
- Red/white/orange; striped pattern in database
- Record notes
- Database parent fields incomplete; nursery history and retained presentation support the connection.
Merlin — Camelot offspring
- Fragrance
- Spicy / classic plumeria
- Flower size
- 2½–3 in descriptions; 3 in summary fields
- Growing habit
- Medium; upright (FCN)
- Petal shape and texture
- Not specified in reviewed cultivar descriptions
- Color and other traits
- Red/white/gold; color deepens with heat (FCN)
- Record notes
- Database pod-parent field says Camelot?; nursery explicitly calls it a Camelot seedling.
Dreamcatcher — Camelot offspring
- Fragrance
- Not recorded in reviewed entry
- Flower size
- Not recorded in reviewed entry
- Growing habit
- Not recorded in reviewed entry
- Petal shape and texture
- Not recorded in reviewed entry
- Color and other traits
- Not recorded in reviewed entry
- Record notes
- Database supports Camelot parentage but lacks traits for this comparison.
California Sunset — Penang Peach offspring
- Fragrance
- Fragrant; specific note not supplied
- Flower size
- 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Well-branched; size class not supplied in reviewed description
- Petal shape and texture
- Elliptical in database
- Color and other traits
- Cream/yellow/orange/peach/pink; orange center
- Record notes
- Database lists Penang Peach as pod parent. Branching is not a size class.
Elsie — Penang Peach offspring
- Fragrance
- Strong; sweet/fruity/floral
- Flower size
- 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Well-branched; size class not supplied in reviewed description
- Petal shape and texture
- Round in database
- Color and other traits
- White/pink/red/orange; bicolor description
- Record notes
- Database lists Penang Peach as pod parent. Descriptions remain subject to expert review.
George Brown — Penang Peach offspring
- Fragrance
- Fragrant; specific note not supplied
- Flower size
- 3 in narrative; summary flags size for review
- Growing habit
- Compact / short
- Petal shape and texture
- Obovate in database
- Color and other traits
- Peach/pink with yellow center; fading noted
- Record notes
- Size is unresolved within the database record; do not treat 3 in as settled.
Purple Jack — Penang Peach offspring
- Fragrance
- Sweet perfume (FCN); sweet/grape/perfumed (database)
- Flower size
- 3 in FCN; 2½–3½ in database
- Growing habit
- Medium–tall in narrative; medium in FCN attributes
- Petal shape and texture
- Not specified in reviewed cultivar descriptions
- Color and other traits
- Pink to lavender/purple; appearance changes with conditions
- Record notes
- Both sites report Penang Peach parentage. Fragrance detail and growth classifications vary.
Sherbet Town — Penang Peach offspring
- Fragrance
- Sweet/floral
- Flower size
- 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Compact
- Petal shape and texture
- Not specified in reviewed cultivar description
- Color and other traits
- White/pink/red/salmon/orange; red center
- Record notes
- Database names Penang Peach as pod parent; do not infer petal shape from a color description.
Capalaba — Penang Peach offspring, record under review
- Fragrance
- Citrus
- Flower size
- 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Both compact and medium recorded
- Petal shape and texture
- Elliptical in database
- Color and other traits
- Pink/red; warm center
- Record notes
- Parentage is reported, but identity/associated-name and growth fields need review; keep outside any reliable trait tally.
Tropical Aurora — Reported Penang Peach seedling
- Fragrance
- Not established from reviewed sources
- Flower size
- Not established from reviewed sources
- Growing habit
- Not established from reviewed sources
- Petal shape and texture
- Shape not established; brushstroke coloration discussed by breeder
- Color and other traits
- Breeder illustrates petal-edge brushstroke markings across generations
- Record notes
- Breeder account supports the relationship; database entry is provisional and sparse.
Super Round — Reported Penang Peach relationship; parent role unspecified
- Fragrance
- Sweet/spicy/fruity (database)
- Flower size
- 3 in database
- Growing habit
- Well-branched narrative; compact structured growth class
- Petal shape and texture
- Round; strong texture in database
- Color and other traits
- Multicolor; veining and stronger color in heat reported
- Record notes
- Older nursery-presentation research reports Penang Peach parentage; current database parent fields are blank. Keep this branch provisional.
What I see in these descriptions
Fragrance recurs, but the character changes. Penang Peach’s peach/sweet description does not become a uniform scent across the family. Camelot, King Arthur, and Merlin have spicy descriptions; Guinevere has rose notes; Elsie is described as fruity/floral; and Capalaba’s record says citrus. These are sensory descriptions, not chemical measurements or evidence that one scent is dominant.
Many listed flower sizes sit near three inches. The selected records commonly describe flowers around 2½–3½ inches, but the differences between summaries and narratives are large enough to matter. Avalon and Guinevere are each listed at 3½ inches by Florida Colors and 3 inches in their database descriptions. I would measure several flowers at the same stage before ranking them or calculating a family average.
Compact growth is worth following, but it is not consistent across descendants. Penang Peach, Camelot, and Sherbet Town have compact descriptions. King Arthur and Merlin are medium growers, while Purple Jack is described as medium to tall. Avalon and Guinevere have conflicting growth labels. A well-branched tree is not necessarily a compact tree: branching, annual extension, width, and mature height need separate observations.
Petal form shows variation, and the records have gaps. The database describes Camelot and California Sunset as elliptical, Elsie as round, and King Arthur and George Brown as obovate. Florida Colors describes Avalon’s cupping and inward-curled tips. Those features give us useful things to photograph and measure; missing shape descriptions should stay missing until we have dependable observations.
Color patterns may be more useful to follow than a single color name. Blending, veining, striations, and brushstroke markings can be recorded alongside temperature, light, and flower age. Tropical Aurora’s breeder example is a reason to investigate a particular pattern, not a basis for promising that every descendant will show it.
These similarities are research leads. Fragrance and an approximately three-inch flower are also found outside this family. To find out whether a feature is especially frequent here, I would compare complete related seedling batches with unrelated batches grown and assessed under similar conditions. Several named favorites and repeated catalog wording cannot supply that answer.
Which branches still need work?
The retained research includes additional Camelot names such as Constantine, Elayne, Galahad, Gawain, Gracia, Gwendolina, Lady of the Lake, Lancelot, Owain, Percival, and Tristan. Several have unresolved identities or lack comparable published trait records. I have not filled those gaps by matching names or photographs, and I have kept the conflicting Merlot parentage claim out of the main comparison.
Other Penang Peach claims also need individual review. In particular, a tentative relationship must not become certain just because it is repeated on several websites. The useful next step is to add a source and a consistent trait record for each plant, then extend the comparison one supported branch at a time.
Kimi Moragne → Clare Corre → Stormy
↓ Reported seedling relationship; pollen parent unknown
↓ Reported seedling relationship; pollen parent unknown
The nursery describes Clare Corre as a Kimi Moragne seedling developed by Dr. Kukiat, and Stormy as a Clare Corre seedling. Stormy’s database parent fields also remain incomplete. I keep the underlying source attached rather than allowing a blank field to erase the history.
A chain like this connects generations, but it is only part of the pedigree. The unknown pollen parents contributed to those seedlings too. We cannot assign every attractive feature to the named side of the family.
How I would build records we can actually use
- Give every seedling a permanent identity. Assign an individual number linked to its seed lot. Keep that number when the plant receives a name, changes pots, or moves to another grower. Photograph the label with the plant.
- Record parent roles and the evidence. Include the pod parent, pollen parent or Unknown, whether pollination was controlled or open, dates, and the source of the claim. Keep an original breeder statement distinct from a later catalog description.
- Separate the people and the dates. The person who made a cross, raised a seedling, named it, and introduced it may not be the same person. Record sowing, first bloom, naming, and introduction separately.
- Count the whole batch. Track seeds sown, germination, survival, plants evaluated, and plants that have flowered. Record removals and their reasons. A seedling that has not flowered yet belongs in the record.
- Measure traits consistently. Record flower diameter with a scale, flower age, petal form, fragrance observations, plant height, branching, and first-bloom date. Use the same definitions for every family.
- Record growing conditions. Include sun exposure, location, container size, feeding, watering, and whether the plant is on its own roots or grafted. Note weather separately from temperatures actually measured around the plant.
- Repeat observations. Revisit plants across flowering cycles and seasons. Keep dated photographs and describe a range when appearance changes. The Cultivar Trait Selection Guide provides useful context for recording traits.
Can we predict characteristics?
We may be able to estimate tendencies once we have enough comparable offspring observations. General plant genetics tells us that many quantitative traits reflect multiple genes, environmental effects, and interactions between the two. A family tree helps organize those observations, but does not supply a reliable percentage by itself. Iowa State: Inheritance of Quantitative Traits.
I would begin with a narrow question, such as whether seedlings from a particular parent tend to flower earlier under our growing conditions. I would define “earlier” in advance, compare families grown together, distribute their pots through the growing area, and follow all plants for a stated period. Then I would check whether the pattern holds in another seed batch.
For open-pollinated families, any result describes those batches with their unidentified pollen contributions. A repeated, documented cross gives us a more specific comparison. Neither approach justifies a guarantee about an individual seed.
The next step is better offspring records
Our earlier research spreadsheet gives us a substantial starting point for connecting names, history, and reported relationships. It also retains uncertain and conflicting claims. It is a research record, not yet a tested system for predicting flowers.
What I want to add is the growing record beside the family tree: every seedling’s identity, its conditions, its development, and its flowers. Penang Peach, Camelot, and King Arthur give us one family to follow. Kimi Moragne, Clare Corre, and Stormy give us another.
The more carefully we preserve those records, the more useful our choices can become. And when the next seedling surprises us, we will have enough information to learn something from it.
Two more branches worth following: Super Round and Tropical Aurora
When I follow Penang Peach beyond Camelot, I find two other branches that deserve attention. Super Round gives us both named selections and a recorded cross. Tropical Aurora gives us a group of larger-flowered selections, several compact seedlings, and an illustrated example of a recurring color pattern. I want to compare those observations without turning a resemblance into a promise.
How to read this expansion: these are reported horticultural relationships and published trait descriptions checked November 9, 2026. The connection from Penang Peach to Super Round remains provisional: our retained nursery presentation reports the relationship without specifying the parent role. The connection to Tropical Aurora is supported by a nursery account identifying it as a Penang Peach seedling and the breeder’s previously reviewed illustrated account. None of these records is presented as genetic parentage testing.
The expanded family map
- Penang Peach → Super Round — reported relationship; parent role unspecified
- Reported offspring: Carol’s Orange Marmalade, Cosmic Fire, Holey Moley, Happy Birthday, and FJ’s Flight.
- Reported but requiring additional source review: Ramblin Rose and Ruby Batik.
- Temptation (pod parent) × Super Round (pollen parent) — a separately documented seedling project.
- Dino is recorded as a pollen-side descendant in the retained research; its public parentage citation still needs completion.
- Penang Peach → Tropical Aurora — reported seedling relationship
- Database records attributed to Joe Malinak: Baby Diva, Bellamissimo, Charisma, Keepsake, and Midas Touch.
- Nursery-described seedlings: Mutabilis, Razzelberry, and Rufina.
- An unnamed Tropical Aurora seedling is illustrated in the breeder’s coloration article. It remains unnamed here.
A seedling’s connection to Super Round can be better documented than Super Round’s own connection to Penang Peach. Uncertainty in that earlier link must travel with the longer pedigree.
Super Round: the cross tells us more than the collection
My Temptation × Super Round project records a cross made in 2013, followed by sowing in March 2014. I reported 28 seeds in the pod, 24 viable seeds, and germination of all 24 planted. My later notes described compact growth as a recurring feature in that group.
That observation is useful because it refers to a specific batch with both parent roles recorded. It does not show that Super Round alone caused compact growth: I was selecting for the compact habits of both parents. My 2015 count also combined flowering and false inflorescences, so it should not be converted into a first-flowering success rate.
The named Super Round selections broaden the picture. Several are described as medium growers, with flowers around three inches; Holey Moley is listed larger. Rounded tips, broad petals, overlap, texture, and a round overall flower are different traits. I would score each separately instead of assuming every descendant inherits the parent’s round appearance.
Super Round descendant cards
Carol’s Orange Marmalade — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- 3 inches
- Fragrance
- Spicy in narrative/database; sweet in nursery attributes
- Growing habit
- Medium in narrative; compact in attributes
- Petal form and texture
- Shape not specified
- Color and markings
- Orange, pink, yellow
- Evidence and limits
- Nursery explicitly names Super Round as pod parent. Growth and fragrance fields disagree.
Cosmic Fire — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- 3–3½ inches in narrative/database; 3 in nursery attributes
- Fragrance
- Sweet floral in narrative/database; rose in attributes
- Growing habit
- Medium; upright and well-branched in nursery narrative
- Petal form and texture
- Slight overlap; rounded tips in nursery narrative
- Color and markings
- Orange/red; stronger color in heat reported
- Evidence and limits
- Reported Super Round seedling. Color and fragrance differ between nursery narrative and attributes.
Holey Moley — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- 3½–4 inches
- Fragrance
- Classic plumeria / sweet
- Growing habit
- Medium/moderate
- Petal form and texture
- Broad; strong texture
- Color and markings
- Red/pink/orange with yellow center
- Evidence and limits
- Database reports Super Round parentage; retained nursery presentation identifies Super Round as pod parent. Larger flowers do not establish a family-wide tendency.
Happy Birthday — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- 3 inches
- Fragrance
- Not supplied in reviewed description
- Growing habit
- Medium
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Red/orange
- Evidence and limits
- Database reports Super Round parentage; parent role is not established by the reviewed description.
Ramblin Rose — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- 2½–3 inches
- Fragrance
- Strong sweet; nursery describes rose notes
- Growing habit
- Medium in summary; nursery also says tall and slow-growing
- Petal form and texture
- Broad in database; nursery says wide elliptical, pointed tips
- Color and markings
- Color descriptions conflict
- Evidence and limits
- Repeated Super Round seedling claim, but nursery also calls it a Moragne hybrid. Treat relationship and conflicting trait text as requiring review.
Ruby Batik — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- Unresolved: 3 in nursery attributes, 4 in database narrative, 4½–5 in nursery narrative
- Fragrance
- Strong sweet in narratives; spicy in nursery attributes
- Growing habit
- Medium in database/attributes; other nursery text conflicts
- Petal form and texture
- Nursery shape and texture text requires review
- Color and markings
- Color descriptions conflict
- Evidence and limits
- Super Round parentage is reported in both sites and retained presentation, but the nursery also contains unrelated-looking Moragne/AKA/registration claims. Exclude disputed traits from family conclusions.
Dino — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- 2½–3 inches
- Fragrance
- Sweet; medium intensity
- Growing habit
- Medium
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Pink/yellow
- Evidence and limits
- Retained research records Super Round as pollen parent. Current database narrative does not establish parentage; keep this placement provisional pending a direct parentage citation.
FJ’s Flight — Super Round branch
- Flower size
- Not supplied
- Fragrance
- Not supplied
- Growing habit
- Not supplied
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Not supplied
- Evidence and limits
- Retained nursery presentation records Super Round as pod parent. Current database entry supplies the memorial naming history but little trait information.
Tropical Aurora: larger flowers and compact selections
The five Joe Malinak selections in the database have reported flower sizes from four to five inches. That makes flower size a useful question to investigate in this branch. These are selected named plants, however, not a complete seed batch. We do not know the proportion of their siblings that produced smaller flowers or were never selected.
Mutabilis, Razzelberry, and Rufina tell a different part of the story. Their nursery descriptions combine compact growth with approximately three- to three-and-a-half-inch flowers. Razzelberry includes a peach note in its fragrance description; Mutabilis is floral, and Rufina fruity. Those observations give us specific comparisons to make without suggesting that all Tropical Aurora seedlings share one scent or size.
Kukiat’s illustrated coloration account, Figure 6, previously reviewed for this article, compares brushstroke markings in Penang Peach, Tropical Aurora, and an unnamed next-generation seedling. That recurring pattern is worth following. It supplies no inheritance percentage, and it should not be used to classify every streaked flower as the same phenomenon.
Tropical Aurora descendant cards
Baby Diva — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 4–4½ inches
- Fragrance
- Not supplied
- Growing habit
- Medium
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Not supplied
- Evidence and limits
- Database attributes this selection to Joe Malinak and lists Tropical Aurora parentage. Parent role and pollen parent are not supplied in the reviewed description.
Bellamissimo — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 4–4½ inches
- Fragrance
- Not supplied
- Growing habit
- Not supplied
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Not supplied
- Evidence and limits
- Database attributes this selection to Joe Malinak and lists Tropical Aurora parentage. Keep this recorded spelling; do not merge similarly named plants without evidence.
Charisma — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 4½–5 inches
- Fragrance
- Not supplied
- Growing habit
- Not supplied
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Not supplied
- Evidence and limits
- Database describes a Joe Malinak seedling of Tropical Aurora. Flower size alone does not establish identical form, fragrance, or vigor.
Keepsake — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 4–4½ inches
- Fragrance
- Not supplied
- Growing habit
- Medium
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Gold center recorded
- Evidence and limits
- Database describes a Joe Malinak seedling of Tropical Aurora; several comparison traits remain missing.
Midas Touch — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 4–4½ inches
- Fragrance
- Not supplied
- Growing habit
- Medium
- Petal form and texture
- Not supplied
- Color and markings
- Not supplied
- Evidence and limits
- Database attributes this selection to Joe Malinak and lists Tropical Aurora parentage. No fragrance or petal-shape conclusion is justified by this entry.
Mutabilis — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 3–3½ inches
- Fragrance
- Sweet floral perfume
- Growing habit
- Very compact; short branches
- Petal form and texture
- Good texture reported; outline not specified
- Color and markings
- Brown initially, changing toward purplish pink and greenish gray with flower age
- Evidence and limits
- Nursery explicitly identifies a Tropical Aurora seedling and compares its petal texture with Penang Peach. This is a descriptive comparison, not a measured inheritance result.
Razzelberry — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 3–3½ inches
- Fragrance
- Sweet floral and peach
- Growing habit
- Compact
- Petal form and texture
- Good texture reported; outline not specified
- Color and markings
- Deep purple becoming lighter/pinkish purple with age
- Evidence and limits
- Nursery explicitly identifies a Tropical Aurora seedling. Record flower age when comparing its changing colors.
Rufina — Tropical Aurora branch
- Flower size
- 3 inches
- Fragrance
- Sweet fruity
- Growing habit
- Very compact
- Petal form and texture
- Outline not specified; red veins and one-sided dark red pigmentation described
- Color and markings
- Dark red areas with fine reddish veining
- Evidence and limits
- Nursery identifies a Tropical Aurora seedling released by Kukiat for 2026. Pigmentation is not the same trait as petal outline.
What I would compare next
- Growth: measure annual branch extension, internode length, canopy width, and branching separately. Record pruning, grafting, container size, and growing conditions.
- Flower size: measure multiple fully opened flowers at comparable ages. Keep the range and sample count rather than only the largest bloom.
- Fragrance: record strength separately from character, using the same time of day and flower stage where possible. “Sweet” is too broad to establish an inherited scent.
- Petals: photograph outline, tip, overlap, cupping, and texture separately. A rounded tip does not mean the whole petal is round.
- Color: photograph the same flower as it ages, with consistent lighting and weather notes. Compare markings as well as color names.
For me, the strongest leads are compact growth in the documented Temptation × Super Round batch, the larger flower sizes reported for several selected Tropical Aurora descendants, and recurring petal markings. They are three different kinds of evidence. I would test each with complete batches, known parent roles where available, and comparable observations before using it to predict what a new seed lot will produce.
Records still to complete: the retained research also names Laura Grace and Sepia in the Temptation × Super Round cross and a grower-reported Virginia Aurora seedling of Tropical Aurora. Their detailed trait comparisons and direct individual source checks remain pending. They are not silently counted as measured examples here.
And maybe this will help
If this has you looking at your own plumeria a little differently, here are two places to continue.
PlumeriaDatabase.com is a place to explore cultivar records, reported parentage, photographs, and traits. Follow a family, compare the descriptions, and pay attention to the source notes and anything still marked unknown.
PlumeriaJourney.com gives you a place to keep your own plant records and growing story together. Record where a seedling came from, add dated observations and photographs, and follow its progress toward that first flower and beyond.
One helps us learn from the records already available. The other helps us preserve what we learn from the plants we grow. And maybe, with enough careful records, we can begin to recognize the family traits that are worth following into the next generation.