Precious Petals Fab frangipanis.

As much a part of summer as ice-cream and sandy feet, luscious frangipanis deserve a place in your patch, writes Helen Young.

Frangipani trees are just the right size: big enough to make an impact yet small enough to fit in most gardens. They grow with almost no attention, then dazzle us for months with flower clusters all over the lush canopy and individual flowers falling daintily to the ground. And the scent is lovely.

Frangipanis can be planted right next to the house because they have small, well-behaved root systems. They love the warmth soaked up by brickwork during the day to keep them warm at night, and don’t mind how hot, steamy or dry it gets. Planted on the hot side of a house, they provide shade to cool it during summer but allow sunlight through their bare, sculptural branches in winter.

Compact roots and low water needs also make frangipanis ideal for growing in pots. The bigger your pot, the bigger your tree can grow. They are also a good choice poolside, as the large leaves are easy to scoop out, while the plant is resilient to salt and chlorine splash.

Heavenly sites

Originally from Central America, frangipanis are at their best in tropical and subtropical climates. In cooler areas, give them a warm, sheltered microclimate within a courtyard or on the north side of a building. They love life on the coast, and can endure extreme drought and torrential rain, but they don’t like frosts. With full sun and well-drained soil, you’ve got a frangipani for life. Probably the only thing that kills them is soggy soil.

Choose a spot where there’s room for the broad, rounded canopy to spread eventually. Frangipanis are, admittedly, slow to grow; planting one is not for instant gratification. If it turns out the tree is in the wrong spot, move it in midwinter while it’s dormant. Apply an organic-based fertiliser in spring and increase watering during summer.

The kindest cut

Frangipanis can be expensive to buy because they’re so slow-growing. But you can easily grow them from cuttings, even big cuttings up to 3m tall for an instant tree. This is a great bonus if a big tree is being pruned or removed. Taking cuttings is also the way to go if you want a particular colour.

The ideal time for cuttings is in late winter, before the sap starts to flow, but you can take them any time, including summer. Select a healthy branch with a nice shape and use sharp tools for a clean cut. Cuttings can be any length, but tall cuttings need firm staking for at least two years to stop them wobbling and disturbing the developing roots. Cut off any leaves, leaving a little stub of each leaf base, to minimise sap bleeding. Keep the cutting in a dry, shaded spot for a few weeks while the wound dries out and forms ‘callus’ tissue, from which new roots will grow.

To avoid rot, place the cutting into a free-draining, sandy mix such as propagating mix. Plant the stem no deeper than 75mm and water only when the soil dries out.