I've just potted a frangipani (plumeria) cutting given to me by a friend and since it's not in its natural climate, I'm wondering what conditions it will thrive in? If it matters, I live in a temperate zone.
How should I water it? How much sun does it need? Fertiliser? Does it need to be changed with the seasons?
They are succulent, and I've seen them thrive in very hot, dry weather (Kona, Hawai`i). If they don't get enough sun or if they get too much water, the plant will be lanky. Use lots of nitrogen rich fertilizer to get them to produce plentiful blooms.
Frangipani (Plumeria) are tropical plants from the Americas, but have been naturalised to other parts of the world - especially Asia and the Pacific.
So it looks like they need warm weather.
As a tree / shrub, it sounds like outside would be ideal. GardeningTipsAndIdeas suggest they should be okay in the lower third of the US. So they must have some frost tolerance.
References are Australian but the SacredGardenFrangipanis.com website has much more useful information, including this snippet:
How to care for your new Frangipani Plants
Upon receiving your plants, they should be potted up and kept in semi shade or full sun in mornings and shade from midday and afternoon until roots can be seen coming out of bottom of pots.
The ideal potting mix, is 40% commercial potting mix and 60% inorganic material such as course sand or perlite or gravel. Commercial potting mixes are generally full of fungus and bacteria which can be harmful to plants.
Always water plants/potting mix with a systemic fungicide and bactericide when potting up your plants.
