...What makes these rare beauties so wonderful is not only the very nice white Hydrangea-like flowers on the ends of the branches, but also the slowly unfolding new leaves. A number of times a year, they develop little bracts on the
ends of their branches which then erupt into stunning cascades of long, weeping ivory-pink new leaves. Most notably, in the more horizontal light of morning or evening, against the deep bottle-green of older leaves, these new hanging growths create the impression of being nearly
incarnate apparitions floating in mid-air. I am sure this is the reason for its scientific name Maniltoa, deriving from the New Guinea name for the tree, Manilto - which means "ghost" or "manifestation"...
Sunshine Boosters: a breakthrough in Winter fertilizing
In the photo: plants are tough survivors. Life can't be stopped even
by a brick road!
Q: Just wanted to know best time of day to apply super boost as
spray and watering? Only listed to make sure night temp doesn't drop below
65F...
A: As a rule of thumb, plant's needs in fertilizers are very low
in the cold season because they consume less nutrients during dormancy. For
tropical plants, when minimum temperatures drop below 65F - we stop
applications of dry (granulated) fertilizers until spring, to avoid root burn.
Liquid Sunshine Boosters are exceptions from this rule to a certain extent,
for 2 reasons:
- they are amino-acid based which means, salts do not build up in the soil,
and thus will not burn the roots even with slower plant metabolism.
- concentrations/formulas are mild and designed for as frequent as daily
watering
1) When a plant goes into full dormancy (drops leaves and does not show
any new growth), you may stop fertilizing with any Macro NPK products (both dry and liquid)
2) If a plant is evergreen and continues growing during the cooler
period, and especially if it is a winter bloomer, mild liquid fertilizers can be
applied, depending on the stage of plant development. Robusta and TotalFeed are used for vegetative growth and pre-flower. Megaflor and C-Cibus are used for winter flowering/ fruiting plants during the bloom
stage.
3) Micro-elements can be used all year round for all plants that are not
dormant (do not drop leaves)
4) Always use Sunshine-Epi as a foliar spray to activate immune system and unlock
protective mechanisms, BEFORE applying other boosters. It is especially
important during Fall-Winter for improving cold tolerance and disease resistance.
5) Always apply foliar spray and/or drench the soil with solutions in
morning hours so the plant has time to process the nutrients during daylight
when metabolism is the most active.
Q: My wife and I bought a Dona Evangelina from you this year. It thriving and has grown to 6-8
ft. It has become top-heavy and in wind, it falls over. Main stems have split
twice but still continues to grow. I usually prune Dona Luz back to 3-4 ft and am wondering how much you would advise me
to lop off your plant. Any advise will be appreciated.
A: Mussaendas, indeed, have very fragile stems that break often,
especially in Florida wind storms. The good news is, these plants grow
vigorously once established.
You did a good job trying to tie together the split stems and in fact,
cracks do grow back together as long as the dressing is tight. Try to use green
tape or even electric tape to tighten the broken spot.
However, do such repairs only if it is critical for a plant. When possible,
simply cut off the broken branch and give the plant a chance to grow a new
stronger branch. You may trim the bush pretty short. Mussaendas respond well
to pruning which promotes more side growth and makes the plant bushier.
Keep in mind that during cold weather, Mussaenda may drop all leaves and go
into dormancy until spring.
