Q:
We were just in Australia where guava juice was available
in the markets. Pretty sure I can grow different varieties
of Guava's here, as I have 3 already, but wondering if it
would be psidium guajava or littorale as the best bet for
making the pink juice we enjoyed. Thanks so much, your
plants are so healthy when they arrive!
A:
Both species are used for commercial juice making. We grow
lots of Psidium littorale - Cattley
Guava, Strawberry Guava - and we make delicious juice. Psidium guajava - Tropical
Guava, Guajava - is less juicy, fruit is somewhat dry, but
it still has a great flavor; you may need to add water to
blended pulp. And sugar - add it to both kinds of fruit!
"Dirty"
fruit: According to the Environmental Working Group
research, Strawberries are top the list of the 12
"dirtiest" fruits and vegetables grown commercially.
Spinach is the second, followed by (in order of
contamination) nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches,
cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell
peppers. Each of these foods tested positive for pesticide
residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides
than other produce. This causes of course chronic health
implications. Children are of special concern as younger
bodies have greater susceptibility to pesticides than
adult bodies, the report emphasizes. Pesticides may induce
chronic health complications in children, including neuro-
and behavioral problems, birth defects, allergies, asthma,
and even cancer...
"Clean
15": Avocados lead 2018's clean fruits and
veggies list, that also includes: mangoes, papayas, pineapples, kiwi, sweet corn, cabbage,
onions, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, eggplant, honeydew
melon, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli.
Obviously, home grown fruit and vegetables are even
better. Such fruit as Custard Apples, Sapodilla, Sapote, Jackfruit, Dragon Fruit, Passion Fruit and other rare
varieties of tropical fruit, are even better for you
because they are not grown commercially, and the choice
from your own organic garden is the healthiest for
yourself and your family!
Plant them today and get your cleanest fruit tomorrow!
Q:
I am looking for a special mango called Fralan. It is the
most popular mango in Vietnam where I am from. Do you have
this variety?
A:Fralan is a relatively new
variety of Mango, originated from Thailand, with green
skin. In Thai, "Fralan" means "Thunder" - as the fruit
cracks when peeled. It also has another meaning
"Foreigner" as people from the West seem to speak too loud
for Thai ears. This mango has no turpentine aftertaste
unlike some other varieties. Its flavor is superior. The
flat seed is similar to Nam Doc Mai, it has no seed coat
which is a good advantage, leaves more room for flesh and
makes it easier to eat.
Fralan can be eaten:
a) when green - it is crunchy, sweet, producing cracking
sounds (=Thunder)
b) when yellow (fully ready) - very soft, no fiber
whatsoever
The tree is early-middle harvesting season depending on
climate and has a DWARF habit! Which make is excellent
choice for potting culture. See full list of Mango varieties
from our store.
Q:
We love your website and products. Do you have mango trees
with different types grafted on one? We live in Hawaii and
have space for an interesting mango.
A:
Here is the truth about multi-grafted mangos. It is the
same issue as with multi-grafted citrus (so-called "fruit
cocktail trees"). In most cases, multi-grafted fruit trees
look beautiful and healthy for the first couple years if
that long. What happens next - the most vigorous variety
will take over others and eventually all other grafts will
die off or those branches stay retarded without sufficient
production. There is a solution though, if you have
limited space and still want to have several varieties to
enjoy. Plant 2-3-4 desired varieties into 1 hole! Of
course production of each tree will reduce due to the
crowded situation, but overall crop will be as much as
from one big tree. And you will have all kinds of tastes
to enjoy! Very often trunks of such trees grow in
together, but because of having separate root systems, all
trees will remain equally strong and vigorous.
Q:
I am thinking about buying a Gardenia as a present for my
mother's garden in Florida. What is the difference between
grafted and non-grafted gardenias?
A:
Gardenias are one of our finest shrubs, growing to a
height of about six feet in warmer areas of the United
States. They have very attractive, shiny evergreen leaves
that are about four inches long and, each spring-summer,
produce the loveliest of white flowers that are
delightfully scented. In areas with alkaline soils, like
Florida, only grafted gardenias can be planted in the
ground: graft provides nematode resistance, tolerance to
poor, sandy and alkaline soils, and healthy, dark green
foliage. Grafted varieties have rootstock of Gardenia
thunbergia - the most resistant species of all gardenias.
Dioscorea
elephantipes. Dioscorea is a curious plant
with tuber above ground level covered with layers of corky
bark, resembling a caudex. It is a slow growing, very
unusual succulent. Tuber contains saponins, originally
cooked and eaten as a famine food by the Hottentots.
Caudex that grows up to 6’ in nature, resembling an
elephant's foot and looks as if it is segmented into
geometric patterns (smaller plants look like tortoises)
and looks dead but is actually a living tuber. A plant
with 18" caudex can be almost 100 years old! The plant
grows into a vine with attractive heart-shaped leaves and
small yellow flowers. Culture is relatively easy. The
vines may die back and regrow several times a year,
depending on the particular plant and your region. The
plant doesn't send down deep roots, so plant in a shallow
pot about 1" larger than the diameter than the caudex. Potting soil should be very
porous/loose so that there is easy drainage. Water
well around the edges. Keep in a warm area and wait for
the first shoots of the vine to appear. Water regularly
from that point on. The plant should not be kept damp as
with other tropical plants. Allow it to dry before
watering again. Many books will say that they are winter
growers, because they are native to the southern
hemisphere. In fact, they grow in all seasons! Let the
plant be your guide. You cannot force them to grow, and
over watering will simply cause them to rot.
Elephant Foot is a collectors item, but remarkably easy to
grow. It will be with you for years with no effort. It is
a wonderful conversation piece! See more info about Dioscorea
elephantipes.
Q:
I have recently moved from New Jersey to Florida (Orlando
area) and I am so excited to start my own Tropical
Paradise Garden! A few years ago I visited Hawaii and saw
many beautiful colorful Bougainvilleas as well as fragrant
Frangipani. Do they grow well in Florida? These are
flowers of my dream!
A:
Both Bougainvillea and Plumeria grow well in most
parts of Florida, especially South and Southwest.
Bougainvillea can tolerate some light freeze and can be
seen in the streets of Central Florida (young plants
require some cold protection for the first year), so it is
a very good candidate for your new garden. Keep in mind
that unlike in Hawaii, where they bloom year around,
Bougainvilleas tend to have a distinctive flowering season
which in Florida is winter time - these plants enjoy dry
weather that triggers their bloom. To enjoy Bright
bougainvillea flowers for a long time, apply balanced fertilizer, prune
regularly (this promotes flowering on new growth) and keep
established plants on a dry side. Dwarf cultivar Pixie is super compact and
can be grown in pots or in a small garden without any
pruning! See photo of Pixie on the left. Plumerias, all-time perfume
favorites and symbols of Hawaii, are also residents of
many gardens and collections throughout state of Florida.
Their cold hardiness is close to the one of Bougainvillea,
however keep young plants protected from frost. There are
also many new exciting cultivars including multiple
"rainbow" colors, and several dwarf varieties, some of
them are evergreen - Plumeria obtusa. Plumerias
are very undemanding and can stay happy and blooming in a
pot and without regular watering. Give them as much sun as
possible, and enjoy the fragrance for many months!
SUNSHINE boosters for recovering
plants after shipping
Q:
I live in Garden City, NJ and have a sun room with a
tropical plant collection that I keep at about 40-45
degrees in winter. I used Sunshine booster during winter
for my plant collection and results were amazing! I
haven't lost a single plant. Now I see you have more
products and I am planning to purchase more plants, how
should I use Sunshine boosters to help plants recover
after shipping?
A:
Spray SUNSHINE-E solution right after receiving a plant
from shipping. It will boost up the plant and make it
50-60% stronger and easier to recover after shipping
stress. After that, apply SUNSHINE-SuperFood
microelement booster to provide everything necessary for
the plant to grow vigorously and happily. SUNSHINE-E is
indeed a wonderful plant stimulant and stress reliever,
although it is not a "magic-cure-all" medicine where one
can't find its active ingredient. The hormone
(epibrassinolide) is well-known and used in different
countries along with other hormones for promote growth,
fruiting, blooming, rooting, etc. One of the most amazing
properties of SUNSHINE is that it works in extremely low
dozes. Only a few drops will be enough to make a solution
in distilled water, to treat a large size plant. If you
want to try it out, one 5 ml bottle will last for several
applications. Large bottles of SUNSHINE 50 ml and 100 ml -
great for small and big gardens. It is a good idea to
start bi-weekly applications to improve your plants
tolerance to Summer heat, drought and improve disease
resistance. The formula works through plant metabolism
within 2-4 days, repeat application not sooner than in one
week. After application of SUNSHINE-E, don't forget to
boost your plants with SUNSHINE-SuperFood .
Q:
I have a large fruit garden here in Florida with many
mango trees, avocadoes, guavas, and other tropical fruit.
Last year hurricane Irma and flooding killed a few avocado
trees, but mangos and guavas survived OK, but the sad part
is, very few flowers this year and almost no fruit
setting. I noticed on your website your Superfood and
Sunshine-Honey boosters that supposedly help fruiting? But
I am afraid it is too late now as your instructions say
first application must be in early Spring? I wish I
discovered earlier that my trees wouldn't want to fruit
this year...
A:
First of all, it is never late to give the food! You may
start applications of SUNSHINE products at any time
of the year. The best results will be achieved once you
treat your plants on regular basis throughout the whole
year cycle of metabolism.
Couple weeks ago we started harvesting our 2 guava trees.
These two are the same variety (Variegated Honeymoon),
planted within 20 ft from each other and growing in the
same conditions. The only difference was, one was treated
with SUNSHINE-Honey and SUNSHINE-SuperFood, and another
one didn't get any treats in order to have a control
plant.
Results are very interesting, see the picture. Both trees
were heavily covered with fruit. However the one with
treatments developed fruit that is much larger, much
sweeter and juicier, and the most interestingly - with
less seeds, almost no seeds!
To answer your question: yes, you can start feeding your
fruit trees right now. It is still a Springtime. Many
mango varieties have late season; even early varieties may
delay their fruiting if flowering triggered by
miscro-elements. Guavas have very long season and most
varieties can have multiple crops throughout Summer-Fall.
Here is a simple and affordable feeding schedule to
help your fruit garden recover from last year hurricane
stress, and establish reliable production:
SUNSHINE-E - for boosting
metabolism - once a month
SUNSHINE-Honey - for bringing
sugars to the heart of the tree and boosting fruit
sweetness and quality - now and in 2 weeks
SUNSHINE-SuperFood - for
overall health, recovering from hurricane and fixing root
damage from flood - now and every 2 weeks throughout warm
season.
You may apply regular balanced fertilizer NPK as
usual (we apply once a month, a handful per in-ground
tree)
It's that simple. Just try and watch your trees produce
again!
Mysterious Night Blooming Cactus -
Epiphyllum. How to grow it?
Q:
My friend has a huge Queen of the Night Cactus, and the
blooms are so gorgeeous! She gave me a cutting but I am
not sure how do I plant it? How long will it take till it
starts blooming? Is it true that it has only one flower
once a year and only at night?
A:
Queen of the Night is a very popular and yet mysterious
plant. The flowers open once a year after sunset for one
night. However the flowering period can last a month or
two during the warm season. So each flower lasts only one
night, but there will be more flowers to come! In the
Nature, Epiphyllum oxypetalum - Queen of
the Night - grows on trees in the jungles of Central
and South America. It is actually very easy to grow as an
indoor plant in colder climates. Here is South Florida we
grow them outside in hanging baskets. This is how to start
Queen of the Night from a cutting:
Put the cutting in a dim, dry place for three days,
with no soil and its base exposed to the air, so it will
form a callus.
Fill a 4-6-inch pot with slightly damp potting soil or succulent mix. Insert the
cutting 1 or 2 inches into the soil and tamp the soil
around its base.
Place the pot where the cutting will get bright light,
but no direct sun. Spritz it occasionally with a spray
bottle of water to keep the soil only slightly moist. It
should root in couple weeks.
Keep the plant on an east- or west-facing windowsill
where it will receive direct sunlight only in early
morning or late afternoon. Water the cactus until water
runs out of the pot's drainage holes. Dump the excess out
of the pot's saucer immediately, and wait until the
surface of the soil is dry to the touch before watering
your cactus again.
Fertilize once a month from March through October with
a balanced plant food, and
apply micro-elements once a month
for a healthy vigorous growth. Refrain from feeding the
plant in December and January.
Position the cactus in partial shade under a porch roof
or tree, if you decide to move it outdoors during the
summer. This plant likes summer humidity!
Repot the cactus only once every two years or so, to
keep it slightly root bound. Wait until after it flowers
in summer, and repot it after it blooms. Prune off any
damaged growth at that time as well.
Move the plant to a cooler room over the winter months,
one that remains dark during the evening hours with
temperatures above 45 degrees. Reduce the frequency of
watering, waiting until its soil is dry. Resume regular
watering in March.
If grown from cutting, it may take 2-3 years until the
plant starts blooming, so if you don't want to wait that
long - just get a blooming size plant from our
store!
