Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
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SUNSHINE-SuperFood for your plants health
We are getting very high interest from our customers to our new plant booster SUNSHINE-SuperFood as well as many questions. We continue experimenting with the Jasmine that you saw in our previous newsletter, that had pale yellow leaves and numerous deficiencies. Right now, after only 2 applications, it looks healthy green again. Click on the picture to zoom in and see leaves turning from yellow to green within less than a month. See also full plant photo of this jasmine.
Q: Is SUNSHINE-SuperFood a fertilizer?
A: Traditionally we call a fertilizer macro-elements (NPK - nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). Technically, SUNSHINE-SuperFood is a complex of micro-elements that are essential for plant's health. It provides such elements as Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo, S, and Amino-acids that our soils are usually poor of. These elements are responsible for proper development of leaves, roots, flowers, and overall plant vigor. Read more about role of these micro elements.
Q: Can I just get these additional elements in a dry form and add to soil like a fertilizer?
A: No. Some of these elements must present in extremely low concentrations (this is why they are called micro-). SUNSHINE-SuperFood is a liquid substance with very high bioavailability that has very complicated formula; it is not just a mix of the elements. The formula is developed with the maximum efficiency for a plant to absorb through leaves and a root system.
Q: Is it better to spray leaves or water the plant with the solution?
A: Foliar applications are always most efficient in regards of seeing a quick result. However, we recommend to also drench the root ball with SUNSHINE-SuperFood solution to deliver the necessary elements evenly to all parts of the plant through its natural metabolism.
Q: My gardenia looks very sad after winter - most leaves are yellow and some have pale spots. Should I use SUNSHINE-SuperFood more often and in higher concentrations?
A: We recommend to apply SUNSHINE-SuperFood once a month to maintain a general plant health. In difficult cases like with this jasmine on the photo, you can do twice a month. However do not exceed recommended concentration. The rule of thumb is, you can apply water soluble fertilizers and supplements more often, but with lower concentrations - this way a plant will be more responsive. Plant metabolism in general is rather slow, changes take days and weeks - don't try to speed it up. Your patience will be rewarded.
Try SUNSHINE SuperFood on sick looking plants, especially with leaves that are yellowing, deformed or have spots (see photos of different deficiencies). There are no miracles, but this one works like a Miracle! All you need is a few drops of SUNSHINE SuperFood - item 6000! We also have bottles 50 ml and 100 ml for large plant collections and yard/landscape applications. Read more about SUNSHINE SuperFood...
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Growing tropicals from seeds.
From Kristi the Wizard of Rose: I grow many plants from seeds, both for my personal collection, and for TopTropicals. I receive many questions from customers who want to grow tropical plants from seeds. Some of them live in colder climates and try to extend growing season of their tropical collections by starting new varieties early in the year from seeds. These are a few tips that may be helpful.
Q: What do I need to do to speed up germination process?
A:
Many factors affect germination. Considering you get fresh
seeds (for example from TopTropicals) and Mother Nature
gives them a good kick start, there are a few things that
may speed up germination:
1) Scarification. Large seeds with a hard outer
shell can be slightly sanded down just enough for moisture
to get inside to wake up the seed during the pre-soaking.
Be careful not to damage the seed. See example of Lotus seed
scarification.
2) Pre-soaking. We recommend pre-soaking most of
the seeds for only a few hours (3-8 depending on species.
Some seeds are very sensitive to moisture and may start
rotting if stay wet without air circulation. Small seeds,
especially tiny ones like dust, should not be soaked.
3) SUNSHINE-S treatment. Adding a few drops of SUNSHINE-S booster when
pre-soaking seeds increases their germination rate 3-5
times.
4) Temperature. Warm temperatures help germination.
If grown indoors, put seeds containers or trays in the
warmest spot of your house; you may use heat pads.
Outdoors, putting them in full sun helps a lot, just don't
let soil to dry out.
Use only special porous seed germination mix to provide air circulation and prevent seeds from rotting.
Q: Should I keep seeds in refrigerator before planting?
A: Do not refrigerate tropical seeds. Stratification (treatment with cold) works only for temperate species, and some subtropical (like non-tropical Magnolias)
Q: How do you grow eucalyptus from seeds? I tried a few times with no success.
A: The secret of germinating tiny seeds like eucalyptus is - to sow them on top of the moist soil surface (soil must be very fine and soft), without covering. Keep container covered with clear plastic, in bright light. Use spray bottle to keep surface moist but not soggy. I have a customer who germinates eucalyptus seeds using an old fish tank, covered with a glass. Perfect environment - bright light and moist all the time.
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Secrets of perfect mulch
Poor man's mulch... or natural solution? With warmer weather weeds started spreading around the garden... pulling, spraying, mulching them... that helps. Here are a few tips about natural mulch based on our own experience.
1) Do not rake dry leaves and pine needles, use them as natural mulch. A leaf is a part of a plant with the highest nitrogen content which is a major plant nutrient. After breaking down, leaves will work as a fertilizer. If you prefer to have a fancy mulch, put it on top of those leaves.
2) Do not dispose cut grass. Spread it around trees and shrubs. Hay is one of the best mulching materials. It has at least 2 exceptional benefits: a) after couple rains it becomes dense, creating perfect protection from sprouting weeds, and b) grass is actually also a leaf - so it had built up lots of nitrogen too, and works as a fertilizer.
3) Be careful with "bulk mulch" that sometimes offered by local tree service companies (usually for free). It often contains bugs, plant parts that are infested with bad insects, or simply fleas. Natural mulch from your own garden is always the best choice, proven organic and safe solution.
4) A few layers of newspaper (or even better - cardboard from your endless Amazon deliveries) placed underneath the mulch work as a great weed barrier and will make your mulching work results last 4-5 times longer. Water drains through them, and paper products are ecologically safe and biodegradable.
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How to make a Mango tree bloom and fruit
Mango trees are especially beautiful during spring time when they flush out multi-color new leaves! But you want your mango be not only beautiful but fruitful as well. Here are some tips:
1) Fertilize Mango tree with a balanced slow release fertilizer starting March. Use 1 tsp of granulated fertilizer per 1 gal of soil, or a handful or two for an in-ground tree. You may add one application of foliar spray of a water-soluble bloom booster fertilizer (the one for Roses or Azaleas will work). This will give your tree a good macro-nutrient kick-start.
2) Spray entire tree with SUNSHINE-Superfood solution. This will provide all necessary micro-elements and keep the plant healthy and strong throughout the season. Repeat treatment once a month until harvest time.
3) For sweeter fruit, apply SUNSHINE-Honey solution
several times:
- early spring before flowering
- at setting buds
- right at the beginning of setting fruit
- after harvesting, to provide the tree with all good
micro-nutrients before resting season.
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What you need for successful growing Adeniums
1) Adenium plants - from TopTropicals Endless selection of
Adeniums. We have double flower, red, purple, yellow
and even black flowers!
2) A small pot with excellent drainage is a must.
Position the plant in a pot, size of root system.
3) Adenium soil mix. TopTropicals Adenium Soilless Mix.
Use only well-drained soil.
4) Lots of light. Adeniums need lots of light for
heavy flowering. However from our own experience, in super
hot climates, they look healthier in filtered bright
light. After initial planting, once the plant is
established and starts growing new leaves (may take a few
weeks), gradually move it into brighter light.
5) Little water. Adeniums like a neutral to hard
water. Acidic water tends to sour the soil too fast and
may cause root rot. Water plants preferably in the early
morning, and allow them to drink up throughout the day.
Watering can be done daily to every few days. Do not water
again until soil dries on surface. Never allow your plants
to sit in a saucer of water, but don't let them to dry out
too often - this causes adeniums to go into early
dormancy. Adeniums do not like both over-watering or
drying-out.
6) Fertilizer. To make your plant develop a large
swollen base/trunk, you'll need a good quality fertilizer.
Use slow-release granulated fertilizer
for overall plant health, and liquid water soluble
fertilizer for swelling up trunks that is also used to
increase flowering. It shouldn't be too high in nitrogen,
the middle number should be the highest (similar to
10-50-10). Never apply fertilizer directly on roots and do
not liquid feed when a plant is thirsty: always water
first slightly to avoid root burn and leaf drop. Do not
wet leaves.
7) SuperFood micro-elements. Besides
macro-nutrients provided by fertilizer, Adenium needs
micro-elements for balanced development of root system and
especially caudex: Sunshine-SuperFood.
8) SUNSHINE-BC. Spray leaves with SUNSHINE-BC once a month to
encourage young growth, profuse flowering and large
caudex.
9) Growing caudex. There is a secret how to create
a large swollen caudex: raise the plant a bit every time
you re-pot it, so that the upper part of roots will be a
little exposed. The plant will form more roots that will
go down.
See full list of Adeniums - plants and seeds.
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Avocado, Lychee and Mango setting fruit... give them some FOOD!
Q: Do I need to fertilize tropical fruit when they set fruit?
A:
It is traditionally believed that mango and other tropical
fruit shouldn't be fertilized during fruiting period. It
is true to an extent: you don't want fruit to burst from
fast excessive growing. Instead, try to feed fruit trees
wisely, because they still need proper nutrition to
produce flowers and fruit.
Our spring specials of Lychee, Avocado and Mango are full of buds and
some already set tiny fruit (see examples on the photo).
Here is the feeding plan for these plants once you receive
your mail order:
1) Once received the plant, pot it into container size of
the root ball and let establish for couple weeks. Use SUNSHINE-E to help the plant
recover from shipping stress and establish root system.
2) Apply SUNSHINE-Honey right before
flowering, and next time at setting fruit, to provide
sweeter and bigger fruit, eliminate fruit cracks and help
resist fungus and other fruit diseases.
3) Use balanced granulated fertilizer,
1 tsp per each gallon of soil. Apply once a month during
Spring-Summer season. This gives the plant balanced
macro-elements (NPK) necessary for overall plant health.
Do not use on fruit trees fertilizers with high Nitrogen
content.
4) Apply SUNSHINE SuperFood
micro-element booster to keep fruit trees vigorous,
develop strong root system and avoid deficiencies.
5) In case of signs of chlorosis (yellowing leaves with
darker veins), give the tree SUNSHINE-GreenLeaf and watch
the leaves turning green quickly.
After harvesting, don't forget to make another treatment
of SUNSHINE-Honey as a
preparation for the next year flowering and fruiting
season.
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NEW SLIDESHOW: Top Tropicals - We Grow Happiness!
You can have them... We can ship!
Whether you live in Tropical Florida or Downtown New York,
you can grow tropical plants and enjoy the beauty of
fragrant flowers and exotic fruit. Bring some happiness
into your life and let us do the rest - grow these plants
for you and give you some advice how to keep them happy.
Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!
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When does the Spring begin?
Q: Many refer to Astronomical Spring on March 20, as the first "official" day of spring. But some will argue that spring begins a few weeks before, on March 1st. When does the Spring begin?
A:
Most people consider the first day of spring to be the
Spring Equinox, which will start this year at 12:15 p.m.
EDT, March 20th. This is because, astronomically speaking,
the sun is directly overhead of the Equator as the Earths
tilt begins to point the northern hemisphere towards the
sun.
As the earth rotates around the Sun, the Sun will be
situated directly overhead at mid-day at different times
of the year. The Vernal (Spring) Equinox is the day the
Sun is again highest in the sky at noon over the equator
as the apex progresses north. The day the Sun is straight
up at noon over the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn (23.5
degrees N and S latitude) are the summer and winter
solstices, respectively. Many refer to Astronomical Spring
on March 20, as the first "official" day of spring. Most
meteorologists say that spring begins a few weeks before,
on March 1st, because they observe seasons over different
time periods. Meteorological spring began March 1, summer
begins June 1, fall begins on September 1 and winter
begins on December 1.
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Varieties of Guava
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!
Check out our Guavas!
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Cleanest 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!
Check out all tropical fruit trees and all tropical spice plants.