How to set up indoor lighting for tropical plants

Q: My tropical plant collection goes indoors for winter. I have over 100 plants now and all windowsill space is taken. I am planning to build some shelves so I can also start some rare seeds indoors. Can you advise me on the choice of the grow lights so I can do it right?

A: Indoor plants are very unlucky: they have to grow in "caves," and everybody knows that plants don't grow in the caves. The luckiest plants win sunny windowsills, but even there they dwell rather like in underbrush under tall trees, where the sun illuminate them only early in the morning or in the evening, and its light is diffused by foliage. Usually, domestic plants are in desperate lack of illumination not only in winter but also in summer. No light - no growth, no flowering. So, plants need extra light to compensate for the lack of illumination in the "room-cave" conditions. And here is some science behind it...

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Check out our selection of tropical plants tolerant to low light conditions.

Callisia fragrans variegata - Variegated Golden Tendril

This is an extremely rare variety of the Russian Holistic Medicinal Plant - Golden Tendril. The plant has wide medicinal use in Europe and Russia, literally every household, millions of Russians use this plant as a home remedy...

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BELOVED AMAZON LILY

By Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc

Question: I'm hoping you can recommend a lush looking houseplant which will be happy in an otherwise bright "sun room" which receives only a little actual sunlight. Something that looks tropical and exotic, and maybe even makes flowers which are fragrant?

Answer: Perfect timing because at this moment, my much beloved Amazon Lily (Eucharis grandiflora) is currently flowering spectacularly! I've had this particular plant for nearly twenty years, and it's one of my absolute favorites.

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Check out our large selection of rare beauties that are great as houseplants.

Achras (manilkara) zapota - Sapodilla Silas Woods

The Silas Woods is an outstanding variety of Sapodilla.
The tree has dwarf growth habit (under 20 ft in the ground) and adapts well to a container.
This variety is highly productive.

Trees are producing year round, the branches often require support as they get very heavily loaded with fruits. Perfect fruit tree for small yards and container culture!

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Garden-burned Calories in 30 minutes

This is interesting! According to Harvard Medical School research, gardening activities are compared with some serious workout! Calories burned in 30 minutes by:

Walking 178
Bowling 133
Gymnastics 178
Dancing 244

Planting seedlings, shrubs 178
Planting trees 200
Gardening-weeding 205
Digging, spading dirt 222

So what are you waiting for? Start losing weight now by planting a tree and dancing!

Climate change is wiping out the Baobab, Africa's tree of life...

According to The Guardian News and Media, Africa's "tree of life" may not have much longer left... These highly important species are threatened with extinction, due to climate change and human development. Some species may not survive the next century. While plants have generally adapted to extended droughts, climate change is different, and with the Anthropocene, we are already witnessing the loss of these impressive trees. Africa's largest, oldest inhabitants, that have played silent witness to numerous generations, are already paying a heavy price for the environmental crimes of foreign lands.
Baobab forms an integral part in people's livelihoods. In West Africa, it is also called the "palaver tree" because of its social functions: when there is a problem in the community, meeting under the Baobab tree with the chief or the tribesmen would be synonymous with trying to find a solution to that problem; it reinforces trust and respect among members of the community. Its extinction would not simply be an environmental tragedy...

Every tropical gardener should have a Baobab to help to save this amazing species for the planet!

Fascinating Spekboom (Portulacaria afra, or Baby Jade)

By Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc
...I love this plant! I first grew it in the 1960s when I was just a kid. I found it growing as a fantastic four-foot tall houseplant in a big sunny window in a schoolmate's home and was happily given a cutting. When I inquired about this most unusual plant, my friend's mother explained that she had brought a piece of it with her when she came from South Africa many years earlier. She told me that in Africa, it is a favorite food for both Elephants and Rhinoceros and that it was grown all over her families farm for feeding both animals and people. Being a little kid in Illinois, I found this especially fascinating...
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Growing plumeria from seed

Q: I purchased a Plumeria from your company. It has done quite nicely and now has produced a seed pod. Please forward me information on how to care for it and use the seeds that may be inside to propagate another plant.

A: Wait until seeds are ripe (seed pod turns brownish). Soak seeds overnight. Use only well-drained soil. The ideal mix is Adenium mix that we use for desert roses and Plumerias. Insert the heavy end of seed 1/4" into the soil, leaving feathered end exposed. Place the pot in direct sunlight. Don't allow the soil to completely dry out, but don't let it be soggy. Germination occurs usually within three to four weeks. Do not overwater.

Click for Plumeria and Adenium quick sale - 50% OFF with FREE shipping! Exp. 1/15/19.

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Mark you calendars: Groundhog Day Event 2/2 @ TopTropicals

Groundhog Day: Spring will surely come!

Event: Top Container Plants @ Top Tropicals
When: Saturday, Feb 2, from 10 am - 5 pm
Where: Top Tropicals Garden Center, 13890 Orange River Blvd, Ft Myers, FL
More info: Check our Facebook Event Page or call Anna Banana @ 239-771-8081
Agenda:
- 25% OFF everything + freebies for local customers
- Best container fruit trees, Condo Mangos, and Avocados. No matter if Groundhog promises early or late spring, you can keep them in pots!
- Snacks and drinks
Click on ticket link to save and print invitation flyer (for 2 people).

Mucuna nigricans - Black Jade Vine

Black Jade Vine is a real gem of a rare plant collection and a conversation piece when in bloom. The flower color is beyond description, as most of the Jade vines. This spectacular woody climber is closely related to red Jade vine (Mucuna bennettii). Branches sparsely velvet-hairy, and blackish purple flowers hanging in racemes. Drooping flower-cluster-stalks are up to 1 ft long and 6" in diameter! The blooms appear closely pushed together in grape-like clusters. Flowers are clustered in threes; each cluster supported by a deciduous bract. It is a very vigorous woody tree creeper - during warmer weather it can grow 2 feet or more a week. Cold hardy in Florida to at least zone 9b.
This plant is a must for every rare tropical plant collection. It is easy to grow and doesn't require much care once established other than regular watering. In colder climates with a hard freeze, this spectacular vine can be grown in a large container providing a strong trellis support.

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