Breathtaking Queen's Wreath

By Onika Amell, tropical flower specialist

Q: I've just moved from Virginia to Sarasota, Florida. I'm looking for a vine similar to Wisteria to grow in my new garden. I've so enjoyed my Wisteria vine and I'm hoping to find something equally spectacular for my FL garden. Truth is, I'm getting older and won't be able to keep up with the hard-core maintenance Wisteria needs to keep it in under control. Is there a similar vine you can recommend that is just as showstopping as Wisteria?

A: The vine that immediately comes to mind is Petrea Volubilis or Queens wreath. It looks similar to Wisteria, and though a fast and strong climber, it's not invasive or destructive at all. An occasional pruning is all it will need to maintain it. Much like Wisteria it gives a glorious show of flowers when spring arrives. Masses of long, mauve flowers will continue to appear on and off in summer with another burst of flowers in the fall. Flowers are up to a foot in length!
Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies will all be impressed with you for growing this charmer.
Snip off the gorgeous flowers, put them in shallow bowls of water around your home and be the envy of all your friends and house guests!
This vine prefers the warmth of Zone 10 to thrive, but it will survive in areas of Zone 9B when it borders zone 10A, especially if it's placed in a protected area. It grows best in full sun but will tolerate part shade. It's great for coastal gardens and once established, it has good drought tolerance, medium salt tolerance, and good wind tolerance. It has no major pest problems, which is always a bonus.
Grow and shape it as you like: a large bush, a small tree or a breathtaking espalier. Some people plant Petrea vine by a tree to create that much sought-after ethereal wisteria effect. This is no doubt a very charming vine and a must-have for those who are in love with Wisteria but scared of its vigorous growth and ongoing maintenance.
For Wisteria lovers we also recommend its spectacular tropical relative Millettia reticulata - Evergreen Wisteria.

How to propagate plants from cuttings. Top (Tropicals) secrets.

Q: After pruning my jasmine, I have so many branches and I don't have a heart to through them away, can I use them to make more plants? Please tell me what size cuttings and do I need to remove leaves? Should I just stick them in the ground? Will they root? I don't know if you will be willing to share your secrets?

A: We are always happy to know that you grow more plants, and make our World better! These are some useful tips for the propagation of tropical plants using cuttings:

- Cuttings and leaves. Use cuttings 2-5" long. Strip leaves from the bottom. Cut larger leaves in half to reduce evaporation.
- Soak cuttings for 15-30 min in SUNSHINE solution.
- Mix. Use special well-drained mix with lots of soil conditioner: we have a special professional propagation mix for cuttings.
- Mist. Put community pots or trays with cuttings in mist, or if you don't have mist - cover the pot with a clear plastic bag to create a mini-greenhouse.
- Shade. Keep propagation pots in bright shade and never allow direct sun rays.
- Rooting hormone: yes, use it if you have it. Not only it promotes root formation but also prevents from fungus so the cuttings won't rot. We use Dip-N-Grow.
- Rooting and food. Check in 2-3 weeks for roots. Once you see the little roots, begin fertilizing with a special Baby-Plant Food and make sure never exceed recommended doze otherwise you may kill the cuttings.
- Establishing. Once roots start growing, plant in 4" pots in a well-drained potting mix and watch the beauty grow! Gradually move to the full sun only when little plants establish and start new growth.

If you are lucky to make more rare plants than you can use, contact us, we will buy them from you or trade for your dream plants! In fact, one of our customers from many years ago started selling us baby plants that he propagated from our plants, and now has a successful business (Karma Nursery); we buy a lot of plants from him every month!

For more ideas on tropical plant propagation, see also:
- Secrets of turtle tank propagation
- 5 secrets of propagation

Impossibly exotic Chalice Vine

By Onika Amell, our flower specialist

Q: I live on Sanibel Island, Florida and I'm looking for an exotic vine to cover the side of my house. A friend suggested Chalice vine. What can you tell me about it and will it tolerate the salty soil and salt spray of the island?

A: Chalice vine, or Cup of Gold - Solandra maxima - is a large, woody, scrambling tropical vine with huge, cup-shaped flowers. Variety Variegata has also amazing cream and green variegated foliage. The flowers are fragrant, especially in the evenings, with a lovely coconut-like aroma. This unusual vine will give you intermittent waves of large, wide flaring golden trumpets.
Even when not in flower, it is beautiful as new growth is bright and purple-bronze in color. It has a large and loose spreading habit. As this vine ages, flowers will appear along the entire length of branches off the main vine. So, just think about it - up to 100 feet vine and you will have about 500 flowers at the same time! They are very fast growing and usually bloom from February until May. Plant them... Sit back and wait... Four months of heaven!
They are great for seaside gardens as they are very tolerant of salt spray and salty soils. Will, in fact, thrive in most any well-drained soil.
Give it a large, sturdy pergola or trellis, or train it to grow up the side of a house where it will spill down over windows and doorways to take your breath away... Chalice vine is impossibly exotic!

Quick shade for your driveway

Q: Please help! We just moved into a new house in Florida and don't have any mature trees yet, but the sun is already brutal! Can you suggest any super-fast growing shade tree that can make shade over my driveway as soon as possible?

A: Check out Giant Potato Tree - it is very fast growing, has very large leaves plus very pretty purple flowers as a bonus year round! The pictured tree was planted from 3 gal only 6 months ago, and already covers with shade the whole car. It is small to a medium size tree, but one of the fastest growing. If you are looking for a larger tree and willing to be more patient, here is the full list of tropical and subtropical fast growing shade trees. Most of them may take a few years until they reach a mature size, however, in order to enjoy your shade tomorrow, you must plant the tree today!

Fruit tree size and production

Q: I am interested in a Strawberry Tree... does this tree produce fruit while still small or do I have to wait until it is large before it produces? Should I fertilize it so it produces sooner? I ask because my garden is not large and I prefer to keep my fruit growing trees in a smaller size. Also, how big is the fruit and does it have a seed?

A: Strawberry Tree, Muntingia Calabura, is one of those fascinating fruit trees that starts flowering and fruiting in small size. We have plants growing in 1 gal containers that already have flowers. This tree is nearly year-round producer providing warm conditions. It is a fast grower, although a compact tree when mature, and can be trimmed to desirable size without affecting production.
Muntingia fruit is one of our favorites. It is super sweet and juicy, and the seeds are tiny small, not bigger than the strawberry seeds, so you don't have to spit them out. The fruit size normally about 1/2 inch, but we have a tree in our garden that produces almost cherry-size fruit! See picture above. The secret is, good watering and using fruit booster - SUNSHINE honey micro-element supplement. We also fertilize our fruit trees using Fruit Festival and Mango-Food fertilizers.

Love (and FEAR) the black flowered Dead Rat Lily!

By Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc

I acquired this rare and freaky aroid, (Typhonium roxburghii) when my wife Suzie and I were living in So. California in the early 1990's... When I first saw this plant (growing in a few pots of bamboo, along with other weeds), it had perhaps the most unusual flowers of anything I had ever seen...

Continue reading...

Growing mango tree in California

Q: I just ordered a mango tree. I live in Southern California and was wondering if you have any tips on how to acclimate the mango to our climate. I know it is coming from hot and humid Florida to hot and dry Southern California and don't want to kill it because of the differences in climate.

A: Mangos in fact prefer dry conditions rather then humid. It may be perfect conditions for a mango tree at your place. Plant your tree in a pot size of the root ball; give it ample water and then let the soil surface slightly dry before watering again. Keep the plant in bright shade and gradually move into full sun. Once the tree is recovered from shipping stress, you may plant it in the ground and make sure to protect from freezing temperatures in winter. Use Mango Food for quick establishing and better fruit production. More to read:
Mango boosters
How to grow Mango in hot climates
Growing Mango in Arizona.

More about Mulberries

Customer comment on our Mulberry column in the previous newsletter:

...I planted a Himalayan mulberry, Morus macroura, about six years ago. For several maddening years, it shot only very long, un-branching tentacles out there, and it resisted my efforts to force some branching by pruning. It would send another long, reaching shoot from the tip of the pruned branch, with NO laterals. Several times, it did this. Finally, two years ago, it broke buds that looked like they meant it all along those long branches, and in one season, it fluffed out. The next season it elaborated on this, acting much more like a proper tree. The fruit is fabulous, three or more inches long, very sweet, with a rich berry flavor that’s more raspberry than mulberry. I guess it just needed more time. My understanding is that mulberries don’t really like to be pruned, but it needed to happen in this case, along a driveway, so I reigned it in, and now it’s a treasure. Be patient.
Cheers, your admirer, C

Check out our Mulberry trees.

Secrets of Happy Bougainvilleas

Q: When I visited Hawaii I saw their everblooming bougainvilles, flowering non-stop! How come our bougainvilles in Florida are not flowering as much? Is there any special secret to make them bloom?

A: Bougainvilleas prefer drier climate and especially drier summers. Florida summers are rainy and humid. The steaming greenhouse conditions are favorable for most tropical plants (except desert plants like most cacti). Bougainvilleas also grow vigorously in Florida heat and frequent rains, but most cultivars prefer dryer conditions for profuse flowering. These are a few tips that can help you grow happy Bougainvilleas and enjoy their showy flowers even in humid climates:

- In Florida, Bougainvilleas bloom mostly in Winter. If you are a snowbird, this plant is definitely for you!
- Choose sunny, dry, and elevated location for Bougainvilleas, never a low spot and never a shade spot. Give it as many hours of sun as possible.
- Use only well-draining soil. Usually, sandy soils work well when mixed with some compost. If your soil is too heavy, add soil conditioners like perlite, bark, sand.
- Take advantage of cultivars that are well adapted to humid climates: Dwarf Everblooming Pixie, Thornless B. arborea.
- Remember Bougainvilleas are the easiest and the most rewarding potted plants.
- Use bloom boosters along with well-balanced slow release plant food. We recommend these: Pink-N-Good flower booster and smart-release granulated Tropical Allure.
- Do not overwater and keep the plant on a dry side.

Mulberries - biggest, sweetest, and compact...

Q: What is the difference between Pakistani and Australian Mulberry plants? Would one be better suited for South Florida backyard? Can one be maintained/pruned to be a tall shrub vs a large tree? Which one has the sweetest fruit? Thank you for the previous plants we've purchased from you. They're all doing great.!

A: These two varieties are very similar indeed. Both fruit are very large. Var. Pakistani fruit is a little longer than var. Australia and the tree is a more vigorous grower, but they both are very sweet, even before the fruit fully ripen. Both trees are a good choice and start fruiting at a young age.
We've had Australia in the ground in our garden for 4 years by now and for some reason, it has been very slow growing which is normally not the case with Mulberries. Maybe it is not fully happy with FL humid conditions.
There are two Mulberry varieties that can be maintained as bushes: Issai and Dwarf Everbearing. However, even vigorous Mulberry trees respond well to pruning and can be kept compact for easy harvesting. Just make sure to prune before the flowering season starts; here in S Florida Mulberries start flowering in March, and fruit start ripening during April-May.

Check out our Mulberry trees.