Q: I would like to buy some trees and vines for my garden but I
am not sure if it is a good time for planting. It's hot now in Florida. Should
I wait till it cools off? If I plant now, can I rely on sprinklers?
A: Summer is always a good time for establishing plants because
this is the time of the most vigorous growth. For the first 2-4 weeks, plants
should be watered daily with a garden hose as you can not rely on sprinkler
system yet. Mulch around plants generously - this will help:
- Maintain moisture
- Maintain soil temperature - protect roots from heat
- Reduce weeds and grasses
- Provide nutrients to the soil, and
- Reduce wind erosion from uncovered soils
Q: I live in Deltona, Florida and hoping to find spreading ginger
with interesting foliage to grow in a partially shaded area in my garden
under a group of trees. Any suggestions?
A: Variegated ginger Alpinia zerumbet variegata is a clumping ginger valued for its
beautiful variegated foliage. The dark, green leaves have striking yellow stripes.
This ginger is sought-after, not only for the stunning foliage but also for its
beautiful flowers. The flowers are different from other members of the
ginger family and appear in drooping racemes from the ends of leafy stems rather
than directly from the rhizomes. This ginger is also commonly known as Shell
Ginger because the flowers resemble seashells! They are pink-tinged, fragrant
and appear in summer.
This evergreen perennial grows in upright clumps 3-5 feet tall. You may
prune the plant to control size.
It does not tolerate drought or a hard freeze but can take a few hours
or light frost (goes dormant in such case). In colder areas, rhizomes should
be dug up and stored in a cool room during winter.
This ginger will love a shaded corner in your garden. Plant it in
organically rich, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Keep the soil moist
but not soggy, and spread a thick layer of organic mulch around the plant
for moisture retention. There are no serious insect or disease problems to
worry about!
This ginger can be also be grown as a house plant as long as it has
bright light and humid conditions. It will grow to around 3-4 feet tall as a
houseplant.
Shipping plants during hot weather. Ship plants now or wait until it gets cooler
Q: Can you ship my plants now or should I wait until it gets
cooler? Daytime temperatures here are around 90F.
A: Top Tropicals ships year around. In transit, packages are
usually kept in a temperature controlled environment. In hot summer time, it is
still safe to order plants in mail, as long as the box is not left at your
doorstep in full sun.
Keep your eye at the weather forecast and if temperatures get to
extremes (over 95F daytime), we strongly advise that you be present to accept
delivery. As your package may be left on your doorstep by the carrier, this
prolonged exposure to heat may be harmful to the health of your plants.
If no one is available to accept delivery, we suggest that you contact
our customer service to postpone shipment until a later date or coordinate an
alternate delivery address, or simply use your work address for delivery - so
you can get your plants without delay. You may also use the delivery address
at FedEx pickup locations to avoid delays!
We monitor the weather at destination before shipping. When daytime
temperatures in your area are over 90F, your shipment may be delayed to ensure
plants have a safe trip and do not overheat in the delivery truck. See information on shipping process and terms.
Please contact us for more info on holding orders during hot weather.
Q: I live in New Cumberland, West Virginia. I love the smell of
Night-Blooming jasmine. Is it possible to grow it in the northern panhandle of
West Virginia? Do I have to plant it every year or do I keep it in a pot and
take it inside during the winter months?
A: Technically, Night Blooming Jasmine is not a true jasmine
(those plants belong to Oleaceae, or Olive family). Night Blooming Jasmine
belongs to the Solanaceae family, also known as the Nightshade or "Potato" family
of plants. Yes, this sweet fragrant flower called Jasmine for its perfume is
related to potatoes and tomatoes!
Night Blooming Jasmine - Cestrum nocturnum - is loved by many gardeners for its beautiful
fragrance at night. It is one of the most fragrant tropical evergreen shrubs
available. Cascading clusters of tiny, tubular pale yellow to white flowers open at
night and release a heavenly fragrance throughout the garden, especially on
warm summer evenings. The fragrance is much lighter during the day.
Night Blooming Jasmine is grown year-round in zones 9-11. It is at its
happiest in a sunny to a partially sunny spot in your garden in well-drained soil
but can be grown in cooler climates as a container or greenhouse plant.
You would absolutely be able to enjoy this plant during the warm months
in West Virginia, but it will most certainly not survive outside during the
winter. You will have to bring it inside. Take it outside again only once you
are confident there is no more possibility of frost. When grown indoors, be
sure to give it the sunniest, South facing window in your home. When grown in
a container, you will need to re-pot it every two to three years so it
doesn't become root-bound.
For those who are lucky to live in frost-free areas, in ideal growing
conditions outside, it can easily reach 8 feet with a spread of 5 feet. It has
a lovely informal look that can soften a more manicured garden. Add organic
matter to the planting hole when you plant to enrich the soil around the root
ball. Water well in the summer, but allow them to dry out a bit between
watering in the winter. Plant this Jasmine near pools, porches, doors, windows,
and walkways where its lovely fragrance can be enjoyed. The shrub is also an
excellent plant for privacy hedges and screens. When grown as a hedge, plant 3
feet apart.
Trim lightly after a bloom cycle to shape and then do a hard pruning in
fall or spring to control the size of this plant. Fertilize 3 times a year -
in spring, summer, and autumn - with a good quality granular fertilizer.
Night-blooming jasmine is an excellent mosquito repellent. The powerful
scent of the flowers attracts moths and bats that feed on mosquitoes and
other small insects.
The flowers of the Night Blooming jasmine are widely used in India and
other countries of South Asia for perfumery, medicinal applications and in
religious ceremonies.
Q: Can you tell me how your Guava trees are propagated? Grown
from seed vs. air grafted, etc.? I'm interested especially in the Barbie
variety. In particular, I'd like to know how long it takes them to bear fruit - I
live in Southern California zone 10b, with good sunlight.
A: Guavas can be propagated by seed, air layers, or grafting.
Propagation method depends on the species.
Cattley guavas - Psidium littorale - are usually grown from seeds and start flowering
and producing as early as in 2-3 years from seed. Tropical guavas, Psidium guajava - especially named varieties, are propagated usually by
air layers, and the rarest varieties like Variegated Honey Moon are often grafted, although they will come true
from seed (it's just takes them longer to fruit). Both air-layered and grafted
plants start producing right away, usually on the same year of planting or
next year, depending on growing conditions.
Barbie Pink is a superior variety, very popular among fruit lovers. It
produces large aromatic fruit with a bright pink pulp and very few seeds. This
variety is air-layered; in our nursery, these plants start flowering and
setting fruit in 3 gal containers.
Plant this tree in full sun and provide regular watering, guavas don't
like to dry out. Use fertile soil, with at least 50% of compost, and add some
soil conditioning components for better drainage: bark, sand, perlite, etc.
Mulch well, just make sure to keep mulch 2-3" away from the trunk. Follow our
detailed planting instructions that come with every plant, and you are good
to go!
Q: I am concentrating on adding more fragrance to my garden. I've
had great success growing gardenias and I have many different varieties, but
their flowers are all white, and I would like to add some colors to my
garden too. Are there any gardenias available in different colors? I live in
Waipio Acres, Hawaii.
A: Meet the very rare and highly fragrant, tropical Gardenia tubifera Kula or Golden gardenia. Kula flowers change color as
they mature, which is a unique feature! Kula flowers start out as cream,
then change to yellow and finally to a beautiful gold. In addition to the
spectacular flowers, this gardenia also has beautiful, leathery, deep green
foliage.
This is a slow-growing and compact plant. Like all the other members in
the Gardenia family, the Golden gardenia will do best in an acidic,
well-drained, and fertile soil. It will appreciate a good deal of direct sunlight but
will be very happy if provided with midday and afternoon shade. As with with
gardenias, the more sunlight the more flowers.
It will eventually grow into a rounded shrub if left unpruned, but also
can be trained into a small tree, maintainable to a height of under 7-8
feet. Blooms will appear from spring onward. Prune after flowering, this will
encourage more flowers in a few months.
Gardeners living in colder areas, do not fret. Gardenias make perfect
container plants and can be grown indoors in colder climates. Just be sure to
provide high light when bringing them indoors.
The fragrance and changing colors of a Gardenia Kula is unforgettable.
They are most fragrant near sunset and during early evening hours. Plant them
near walks and patios where their lovely fragrance can be enjoyed. This
rare tropical Gardenia is sure to be a conversation piece in any garden.
Great collector's plant!
Q: I have a young jackfruit tree, and I wanted to know, is a 25
pot enough for an adult tree?
A: 25 to 50 gal should be eventually a good size pot for growing
a Jackfruit tree. Keep in mind the following:
Start with a smaller container, only slightly bigger than the root
system. Do not plant directly into a large container, this may create a risk
for root rot.
Step up the tree in a bigger container every year as it grows
bigger. With every repotting, trim both branches and roots to compact the plant and
to encourage branching out.
Jackfruit trees should be kept pruned under 6-7 ft in pots and 10-12
ft in the ground. This makes healthy fruit production more efficient and
keeps fruit at the base of the tree.
Q: I live in Chickasaw, Alabama. I am a beginner bonsai grower. I
received a lovely little Horned Holly as a birthday present and I want to
know if it is a suitable plant to bonsai?
A: The Ilex cornuta - Horned Holly, or Chinese Holly, is very popular as
a bonsai species. It is loved for its very beautiful and distinctive
rectangular foliage and for its small, white flowers which give way to large, red
berries. The berries are larger than those of the European Holly. The leaves are
rectangular and unusually shaped with three large spines at the apex. This
bonsai will take both sun and shade, but semi-shade is preferred in midsummer.
If indoors, give it plenty of bright light. When kept outdoors, your Horned
Holly bonsai will need some frost protection and should be sheltered from
strong or cold winds.
It will need a fair amount of water and should not be allowed to completely
dry out. Watering during the heat of summer is especially important, as well
as in spring right before the fruit production, and should be reduced during
winter. This species will also appreciate regular misting of the foliage.
Repot this bonsai every 1 to 2 years in early spring, using bonsai soil - TopTropicals
Adenium Soilless Mix. Fertilize the holly every two weeks throughout the
growing season using either a balanced fertilizer diluted to half strength.
We recommend for this purpose Tropical Greenhouse Plus - Plant Booster. Pruning should be done in
early spring.
Horned Holly is also very popular as a hedge plant as it grows dense
and compact. It will grow to between 3 and 5 feet tall and will spread to an
equal distance, giving it a round, shrubby form. It is cold hardy! Zones 6
through 9. It will tolerate a wide variety of soils as long as it is
well-drained. It likes sun or part shade. It is heat and drought tolerant once
established, and are often used in xeriscaping. Its branches produce dark olive-green
foliage that is often cut for indoor decorations during the holidays.
Q: The Chempedak I bought from you almost 3 years ago which I had
repotted twice has a thick taproot growing in the ground, which I noticed
this past winter. I was going to repot into the largest size pot almost half of
a 55-g rain barrel. Can I try to dig/save as much of the taproot before
repotting, will it die if I had to shorten/cut what I can't dig out completely? I
hate to put it in the ground for fear it may not make it when we have severe
cold/long hours of frost. I live in west Cocoa, Central Florida, 9b.
A: Yes, you can repot the tree and keep it in reasonable size
container after trimming the roots. Most of the tropical trees (fruit trees not
an exception) can be grown in containers even if in Nature they grow into
vigorous large trees. The key is, trim the roots every time you transplant it.
The process is similar to trimming branches and both don't hurt the plant as
long as done right and moderately. You should trim the overgrown and spreading
limbs at the same time. You may trim as much as 10% off root system at the
time of repotting. This will cause the root system to branch out and become
fuller, similar to branches, which is a good thing.
If a tree grows a taproot like in your case, it is not necessary to try
"saving" and digging out the whole root that may go down for a few feet. You may
cut it off without major damage to the tree since the rest of its root
system will continue to support the plant metabolism. Just keep in mind that the
plant will be stressed for a while - so put it in bright shade and water
regularly until signs of stress go away (wilted or dropping leaves may occur).
This particular type of tree - Artocarpus - is pretty strong and vigorous so the stress should be
minimal.
Q: Q: How fragrant is the Tree Jasmine (Millingtonia) and how
tall does it grow?
A:Millingtonia hortensis, or Tree Jasmine, is such a beautiful flowering
tree with long, white, slender and trumpet-shaped flowers with a perfume that
wafts through the air. These trees are very sought after because they are so
highly fragrant. They are fast-growing trees that in Nature (Burma) can
easily reach a height of 40-50 feet, however here in SW Florida we have them
growing about 20-25 ft. The tree flowers
at night and then shed the flowers in the morning. The flowers are waxy and
stay fresh for a long time. In India the flowers are picked up and braided
for rituals. It flowers from October until the end of December. The tree is
also known as the Cork Tree, as an inferior cork is processed from the corky
bark. It is a fast growing, tall, straight tree with few branches and its
popularity lies in its ornamental value and not in its shade-giving properties.
Yet, once you've witnessed the profusion of white flowers, you will understand
why. It is a sight to behold! Cork tree is very easy and can grow in a
variety of soils. It requires full sunlight.
