PeopleCats of TopTropicals: Shipping Department cat - Lady Bug

We have been getting many messages from customers saying they really love the postings of our Cats and Dobi Duck... and they want more updates. So we decided to open this new section for the animal fans.

As you well know, TopTropicals is not just a plant Nursery. Like most of the gardeners and all Cool Plant People, we love our pets and we have many of them here, enjoying the Garden. Our cats and the Duck are members of TopTropicals Team. They help customers, participate in packing plants, and of course keep the nursery mice-free. As employees of the marketing department, they get their paychecks, free lunches, and other company benefits like full healthcare coverage and stuff... They are taken care of by TopTropicals Shipping Crew every day: whether its a meal or taking a medicine, it's all scheduled in our daily task list!

This First Issue of PeopleCats Fan Club is dedicated to our Shipping Department cat - Lady Bug. Originally she came to our nursery 3 years ago in a box with her other 3 baby brother-sisters and they just opened their eyes. Someone dropped the box with the litter at our gate... guessing this is the Good Place! When Lady Bug grew up, she became a Shipping Department Supervisor, helping Chief the Cat to manage plant shipments.

Lady Bug went missing a few days ago and all our team is crying for her. We are praying she is OK. We miss you, Lady Bug! Please come back and bug us again!

As a friendly reminder to our local walk-in customers: you are welcome to visit TopTropicals ZOO, just please do not feed or pick up the animals! Some of them are of old age, have special needs or special diet. All our pets are friendly, however, we ask you to please do NOT pet them. They work hard all day long and may have their own rules and emotions.

Shaping a tree and regrowing branches

Q: I have been so worried about the beautiful ligustrum on my property since my husband decided to "prune" it 2 days ago. He removed about 20 branches from the tree and completely altered the look of the canopy which was so full and lovely 😭. Please advise me if there is anything I can do to help this tree. Will any of the branches grow back? Will the canopy return? It looks practically bare to me now.... so heartbroken. Any advice and reassuring would be greatly appreciated.

A: The good news is, the tree will regrow new leaves and will branch out. The question is, how soon. Ligustrum is pretty slow-growing species and it may take a while until it gets to the shape that is close to the original.
On the other hand, pruning is beneficial almost for every plant, it promotes new growth and bushy shape. So do not panic, your beautiful tree has good chances to become even prettier.
To speed up the process of re-leafing and promote healthy new growth, we recommend the following:

1) Provide extra watering, assuming you have a sprinkler system that covers the yard. Water additionally 1-2 times a week using a garden house, for 1-2 minutes, saturating the soil around the tree and up to a drip line.

2) Apply the following fertilizers:
Tropical Greenhouse Plus - Foliage Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster

3) In addition to fertilizers, we recommend these 2 supplements that will enhance effect of fertilizers and make re-grow process even faster:
SUNSHINE™ SuperFood
SUNSHINE™ HumiHum - a natural humate vitamin for plant

4) Mulch well around the tree, keeping it 2-3" away from the trunk

This should help to get your tree back in shape!

What pot is good for Medinilla?

Q: I just acquired a Medinilla plant. I have a cylindrical tall clay pot that I would like to repot this beauty into. Would like to know if a deep pot is good for this type of tropical plants even if the medium is lightweight with bark and perlite allowing adequate drainage. Would appreciate your advice.

A: Medinillas are very close to epiphytes, meaning they like high air humidity and very good soil drainage characteristics. Clay pots usually provide good air circulation, as long as they are not glazed. If you add a lot of soil conditioner into your mix, like orchid mix and perlite, the tall pot will provide a good drainage. Tall pot is also great for displaying the beautiful pendulous blooms!

Plastic pots work well too, as long as you provide a well-drained soil for the plant. If a nursery plastic pot is not pretty enough, you may place it in a fancy planter; however, make sure never let the pot sit in water, Medinillas do not like wet feet.

How to make leaves green?

Q: I purchased several plants from you and they all arrived in great shape. The Wrightia is very large and vigorous but some leaves are yellowish. How can I improve that look? Any special fertilizer?

A: Wrightias are very showy and beautiful plants, although sometimes they are susceptible to leaf chlorosis which in other words is iron deficiency, especially during wet rainy weather. It is not harmful to the plant and can be corrected with microelement applications. Use Microelements once a week to correct the iron deficiency that usually goes away within a month. Then maintain plants health with monthly applications. It is beneficial to use microelements in combination with regular applications of health boosting fertilizer.

Recommended boosters and microelement supplements:

Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
SUNSHINE SuperFood - plant booster
SUNSHINE-Greenleaf

See SUNSHINE Boosters page for the complete list of plant boosters.

How to get Jasmines to flower

Q: On the picture, these are a few of the jasmine plants that I have from Top Tropicals. I have bought so many plants from you over the years, not just jasmine. I have several varieties of jasmine. They were all doing very well. However this year I didn't get a single flower. There are a lot of buds... But before the buds open they become brown and withered. I bought fertilizer from you. Fertilized the plants once a month like I always do. I water the plants once a week. I repotted the plants hoping that would take care of this problem. Some of the jasmine plants I pruned... the plants came back vigorous growth with a lot of buds... BUT it is the same problem! Please help.

A: One of the possible reasons why they have flower issues is - maybe they don't have enough sunlight. They need to be in full sun all day long for profuse blooming and proper flower forming. However since the buds are forming, there may be just enough light. In this case, dropping buds may be a sign of overwatering.

Important steps - how to make Jasmine Sambac flower:

1. Soil. Use only well-drained soil

2. Water. Keep plants on a dry side and never over water. If the top of the soil is still moist, do not water.

3. Sun. Keep in full sun all day long. The more sun, the more flowers.

4. Bloom booster. Use Flower booster fertilizers:
Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Fragrant Plant Special booster, this 90-day Smart-Release container plant food:
Plumeria Top Dress - Smart-Release Booster
Do not use fertilizers with high Nitrogen (1st number in NPK formula) - those will promote more leaves instead of flowers.

5. Micro-elements. Use Apply micro-elements, they will help the plant to develop healthy and long-lasting flowers:
SUNSHINE SuperFood - plant booster

Here is more information on growing Jasmine

How to grow Angel Trumpet in Florida

Q: I purchased an Angel trumpet in March, 2018. It wasn't looking very good so I asked what to do about it. Your reply was to fertilize and keep it watered. I did & it started to improve. I went on vacation & it reverted, dropping leaves... How do I keep it happy?

A: With growing Angel Trumpets in Florida, there are a few things that may go wrong, although in general Brugmansia is a vigorous rapid grower. Once the plant is established, it is very easy to grow. Looks like your plant had some troubles at the start and is still struggling. Dropping leaves could be a sign of a root problem.

These are the main important points for Brugmansia growing:

1. Must be planted in a high spot, using very well-drained soil. Brugmansias do not like soggy conditions (happens with Florida summer). They like water, but only as long as drainage is good.
2. Full sun is a must for a healthy plant.
3. Brugmansias are heavy feeders. Fertilize at least once a month once the plant is established:

The bottom line is, do not overwater but don't let it dry out. It's rainy season now, maybe too much rain affecting the plant.
Try these Sunshine Boosters, they have amazing results and often help us to bring stressed and weak plants back to life:
SUNSHINE-Power - plant booster
SUNSHINE-E - plant booster

LadyBugs guarding your plants!

Q: I have a bunch of Ladybugs in my garden, I wonder if they eating my plants? Do I need to get rid of them?

A: Ladybug (Harmonia axyridis) is, in fact, one of the best insects you can find in your garden, it is a natural predator that takes care of many bad bugs, including aphids. Keep them happy and bring them to your garden. Ladybugs actually are cultivated as natural pest control, and you can even buy them for your yard, instead of chemicals!

Ladybug larvae eating aphids:

The wonderful insects that dine only on landscape pests and don't harm good bugs or plants are called 'beneficials', and ladybugs definitely fall into this category, but not the way many people think. It's the ladybug's larvae that are voracious predators of soft-bodied problem insects, especially aphids.

Photo below:

One of our PeopleCats, "Innocent" Ladybug (a.k.a. Bug) is wondering who else she can bug next...

How to establish a Mango Tree

Q: I received my mango tree from you on Monday and it looked beautiful. I followed the instructions and kept it out of direct sun. I watered it a little each day when the potting mix was dry to the touch. But the leaves are turning yellow and brown then falling off. Should I have removed the tree from the soil it was packed in?

A: Leaf drop and dry/yellow leaves are normal symptoms of shipping stress. Your mango tree looks healthy overall. Considering you have high humidity now in Louisiana, the plant should recover soon under proper care. These are important tips:

- Keep the plant in bright shade, away from direct sun - at least for a week, then you may start moving it gradually to semi-shade, then to full sun within a few days.
- Do not over-water. If the top of the soil is still moist, do not water until it dries a little bit. Mango prefers to stay on a dry side. From this point, over-watering is more dangerous than under-watering. You may skip a watering if in doubt.
- If it rains every day, make sure to keep the pot under the roof to protect from excessive water.
- Do not remove original soil and do not disturb roots.
- You used the right container size and looks like you have a quality soil with good drainage. Keep the plant in this container at least for a few months. You may step it up only when you see a lot of active growth of branches and leaves - this means, the root system is developing fast too.
- do not fertilize until you see new growth. Then use Mango Food Smart release.
- to help the plant recover from stress, you may use SUNSHINE-E booster and micro-element foliar spray with SUNSHINE-Superfood.

How to keep iguanas away?

Q: Really enjoy all the plants that I have got from you, but having a hard time keeping iguanas eating everything! We are not on the water, any solution to keep them out?

A: Iguanas may become quite a problem in the garden. Our first suggestion would be - get a Duck as we have (Duck Dobi), she is so dominant and keeps any wild animals away from the property, including gators... and cats! They are scared of her! Dobi thinks she owns the place.

Here are a few other ways to control iguana problem in your backyard:

1. Rid your lawn of dropped fruits. Iguanas love fruit. And they love low-hanging fruit or fruit that's easy to get to. If you have fruit trees, take the time to pick up your yard and dispose of any dropped fruit.
2. Keep a lid on a garbage can. Put your garbage cans in a place they can't get to, or put a cinder block on your can lid.
3. Do not leave pet food out. If you're putting a bowl of dog food or a plate of cat food out for your pets, you're inviting iguanas into your yard.
4. Fill iguana holes. Iguanas like to dig. Wherever you see a hole, fill it. Stuff rocks into the hole first, then fill it with dirt and top it with sod. The iguana may return to dig again, but he won't dig through large rocks.
5 Do NOT feed the iguanas. Don't be friendly with them, so they won't come back.
6. Wire netting around plants. You can use wire netting or screens to prevent iguanas from entering plants and shrubs.
7. Spray them with a hose. When you see an iguana in the yard, spray them with the hose. They also hate loud noises. Constant harassment can keep them from returning.
8. Keep your yard clean. Excessive overgrowth or yard storage are great places for iguanas to hide.
9. Do not leave food out, unattended. Iguanas are mainly herbivores but that doesn't mean they won't smell something good and want to eat it. They will TRY anything.

Hopefully these tips help keep your iguana problems to a minimum.

When is the time to repot?

Q: According to your instructions, I understand that plants need to be placed in bigger pots. But my question is, say I plant each plant in 18in x 18 in x 18 inch square pots, how many weeks, months or years can the soil be good for these plants? When will it be time to change soil? Any specific soil recommendations?

A: Repotting is required usually once a year. It depends on the plant and growth rate of course. The best way to check if a plant needs stepping up is to check its root system. Carefully turn the pot upside down and pull the pot off the roots (make sure to support the plant from the bottom). If a root system is very dense, it is time to repot. It is an easy check with smaller plants; if a plant is large and hard to turn "upside-down", check drainage holes: if roots start growing through the holes, it is definitely time to step up. Make sure to use pot size only a few inches bigger in diameter than the existing one: just enough for the root system plus 2-3 inches extra space; do not use oversized pots to avoid root rot. Use only new quality potting soil and make sure it has perfect drainage characteristics. We recommend Professional Soilless Mix that contains soil conditioners such as aged pine bark and perlite, and contains a large percentage of coconut fiber that plants love the best. Coconut fiber is a perfect growing mix and considered a hydroponics media, you will never have problems with root rot.