Q: Hope you can help me with the following question with an upcoming newsletter. Would you
please let us know of the strongest (pleasant) fragrant plants you currently have in stock? Fragrance that fills the space.
A: The most fragrant flower that "fills the air around" in definitely Chanel #5 - Cananga odorata a.k.a. Ylang Ylang. Just one tree when in
bloom can fill the air with fine perfume for yards away.
Another strongly scented perfume tree is Joy Perfume - Magnolia champaca (both orange and white
flowers are sweetly fragrant).
If you are looking for a smaller size plant, then the most fragrant are -
- Jasmine sambac
- Night-fragrant white-flowered Brunfelsias - B.
americana, B. nitida, B. Gigantea, B. lactea and others.
- Night blooming Jasmine - Cestrum nocturnum is another favorite shrub with night-fragrant
flowers, the scent is super strong and super sweet.
-
Artabotrys hexapetalus - Ylang Ylang vine with wonderful lemony fragrance that fills the air.
Meet People of TopTropicals. Duck of the Day: Dobi says Good-Bye!
Our Duck Dobi finally decided to join her whistling duck community and
said good bye to us...
Everyone who visited Top Tropicals Garden Center met Dobi - the all-time
greeter! She has been raised by Kristi from a little fluffy duckling and
ruled TopTropicals Cat Community and Plant Nursery for almost 2 years! Now that
she finally feels strong and confident, she said she feels good about getting
her Duck Freedom. She promised to come back in Spring, like all ducks do -
they come to their Home Pond where they have been raised.
Bon Voyage Dobi, enjoy your duck friends, and we will be waiting for
you!
Q: I have been hunting for a rare and exotic edible to grow on my
property here in South Florida for some time now. I found an interesting
tree called Kwai Muk while browsing your website. I do not have a lot of space
left to plant but this tree seems to be smaller in size and also somewhat cold
and wind tolerant which is a bonus as far as I am concerned. It also sounds
like the fruit is exceptional. I would love to grow one. It is similar to
Jackfruit?
A: ...The piece de resistance of Kwai Muk is the excellent fruit it produces. Some people seem to think
it is some of the weirdest looking fruit out there! This may be true, but
what it lacks in appearance, it certainly makes up for in taste. It is called
sometimes "the ugliest and yet the best tasting fruit". The creamy pulp is
absolutely delicious and mostly eaten fresh. I have heard people say the flavor
reminds them of mango, apricot, jackfruit, fig, quava and strawberry. Sweet
and tangy loveliness with a hint of sherbet. The fruit looks like mini
jackfruit on the inside but is about the size of a fig. The flesh inside also closely
resembles jackfruit....
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Klaksa - the Mini Cat
Klaksa is a miniature 6 lb cat that lives together with Jim and Google. You can see all three of them wishing you Merry Christmas at
the top of this Newsletter.
Klaksa is the tiniest Purrson and yet she is the most energetic one. It is
almost impossible to take a picture of her because she never stops moving for
a second!
Klaksa came in 2016 as a little kitten, but she never grew up since!
She saw Google and Jim and said she could be a good addition to this "Man in Black" team. So she stayed.
Klaksa likes to attach/cling to someone. The boys can't avoid her company even if they wanted too! But who can say no to woman's attention?
Q: I live in the New England area where the winters are very long
and dreary. I plant both a veggie and flower garden during the warmer
seasons and am especially fond of growing chili-peppers. On account of most chili's
longer growing seasons, I need to get already established plants in the
ground as soon as the weather is warm enough. My problem is that despite my best
attempts to germinate and grow seedlings ahead of time - even in my sunniest window - I just can't seem to keep the
soil evenly warm enough to get them to germinate, no matter how warm the room
is kept. And on the occasion they do come up, the seedlings always seem to
remain weak and stunted, likely owing to the especially low humidity of
winter. I also tried using an electric seed-starting heating pad, and the results
were only a little better. Are there any tips you could give me?
A: Yes, I understand your issues and can sympathize! While it
might be surprising to some, even here in sunny S.W. Florida, there are long
stretches of winter weather where the ambient temperatures are simply too cold
for germinating many of the more tropical seeds, such as the notoriously
warm-weather chili-peppers. Also, I am likewise a fan of chilis, and always have
at least a few different kinds growing at any given time. I have two great
suggestions...
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Google the Cat. The Brain.
Google is the second oldest cat of TopTropicals, after Jim. Google lives in the same house with Jim where they both help us to
develop new features for our website.
Google is the most intelligent cat on Planet Earth. Originally we got
him from an animal shelter after his first adoption failed: someone returned
him back to the shelter... It was hard to believe because he was so cute...
but soon enough, we realized why someone was spooked away... Google is TOO
smart! When he looks at you and rolls his eyes, you instantly have a feeling that
he can literally see through you, and read your mind...
It didn't scare us, of course. On opposite, Google became very helpful with
writing database codes, engineering difficult construction tasks, and other
comprehensive projects that require a brilliant intellect. Since 2007, Google
has been a personal assistant of one of the TopTropicals owners, and their
minds are worth each other. Google never leaves his desk until he makes sure
every complicated task is completed.
Google loves little children (for conversations), shrimp (for snacks)
and hi-tech projects (for fun).
Q: We have a purple-flowering plumeria which resides on our sunny
deck during the warm months and then Winter vacations on our back porch
where we can close the plastic film windows and where it stays above 50 degrees
(overnite) until it can get moved outside again. We live in zone 8+ in South
Carolina and I would love to plant it outside. Do you think if we
ghost-covered it when alerted that we would have an overnite freeze, that it would
survive being planted in the ground and recover to flower when warm? I don't
believe the soil in our yard has ever frozen below the top 1/2 inch or so, and
never for more than a few hours at a time. What do you think?
A:Plumerias are tropical plants, which means, they need frost-free
environment. Even if the ground is frozen only on "the top ½" or so" - this may be
enough to kill the plant. From our experience, plumerias can withstand a few
hours of windchill frost (not frozen soil), but even if they survive, they
may get some branches damage, and recovery may take so long that the plant may
not even bloom the next year.
So I wouldn't take that risk even with a ghost-cover cold protection.
We have customers who grow tropical plants in the ground in colder areas,
but they have greenhouse protection: this means, the soil is warm and the air
temperature is maintained above 45-50F. For example, this Greenhouse in Virginia.
We recommend to continue growing your rare plumeria in container and
move it inside when temperatures drop below 50F (recommended) and for sure when
they drop below freezing. Plumeria can take a cold night (a few hours of
upper 30's) as long as it is followed by a nice warm sunny afternoon with at
least upper 50s. Otherwise, keep it indoors. The good news is, since plumerias
are deciduous and have no leaves in winter, low light level won't affect the
plant.
Just make sure to minimize watering and keep the plant on a dry side
until it starts growing new leaves in Spring. You may continue fertilizing once
a week with half-doze of Sunshine boosters - Sunshine TotalFeed. This will maintain the plant healthy and prepare
for the blooming season in Spring.
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Jim the Founder
Jim is the oldest cat of Top Tropicals. In fact, he is one of the
Founders. In 2004 a tiny kitten showed up at first TopTropicals Nursery - a small
quarter acre in Ft Lauderdale... Jim looked very important and confident and
told us that he wants to stay with us because he sees a great future for
TopTropicals... and he was right. Since then, Jim traveled with us through all
nursery locations we ever had!
Jim used to lay on top of a warm monitor and help with our first
website designs... if you look at his favorite monitor in the picture, you now can
imagine how old this cat is!
In spite of his age, Jim is very active and likes to eat a lot. He
believes that a good meal is key to a healthy living, and prefers variety. He
eats everything: meat, fish, soup, pasta, pizza, veggies, cucumbers, salad...
eats well and stays healthy!
Jim happily participates in all costume parties. Yes, it is him in a
Santa costume greeting you at the top of this newsletter!
Don't miss out: Loquat Big Jim - we only have 4 plants, they all named after
Jim!
Q: I simply adore Jade vines. I think they are the Queens of all
the vines! I have been very been successful growing the green Strongylodon macrobotrys and purple Jade Mucuna pruriens vines here in Clewiston Florida but I am struggling to
make the Red Jade vine (Mucuna benettii) thrive. It keeps dying on me during
cold snaps. Any suggestions?
A: ...Here is our solution for you. Consider growing a Dwarf Red
Jade Vine or Camptosema grandiflora. It is closely related to the regular and ultra
tropical Red Jade Vine Mucuna benettii but much tougher and hardier. It is
considered to be one of the more cold hardy of the Jade Vines...
This gorgeous, rare and unusual vine is a sheer showstopper. It is easy
to grow and it will reward you with long fiery chains of dangling orange-red
flowers that bloom from late fall to early spring. Even though it is listed
as a dwarf do not be fooled. This vine will get quite large and will need a
strong support over time. The flowers are long and heavy and will show best
when planted on an arbor or pergola where they are able to hang down and wow
you and your visitors. It puts on a wonderful display. Butterflies, bees and
hummingbirds will all thank you for growing this stunner!...
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Muggle the Snuggle
The sweet talking bathroom cat
Muggle* (or some call him Mawgli) is the little brother to Bagheera. We call him the sweet talker because he really does talk to
you. As soon as he sees you he wants to have a conversation. He meows at you
and if you meow back he will continue the talk. He is our bathroom cat because
he loves to sit in the bathroom with you and purrrrrr. We think maybe he
sees this time as his alone time with his humans, his one-on-one time when he
doesn't have to share the attention with the other PeopleCats!
* His name is actually Muggle, Jamie named him after Harry Potter which
she loves.
