...I wonder how many knowledgeable people here have even heard of the
national fruit of Brazil? Ever heard of the chupa-chupa tree? Almost no-one in this country has, unless they are
either Brazilian by birth, or perhaps visit there regularly, exploring the
abundant fresh-fruit markets. It is a magnificent fruit tree, and deserves to be
better known here...
The flesh inside is bright orange, very sweet, and especially juicy!
...Something you might imagine as an unlikely cross of cantaloupe and pineapple,
and that it is especially juicy similar to a good pineapple...
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Field Grown Marco
Marco loves growing plants and be involved in different
projects outside. He is good at finding spots either on top, or inside some inappropriate objects. Yet simple boxes, that most
cats find super comfy, do not interest him. Is has to be a plant container, saucer, or even a charcoal grill full of ash...
He can sit in some weird places for hours like on top of a fence pole, or lay in the middle of a busy walking traffic while
everybody have to step over or walk around him... We have quite a collection of Marco's special places and will be sharing with
you!
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!
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: 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: Hope there is help for my beautiful amazing papaya tree! There
where a loooooooot of fruits on it, but it broke! First of all, it was
leaning and friends tried to straight my beautiful tree. What can I do? Will it
get fruits again?
A: A couple months ago we also had a Papaya tree loaded with
fruit that fell down (see photos). It was heart-breaking. We secured it and it
continued growing for a couple of weeks but unfortunately, at the end the tree
still died, leaving us a million fruit.
The Papaya tree has a very sensitive root system and is hard to
re-establish once the roots are damaged.
However, if it just has a broken top, it has a good chance to grow back
from the side shoots.
Of course, remove all the fruit so they don't take energy from the
recovering tree.
When a tree is loaded with fruit, it is important to provide support for
heavy branches and for the trunk if needed. Always support the fruiting tree to
prevent from possible falling BEFORE it starts leaning down and may become
broken by even a light wind.
In the photo, you can see how we fixed boards around, but it was already
after the tree fell. Unfortunately, it was too late since the roots got
damaged. Always need to stake the tree up before the branches get too heavy!
Q: My wife and I bought a Dona Evangelina from you this year. It thriving and has grown to 6-8
ft. It has become top-heavy and in wind, it falls over. Main stems have split
twice but still continues to grow. I usually prune Dona Luz back to 3-4 ft and am wondering how much you would advise me
to lop off your plant. Any advise will be appreciated.
A: Mussaendas, indeed, have very fragile stems that break often,
especially in Florida wind storms. The good news is, these plants grow
vigorously once established.
You did a good job trying to tie together the split stems and in fact,
cracks do grow back together as long as the dressing is tight. Try to use green
tape or even electric tape to tighten the broken spot.
However, do such repairs only if it is critical for a plant. When possible,
simply cut off the broken branch and give the plant a chance to grow a new
stronger branch. You may trim the bush pretty short. Mussaendas respond well
to pruning which promotes more side growth and makes the plant bushier.
Keep in mind that during cold weather, Mussaenda may drop all leaves and go
into dormancy until spring.
Q: I have ordered plumeria pudica from you in March and it is
thriving really well here in Rancho Cordova, California. The current
temperatures are ranging from 68 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. My USDA zone is 9b. Does this
plumeria pudica survive outside with temperatures dropping in coming winter
in CA?
A: From our experience, Plumeria pudica is pretty cold hardy and takes some cold spells in
spite of being a tropical species.
Our trees (well-established) took a few hours of freeze with no
significant damage.
Potted plants are less hardy than in-ground plants. However, their
advantage is, they are easy to move indoors or inside warmer place like garage,
etc. If the temperature stays borderline around 32F for a few hours, the plant
should be safe as long as warm day temperatures follow a cold night. For
longer periods of cold, move the plant inside.
Make sure do not overwater and keep Plumeria on a dry side during
winter, since cold and wet is a bad combination and may cause root problems.
Above is the picture of Plumeria pudica tree growing in Cape Coral, FL
where low temperatures in winter sometimes go down to upper 20's for a few
hours.
To improve cold hardiness of Plumerias and other tropical plants, use SUNSHINE-Epi-T for plant thermal protection and immune system boost.
Make sure to fertilize plants on regular basis to keep them strong and
vigorous. The stronger and bigger the plant, the hardier it is!
Q: I am absolutely thrilled to see you have this vine. I've tried
for years to get this plant! It is so, so rare. It just seemed impossible to
find in this country. How do I make it thrive? I am ordering two.
A: We are happy to confirm that indeed we do have this rare vine!
Bauhinia aureifolia - Gold Leaf Orchid Vine - was discovered in Thailand in
1983. It is endemic to Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala in Southern Thailand.
Danish botanist Kai Larsen named this plant and hailed it as one of the rarest
plant species of the world when it was discovered in the eighties.
The Thai people call this vine Bai Mai Si Thong. It is a beautiful
climber with large, bi-loped leaves (7 inches or more!) and good branching.
Young leaves are a stunning burnt orange to terracotta color for about
a week and as they reach full size, they turn green over a couple of days.
This is a very rare color for Bauhinia. It produces leaves all the time and
this means this vine is always full of beautiful color. With its golden leaves,
it sure is reminiscent of Autumn.
This vine blooms from May to November. It bears bunches of small
flowers that are delicately fragrant in the evenings. The cultivated plants range
flower color from pure white to purple and pink, while the wild ones have
often white petals with pinkish patches.
Bauhinia aureifolia needs well-drained soil, full light and good humidity
to thrive. It will tolerate a light freeze once established and it is very
important to protect young plants.
Gold Leaf Orchid Vine also makes a wonderful container plant with staking
or support. It is a must for every rare plant collection!
