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!
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.
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...
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!
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Kevin Coconuts, brother of James Coconuts
Many of you know well James Coconuts who has been in charge of our Customer Service. Only
recently James discovered a twin brother! Kevin Coconuts lives with Sue and Mark
(our horticulturist) and helps Mark to grow all his exclusive rare plants.
Here is Kevin's story told by Sue...
"...One fall day about a year ago we had a visit from a gangly little stray who seemed drawn to our home. We originally thought he was the kitty from across the street, as his markings are almost identical. We repeatedly shooed him off but the next day, there he was again. His unassuming, humble personality drew us in. Upon closer observation we could see he was a male, while the one across the street is female, so we realized he did not belong over there. He seemed to have nowhere else to go...
With his silly playful attitude, Kevin wormed his way into our hearts
and we decided to accept him as one of ours. Upon entering our house for the
first time, he seemed to know his way around, and within a couple hours he was
fast asleep on the couch. Our two other cats (Amun & Midnight) did not seem
perturbed, which is very unusual for CATS, as anyone with cats knows! We have
enjoyed Kevin's warm and comical demeanor and could not imagine life without him. He is a bright light that lifts the hearts of all who meet him!"
Q: Has anyone ever tried using heat packs under frost blankets to
protect tropical plants from frost?
A: The reality is, the heat packs used for shipping do not have enough heat capacity to create
efficient warming effect. From our own experience, the best way is to use
small 25W incandescent bulbs which produce lots of heat (considering observing
all safety precautions and fire safety). Some gardeners use Christmas lights.
See picture of our plants in the ground during a cold night. We called them
Ghost Cold Protection! ;)
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Anna Banana's Kiki and Bandit
Everyone knows and loves our Anna Banana - the Heart of Top Tropicals
Customer Service. Today she found herself another exciting project... to build
a Cat Play Room! She sacrificed her whole living room and the whole paycheck
for that.
The girl kitty with a black face is Kiki Tails. She is a bobtail.
Bandit is a black and white boy with a white tip on a black tail. Anna Banana got
them when they were just 7 weeks old. Kiki and Bandit were born on August 26,
2019, in Buckingham, just down the street from Top Tropicals Nursery!
Call Anna Banana's direct line
239-771-8081 to say hi to Kiki and Bandit! We will follow up on these babies and soon
will update you with their new stories. Stay with us!
Now, here is Anna Banana's million-dollar question to her favorite
customers: how do Cats and Plants go together in your garden or indoor plant
collection? Tell us how your cats help you to grow plants, with pictures! The
Winner will receive a FREE plant of $50 value! Participating stories and
photos will be featured on Top
Tropicals Facebook page.
Please use our contact form to submit your stories with pictures, with a subject "Cats
in the Garden Contest"
Sunshine Boosters: a breakthrough in Winter fertilizing
In the photo: plants are tough survivors. Life can't be stopped even
by a brick road!
Q: Just wanted to know best time of day to apply super boost as
spray and watering? Only listed to make sure night temp doesn't drop below
65F...
A: As a rule of thumb, plant's needs in fertilizers are very low
in the cold season because they consume less nutrients during dormancy. For
tropical plants, when minimum temperatures drop below 65F - we stop
applications of dry (granulated) fertilizers until spring, to avoid root burn.
Liquid Sunshine Boosters are exceptions from this rule to a certain extent,
for 2 reasons:
- they are amino-acid based which means, salts do not build up in the soil,
and thus will not burn the roots even with slower plant metabolism.
- concentrations/formulas are mild and designed for as frequent as daily
watering
1) When a plant goes into full dormancy (drops leaves and does not show
any new growth), you may stop fertilizing with any Macro NPK products (both dry and liquid)
2) If a plant is evergreen and continues growing during the cooler
period, and especially if it is a winter bloomer, mild liquid fertilizers can be
applied, depending on the stage of plant development. Robusta and TotalFeed are used for vegetative growth and pre-flower. Megaflor and C-Cibus are used for winter flowering/ fruiting plants during the bloom
stage.
3) Micro-elements can be used all year round for all plants that are not
dormant (do not drop leaves)
4) Always use Sunshine-Epi as a foliar spray to activate immune system and unlock
protective mechanisms, BEFORE applying other boosters. It is especially
important during Fall-Winter for improving cold tolerance and disease resistance.
5) Always apply foliar spray and/or drench the soil with solutions in
morning hours so the plant has time to process the nutrients during daylight
when metabolism is the most active.
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.
