Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Sonya, the Co-Author

In our previous newsletter, you met our editor/photographer tandem - Tilda & Marina. Today we introduce our columnist assistant - Sonya. For the past decade, this True Norwegian Forest Cat has been a great helper and inspirational co-author for Alexandra, TopTropicals website writer and social media blogger.

Alex has been with TopTropicals since Day One (2003). In 2011, she got Sonya, a 3-month old kitten that someone kicked out: at that young age she already had quite a temper of a real Wild Cat. No one wanted to adopt her and Sonya was doomed to suffer a street life... So Alex invited her in the house... and it took her many months to teach Sonya some good manners! And Sonya turned into a beautiful and affectionate Purrrson as well as became the Boss in the house (what a surprise, duh) and Alexandra's dearest life companion. Sonya also discovered her talent in writing plant stories for TopTropicals, sitting on Alex's shoulder and whispering into her ear while she is typing Sonya's horticultural tips. And when Alex stares at monitors for more than 5 hours, Sonya lays on her keyboard saying: "Now get up and get some stretch lady! Let's go re-pot some plants for a change!"

We will be following up on Sonya's creative work, and you will hear from her again soon...

Check out Video: Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.

The Rolls Royce of House Plants: Medinilla

...This is an extremely showy tropical plant with bunches of bright pink blooms that will flower for months on end. What a stunning and colorful plant! Showy should be its middle name. It is one of those plants that truly evokes feelings of elegance and drama...
Medinilla apoensis - Philippine Pink is particularly rare and hard to find in the trade. The flowers on this particular Medinilla is not hidden underneath so it is not necessary to grow it in a hanging basket like so many other species. It is a tall upright grower that will flower throughout the summer. For all you obsessed collectors out there, do not hesitate. This Medinilla is not in many US collections. The plants we have right now are at least 1-1.5 feet tall and are blooming size. Wink wink ;)

Meet People of TopTropicals. Dog of the Day: Tilda, the Assistant Editor

On January 31, 2020 TopTropicals will celebrate its official 17th birthday. While it is recognized as the World's Leading Authority on Tropical Plants, very few people know who actually stands behind the scene of our famous hand-crafted Plant Catalog with nearly 5,000 plants and 50,000 original plant photos...

Today's column is about Assistant Editor of Top Tropicals Plant Encyclopedia - Tilda. Tilda is the right hand (the right paw!) of our around-the-clock photographer, botanist, and the plant ID world known expert - Marina Rybka. Everyone knows that there is no such plant in the world that TopTropicals can not identify... we get plant ID requests from around the globe, and we always have answers for you. Do you know who is responsible for that priceless knowledge? Whose mouse touched every one of those 50,000 images and put proper names to them? Ask Tilda. She witnessed every shot!

Now that we finally decided to reveal the secrets of TopTropicals creation and history, we should continue this blog by introducing to you the rest of TopTropicals mysterious brains... Stay with us and you will find out soon!

Check out Video: Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.

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!

Check out Video: Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.

The most fragrant flowers

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.

See Full list of fragrant plants.

EASY GROW-BOX

How to quickly germinate tropical seeds in winter

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...

CONTINUE READING >>

Plumeria cold protection

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!

Check out Video: Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.

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!"

Check out Video: Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.

Ghost Cold Protection

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! ;)

See more columns on cold protection:
Seven rules of cold protection for tropicals
About Cold Protection
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
Tropical Treasures articles