Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Itembi - the Brave African Cat
by Onika Amell
"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with
strange cats".
Colonial American Proverb
This is a story of a Cat traveling across the World...
...I found Itembi, a tiny Calico kitten, in 2015 while I was hiking in the
Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve while visiting Cape Town in my mother
country South Africa. The little kitty appeared out of nowhere, sitting in the
middle of the dusty path I was walking. It took me by surprise to see a kitty
there, as I was in the middle of the boonies, with no sign of life for many
miles around. She was skin and bones. My heart broke for the kitty. She was
sad-eyed and so incredibly frail. I went down on my hands and knees and extended
my hand. To my surprise she came over to me immediately and nestled her head
into my palm, purring and purring. It was love at first sight. There was
nothing else to do but to scoop her up and carry her back to my jeep to take her
home with me...
Q: We have an early Spring here in Florida. All plants in my
garden flushing out new leaves and buds opening. Can I start fertilizing? I have
Mango, Avocado, Peach trees, many medicinal herbs and flowering shrubs: Angel
trumpets, plumerias, bromeliads. I prefer mild organic fertilizers; can you
suggest something that is safe for edibles and butterflies?
Q: As a rule of thumb, tropical gardeners start regular
fertilizing when the minimum temperatures (at night) go above 65F. Keep in mind that
Sunshine Boosters fertilizers can be applied year around because they
have mild formulas and used with every watering; during cooler period, you water
less frequently, so feeding is reduced accordingly. Another advantage of
Sunshine Boosters - they are natural (derived from organic amino acids which is
the basics of Life). They are safe for edibles as well as pollinating
insects.
Here is the feeding plan for your plants: 1. The most universal solution for all plants (both potted and
in-ground): get a complete set of Sunshine Boosters Pro system: Advantage-Pro for vegetative growth, BloomBoom Pro for flowering stage, and Ca-Support-Pro + Constanta-Pro as necessary daily supplements. You will need all these 4
components for your garden. 2. Start adding these liquid boosters with every watering according
to dozing directions and you will notice amazing growth boost within a
week. 3. Apply Sunshine Epi plant hormone every 2 weeks as a foliar spray to boost
immune system and metabolism of plants and protect them from diseases. Epi
makes plants (especially young plants and those "waking up" from dormancy)
grow twice faster! It also enhances effect of fertilizers by increasing plant
metabolism. 4. After cool winter temperatures, some plants may develop element
deficiencies like chlorosis (yellowing leaves). Additional microelement boost
can be provided with Sunshine Greenleaf (iron supplement) and Sunshine Superfood (micro-elements). 5. For additional boosting of flowering and setting fruit, use the
following individual boosters:
Sunshine Robusta - for foliage plants and when you need rapid vegetative
growth
Sunshine TotalFeed - for Plumerias and other fragrant plants
Sunshine Megaflor - for Brugmansias and other flowering heavy feeders
Sunshine C-Cibus - for improving fruit production and quality
Sunshine Honey - for sweeter fruit (must be applied 4-5 times a year) 6. For young/small plants (seedlings, rooted cuttings) as well as
tender tropicals like bromeliads, and orchids - Sunshine Bombino is a perfect choice due to its mild formula. 7. To save money, order complete sets rather than individual
boosters; you will be able to safe up to 40%! Sunshine Complete Nutrition System
Kits: Combo
Kit, and Pro Kit.
If you are a fan of organic gardening, do not use dry fertilizers. While
water-soluble and granulated (smart-realease) fertilizers are popular choice
in plant nurseries due to their convenience, they are not as safe as liquid
boosters because they create salt build-up in soil and have a high risk of
overdosing/burning plant roots, especially potted plants, plants at breaking
dormancy, at establishing, and at early stages of plant development. Besides,
dry fertilizers may affect the taste of your fruit and herbs. See advantages of liquid boosters over dry fertilizers.
Today we are sharing with you pictures of another Pet of our Pets. Meet
- Raccoon Charity who obviously won a Lucky Welfare Ticket for a free food...
No food stamps required! No work ever done; no paycheck issued. I came; I
saw; I conquered. Bless you, TopTropicals! The cats didn't mind sharing their earned benefits... or, were they afraid to say otherwise?
There is a particular kind of tall narrow tree, commonly seen planted in
yards all over the Florida peninsula... They perhaps resemble Northern
spruces or firs, and basically everyone knows them as "Norfolk Island Pines". For
many years, I also did not question their identity. Not only are they planted
very commonly here in Florida, but are also found for sale, often as potted
"Christmas Trees" in every major nursery, big box store, and often grocery
stores across the country. They are all sold as Norfolk Island Pines. Basically
everyone knows them under that name. However, they are NOT!..
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Mister Booster
Everybody knows our Sunshine-colored Mister B, because... he is the Boss?... Not only that,
but he is also very intelligent Purrrson. After over a decade of running
TopTropicals marketing team, energetic Mr B decided to lead a new project: Sunshine Boosters.
What's in his store for us? He will guide you through his new website and show you around, where you can
find all kinds of good stuff for your plants. For many years, TopTropicals
customers have been enjoying the benefits of many effective plant supplements,
and today Mr B with Sunshine Boosters brings new formulas of scientifically
developed, natural, environmentally safe plant food for all your growing
needs!
- For home gardeners and professionals.
- For small plant collections and large commercial growing facilities.
- For flowers and fruit trees.
- For medicinal plants and vegetables.
- For all to be happy.
Please check out Mr Booster's website
, he worked really hard for the past year on making this project happen, and
helping the Earth to be a better, nicer, and safer place!
And for those of you who are growing your own business, Mr B would like
to help! He is offering
FREE samples for small business starters! He knows it's not easy to find a perfect nutrition system and make your growing a success. He is here to help!
On February 13-14, as a Valentines Day Special, Mr B is exhibiting his
new business Sunshine Boosters in Phoenix, AZ - in the Largest Arizona Expo! Don't miss our presentation seminar Feb 13th, Seminar Room #2, 1:45 PM: Precision growing with
Sunshine Boosters. For those who can not attend the show in purrrrson, the
presentation will be available for downloading from our website.
Looking for an unforgettable winter bloomer? Look no further than
Dombeya Seminole. This is truly one of the showiest landscape plants. This
beautiful shrub or small tree stuns with large clusters of showy, bowl shaped, pink
flowers in late fall, winter and spring. It has dense heart shaped leaves. It
is also called the tropical hydrangea because the flowers are similar to the
hydrangeas we all know and love from up North...
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Vasiliy - the Lover
Wesley (aka Vasiliy) is a real Lover. He is the sweetest Purrrson you
can imagine who just loves everybody... except! Except for those who ring the
door bell. Wes is afraid of the doorbell and hides in a closet for a few
hours every time he hears someone at the door. He runs away from that door
knocking off everything on his way to the closet sanctuary. Just in case! In
today's world of Amazon deliveries, he gets to spend in a closet quite a bit of
time.
Another fear of Wesley is James Coconuts. We don't know why, but for some reason they have an
issue. Coconuts once had bitten Wes for being too annoying with his love, and
since then they stay on different sides of the couch!
Oh well, who said that lovers have no fears?
Wesley with his brother Marco when they were little
Q: I was getting ready to place my order and I saw this plant and
it's beautiful. I would love to have it. What does it need to thrive? As far
as light, temperature, humidity.
A: Jasminum rex indeed is a very unusual, spectacular jasmine.
Unlike other jasmines, this one has almost no fragrance, however the blooms
look so amazing that it became one of our favorite plants. Flowers are 2-3
inches across! It blooms profusely, covered with dozens of flowers for many
days to a few weeks.
Jasmine Rex is not the easiest jasmine to grow, however it is not difficult
either as long as you know its needs. The main critical factor is excellent
drainage. It doesn't like soggy soil or wet feet. At the same time it needs
regular watering. Full sun is also a must for flowering.
Humidity is not a critical factor. Remember it is a tropical plant that
needs frost-free environment. It is more cold sensitive than other jasmines
although it may survive a few hours of light frost.
Once established, it grows vigorously. Make sure to apply fertilizer during
active growth (when temperatures stay above 65F). We recommend Sunshine nutrition system through the whole year.
Additionally, you can apply flowering fertilizer Megaflor during summer.
Make sure to plant it in a sunny spot using very good quality soil, and do
not overwater.
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: James Coconuts progress report
Many people asking about James Coconuts who used to be in charge of our Office and Customer
Service team. What is he doing now? Did he get a promotion?
We addressed this question to Coconuts and here is what he's got to say:
"Hi folks, I am doing just fine. Yes, I got a promotion and currently working in Sunshine Boosters Lab together with Mr
Booster (I just call him Mr B). We are developing a revolutionary Sunshine Plant Nutrition Program. It is important that your plants have
good food! I can tell from my own experience. When these nice people at
TopTropicals picked me up from the street couple years ago, I was nothing but
bone and skin... not even much fur. And look at me now! I am still working on my
work out, and my resolution for 2020 is to become even more fluffy, just
like that chick in the calendar! I think everyone should eat good... and do
good... Like someone said:
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good!" (Minor Myers Jr).
Q: I am looking for a tropical plant to grow indoors as a bonsai
which would naturally stay small, tolerate low humidity, and if possible also
make flowers or something interesting. Any suggestions?
A: Better than anything, would be a particular variety of
Euphorbia millii or Crown of Thorns, which Top Tropicals has exclusively introduced
from Thailand, and is called - of all things - Money Money. (Those Thai seem
to give their hybrids names which don't seem to make sense to us English
speakers). I have one growing as a bonsai myself, and hold it with much esteem.
It has all the qualities which you are hoping for...
