Date: 18 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
Q: It would be easier for us buyers, if we could search for plants that produce fruit in 2 years or less... I don't have the patience to wait longer than that for fruit. I'm trying to buy for a fairly good sized garden but want some fast growers and fruit produced in 2 yrs. Can you help me out?
A: Fruiting time depends on many factors (growing conditions,
fertilizing, and even specific variety), this is why we can not just put a
simple icon "will fruit within 2 years".
However, most grafted and air-layered fruit trees, including all Mango, Avocado, Loquat, Sapote, Sapodilla, Longan, Peaches and Nectarines - will fruit right away.
If you see in our store "grafted" or "air-layered" in plant description
- these trees will fruit soon. Some of them are already flowering and
fruiting!
Some non-grafted trees will fruit within a couple of years or even sooner (those from cuttings, root division or even seedlings) - such as: Annona, Artocarpus (Jackfruit), Eugenia, Guava, Banana, Dragon fruit, Mulberry, Blackberry/Raspberry. Banana, Mulberry, Dragon fruit, Blackberry-Raspberry - usually fruit within a year. You may refer to our store directory page for fruit specials.
Also, all spice trees like Bay Leaf, Bay Rum, Allspice and many more - will produce spice for you right away, so you don't need to wait at all!
Date: 12 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
In our last newsletter Cat of the Day was Klaksa with her hunting habits and her love for birds...
While we are still sticking to the statement that "no birds were hurt in the process so far", she brought us an Easter Present! Yes, the Present is very much alive and super hungry. Klaksa did not tell us where she got it and how can we bring it back... So we are stuck with another duck! The previous version -
Duck Dobi, has been raised by Kristi from a little chic-duckling, and
after 2 years of ruling the Cat Community in our Garden center, Dobi finally left with her
boyfriend - without saying thank you or even good-bye!
The Duck Version 2.1 has been eating and pooping happily all day. Luckily
we found a person with a duck farm, and hopefully will get this baby a good
home soon!
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community!
Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us. Thank you
and God bless you and your pets!
Date: 12 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
If you happen to love Easter Lilies, let us introduce you to a very beautiful and hard-to-find vine... The magnificent Easter Lily Vine - Beaumontia grandiflora, is not sold at most nurseries and is not widely grown for this very reason. We certainly feel it should be, as this woody vine is a tremendous climber which rewards the gardener with large clusters of white flowers resembling Easter Lilies, during early spring to late fall. The flowers are sweetly scented and make excellent cut flowers, which last for at least a week! An added bonus is the twining ends, which makes a very unusual and interesting addition to floral arrangements...
Here at the nursery, our Easter Lily vines are almost ready to burst into full bloom. We are waiting impatiently. Order yours, and have a Happy Easter!
Seeds of Easter Lily vine also available at BOGO deal - buy 2 packs for the price of 1 with FREE shipping!
See how to how to create a fragrant privacy fence of virtually unlimited size.
Date: 8 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
Klaksa is a tiny cat. She is almost 4 years old but she weighs only 6
pounds!
Klaksa considers herself a serious hunter. She spends her days chasing
birds on neighbors' roofs. With very little success though. However she never
gives up her dream to catch a Bird of Paradise.
In the meantime, she has been only catching the Birds of Paradise from our garden. No birds were hurt in the process so
far!
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Donations accepted from our website. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Date: 8 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
Over the last few weeks, we've been discussing using this time to engage
in the activities that make you happy, to do more of what you love. Of
course, for all of us at Top Tropicals, we have been singing the praises of
gardening and tropical plants for years and sharing the love with any friends and
neighbors who have expressed an interest in our activity of choice.
Do we have an affect on some people? Do we encourage them to try their hand
at gardening and experience the wonder of plants? Yesterday, we just saw it
with our own eyes. Our neighbor, to whom we once gave an Ylang Ylang tree, has consistently and politely resisted a suggestion
to try gardening herself and put some new and interesting plants in an
otherwise traditionally landscaped builders' home. Even her husband emphatically
stated that he was never going to put plants in, let alone take existing plain
boring stuff out!
What a pleasant surprise when we saw them both and their 2 young children
digging in the garden together yesterday. They replaced a whole section of
generic stock plants provided by the builder and filled the area in with loads
of colorful flowers and even topped it off with a healthy dose of new mulch!
We couldn't believe our eyes and was so happy to see the gardening "bug" made
yet another friend!
We hope our Dream Cart Offer will help someone make their dreams come true, and this forced vacation time will be well spent on their home and garden!
Date: 4 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain. For today's trip to Tropics we invited PeopleCats from the famous Hemingway House in Key West, Florida.
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is home to approximately 40-50
polydactyl (six-toed) cats. Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and
sometimes on their back feet as well. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing
mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw! All Hemingway cats
carry the polydactyl gene in their DNA, which means that the ones that have 4
and 5 toes can still mother or father six-toed kittens.
Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’' captain and
some of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that
original cat, named Snow White. The trait can appear in any breed, Calicos,
Tabbies, Tortoise Shell. White, Black, etc. They vary in shapes, sizes, colors and
personalities.
Hemingway named all of his cats after famous people so they follow that
same tradition today. Cats are capable of learning and responding to their
names...
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Donations accepted from our website. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Date: 4 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
Our customer Lucie
Herard shared pictures of her tropical garden with us... Many of you have
beautiful gardens that you are proud of... but this one is... in Canada! Believe it
or not, before winter she digs everything up and brings it inside! Then in
Spring, she starts again every year. Dedication? Determination? Heroism! Lucie
won the Planet Bananiers photo contest for the third time.
Look at these pictures and visit Lucie's Facebook page for more photos and videos of her amazing garden.
Ask yourself: and what can I do? Is my life really that hard with mowing a
lawn once a week and blowing the leaves? You don't have to be a hero to make
something worthwhile in your life. Just take a shovel and start... one plant a
day. And you will end up living in Paradise.
Lucie reminds you: "Ornamental horticulture production activities are
now considered an essential service! Add soil in a pot, water very slightly for
the first two weeks and put closer to the window. That's all, the leaves
will start growing again!"
Share with us photos of your garden. The winner of this contest will get plants $200 worth, with FREE shipping!
Date: 1 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
"Can we get to normal World?"
If you visited TopTropicals Garden center, you've seen our Employee of the Month board in the office. And the picture on it... with our Chief, who is truly an irreplaceable member of our Shipping Crew. He is definitely the most responsible worker and reliable Chief Supervisor. This week, while greeting customers, he asked everybody to follow these simple rules that he established in the Nursery for everybody's safety during COVID-19 alert:
1. Yes, we are open! But If you want to browse the nursery, please call
for assistance at the gate and we will come over to help you.
2. Please NO CHILDREN on the property at this time. If you came with kids,
have them wait in your car while you are shopping. Chief can entertain
them!
3. Nursery is OPEN for browsing, limiting 2 customers at a time on the
premises.
4. If you know what plant(s) you want, just call us directly at our
customer service desk 239-771-8081 and we can bring those plants, for your
convenience, to the office or even to the gate.
Stay connected and we will get through this, all together, and we all will be just fine! So says Chief.
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Donations accepted from our website. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Date: 1 Apr 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
by Onika Amell, tropical plant expert
Star Anise - Illicium verum - gets its name from the star shaped fruit... with many culinary uses. So many international dishes get their unique flavor from this wonderful spice. Any lovers of wonderful Vietnamese noodle soup "Pho" out there? Did you know that beautiful, aromatic spiciness in the broth derives from this very plant? In fact, it is the signature flavor of Pho!
Not only does this spice shine in the kitchen, but it has amazing health benefits. It contains shikimic acid, which is a vital component of the influenza-fighting drug Tamiflu! It boasts with antioxidants and vitamin A and C, which help to fight free radicals responsible for premature aging and diabetes. The oil derived from this plant contains thymol, terpineol and anethole, which is used to treat cough and flu. In addition, drinking Star Anise tea will help digestive issues such as bloating, gas, indigestion, constipation and nausea. It is one of the main ingredients of Masala Chai...
Date: 26 Mar 2020 Top Tropicals Newsletter
While PeopleCats continue ruling our gardens, getting their daily treats and
helping us to survive, they suggested we share some special treats for
humans, besides exotic plants and plant boosters...
It is - our favorite Russian Borsh that we make for our TopTropicals
International team! It is the most delicious and healthy meal ever invented, for
both adults and kids. It boosts your energy, makes you feel warm, wealthy, and
happy!
This soup, along with Russian Vodka, is the secret of Russians' Survival Mode - how to stay healthy, strong, tough, and resistant to any virus.
The recipe of the Real Russian Borsh involves very simple, inexpensive,
and easy to find ingredients. However, making it right takes a little bit of
time (which we sure have now!), since Russians like to make things
complicated and from scratch... they use whole foods!
Take your time and enjoy the process - it is a part of this secret recipe.
At the end, you will be rewarded with a healthy, tasty meal for the whole
family for the whole week! And, it is only $2 per serving!
And remember, it is spelled Borsh (not Borscht!), according to the real Russians.
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Donations accepted from our website. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!