PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the day: Midnight - Prince from Bombay
No animals were harmed during the
photo-session.
...Prince Midnight was adopted at 6 weeks from a large family of Bombay
cats from a nearby neighbor. At the time we didn't realized they were
Bombays, just that the entire group were pure black with gold eyes. It was later
that we realized he had all the traits of a Bombay including not a speck of
white, the gold eyes and the facial characteristics, and even an obscure trait
known to them: a tendency toward stuffy nose, which has always come and gone,
sounding like a mild snore, even when awake. He is going on 17...
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Today we are starting a new column about the most spectacular
specials that are in bloom or in fruit today. Our exotic plant grower Steven Gowdy
will spotlight the most interesting plants he discovers and recommends today
while working in TopTropicals greenhouses.
Summer is in full bloom and everyone is wanting dirt under there nails
after being quarantined for two months! Enjoy warm tropical breezes with
Apricot flowers of this showy African Tecomaria in your garden. Tecomas and Tecomarias make a wonderful splash of color in any garden,
and apricot is no exception. Tecomaria Apricot has pretty unusual color of
flowers, ranging from bright apricot color to light-salmon. Ever blooming in
warmer climates, it can grow 3-4 feet high and a whopping 4-5 feet wide. In
addition to its beautiful flowers, this plant has many medicinal benefits. An
easy fast growing addition to any landscape, it is a great hummingbird and
butterfly attractor. It is pretty cold hardy and can tolerate light frost which
is a great benefit for gardeners living in subtropical climates with cooler
winters.
PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the day: Jim, Happy 16th Birthday!
A few days ago Jim celebrated his 16th birthday. He is our oldest Purrrson.
We are extending this opportunity to wish him to stay Happy, in Good Health
and Full Body - the way he always has been! And you know what is his secret
of healthy and wealthy life?
Eat well and don't sweat the small stuff!
Photo above: Jim in 2004 - eating well
2 photos above: Jim today - shaved and gray-haired, but still
eating well!
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club and Zoo
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Q: My mature mango tree is fully grown 15 yrs old and each year
it fully blooms, sometimes twice. Shortly thereafter, all the baby mangos and
flowers fall off providing no mangos for the season. I have tried
fertilizing, spraying the tree for fungus or other insects, to no avail. I give up, any
suggestions?
A: Dropping fruit in pretty common issue with mango trees. There
may be several reasons, or a combination of reasons.
Fungal disease (anthracnose), and/or powdery mildew. To avoid
fungal disease problems, spray your tree when it just begins to form the flower
spikes. Treat foliage with Copper fungicide. There is also another
one, very effective for anthracnose: Thiophanate methyl.
Check out pictures of our mango tree problems that were fixed within a month by
using Sunshine Boosters. 3. Too much rain or heavy dew during blooming and fruit set (see 1 -
use preventive treatment for fungus) 4. Cold. Sometimes the cause of premature fruit drop is from the
cold weather during bloom and fruit set. Usually the most affected varieties are
the early bloomers including Glenn, Haden. The cold damages the developing
embryo in the seed. The fruit starts to develop but because of ethylene gas
given off by the damaged embryo, the fruit is triggered to drop before
maturity. To see if cold temperature was the cause for your fruit dropping, cut open
the fallen fruit. Even if there is a small speck of brown in the seed,
that’s enough damage to stop fruit development.
To learn more how to care for your mango, please read this publication.
People of TopTropicals. Pets of the day: Luna, Queen of Night and Lil Frank the Possum
We had a friend over for dinner, lovely Mrs Mom Luna the Raccoon. She
had a bunch of her baby raccoons! This is the second Raccoon of TopTropicals
(see our previous visitor - Raccoon Charity).
Then we discovered a little opossum that had a night time swim... We helped
him out in the morning using a pool net. Little Frank, apparently, is our
Possum Pete's grandson.
All PeoplePets were fed with cat food and received a big portion of
Love!
Luna is learning how to eat out of hand... and Lil Frank just
got out of the pool.
Possum Pete - grandpa of Lil Frank, guarding the cat food at
night
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club and Zoo
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
What is a garden without fragrance? Unknown to so many gardeners because
of its rarity, the Milky Way tree or Stemmadenia litoralis is one of those trees that are simply
unforgettable. This is without a doubt one of the most fragrant flowering trees you can
plant in the tropics or warm greenhouse conditions...
When this tree is in full bloom, masses of large, white, tornado-shaped
flowers cover the branches. The fragrance is something to behold… soft,
vanilla sweet and musky. Leaves are dark green and sparkly and a striking contrast
against the large, white flowers. Even the seed pods are pretty,
double-horned and orange-gold, born in pairs and hanging from the tree. This tree is so
ornamental!..
PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cats of the day: the most unusual and weird.
Biggy and Marco won/shared today's contest of Cat of the Day for being the most
DIFFERENT. For eating corn and for sleeping in a tree like a bird!
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Q: My jasmine buds turn purple to brown and drop before it blooms. What
should I do to get the jasmines to bloom fully. Appreciate your help &
suggestions.
A: At this time of the year in Florida, jasmines may drop flowers because of the sudden hot weather. The plants
didn't have a chance yet to change their metabolism to summer type. The high
temperatures promoted early bloom, but the plant is not strong enough to
support the flowers. It needs extra food. To improve flower quality and reduce
bud drop, we recommend these supplements:
SUNSHINE Pikake - Fragrant Plant Booster
Sunshine Honey
and Sunshine Superfood
PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the day: King the Biker
King just keeps winning "Cat of the Day" honorable title! Last time
he excelled in his
traveling talents, and today is no exception. Since he was scolded for his unapproved trip to Miami, got his drivers license suspended and now is strictly prohibited from big-time traveling... he
learned how to ride a bike!
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make your kind donation today and
receive a surprise gift from us! Every little bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Q: About a year ago we bought a mango tree from you folks and planted it in our backyard in Estero. It has done well. It now has several mangoes and I am wondering if the
tree is strong enough to support the fruit or if I should just cut off the fruit and wait until next year
when the tree is a bit stronger. I am attaching some pictures. I am most concerned about the branch on the right which seems to be
sagging. If you do not suggest that I cut off the fruit, can I wait until they ripen on the tree and eat them. They seem to be a bit on the small side for eating.
A: Your mango tree looks very healthy and happy, congratulation with a great job! For young mango trees, it is always recommended to minimize a number of fruit to 2-3 so
the tree has enough energy for vegetative growth rather than fruiting.
In your case, as we can see from the pictures, your tree is very well
established, has a strong root system, nice symmetrical shape, and vigorous new growth. In our opinion, you can save all
these fruit and let them ripen on the tree.
To support the plant's energy, make sure to fertilize it during summer with slow-release Mango Food, and year around - with Mango Tango booster. Use Sunshine Honey
supplement for sweeter fruit.
Secure the heavy fruit branch with a v-shape stake (a big branch may work), it can definitely use the support otherwise may break
under strong Florida winds.
You are all set to enjoy your first crop and be rewarded with fruit of your excellent work!
