Date:
Exotic flowers, amazing tropical birds, cats and even portraits... all look alive by Olena Light
Check out Olena's page and her private collection of exclusive art that TopTropicals is honored to have especially for you, Tropical Garden connoisseurs, at introductory price. Hurry up, Olena is getting famous!..
Date:
King continues being on top of the poll... thanks to his adventurous
nature. This Purrrson just loves to travel! He likes driving and biking. How many times we pulled him out of customer's car or delivery truck!
Sure thing, he just did it again, joining contractor's team. Luckily he was noticed hiding in the back of the truck before the driver hit the highway!
We are reminding you, please check your vehicles for cats before you leave!
On a bright side, King has been very helpful, helping to plant newly
arrived plant shipment from Thailand.
For those of you who has been waiting for rare plants, after a long delay
due to airlines lockdown, we finally got lots of rare stuff and it will be
ready for shipping soon.
Please make sure to add to your wish-list these coming-soon rare plants, this is the only
way we can ensure you will get notified when they are available for sale, on
first come first serve basis.
These are limited quantities, high demand plants!
Don't miss your dream plant! Just click on "Notify me when available" and add your email to waiting list.
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Amherstia nobilis - Pride of Burma
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Artabotrys siamensis - Climbing Ylang-Ylang
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Barringtonia acutangula - Indian Putat
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Barringtonia asiatica - Fish Poison Tree
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Bauhinia aureifolia - Fragrant Gold Leaf Orchid Vine
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Brownea ariza - Rose of Venezuela
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Brownea grandiceps - Scarlet Flame Bean
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Cananga fruticosa - Dwarf Ylang-Ylang
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Couroupita guianensis - Cannonball Tree
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Cyrtostachys lakka - Lipstick Palm, Red Sealing Wax
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Desmos chinensis - Ylang Ylang Shrub
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Dillenia philippinensis - Katmon, Philippines Elephant Apple
- Garcinia mangostana - Mangosteen
- Ixora congesta Thai Flame
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Melodorum fruticosum - Hot Lips Ylang-Ylang
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Monstera variegata Thai Constellation (available now for pick up only)
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Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus
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Posoqueria longiflora - Needle Flower Tree
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Rauwenhoffia, Melodorum siamensis
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Saraca declinata - Red Saraca
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Terminalia catappa - Tropical Almond
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Vallaris glabra - Bread Flower
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Wrightia vietnamensis - Dwarf
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!
Date:
Q: I am creating a natural, native garden on the southwest coast of Florida. In some of the far corners of my landscape, my soil unfortunately is poor and my irrigation does not reach these areas. I am hoping to find something unusual and native to grow in these challenging areas of my garden. Any luck of finding something tough that will also attract hummingbirds and/or butterflies?
A: Most of us have these areas in our gardens where the soil is sandy or where irrigation simply does not reach. It is always wise to choose tough, native plants that will grow in these areas with minimum care, fertilizer or the luxury of being watered regularly.
One plant to consider is the Coral bean or Erythrina herbacea. This legume, native to the southern portions of the United States, is Florida-friendly, unusual and a great choice for natural and informal planting. It will add interest to these challenging area(s) of your landscape from spring to fall...
Date:
Q&A from Mr Booster
Q: I have 2 Starfruit plants from you. One on the left is B10 has a lot of flowers but no fruit is developing. On the rite is Kenjeng. This one has no flowers at all. Both plants are growing very well. Plenty of sun and water. I am located in Boynton Beach Florida. So what to do?
A: Your trees on the pictures look very healthy, congratulations
with a great care!
Starfruit, as well as other grafted fruit trees (like mango, avocado, etc)
usually flower/fruit easily and readily while in pots in the nursery.
Sometimes, once planted in the ground, they may reduce flowering or even stop
flowering. What happened?
The answer is simple. In pots, we fertilize them on regular basis. In our
nursery, we have fertilizer injector inline with irrigation system that dozes
plant food with EVERY watering. In other nurseries, they may also use
slow-release fertilizers, but it is still a regular routine to provide plant food to
potted plants.
In the ground, especially in Florida poor soils, fruit trees may stop
flowering or delay fruiting due to lack of nutrients, or dis-balance of elements
in the ground. Without fertilizer, a tree may take extra time to develop
bigger root system to reach out for necessary elements, and eventually will start
fruiting anyway.
But we want it to fruit soon! The only way to fix the problem is to provide
fertilizer on regular basis for a young tree. It is especially important
during hot summer months when plant metabolism is fast due to high temperatures,
plus nutrients may get washed away with frequent summer rains (like we have
in Florida) even if you've added some fertilizer at time of planting.
You can use smart release fertilizer once a month during hot season,
this one or similar:
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster.
But the most effective way to get a tropical tree to flowering and
fruiting, is frequent applications of liquid fertilizer. We use Sunshine Boosters
with every watering on our plants. They work great even on hard cases and
weak plants, and you see the difference in a matter of weeks, sometimes even
days.
We recommend the following fertilizer that contains all necessary elements
for young fruit trees:
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster from Garden Series, or Combo Total Feed Collection - all nutrients in just one bottle, for fruit trees and edibles.
Date:
Why is this wonderful little tree so unknown here in Florida? I can only guess it's because people don't see them, and therefor don't know about them, and that basically no nurseries grow them. Yet it's one of the most utterly spectacular foliage plants conceivable... Provided with an appropriately warm climate such as South Florida or elsewhere, there is no reason they should not be seen more often (for purposes of utter awe).
Macaranga's genuinely grand foliage much more resembles the ears of actual elephants (esp. the Asian species) than do the leaves of the much more commonly known and grown "elephant ears" meaning certain Alocasia and Colocasia.
Date:
Q: On my Stemmadenia tree I noticed tiny drops (like white sand grain or sugar crystals) and wonder if this is a disease or some kind of insect and what can I do about it?
A: Sometimes certain vigorously growing (mostly tropical) plants
develop suspiciously-looking tiny "growths" mostly on the undersides of their
leaves. Without strong magnification, they can be easily mistaken for mealy
bugs, scale insects, or any number of parasitic disease vectors.
However, according to plant pathologists, these are actually harmless
excretions actually exuded by the plants themselves. A chemical analysis of these
tiny granules shows that they are nothing more than polysaccharides.
Polysaccharides are basically complex chains of sugar/glucose molecules which are
simply a production of all plants undergoing photosynthesis. Polysaccharides are
at the beginning of the entire food-chain. These odd tiny sugar-grained
nodules are actually only semi-crystalline complex sugars which certain plants
have over manufactured and have had no choice but to excrete through their
stomata (breathing pores).
I have personally observed Cecropia, Psychotria, Spondias (Hog Plum), and Guavas doing this... there are many others. Nothing to worry about,
they are harmless, but if they bother you - wash them off with a hose water.
Date:
...Did you know that figs were among the very first plants grown in the
hot and arid Middle East? Fast growing and utterly delicious, they soon made
their way all over the Mediterranean, transported aboard ships and on the
backs of camels...
If you are a fig lover, you may be tempted to grow your own. Market-bought
figs are never as good and tasty as your own, homegrown figs. They just
simply do not keep well in supermarkets. Fast growing, undemanding and low
maintenance, figs will bear fruit in just two years, often bearing two crops in a
year. Another plus is that they are not bothered by too many pests and are
self-fertile. Apart from the delicious fruit, any fig tree will add beauty and
shade to a garden...
Tropical Treasure magazine # 13 (3) 2010:
- Hard
copy
- PDF
Download
Date:
Q: We purchased a Royal Poinciana tree from TopTropicals not too long ago and we gradually gave it more sun until finally we were able to plant it in direct sunlight where it's been for a week or so. Rain has been sporadic lately so I'm giving it a little bit of water every day. It seems to be doing fine. I do have a question about whether the leaves are as green as they should be? I read online that I should fertilize it with gardenia / ixoria fertilizer in March, June, and October. I looked on homedepot.com but didn't really find anything that goes by that name. Would fertilizer help? Can you suggest a fertilizer?
A: Your Poinciana tree looks pretty healthy and happy,
congratulations with a great job!
Traditional (old-school) fertilizer recommendations usually suggest feeding
a plant 2-3 times a year with a slow-release fertilizer. And although a
plant will benefit from any fertilizer application (extra food is always good),
however, for the best results, faster growth, sooner and more profuse
blooming, your should use complete plant nutrition products - liquid fertilizers (see
why liquid
fertilizers are better than dry).
Here is an example. Some people eat a big heavy meal once a day which we
all know, is not very healthy. Other people eat balanced food more frequently
but in smaller portions - this is always the best way to go.
From this point, plants prefer SNACKING - frequent feeding, but with less
concentrated, mild and balanced nutrients.
For your beautiful Poinciana tree (and other flowering plants), we suggest
the following nutrition program:
1) SUNSHINE Megaflor - Bloom Nutrition Booster - you may use this fertilizer as frequent as with every watering, it won't burn the roots, and will provide a complete nutrition for all plant needs throughout the year. You can continue fertilizing with Megaflor even during winter time. Sunshine Megaflor will help you to keep the plant healthy, vigorous, and resistant to stress and diseases. It turns leaves green and makes the plant strong so it will start flowering sooner for you.
2) Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster. Apply it once a month during hot season only (in Florida - from March to November).
Date:
Our exotic plant grower Steven Gowdy is featuring the most interesting plants he discovers and recommends today while working in TopTropicals greenhouses.
Duranta - Golden Dewdrop - is simply stunning with cascading flowers in
abundance. Either it has lavender, blue, or solid white flowers, it is a
sight to behold. The popular name Golden Dewdrop is inspired by the clusters of
bright orange-yellow berries that follow the flowers, in such quantities that
they often cause the slender branches to droop gracefully.
Duranta erecta blooms off and on all year and can be pruned to size as a
bush or a standard tree. If let go, it can grow up to 20 feet tall and wide.
Durantas are excellent butterfly and hummingbird attractors. They will
complement your tropical garden or a stand alone in your Southern landscape.
Great for providing a color contrast in the landscape, they are especially
well-suited as a bright-colored background or screening.
White
Golden Dewdrop has pure white flowers that appear in loose clusters, and
both berries and blossoms are often seen on a plant. This evergreen fast
growing shrub spreads and arches to 10 feet tall and wide and is great for live
hedges and covering fences and corners.
Variegated variety, also called Variegated Sky Flower, is grown for its summer flowers, and very showy
leaves that are dark green with bright white variegation and creamy-yellow
margins around the one inch long serrated leaves.. In the summer, cascading
clusters of blue tubular flowers appear followed by wonderfully contrasting
orange-yellow berries.
In mild climates, Durantas can be in flower nearly year round with flowers
and fruit appearing at the same time. It does best in full sun with frequent
deep watering and is pretty hardy, to about 20-25F. It is a good choice for
espaliers, as a small tree or large bush; all forms benefit from frequent
selective pruning. Prune back in late-winter to encourage a more compact shape
and strong flush of fresh spring foliage. Requires moderate watering in a
well-drained soil.
Date:
One of the easiest and hardiest Gardenias in our collection is the Vietnamese Gardenia. This plant is much easier to grow than many other Gardenias. It can handle overly moist soils much better, is quite drought tolerant once established and has a high resistance to the typical Gardenia woes. It is hands down also the most cold hardy Gardenia in our collection!
