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In China, the zodiac system calculations are quite complicated... Learn
the science of the Chinese horoscope and find out why the symbol of Year 2021
is actually the Metal Cow - not an Ox!..
...See what lucky flowers this year brings you and meet the most bizarre
plant - Nipple Fruit, or Cow's udder!..
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...There was an unexpected confusion with the name of this plant. Most
people understand its name literally: passiflora - a flower of passion, and
its fruits - the fruits of passion, implying human, earthly passions.
Nevertheless, the passion fruit is so called because it is one of the
many species of passion flower, the English translation of the Latin genus
name, PassiFlora.
Learn more about this delicious, flavorful fruit and how to grow it in your
own garden in no time...
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Booster, an ultimate natural plant food for fruit and edibles.
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"...Time spent in the garden doesn't count against your lifespan..."
If you want to live longer, live around green space. The Barcelona
Institute for Global Health found that for every 10% increase in vegetation that's
within 1,600 feet of your home, your probability of death drops by 4%.
LEARN MORE >>
1. It gets you into Nature.
2. It's good exercise.
3. You'll eat what you grow.
4. It exercises your mind, while also relieving stress.
LEARN MORE >>
Many of the world's centenarians share one common hobby: gardening. Could you extend your life and drop your stress by taking up the pursuit, too? People living in these so-called "blue zones" have certain factors in common - with daily exercise habits and a plant-based diet, for starters. But they share another unexpected commonality. People are gardening well into old age - their 80s, 90s and beyond. Could nurturing your green thumb help you live to 100? Let nature nurture you!
LEARN MORE >>
Moving naturally throughout the day might sound pleasant and romantic,
but the reality is that 100 years ago only 10% of us had sedentary jobs,
whereas today it's 90%. However, there are still easy ways to add more movement into your busy lifestyle. The research also showed that walking even as little as two hours per week could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, and help you live longer.
What work out can be better than Gardening? Fresh air, lots of exercise, yet fun and rewarding!
See also: Forget the gym and get to gardening.
In the photo: The Father of American Tropical Fruit Horticulture Bill Whitman, age 92, is presenting his book Five decades with tropical fruit to Top Tropicals after giving a tour of his historical garden in Bal Harbor, Miami (2006)
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Q: My Canistel tree is 3 1/2 years old and is growing very well, see the picture below. It gets hundreds of pea sized "berries" but then they fall off. No canistel fruit. What's wrong?
A: You have such a nice looking tree, it is a shame you can't get
any fruit to ripen.
In our experience, Pouteria trees dropping fruit prematurely is a very common problem.
There may be one of the following reasons, or a combination of them:
- Cold winters may affect production, and while Canistel is generally
pretty hardy tropical plant that can easily withstand short periods of chill, the
fruit may never form properly if it had a cold winter.
- Lack of water. Canistel tree is pretty drought tolerant, but for the
proper production cycle it needs regular irrigation. Especially during hot
summer.
- The tree may be not strong enough; young trees drop fruit very often when
they don't have enough "fruiting energy" built up in their system.
Your tree looks well established and vigorous, however, flower/fruit drop
is often a sign of insufficient nutrients of particular kind, usually Boron
(B) and/or Molybdenum (Mo): either when a tree is too young and not strong
enough, or because of poor soils and lack of necessary elements.
Here is what can be done, considering you live in a warm, frost-free climate.
1. Provide regular fertilizing program. We recommend liquid
fertilizers Sunshine Boosters that are safe to use with every watering and year
around. It is beneficial to switch plants from traditional "slow-release"
fertilizer to the liquid one because it makes a huge difference in plant growth
and flower/fruit quality and quantity. See also:
- Why liquid fertilizers are better than dry
- Article about benefits of liquid fertilizers.
Use this plant food for your Canistel tree:
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster
2. Apply micro-element remedies that are very effective for improving fruit production, especially when flower or fruit drop occurs:
SUNSHINE Honey - promotes more efficient blossoming and pollination, makes
flowers bigger and reduces bud drop.
SUNSHINE SuperFood - improves plant vigor and quality and size of
flowers
These are all natural, eco-friendly supplements that work great for fruit
trees and other edibles.
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In the photo: Delonix regia - Royal poinciana, Flamboyant
Q: How can I get a list of plants that do well in coastal areas (i.e. next to sea)?
A: Many tropical plants live by the sea in natural habitat and
don't mind ocean breeze. We have a large selection to pick from. The following
groups of spectacular flowering trees will enjoy coastal environment:
Cordia trees
Plumerias
Orchid trees (Bauhinias)
Caesalpinias
Callistemons (Bottle brush trees)
Cassias
Many palm trees
See full list of salt-tolerant plants available at this time.
In the photo: Cordia sebestena - Scarlet Geiger tree
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Q: I have many tropical plants in my garden, both in the ground and in pots. I realize it is wintertime and some of them, the Hydrangea, Hibiscuses, and roses are in bloom but the rest of them seem wilty and droopy. Is it alright to fertilize them now, or should I wait for a few days? I have an all purpose tropical fertilizer and a 20-20-20 also. Please advise what to do.
A: During wintertime, tropicals may suffer from low temperatures
and lack of sunshine which causes droopy leaves, and leaf loss.
Regardless of the cause and plant condition, you should NEVER apply
traditional dry fertilizers during cool months. When cold, dry fertilizers
(EDTA-chelated) may create nutrient lock up in soil and damage the roots. Dry
fertilizers (both granulated and water-soluble) can be used only during hot season -
when min temperatures stay above 65F for at least a week in a row, and
daytime temperatures are over 75-80F. During hot, active growth season plant
metabolism increases. This provides less chance for a chemical root burn, as the
nutrients are used up quickly.
However, liquid fertilizers, as long as they are amino-acid based, can
be used year round. From our own experience last winter, we discovered that
fertilizing sickly looking plants (with signs of cold damage and root issues)
with Sunshine Boosters actually revived those plants. Sunshine Boosters even
brought back to life some hopeless specimens. Take a look at this gardenia
that grows in our garden (picture above). See full article.
In your case, it would be beneficial to use a mild formula of liquid
boosters in combination with Sunshine Epi -a natural plant hormone that boost their growth and helps
to cope with cold-, temperature- and low-light-related stress.
These are the products we recommend:
- Sunshine Bombino - add to every watering
- Sunshine Epi - twice a month as foliage spray
Since you grow plants in pots, feeding program is especially essential,
because plants are limited with a container size where roots can't reach out to more food in the outer soil.
In professional nursery set up with injector irrigation systems, container plants are fed daily (depending on season, more than once a day) with every watering. This is why greenhouse plants are so healthy looking.
So feel free to give your plants Sunshine boosters with every watering,
dozing according to the label. During cold period, plants need less frequent
watering, so fertilizer input will be balanced accordingly, it will depend on
temperature and plant metabolism.
Sunshine Bombino - mild, "pampering" formula for young and tender plants, as well as plants recovering from stress and/or winter damage.
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In the photo: Senecio confusus - Mexican flame vine, one of the most spectacular winter-bloomers.
Waiting for Arbor Day or the first day of spring to plant a tree is
something of a missed opportunity for those of us who live in the virtually
evergreen world of the tropics and subtropics. Wintertime does not just mean hard
work for tropical gardeners. It is also a time to enjoy the fruits of our
labor. Winter-blooming plants and the visitors they attract - birds, bats and
butterflies - make the garden as enjoyable in winter as any other time of
year.
What a welcome relief: January daytime temperatures in the 70s, dropping to
the 60s at night. This is why I came to live in the subtropics of southern
Florida. The balmy climate of South Florida represents one of the few places
on the mainland United States where tropical plants thrive unprotected
outdoors...
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Q: I ended up with a large collection of orchids that I was given as presents... They grow well but unfortunately after the showy blooms were gone, I don't see any more flowers, just green leaves. What do I need to do to make them bloom again? Should I fertilize them with Azalea bloom booster?
A: Orchids culture is different from garden ornamental plants. First big difference, they are epiphytes, growing in a loose bark medium rather than soil, and
benefit from daily mist. Second difference is a type of fertilizer. You can not use a regular garden fertilizer on orchids,
because they are very sensitive to salts. Orchids need special, acidic type of fertilizer, very mild in action.
Luckily, Sunshine Boosters formulas are exactly what orchids need! They are amino-acid based, have very mild formulas, and do not create nutrient lock up (building up salts is one of the biggest
enemies of tender orchids).
A new Sunshine Boosters Orchidasm TotalFeed is scientifically balanced orchid food that contains all
necessary nutrients, including micro-elements, for healthy, happy, vigorous orchids. It can be used as often as daily with every foliage spray. From our testing experience, after using Orchidasm Booster, orchids not only got happy and thriving -
they also bloom more often - up to several times a year, shooting new flower spikes one after another! (while normal blooming cycle for most
orchids is once a year). It gets even better - the flower display lasts twice longer!
To enjoy these beautiful flowers year around - treat them with Love, give them some
Orchidasm!
See more information with pictures in Sunshine Boosters Orchid Blog
Q: We planted several citrus trees in our yard - Meyer Lemon, Grapefruit and Blood Orange. The trees came from the store full of flowers and even had a few fruit, but a year after planting - no more flowers! The old leaves are green, but new growth doesn't look healthy, leaves are yellowish and have spots, maybe eaten by bugs (?), and how do we get them to fruit?
A: Citrus plants are not the easiest trees to grow; they are susceptible to various diseases, pests, and deficiencies, especially in areas with high humidity/rainfall like Florida.
Fungi, viruses, leaf minors, chlorosis - this is not a complete list of citrus common problems. In commercial groves, these conditions are kept under
control by using harsh chemicals on solid schedule.
For home gardeners, growing citrus trees may become a challenge. Many people don't want to use harsh
chemicals on their edibles; and those who do, may not always have time to apply treatments on a professional schedule. So as much as we all love a fresh juicy orange,
growing your own may become quite a pain!
Sunshine
Citron TotalFeed is your simple, eco-safe solution to a healthy looking, productive citrus tree with organic fruit! Amino-acid based formula provides all
necessary elements to strengthen the tree and make it resistant to possible problems.
Did you know that treatment of leaf chlorosis (yellow leaves with dark
green veins), commonly treated with iron supplements, in fact requires a complex combination of nutrients - both balanced NPK and micro-elements?
Use Sunshine Citron in combination with Sunshine GreenLeaf and
Sunshine SuperFood and never see yellow chlorotic leaves again!
Apply Sunshine Epi on regular basis (every 2 weeks) and help your tree boost its immune system and stay virus-free.
Add Sunshine Honey, and you will have large, juicy fruit that
are much sweeter and more flavorful than those from the store! All these boosters are compatible with each other, and perfectly natural. Eat your fruit safely and enjoy...
Read more about treating citrus tree defficiencies in Sunshine Boosters Citrus Blog.
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Our exotic plant grower Steven Gowdy spotlights the most interesting plants he discovers and recommends today while working in TopTropicals greenhouses.
Year 2021 is celebrated as a Year of Variegated Foliage plants, and I have something special for those rare plant collectors. Besides exclusive Monstera variegata Thai Constellation, there are a few less expensive plants that are as much beautiful and yet fit into any budget.
Known as the Never-never plant, this beauty is native to Brazil. I think in South Florida a shade garden should
never-never be without one!
Ctenanthe lubbersiana variegata has deep
variegation, with branching bamboo-like stems and oblong green, veined leaves that are mottled with cream and gold. Needing high humidity and indirect, bright filtered light, it just screams tropical and fun! Ctenanthe is a close relative of showy Marantas grown for the beauty of their foliage, and also makes a great house plant in
cooler climates.
In warmer climates, it can be planted as an under story plant. The plant is growing to 2-3 feet high and 4-6 feet wide, with leaf patterns of indistinct cream and green marbling. It does have a rapid growth rate and liking soil moist, but not soggy. In the winter, water
should only be given when the dirt is somewhat dry. Watch out for mealy bugs, spider mites, and aphids and apply Sunshine NoBug if you notice any - they
will be easy to get rid of.
Give it a liquid fertilizer SUNSHINE Robusta - Rapid Growth Booster and divide as needed.
This plant is one of my favorites. I planted a nice specimen at TopTropicals entrance gate last year, and now we finally have beautiful baby plants propagated from it, looking great!
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...This fascinating rare plant with white, strongly perfumed flowers is
valued as a fast growing, impressive ornamental shade tree and is used to
serve as an alternative to quinine...
Popularly known as Devil Tree, as plant is believed to the devil's abode -
probably due to the intoxicating fragrance emitted by flowering trees,
especially at night.
The tree is of great cultural significance in the intellectual circle, as
traditionally its leaves were awarded to scholars and teachers during
convocation ceremonies by the Visva Bharati University (can't think of a better name
than Alstonia scholaris!). This tradition was started by Rabindranath
Tagore...
