Q: I need something unusual to plant next to a small pond at my
front yard. It is full sun location. I need a plant that is not too messy and
doesn't require much maintenance. Preferably without flowers, so they don't
drop into the water, and not too tall. Any suggestions?
A: Your ideal solution is - colorful Colocasia hybrids with
spectacular large leaves. Our favorite is variety Black Magic - it creates a magic tropical atmosphere. The color of the
leaves in full sun is dark purple, almost black, and the brighter the light,
the deeper the color.
Light colored varieties - Royal Hawaiian Maui Sunrise, with bright sunny stripes, or Illustris, in case you want to create a bright, mixed-color border
around your pond. Colocasias are perfect plants for perimeter borders, and
naturally are marginal plants around lakes and along river banks.
Photo above: for enhanced effect of your Black Magic Colocasias, use
Black Magic Ti Leaf for the background planting... Cordyline fruticosa Black Magic - Hawaiian Good Luck Ti Leaf.
Loquat trees are famous for their abundant
fruit production. Many customers who purchased this tree from us, soon end up with some serious crops and start asking if we have
any special recipes for loquat fruit - because you can only eat so much out of hand! Here is our manager Kristi's favorite Loquat recipe - not only delicious and tropically-aromatic, but also good for you. Happy Tropical Meal!
Ingredients
2 lbs loquat fruit
cup soft brown sugar
cups malt vinegar
1 onion chopped
cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
cloves whole or 1/2 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
Wash the fruit, cut them in half and remove stones. The loquats will
lose about a third of their weight once stoned (3 lbs of whole fruit = 2 lbs of fruit, stones removed). Add loquats and all remaining
ingredients to a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil, then simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. The liquid will have reduced quite a bit and the fruit
will be collapsed and very soft. Allow to cool slightly, then liquidize the sauce in a blender or a food processor. Be careful, hot sauce really
burns!
This delicious tropical sauce is great for any BBQ - with meats or fish. Enjoy!
Q: I am interested in your Tahitian Gardenia and I would love to try and grow this plant in a
large container/fabric pot. The soil here where I live is terrible as it's hard rock, clay, and sand! So I'm not sure if amending the soil would help to plant in the ground? Can you tell me if this will do okay in a container or best in ground? I live here in Las Vegas, NV (zone 9a). Any information would be great to help me make a this decision, I love the selection of cool tropical plants you offer! Also my daughter does Tahitian/Polynesian dance and this would be a cool "topping on the cake" if she could have a live Tiare flower in her performances.
A:Tahitian Gardenia will be doing best if grown in container in your
area. In its natural habitat, it grows full sun but also it enjoys mild weather
conditions and high air humidity. All gardenias prefer acidic soils. In your
area, if planted in the ground, it may be exposed to some harsh conditions:
too high temperatures, too hot sun, dry air, and as you mentioned - heavy clay
and sandy soil. You can enjoy this plant grown in container, which can be
moved as needed away from too much sun during summer months. Use well-drained potting mix. Use plastic pot, do not use fabric or clay
pots - soil will dry out too quickly.
Also remember to fertilize this plant on regular basis with a liquid
fertilizer SUNSHINE Pikake - Fragrant Flower Booster.
Grow gardenia in full sun or semi-shade during the hottest months. You may
spray it with pure water if the air too dry and hot. Enjoy your Tropical
Beauty and good luck!
Q: I received a mango tree we ordered last week (I am in
California) and am trying to make sure we take care of it properly. I noticed the
corners of some leaves have began drying out. I wanted to see if there was
anything else we should be doing or if it is something normal. Overall the tree
looks good and the leaves have perked up, but I noticed the dry tips on a
handful of leaves. Any help is appreciated! I have not fertilized in the pot yet
or applied the mango sunshine booster.
A:Your mango tree looks pretty healthy, and these dry leaf tips
may be caused by overall shipping stress. You have dry air in California, and
temperatures may be getting up, this may cause additional drying effect. You
may start fertilizing with a liquid fertilizer, it will help the plant to get stronger and grow
faster - then heat and dry air won't be a problem as soon as the plant becomes
better established and hopefully go into a bigger pot soon, or in the ground.
Make sure to provide regular water if you have hot dry summers.
Q: I have 5 avocados. Three of your cold hardy varieties and two
others that have all flowered and set fruit in the past. The last two years
including this year, not a single one of them has put out any flowers. I am
getting lots of new growth like one would expect on a tree too young to flower.
The last two years have been very mild with out any damaging frost where in
previous years they lost all their leaves due to frost yet started putting
out flowers once winter was over. I am confused because they have all flowered
and set fruit previous years. Any ideas would be appreciated.
A: From information you provided, and considering the trees get
lots of full sun and cold was not an issue, the only explanation is - lack of
nutrients. Here is an example.
Very common situation: you get a small 2-3 ft Avocado or Mango tree in 3
gal pot (or even smaller) from a nursery, full of flowers, and sometimes even a
small fruit. You bring it home, plant it in the ground or a bigger pot, it
looks happy and grows like crazy. Then next year - oops, no fruit, sometimes
not even flowers. What happened?
When the tree lived in a nursery, it was provided with all necessary
nutrients through the injector systems (continuous feed); or some nurseries may use
top dress smart release on regular schedule. Regardless of fertilizer type,
professional grower's set up delivers plant food non-stop, on regular basis, with balanced formulas. Plants are not only growing fast but also ready to produce, since nutrients are always available for a full growth cycle.
When you plant a tree in the ground (or larger pot), conditions change.
They may be beneficial for the plant: lots of room for roots to establish, hence
lots of vegetative growth. Even if you planted it using good quality fertile
soil, this soil may contain mostly nutrients responsible for vegetative
growth (branches and leaves). Chances are, your soil may be rich in Nitrogen
(good for green growth), but poor in other elements responsible for flowering and
fruiting (Phosphorous, Potassium, and many important micro-elements such as
Molybdenum, Boron, Iron, etc.). Besides, existing soil gets exhausted
quickly, and within a year a two, if you don't add fertilizer, flowering and fruiting may be reduced or even stopped.
This is why fertilizing program is very important for fruit trees that are expected to bring a crop soon.
Also keep in mind that some fruit trees have a habit of "skipping" a year and may either produce less or not produce at all every other year. In any case, balanced nutrition program can help to fix this "bad habit".
Q: Hi, I live on the east coast near West Palm, but I see you
ship your plants. My HOA allows for Yellow Tabebuia species and I'm looking for two or three smaller trees that can fit in my front yard in smaller spaces. Ideally looking for trees that would stay under 20' in height, but preferably even smaller. Can you tell me the average height and spread of the Dwarf Golden Tabebuia or Silver Trumpet trees?
Are you a vampire? If not, then this is your Plant! Mansoa alliacea, or Garlic Vine, is a truly amazing plant. There are
two special features that make it so unique...
...First, the flowers start off deep lavender with white throat and change
to a lighter shade of lavender with age. Eventually fading to almost white,
and you will see three different color of flowers at the same time on the
plant. It's fantastic!...
...Secondly, the small of the leaves makes it a conversation piece: crushed
leaves smell like garlic...
...The plant is said to help get rid of bad luck and is a favorite with
hunters. Some Amazon natives offer their dogs a brew of this botanical to ensure
success during the hunt. Up until now, most consider the plant to be magical
or spiritual and they hang bunches of the leaves around their home for good
luck or in order to drive away evil spirits...
Q: Hey can you help me figure out why my jasmine grand duke supreme is not flowering? Ive had it for almost a
year (in NY) and only had 1 flower bloom and that immediately turned brown and
died. Since then no flowers have come. The leaves are green and healthy and
its growing like crazy but not flowers. Please help me figure this out.
A: For profuse flowering, Jasmine sambac needs 2 things: bright light and special plant food.
We have plenty of both here in Florida. If your grow this plant indoors in
colder climate, get it to flowering can be a bit tricky.
Your plant grows well overall with lots of vegetative growth, this is a
good sign, it means it's healthy, and not being overwatered which is one of the
most common problems with Sambacs. You're doing a great job! This jasmine
just needs more sun and fertilizer.
Make sure to keep it in the brightest spot of your home. The more hours of
light, the better. When night temperatures stay above 65F, it is beneficial
to bring the plant outside on a balcony, patio, or in a garden in full sun as
a potted specimen (move to bright light gradually).
You should give this Jasmine plenty of food with every watering. We
recommend SUNSHINE Pikake - Fragrant Flower Booster. This is a natural fertilizer
that can be applied to plants year round without risk of burning the roots
or nutrient lock up in the soil. It provides all necessary elements for the
flowering cycle - just add a bit into watering can, every time you water.
Q: What are the good varieties of mango trees available for container grow? Can you please share the
details?
A: There are some great varieties of Mango selected specifically
for container culture, they even have a nick-name - "condo mangoes". They
have compact growth habit and respond well to pruning to keep them in small
size. Here are a few of our favorites that we currently have in stock:
Glenn Ice
Cream Cotton
Candy
Mallika
Manilita Pram
Kai Mai Mun
Kun Si Maha
Chinook
You can see more condo mangoes on this page.
Healthy Plants - Q&A from Mr Booster: Feeding Avocado Tree
Q:We bought one of your avocado grafts and it's doing great, lots
of buds for fruit. It's still in a pot and fertilizing with the Sunshine Boosters. Should we continue with this product? We’ll plant
it in the ground in March. Thought you'd enjoy pictures of our wonderful
tree. No freezing temperatures in Riverview, but when it got down into the 30s,
the plant came in. One good thing about growing in the pot. I'll be buying
some more Sunshine Boosters. This stuff is working great on all our plants.
A: Congratulations with a good job on growing avocado over
winter. Avocado trees are not easy, we are happy to hear that your plant is ready
for production, this is amazing! We've noticed that Sunshine Boosters perform
miracles. Here are some suggestions for you:
Continue fertilizing with Sunshine Boosters according to the feeding chart
When ready to plant, dig a large hole and fill it with good soil full of
organic matter (compost mixed with existing sandy soil will be good). Make
sure to plant the tree on 3-4" high elevation, like on a little hill. Avocados
need perfect drainage and can't tolerate wet feet. See more info on planting and planting instructions (pdf).
Water daily with a hose, do not rely on sprinklers. Avocados like water
(considering perfect drainage)
Continue applications of Sunshine Boosters at least until the tree is established and starts
growing new branches with lots of leaves. After that, you can switch to
slow-release fertilizers once a month if it makes it easier, but if you can, continue
Sunshine Boosters at least on weekly basis - they really boost plant growth!
