⚠️ 10 common mistakes to avoid with mail order plants

⁉️ Q: How to get happy and healthy plants from mail order? Will they survive the trip and grow well after transportation? What mistakes should I avoid?

✅ A: At Top Tropicals, we have over 20 years of experience shipping plants. We know how to pack them properly and ensure the safest journey possible. We ship the biggest and healthiest plants, and our customers are often amazed at how great they look after a few days in a dark box. But receiving a healthy plant is only half the adventure. Now that the plant is in your hands, it's up to you to keep it thriving. The first couple of weeks after shipping are critical. With the right care, your new plant can reward you with beautiful flowers and fruit for years to come. Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid when buying plants by mail order.

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  ⏺1. Not unpacking plants immediately

Leaving plants in the box too long can cause stress or damage. Unpack them as soon as they arrive to let them breathe and adjust.
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  ⏺2. Ignoring acclimation

Plants need time to adjust to their new environment. Don't place them in full sun or extreme conditions (heat, wind) right away.
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  ⏺3. Overwatering right after arrival

Many people water their new plants too much. Plants often need time to recover from transit, and too much water can cause root rot.
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  ⏺4. Stepping up too soon

Repotting immediately in a large pot can cause root rot. Plant in a pot just the size of a root ball, step up only after the plant is showing new growth.
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  ⏺5. Ignoring the plant's needs

Research the specific needs of your plant before it arrives. Light, water, and soil requirements vary greatly, and misunderstanding them can lead to issues.

⬇️ Continued in next post 👇

#How_to

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🔍 How to add flowering vines to the landscape

• 🍀 Vines, by their nature, are almost always climbers. There are also some that make good hanging flower vines for your baskets hanging under trees or on the front porch.
• 🍀 Some vines are also in the fruit category. The Passiflora is a beautiful perennial climbing vine that has very showy flowers and then a fruit that can be eaten off the vine or made into a wonderful juice. It would make a nice fast growing vine for a fence or trellis. The Barbados Gooseberry also falls into this category.
• 🍀 One of the most popular fast growing flowering vines is the trumpet vine - Allamanda. It is an evergreen vine and will take some cold without damage, although it is still considered a tropical flowering vine. It can be grown as a large shrub or small tree and makes a beautiful focal point in the landscape.
• 🍀 If you have some large trees in your yard, a great climbing vine for shade that also produces a usable product is the Pepper family. Yes, they flower and yes some of them produce pepper that you can use in your kitchen. If you like to know what is in your food, grow your own!
• 🍀 Another perennial, fast growing and evergreen climbing vine is the Monstera. Monsteras will climb the side of a large tree and can produce an edible fruit after a few years. It is very tropical looking, but will take some cool nights as it is protected under the canopy of the tree.

🎥 Urechites lutea (Pentalinon luteum) - Yellow Mandevilla

🛒 Shop flowering vines

#Hedges_with_benefits #How_to

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😍 Some bunny loves you, and that bunny is me.

Share your loving pets in comments!
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PeopleCats.Garden 

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🍋 🎂 How to make sour taste sweet and what causes the miracle?

• 🍭Miracle Fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum - is one of the strangest tropical fruit that makes sour taste sweet!
• 🍭 The miracle is that if lemon or other sour food is eaten after the miracle fruit, the sour tastes sweet, as if sugar has been added. That kind of magical experience is unforgettable!
• 🍭 A natural chemical in the fruit masks the tongue sour taste buds so that lemons taste like lemonade or lemon pie, or lemon candy! The sweet sensation lasts for half an hour to a few hours.
• 🍭 Miracle fruit berries are valued as a food supplement for chemo-therapy patients to improve the taste of food.
• 🍭 This small, evergreen shrub grows very slowly to a height of 4-6 ft in container, and 6-10 ft in natural habitat. A 10 years old plant might be easily only 4-5 feet tall. It forms an oval to pyramidal shaped bush or small tree.
• 🍭 Miracle fruit is a small compact bush, and can be a rewarding indoor plant. It can be grown in a 1-3 gal pot and produce most of the year. Seed to fruit in 2 to 3 years. Flower to fruit in 30 to 45 days.

📚 Learn more about Miracle fruit, its history, and how to grow it:
Everyday Miracle - Grow the Dream!

🛒 Plant your own Miracle Fruit

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What is the most aromatic medicinal herb

• 💮 Lippia alba - Poleo, Pitiona: this medicinal plant related to Lantana is widely cultivated in Mexico as an ornamental for its aromatic foliage and pretty white flowers.
• 💮 The essential oil composition is unique to each plant!
• 💮 The leaves are used for flavoring foods, such as mole sauces from Oaxaca, Mexico.
• 💮 The plant is used medicinally for its somatic, sedative, antidepressant, and analgesic properties.
• 💮 Leaves and roots are used to make tea or syrup for cough relief and are said to relieve symptoms from anxiety to flatulence and hypertension.

🛒 Order Lippia alba

#Food_Forest #Remedies

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🎶 Cats are like music.

“Cats are like music. It’s foolish to try to explain their worth to those who don’t appreciate them.”

Share your cats in comments!
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#Quotes

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💎 Earrings for your Princess!

⭐️ Dichrostachys cinerea - Princess Earrings, Sickle bush from West Africa is one of the most unusual and unforgettable flowers of cheerful color combination... They bring hope, joy and sunshine into your day!

🛒 Plant Princess Earrings

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🐝 "A fish tank is just interactive television for cats." - Oliver Gaspirtz

• 🐟 Do you have a cat and a fish tank at home? Share in comments! 🐟👇

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🧨 How to get Live Fireworks in Winter

• 🎆 Clerodendrum quadriloculare - Winter Starburst, Fireworks - is a large bush or small tree with showy dark green leaves with a striking purple underside, adding visual interest even when not in bloom.
• 🎆 Spectacular winter blooms are slightly fragrant. Clusters of long, tubular flowers in shades of pink and white that resemble a burst of fireworks - spectacular show!
• 🎆 Fast growing, grows well in full sun to partial shade and thrives in warm climates, reaching heights of 8-15 feet.

🛒 Order Winter Starburst

#Hedges_with_benefits #Trees

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