Grafted Gardenias: what is the trick?

Q: I am thinking about buying a Gardenia as a present for my mother's garden in Florida. What is the difference between grafted and non-grafted gardenias?

A: Gardenias are one of our finest shrubs, growing to a height of about six feet in warmer areas of the United States. They have very attractive, shiny evergreen leaves that are about four inches long and, each spring-summer, produce the loveliest of white flowers that are delightfully scented. In areas with alkaline soils, like Florida, only grafted gardenias can be planted in the ground: graft provides nematode resistance, tolerance to poor, sandy and alkaline soils, and healthy, dark green foliage. Grafted varieties have rootstock of Gardenia thunbergia - the most resistant species of all gardenias.

Check out our Gardenia varieties.

Elephant Foot, Turtle Shell - back in stock!

Dioscorea elephantipes.
Dioscorea is a curious plant with tuber above ground level covered with layers of corky bark, resembling a caudex. It is a slow growing, very unusual succulent. Tuber contains saponins, originally cooked and eaten as a famine food by the Hottentots. Caudex that grows up to 6' in nature, resembling an elephant's foot and looks as if it is segmented into geometric patterns (smaller plants look like tortoises) and looks dead but is actually a living tuber. A plant with 18" caudex can be almost 100 years old! The plant grows into a vine with attractive heart-shaped leaves and small yellow flowers. Culture is relatively easy. The vines may die back and regrow several times a year, depending on the particular plant and your region. The plant doesn't send down deep roots, so plant in a shallow pot about 1" larger than the diameter than the caudex. Potting soil should be very porous/loose so that there is easy drainage. Water well around the edges. Keep in a warm area and wait for the first shoots of the vine to appear. Water regularly from that point on. The plant should not be kept damp as with other tropical plants. Allow it to dry before watering again. Many books will say that they are winter growers, because they are native to the southern hemisphere. In fact, they grow in all seasons! Let the plant be your guide. You cannot force them to grow, and over watering will simply cause them to rot.
Elephant Foot is a collectors item, but remarkably easy to grow. It will be with you for years with no effort. It is a wonderful conversation piece! See more info about Dioscorea elephantipes.

We have limited stock, while supply lasts, hurry up!
*** 4-6" caudex *** 6-8" caudex *** 10-12" caudex *** Seeds. Don't forget special TopTropicals Adenium Soilless Mix that perfectly works for this plant!

Growing Bougainvillea and Plumeria in Florida

Q: I have recently moved from New Jersey to Florida (Orlando area) and I am so excited to start my own Tropical Paradise Garden! A few years ago I visited Hawaii and saw many beautiful colorful Bougainvilleas as well as fragrant Frangipani. Do they grow well in Florida? These are flowers of my dream!

A: Both Bougainvillea and Plumeria grow well in most parts of Florida, especially South and Southwest. Bougainvillea can tolerate some light freeze and can be seen in the streets of Central Florida (young plants require some cold protection for the first year), so it is a very good candidate for your new garden. Keep in mind that unlike in Hawaii, where they bloom year around, Bougainvilleas tend to have a distinctive flowering season which in Florida is winter time - these plants enjoy dry weather that triggers their bloom. To enjoy Bright bougainvillea flowers for a long time, apply balanced fertilizer, prune regularly (this promotes flowering on new growth) and keep established plants on a dry side. Dwarf cultivar Pixie is super compact and can be grown in pots or in a small garden without any pruning! See photo of Pixie on the left.
Plumerias, all-time perfume favorites and symbols of Hawaii, are also residents of many gardens and collections throughout state of Florida. Their cold hardiness is close to the one of Bougainvillea, however keep young plants protected from frost. There are also many new exciting cultivars including multiple "rainbow" colors, and several dwarf varieties, some of them are evergreen - Plumeria obtusa. Plumerias are very undemanding and can stay happy and blooming in a pot and without regular watering. Give them as much sun as possible, and enjoy the fragrance for many months!

SUNSHINE boosters for recovering plants after shipping

Q: I live in Garden City, NJ and have a sun room with a tropical plant collection that I keep at about 40-45 degrees in winter. I used Sunshine booster during winter for my plant collection and results were amazing! I haven't lost a single plant. Now I see you have more products and I am planning to purchase more plants, how should I use Sunshine boosters to help plants recover after shipping?

A: Spray SUNSHINE-E solution right after receiving a plant from shipping. It will boost up the plant and make it 50-60% stronger and easier to recover after shipping stress. After that, apply SUNSHINE-SuperFood microelement booster to provide everything necessary for the plant to grow vigorously and happily. SUNSHINE-E is indeed a wonderful plant stimulant and stress reliever, although it is not a "magic-cure-all" medicine where one can't find its active ingredient. The hormone (epibrassinolide) is well-known and used in different countries along with other hormones for promote growth, fruiting, blooming, rooting, etc. One of the most amazing properties of SUNSHINE is that it works in extremely low dozes. Only a few drops will be enough to make a solution in distilled water, to treat a large size plant. If you want to try it out, one 5 ml bottle will last for several applications. Large bottles of SUNSHINE 50 ml and 100 ml - great for small and big gardens. It is a good idea to start bi-weekly applications to improve your plants tolerance to Summer heat, drought and improve disease resistance. The formula works through plant metabolism within 2-4 days, repeat application not sooner than in one week. After application of SUNSHINE-E, don't forget to boost your plants with SUNSHINE-SuperFood .

Check out SUNSHINE boosters... We offer FREE shipping on them, so you can make your plants happy!

Fruitful Fruit and SuperFood...

Q: I have a large fruit garden here in Florida with many mango trees, avocadoes, guavas, and other tropical fruit. Last year hurricane Irma and flooding killed a few avocado trees, but mangos and guavas survived OK, but the sad part is, very few flowers this year and almost no fruit setting. I noticed on your website your Superfood and Sunshine-Honey boosters that supposedly help fruiting? But I am afraid it is too late now as your instructions say first application must be in early Spring? I wish I discovered earlier that my trees wouldn't want to fruit this year...

A: First of all, it is never late to give the food! You may start applications of SUNSHINE products at any time of the year. The best results will be achieved once you treat your plants on regular basis throughout the whole year cycle of metabolism.
Couple weeks ago we started harvesting our 2 guava trees. These two are the same variety (Variegated Honeymoon), planted within 20 ft from each other and growing in the same conditions. The only difference was, one was treated with SUNSHINE-Honey and SUNSHINE-SuperFood, and another one didn't get any treats in order to have a control plant.
Results are very interesting, see the picture. Both trees were heavily covered with fruit. However the one with treatments developed fruit that is much larger, much sweeter and juicier, and the most interestingly - with less seeds, almost no seeds!
To answer your question: yes, you can start feeding your fruit trees right now. It is still a Springtime. Many mango varieties have late season; even early varieties may delay their fruiting if flowering triggered by miscro-elements. Guavas have very long season and most varieties can have multiple crops throughout Summer-Fall.
Here is a simple and affordable feeding schedule to help your fruit garden recover from last year hurricane stress, and establish reliable production:
1) SUNSHINE-E - for boosting metabolism - once a month
2) SUNSHINE-Honey - for bringing sugars to the heart of the tree and boosting fruit sweetness and quality - now and in 2 weeks
3) SUNSHINE-SuperFood - for overall health, recovering from hurricane and fixing root damage from flood - now and every 2 weeks throughout warm season.
4) You may apply regular balanced fertilizer NPK as usual (we apply once a month, a handful per in-ground tree)
It's that simple. Just try and watch your trees produce again!

Check out all SUNSHINE boosters... We offer FREE shipping on them, so you can make your plants happy!