Plants which are family members

By Mark Hooten, the Garden Whiz
...Perhaps approaching the New Years Season makes me appreciate the plant people I've known. It also made me take stock of the great plants I've had for the longest time. Doing so, I've come to realize that I care for over a handful of potted plants which I have owned for a number of decades. This Euphorbia decaryi is one of them... Read the story...
...I wonder about other folks' special plants which they have kept for so long they seem like family members. So I ask any of our online friends to send us images and the brief history of some special plant which they have cared for and loved for a LONG TIME! You know, heirloom type plants. We would love to share stories and pictures of these special plants with others!..

Check out our Euphorbias...

Six ideas for the best Christmas gift plants

It's this time of the year again when a million dollar question arises: "What do I get them for Christmas?" It's an easy task to buy a gift for a gardener - because we always have a long wish-list! But what to get for everybody else? The answer a simple - buy a live plant... that can bring: Surprise, Love, Joy, Meaning, Convenience, and an Action into their lives! Below are a few wise suggestions.

1. Surprise for Tradition. Everybody knows Ponsettia. Everybody buys it. Every house has it... Red, yellow, white, and even purple... unusual? No, simply dyed with a paint. Ahh. Go RARE! Ponsettia is Euphorbia, get a rare Euphorbia. It has indestructible nature, almosts zero maintenance, and FREE shipping!
Euphorbia leucocephala - Snows of Kilimanjaro
Euphorbia geroldii - Thornless Crown of Thorns
Euphorbia Exotic Thai Candyland, variegated leaves
Euphorbia Pink Cadillac

2. Love. Gardenia Aimee Yoshioka First Love. With a dramatic history behind this cultivar, it is a perfect expression of Love that one can bring to another for Christmas...

3. Joy of Miracle. Miracle fruit. It speaks for itself and is one of the greatest container plants.

4. Meaning. Symbol of Long Life! Adansonia digitata - Baobab, also called the Tree of Longivity, can live for 5000 years. Pass this remarkable plant in your family from generation to generation! Regarded as the largest succulent plant in the world, the Baobab tree is steeped in a wealth of mystique, legend and superstition wherever it occurs in Africa, being a tree that can provide food, water, shelter and relief from sickness. FREE shipping and easy to maintain bonsai.

5. Convenience. A gift card will give your loved ones a chance to browse amazing wonderland of Tropical Plant World, pick something they like and have it shipped to them weather permitting. The gift card (certificate) has no expiration date!

6. Action. Coffea arabica - Coffee. Want to give your kids a project to drag them away from their smartphones? Have them grow a Real Coffee tree. It is a rewarding plant that is happy indoors and gives you a feeling of Creator - for your care, it will bloom for you with fragrant flowers and fruit for you with real coffee beans!

Check out the full list of plants that are great gifts!

If you need further advice on great looking gift plants for Christmas, contact us!
Or call Anna Banana direct @ 239-771-8081.

Happy Shopping!

Why starting tropicals from seed indoors is better than outside?

Q: I am in Texas, it is getting cold, but I bought these seeds the last two packs, as I didn't want to miss them, was looking for a long time and found you had them. Should I wait until spring to plant them?

A: You can grow tropical plants from seed year round and don't have to wait until warm weather outside. It is, in fact, beneficial to start tropicals indoors in a controlled temperature, moisture and humidity. Seeds of some species are very sensitive to excess water and/or require a certain range of temperature for germination... Besides, it's so much fun!
First, read the basics: Happy Hobby: growing tropicals from seeds

Advantages of indoor growing from seed

It is easier to keep under control indoors:

1) Temperature and Light. Although many tropical seeds require higher temperature and bright light for germination (hot sun may help), it may be hard to avoid overheating and drying out when you put trays in full sun. Using heat pads and additional lighting indoors makes germination smooth, even may take a little longer than in hot sun.
2) Soil moisture. If you ever lost your seeds or tiny seedlings to a heavy summer rain, you sure will appreciate your own moisture-controlled environment! Just make sure to use the right soil mix.
3) Air humidity. Indoor air is drier than outside. It may not be best for some tropical plants, but definitely perfect for seed health - they will never get moldy considering you keep your eye on the plantings.
4) Pre-treatment. Some seeds require scarification (sanding down hard shell), others stratification (cold treatment), but all seeds will benefit from SUNSHINE-S soak before planting. It is easier to do in your home lab. Based on our experience, using Sunshine pre-treatment reduces the risk of fungal damage and improves germination from 30 to 65%.
5) After germination culture. Watching seedlings closely in your home environment and giving them all that is needed for healthy, fast growth - miscroelements and first fertilizer - will help to establish young plants just in time before planting them out in Spring-Summer.

Read more: From Kristi - how to grow tropicals from seed.

Check out our seeds selection...

Seven rules of cold protection for tropicals

Q: I was always wondering how you guys manage to grow true tropical trees in Florida? I live in Puerto Rico and we have Breadfruit trees growing here in a wild... but my sister lives not far away from you, in Orlando, which is much colder, and I wonder if I can get her a Breadfruit tree for Christmas?

A: Your sister can grow a Breadfruit tree in Orlando either in a pot (and bring it indoors during cold periods) or in the ground inside a structure (an elclosed conservatory with heating system). See our customer's Greenhouse in Virginia. Cold protection of tropical plants is a lengthy subject and we have many interesting publications about it in our managine Tropical Treasures and on the website. In a nutshell, when growing tropicals outside of tropical climate, you need to follow these 7 rules:
1. Cut watering to a minimum. Cold+wet kills tropical roots.
2. Water thirsty plants before a cold night. Jucy leaves have fewer chances to be cold-zapped.
3. Wind protection is more important than a temperature drop. Plant tropicals close to a house or surrounded by other trees.
4. Duration of a cold period is more critical than the cold itself. If expecting long cold hours, bring up all available protection resources. Christmas lights or propane heaters - as long as there is a heat source, everything helps!
5. Remove plastic covers during the daytime so plants don't get "cooked" in the sun. Fabric covers are better than plastic.
6. Grow ultra-tropicals in containers and bring them inside the garage or even indoors during the cold.
7. Use SUNSHINE plant boosters and feed your plants well during Summer to improve cold hardiness.

Related topics:
About Cold Protection
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
Improving cold hardiness before winter: fertilizer and micro-elements
Cold hardy tropical fruit trees

Featured Plant. Calathea x roseopicta Dottie - Prayer Plant

Calathea x roseopicta Dottie - Prayer Plant

Rare hybrid of Calathea - Dottie - is a wonderful, colorful small plant that will brighten your shade garden or indoor plant collection. It has vivid pink markings with an entire and wavy margin. The leaf surfaces are colored very dark black-green and its midrib beautifully marked with a distinctive bright pink that also encircles the leaf about 0.5-1" from the margin. These beautiful markings remain vivid pink even as the plant matures. Newly emerged leaves are slightly lighter in color. Leaves underside is purple. Dottie has the characteristic feature of folding up their leaves at dusk to dawn by means of the tiny geniculum, an angular knee-like joint connecting it to the petiole, resembling hands put together in prayer, hence the other common name, Prayer Plant. And, in the morning the leaves will return to normal position, that is, almost perpendicular to the petioles. The plant does occasionally produce purple and white flowers. Perfect small accent plant for shade tropical gardens or as a houseplant.

See all exotic varieties of Calatheas from our store...

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