Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date:
True love of Night Blooming Jasmine
By Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist
Q: I live in New Cumberland, West Virginia. I love the smell of Night-Blooming jasmine. Is it possible to grow it in the northern panhandle of West Virginia? Do I have to plant it every year or do I keep it in a pot and take it inside during the winter months?
A: Technically, Night Blooming Jasmine is not a true jasmine
(those plants belong to Oleaceae, or Olive family). Night Blooming Jasmine
belongs to the Solanaceae family, also known as the Nightshade or "Potato" family
of plants. Yes, this sweet fragrant flower called Jasmine for its perfume is
related to potatoes and tomatoes!
Night Blooming Jasmine - Cestrum nocturnum - is loved by many gardeners for its beautiful
fragrance at night. It is one of the most fragrant tropical evergreen shrubs
available. Cascading clusters of tiny, tubular pale yellow to white flowers open at
night and release a heavenly fragrance throughout the garden, especially on
warm summer evenings. The fragrance is much lighter during the day.
Night Blooming Jasmine is grown year-round in zones 9-11. It is at its
happiest in a sunny to a partially sunny spot in your garden in well-drained soil
but can be grown in cooler climates as a container or greenhouse plant.
You would absolutely be able to enjoy this plant during the warm months
in West Virginia, but it will most certainly not survive outside during the
winter. You will have to bring it inside. Take it outside again only once you
are confident there is no more possibility of frost. When grown indoors, be
sure to give it the sunniest, South facing window in your home. When grown in
a container, you will need to re-pot it every two to three years so it
doesn't become root-bound.
For those who are lucky to live in frost-free areas, in ideal growing
conditions outside, it can easily reach 8 feet with a spread of 5 feet. It has
a lovely informal look that can soften a more manicured garden. Add organic
matter to the planting hole when you plant to enrich the soil around the root
ball. Water well in the summer, but allow them to dry out a bit between
watering in the winter. Plant this Jasmine near pools, porches, doors, windows,
and walkways where its lovely fragrance can be enjoyed. The shrub is also an
excellent plant for privacy hedges and screens. When grown as a hedge, plant 3
feet apart.
Trim lightly after a bloom cycle to shape and then do a hard pruning in
fall or spring to control the size of this plant. Fertilize 3 times a year -
in spring, summer, and autumn - with a good quality granular fertilizer.
Recommended fertilizers:
Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
Interesting facts:
Night-blooming jasmine is an excellent mosquito repellent. The powerful
scent of the flowers attracts moths and bats that feed on mosquitoes and
other small insects.
The flowers of the Night Blooming jasmine are widely used in India and
other countries of South Asia for perfumery, medicinal applications and in
religious ceremonies.
Limited time special offer:
Instant $5 off Night Blooming Jasmine
Date:
FEATURED BUTTERFLY PLANT:
Duranta variegata - Variegated Sky Flower
Variegated Sky Flower is grown for its summer flowers and ornamental fruit. This evergreen fast-growing shrub spreads and arches to 10 feet tall and wide and is great for live hedges and covering fences and corners. In the summer, cascading clusters of blue tubular flowers appear followed by wonderfully contrasting orange-yellow berries. This variegated form has creamy-yellow margins around the one inch long serrated leaves. In mild climates, this plant can be in flower nearly year round with flowers and fruit appearing at the same time. It does best in full sun with frequent deep watering and is hardy to about 20-25F. A good choice for espaliers, as a small tree or large bush; all forms benefit from frequent selective pruning. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies. Great for providing a color contrast in the landscape, and is especially well-suited as a bright-colored background or screening. Prune back in late winter to encourage a more compact shape and strong flush of fresh spring foliage. Requires moderate watering in a well-drained soil.
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Bagheera
Bagheera and Mowgli are Kristi's PeopleCats, originally they came together and they stick together. As little kittens, they were raised by Moe, the Mama-cat. Although she is not technically their Mom, but... she is a Mom for everyone!
Bagheera was born with his brother at a gator farm. He was too little to leave his mom, but he needed out. Bagheera is one of the sweetest boys we know. When he was a baby he could not sleep without laying on Kristi's face, both paws stretching across her mouth. Now he's a big brave boy. He rules the inside PeopleCats, stealing food from his human's plates and asking forgiveness at night when he lays above your head with his hands on your face. He's a reminder that we are all still little kittens on the inside...
Bagheera's new nicknames are Mr Biggs, Biggie and Biggy Biggy Biggy!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date:
PeopleCats of TopTropicals: Shipping Department cat - Lady Bug
We have been getting many messages from customers saying they really love the postings of our Cats and Dobi Duck... and they want more updates. So we decided to open this new section for the animal fans.
As you well know, TopTropicals is not just a plant Nursery. Like most of the gardeners and all Cool Plant People, we love our pets and we have many of them here, enjoying the Garden. Our cats and the Duck are members of TopTropicals Team. They help customers, participate in packing plants, and of course keep the nursery mice-free. As employees of the marketing department, they get their paychecks, free lunches, and other company benefits like full healthcare coverage and stuff... They are taken care of by TopTropicals Shipping Crew every day: whether its a meal or taking a medicine, it's all scheduled in our daily task list!
This First Issue of PeopleCats Fan Club is dedicated to our Shipping Department cat - Lady Bug. Originally she came to our nursery 3 years ago in a box with her other 3 baby brother-sisters and they just opened their eyes. Someone dropped the box with the litter at our gate... guessing this is the Good Place! When Lady Bug grew up, she became a Shipping Department Supervisor, helping Chief the Cat to manage plant shipments.
Lady Bug went missing a few days ago and all our team is crying for her. We are praying she is OK. We miss you, Lady Bug! Please come back and bug us again!
As a friendly reminder to our local walk-in customers: you are welcome to visit TopTropicals ZOO, just please do not feed or pick up the animals! Some of them are of old age, have special needs or special diet. All our pets are friendly, however, we ask you to please do NOT pet them. They work hard all day long and may have their own rules and emotions.
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Muggle the Snuggle
The sweet talking bathroom cat
Muggle* (or some call him Mawgli) is the little brother to Bagheera. We call him the sweet talker because he really does talk to you. As soon as he sees you he wants to have a conversation. He meows at you and if you meow back he will continue the talk. He is our bathroom cat because he loves to sit in the bathroom with you and purrrrrr. We think maybe he sees this time as his alone time with his humans, his one-on-one time when he doesn't have to share the attention with the other PeopleCats!
* His name is actually Muggle, Jamie named him after Harry Potter which she loves.
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Charlie, the Indoor Hunter
Carlie was a kitty drop off with LadyBug, Rickie, and Purry.
Charlie is Jamie's baby. She has an attitude of a teenager, one minute she
loves you and the next - wants nothing to do with you. Carlie stays with the
inside PeopleCats, she says it's too big in the outside world for her and she
gets scared. Carlie has a fun game (fun to her): she plays around 2:00 am in
the morning, she loves to drag random items down the hall (socks, toys,
shirts, even blankets) in her mouth MEOOOWWWING as loud as she can. She then sets
the items down on her human's bedroom rug and waits for her human to say
thank you. We're pretty sure her hunting instinct is off...
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
2019, from Top to Bottom: Moe, Charlie, Bagheera, and Snitch. 2016: Charlie
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Mommy Moe, meep-meep!
Moe is the oldest of the indoor PeopleCats. She came to us six years
ago. She is a Siberian, these are sold as hypoallergenic cats... Unfortunately
for Moe's previous owner, she is not hypoallergenic! Lucky for us she is a
purrrrfect fit.
Moe is the mommy cat to all others. She takes all new People under her wing
and shows them around. She is a very sweet purrrson, and very smart. She
loves turning lights off on you and playing fetch with her toy mouse. Siberian
cats have a very unique meow. It is actually more of a "meep-meep", there is
no eowww part!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Keeping us clean and happy!
Moe raising Bagheera and Mowgli
Date:
December Fest on Dec 10, mark your calendars!
Topic: Edible landscape. 10:00am - 2:00pm. Agenda:
Class @ 11:00am by Robert Riefer. How to keep pests off of maturing fruit.
Class @12:00pm Super foods by Zoe Merring. Benefits of Soursop, barbados cherry, goji, moringa. Benefits and recipes.
Discounts on all edibles
Prize giveaways at 12:00pm and 2:00pm (must be present to win)
20% off After-Cyber-Monday sale! Now that everybody is done with shopping for monitors and speakers, it is time to get some happy stuff! 20% off on all fruit trees, 1 day only! Enjoy your shopping and get the plants you always wanted at a low price!
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Field Grown Marco
Marco loves growing plants and be involved in different projects outside. He is good at finding spots either on top, or inside some inappropriate objects. Yet simple boxes, that most cats find super comfy, do not interest him. Is has to be a plant container, saucer, or even a charcoal grill full of ash... He can sit in some weird places for hours like on top of a fence pole, or lay in the middle of a busy walking traffic while everybody have to step over or walk around him... We have quite a collection of Marco's special places and will be sharing with you!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Klaksa - the Mini Cat
Klaksa is a miniature 6 lb cat that lives together with Jim and Google. You can see all three of them wishing you Merry Christmas at
the top of this Newsletter.
Klaksa is the tiniest Purrson and yet she is the most energetic one. It is
almost impossible to take a picture of her because she never stops moving for
a second!
Klaksa came in 2016 as a little kitten, but she never grew up since!
She saw Google and Jim and said she could be a good addition to this "Man in Black" team. So she stayed.
Klaksa likes to attach/cling to someone. The boys can't avoid her company even if they wanted too! But who can say no to woman's attention?
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
