Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
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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
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Ghost Cold Protection
Q: Has anyone ever tried using heat packs under frost blankets to protect tropical plants from frost?
A: The reality is, the heat packs used for shipping do not have enough heat capacity to create efficient warming effect. From our own experience, the best way is to use small 25W incandescent bulbs which produce lots of heat (considering observing all safety precautions and fire safety). Some gardeners use Christmas lights. See picture of our plants in the ground during a cold night. We called them Ghost Cold Protection! ;)
See more columns on cold protection:
Seven rules of cold protection for tropicals
About Cold Protection
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
Tropical Treasures articles
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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
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Tricky Lil S**t still rules the place!
Everyone knows Lil S**t because she is the first Purrrson you see when visiting our Garden Center, along with
Marco. They are our official Greeters.
She not only hangs out at the gate, but also runs our Shipping Department along
with Chief.
Lil S**t has her purrrrsonal extra plates at the gate: she insisted to have
them so she can demonstrate to everyone how empty they always are... that means
the poor Lil Thing is always hungry, duh. Well if you preferrrr to believe her, you may bring some treats for her... and
watch her eating them and bugging the next visitor 5 minutes later...
We don't mind her Lil tricks, because it seems like no matter how much she eats, she sure keeps her Lil figure slim without any diet! Maybe some day she can share her secret with us!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Lil S**t at the Front Gate claiming her rights for extra food... and complaining to visitors.
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cindy's Purry - Jackson's Nanny
Purry came in the same litter with LadyBug, Ricki, and Charlie.
She now lives in Cindy's house as an indoor cat. She is the most lovable and purring purrrrson.
Purry (or Pursey) has a little ward she faithfully looks after... Her soft purrs put Baby Jackson Michael every time to sleep!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Purry - 2016
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat, Pet & Plant Community
Marco watching Dobi Duck; King & Marco with their Pet Frog
Barcy, Wesley and Coconuts at sweet liquor tasting
Anyone knows the name of this creature? He feeds on our Jasmines!
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Ricki
The Smallest Cat
Ricki is a tiny little cat. He is already 3 y.o. but still feels shy because he always has been the smallest one... He arrived to TopTropicals as a little kitten, along with his 3 sisters, Charlie, Purry, and LadyBug, in a box. Ricki was the last kitten in the littler and almost half the size of other kittens! But his ears were the biggest. So he became a very Wise Puuurson who knows how to Listen.
Not only Ricki was the smallest, but he also was pretty sick when we first got him at the age of 4 weeks. He had a bad infection in both eyes and could hardly see anything... His 2 sisters got adopted by employees, but no one wanted to adopt poor Ricki... so he stayed at TopTropicals. Almost 2 weeks of therapy finally helped him to get all better. Now he is one of the cutest Little People!
Ricki has his own spot at the corner of a dinner table. He is not interested in stealing any food (unlike Wesley), he just wants to be involved in a dinner conversation...
Ricki likes treats and remains very shy, staying indoors. If you visit our Garden Center, you may bring him a small treat - his favorite "Temptations".
Wesley and Ricki at Dinner conversation
LadyBug, Purry, and Ricki, 2016.
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Independent Paisley
Paisley is an independent cat that prefers to spend her time alone. She is Snitch's sister, both of them came to us two years ago from our co-worker Cindy (Purry's Mom). Even though Paisley is the smallest of Kristi's inside PeopleCats, she will make sure no food is wasted and finishes the other cats' food after they leave their bowls. She enjoys catching lizards when she gets outside time on the porch. Her excellent hunting skills would make her a great outdoor cat, but we are afraid she will become bird prey due to her small size.
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Paisley likes hanging with the other cats if there's a rug involved!
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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.
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Chief
Shipping Department Supervisor
Chief is one of the oldest PeopleCats at TopTropicals. And of course the
most experienced one. So he is in charge of the Shipping Department.
Chief likes to chill out in front of the nursery gate together with Marco, Lil S*t and Dobi Duck.
Chief doesn't like car rides to his vet and when it happens, he is very
loud. The sound he makes is "Oy-yo-yo-yooooy!!!"
Chief likes milk. He has a white spot on his black face - from drinking
so much milk! No matter how much milk we buy for him, there never seems to
be enough. Chief even has a refrigerator for his milk. If you come to visit
Chief at TopTropicals Garden Center, you may bring him a small bottle of fresh
milk!
Thank you for your purrrrrrchase for Chief!
