Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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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: 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!

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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.

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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Wesley (Vasiliy)

Vasiliy is Russian Blue. Everybody calls him Wesley. Wesley is Marco's twin brother. They both were found as little kittens in a box that someone dropped off... right, under TopTropicals car.
Marco is long hair, and Wes is short hair, so Wes doesn't get a haircut like his bro. Although Wes is much bigger and fatter, he is not as brave as skinny Marco who fearlessly spends his days at the front gate. Wes is afraid of Thunder, Rain, and a Doorbell. So he is mostly hiding behind the scene... unless food is on the table!

In the photo: Wesley Roll - bikini shot

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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Lil-S*

You know how it is, cats are like potato chips, they can't be just one. And they come to you, they adopt you. They always pick the right people. Every one of them has a story of their appearance.
Lil-S* came from a car engine. One cold winter morning of 2013 when we were about to start a car... lil "meow" squeaked as a warning... Thank God the engine wasn't started. She was hiding from cold under the hood right on the engine, probably still catching some warmth from it... She was 4" size kitten that fit in a palm of your hand... And she always has been a handful! That's why we named her Little Sh*t.

Lil-S* likes to hang out with Marco in front of TopTropicals gate, greeting the customers.

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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

From left to right: Purry, LadyBug, Charlie, and Ricki - 2016

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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

TopTropicals.com

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: Vasiliy - the Lover

Wesley (aka Vasiliy) is a real Lover. He is the sweetest Purrrson you can imagine who just loves everybody... except! Except for those who ring the door bell. Wes is afraid of the doorbell and hides in a closet for a few hours every time he hears someone at the door. He runs away from that door knocking off everything on his way to the closet sanctuary. Just in case! In today's world of Amazon deliveries, he gets to spend in a closet quite a bit of time.

Another fear of Wesley is James Coconuts. We don't know why, but for some reason they have an issue. Coconuts once had bitten Wes for being too annoying with his love, and since then they stay on different sides of the couch!

Oh well, who said that lovers have no fears?

Wesley with his brother Marco when they were little