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: 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
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Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Weasley the Immigrant
Weasley came from the neighborhood cat community (our neighbor takes
care of at least a dozen of cats). Whether TopTropicals dry food tastes better
than neighbor's, or simply he is such an enthusiast of tropical gardening, he
hangs out with us all the time.
When you see him in our Garden
Center drinking milk or chilling right on the walkway with other
PeopleCats, don't get him confused with other two ginger cats we have: Barcy and Snitch... as well as the Russian Blue cat with a similar name Wesley...
Although Weasley currently has a status of a legal immigrant, he feels
pretty confident around our greenhouses and will be happy to give you a tour. He
is still a volunteer here but has already applied for a permanent residence
and a full time position, so his food needs are being added to our cat
payroll.
When visiting TopTropicals nursery, feel free to add your donation to a Cat
Jar located in our office by customer's computer. We appreciate everybody's
help - every penny goes to PeopleCat's needs.
Check out Video: Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.
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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. Cats of the Day: Abu, Raja and their 9 lives.
"Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending." - Wise Man
Just a couple weeks ago you met Abu and his tiny sister Raja whose Mom died after a car accident, and Kristi rescued her two
little kittens. Who knew that the troubles were not over... yet. The kittens
looked very weak and undernourished, with lots of fleas and infected wounds...
Kristi took them to the vet and after intensive care they started to look
much better... until a few days ago Raja woke up with paralysis in her back
legs... while sores on Abu's paws didn't heal. Kristi rushed them both to the hospital again.
The vet said it all didn't look good... that symptoms looked like possible rabies or cat coronavirus! He said that chances are, the kittens wouldn't last long and he put them in 10 days quarantine.
Day and night we all at TopTropicals have been praying for the little
babies. Every day vet's updates got worse... it was hard to believe that after all the efforts to save them, they may be gone!
Then all the sudden, after 5 days in the hospital, a miracle happened. All
tests came out negative! And the kitties started getting better, fighting bad
infections under
doctor Bowers care. Raja got back on her feet. There is still a long way
to full recovery from their miserable experience of a street life, but
Something saved their lives! Doctors, prayers... or simply Kristi's BELIEVE that they WILL make it! She told them when she left them in the hospital: "You have to keep fighting, you are fighters." And they did. The Nurse said Raja hissed at her every time she walked by, but when Kristi came to pick her up and opened the cage, Raja rubbed her ears and just pressed her head in Kristi's hand.
Now they both at home, sweet home, taking medication and eating sooo
much!
"I just kept thinking after all they have been through this can't be the way their story ends!" - Kristi says.
Have happy and loooong lives, kitties! All 9 of them or whatever you have
saved!
TopTropicals Cat Club
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCats, especially local customers who leave donations in our Cat jar in the office. If you would like to help Raja and Abu to pay their bill for 5 day hospital stay under intensive care, you may do it directly from our online store, by purchasing item 6464 Donation for Cats - TopTropicals Cat Club. Every little bit helps. All donations will go to cat care, and you will receive appreciation surprise presents from TopTropicals, including TopTropicals Cat Club bumper sticker. Thank you, and God bless you and your pets!
Check out the Video: ">Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals and more Cat of the Day stories.
After their live threatening experience, Raja and Abu are back home safe and sound and eating like there is no tomorrow! Now, there IS tomorrow, kitties, you made it!
