PeopleCats saving us from COVID-19!

Cat owners have higher immunity for COVID-19?

In our previous newsletter, we were talking about cats fighting the coronavirus and how to help them to recover.
The research made by Sabina Olex-Condor, a Polish doctor who works in a clinic in Madrid, showed that due to cross-immunity (cats are a known reservoir of coronaviruses) cat owners have milder sympthoms of COVID-19! Perhaps this is due to the fact that in a cross-reaction antibodies are produced to the virus, and owners of cats are more protected from COVID19... Read more)
Now that quarantine has been introduced almost universally because of coronavirus, dog owners are also in a better position - they can officially go outside for a short while. But the benefit of dogs (and other pets) is not only that. Scientists from the Italian city of Catanzaro found in the course of the study, that those who have a four-legged pet, have very mild symptoms of the COVID-19. A similar effect was observed in those in contact with cattle... To find an explanation for this phenomenon, the researchers compared viruses. It turned out that the disease of bulls, cows and other cattle is similar to Chinese coronavirus by 38.4%, and the virus of dogs by 36.9%. This means that owners of animals already have some kind of immunity. So the owners of cats and dogs, as a rule, tolerate coronavirus easier or completely asymptomatic. Read more...

Stay safe and healthy with your PetPeople!

TopTropicals PeopleCat Club

Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community!
Make your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us. Every little bit helps! Thank you and God bless you and your pets!

Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the day: Anders from the King's Palace

We receive many letters from customers who enjoy our Cat of the Day column, including those who want to share their cat stories with us! Today's guest in PeopleCat studio -

Cat Anders. Anders lives in Stockholm. He is a manager of a Garden Center located in one of the King's properties - Palace Ulriksdal. He has so many beautiful flowers in stock! Lots of orchids, camellias, and showy colorful annuals.
Anders' favorite spot is to sit by the cash register where he can closely monitor every payment transaction. Sometimes he takes a walk around the premises to take care of security issues and to stay on top of his inventory control. During lunch time Anders visit Flower Cafe nearby, to make sure visitors' dogs behave properly... Yes, dogs and cats are welcomed in!

TopTropicals PeopleCat Club and Zoo

Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community!
Make your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!

Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

How to prevent mango flowers drop

Q:The mango blossoms my tree had in February have blown off due to weather conditions. Do you know what I can do to prevent this from happening again in the future?

A: The only "guarantee" to protect mango flowers from cold weather damage here in Florida is to plant a LATE flowering variety. Generally, mango trees are winter bloomers. Those varieties called "early season" start flowering in January (for example, Nam Doc Mai), and of course very often they get affected by cold, so they drop. Some varieties are so called "late season" - for example Venus. They start flowering in spring when the weather conditions are more favorable.
Another thing that may help you with mango flower drop is applying plant micro-element supplement Sunshine-Honey - it contains Molybdenum and Boron, which help flower and fruit development/strength and prevent their drop.

Read more: Boosting Mango Flowers and Fruit.

Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

Healthy Heliconia Leaves?

Q: I purchased a heliconia from you a couple months ago. The new growth seems to be doing fairly well, however some of the larger leaves are discoloring around the edges then drying up. It's potted in a large pot with potting soil with 3 holes in the bottom to help with drainage in partial sun under a Royal Palm facing northwest. I'm here in Ft Myers. I was previously watering it every other day with your rapid growth fertilizer 1 tbsp per gallon but I have cut that back to once or twice a week. Please let me know your thoughts.

A: Heliconias and Gingers tend to develop dry leaves if grown in pots, especially ceramic or clay pots, because soil in such pots dries out too fast. These dry leaves are not caused by fertilizer, and you can see lots of new healthy green growth. The plant overall seem to be healthy. Continue fertilizing it with liquid Sunshine Robusta that is great for all wide-leaf tropical species, promotes green, lush foliage, and do not use any additional dry fertilizers!
Another suggestion, try to move the plant in more shady spot. Right now it sits in pretty bright light, this may be OK for established plants in the ground, but potted heliconias are very sensitive to hot sun. They get leaf burn easily.

Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

Mango leaves and fertilizing

Q: I received a mango tree we ordered last week (I am in California) and am trying to make sure we take care of it properly. I noticed the corners of some leaves have began drying out. I wanted to see if there was anything else we should be doing or if it is something normal. Overall the tree looks good and the leaves have perked up, but I noticed the dry tips on a handful of leaves. Any help is appreciated! I have not fertilized in the pot yet or applied the mango sunshine booster.

A:Your mango tree looks pretty healthy, and these dry leaf tips may be caused by overall shipping stress. You have dry air in California, and temperatures may be getting up, this may cause additional drying effect. You may start fertilizing with a liquid fertilizer, it will help the plant to get stronger and grow faster - then heat and dry air won't be a problem as soon as the plant becomes better established and hopefully go into a bigger pot soon, or in the ground. Make sure to provide regular water if you have hot dry summers.