A: Adeniums, also known as Desert Roses, are exotic and striking plants that can bring beauty to any indoor or outdoor garden. Despite their desert origins, they require a bit of care to thrive. Here's a simple guide to help you grow healthy and vibrant adeniums:

Light and Location: Adeniums prefer filtered light, although they can tolerate full sun. In hot climates, they thrive in bright, indirect light. Position your plant accordingly to ensure optimal growth.

Potting and Soil: Use a small pot with excellent drainage to prevent waterlogging. Opt for a well-draining soil mix specifically designed for adeniums or create your own mix using cactus mix with added limestone for slightly alkaline conditions.

Watering: Water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings. Avoid overwatering, which can lead to caudex rot. Water in the early morning and ensure the plant drinks up throughout the day.

Fertilization: Use a liquid fertilizer with high phosphate content to encourage both caudex growth and flowering. Apply according to label instructions, avoiding direct contact with the caudex. We recommend Sunshine Megaflor.

Caring for the Caudex: To promote a large swollen caudex, gradually raise the plant each time you repot it, exposing the upper roots. This encourages the formation of additional roots.

Maintenance and Blooming: Adeniums typically bloom from spring through fall. Ensure they receive ample light for heavy flowering. Avoid wetting the leaves and apply fertilizer to support overall plant health.

By following these simple steps, you can enjoy the beauty of adeniums in your own garden or home. With proper care and attention, your Desert Roses will flourish and delight you with their stunning blooms.

A: We are glad your avocado is doing great. Anise is one of our favorite varieties, with the wonderful smell of leaves and tasty fruit.

Cold hardiness and flower quality

It is true that cold damage may affect avocado production, especially in setting fruit. To improve the tree's cold hardiness, make sure to provide balanced plant food, especially during the season of active growth. For our avocado trees, we use Sunshine C-Cibus year-round.

If you prefer to use dry (granulated, slow-release) fertilizers, make sure they contain micronutrients, or apply Sunshine Superfood microelement complex once a month.

To improve flower quality (including the ability to set fruit), we recommend a special micronutrient supplement called Sunshine Honey. It contains Boron and Molybdenum - elements that are responsible for setting fruit and for developing fruit (meaning not dropping at the early stage of development).

Cross-pollination and crop

In general, every avocado tree is self-fertile, meaning it can produce some fruit with its own pollen and doesn't necessarily require a second tree for pollination. So even if you don't do anything, sooner or later your tree will set fruit. However, it is also true that the amount of fruit and crop reliability depends on pollination factors. One type of avocado classification is by flowering and pollination behavior - type A or B.

When both types of trees are grown in proximity to each other, their overlapping flowering patterns significantly enhance the chances of cross-pollination. This can lead to improved fruit set and higher yield, making it especially important for commercial production and, to a lesser extent, for home growers.

Therefore, it's advisable to plant different varieties of avocado in your garden - the more, the merrier! The greater the diversity of avocado trees with overlapping flowering periods, the better your crop is likely to be. If you're growing an avocado tree without other avocados nearby, it becomes helpful to have more than one tree with different flowering patterns (A and B) to increase yield in your garden.

Anise Avocado is type B. So to increase your crop, you may consider planting type A variety from the list: Bernecker, Black Prince, Catalina, Choquette, Day, Donnie, Fantastic, Florida Hass, Lila, Loretta, Lula, Mexicola, Mexicola Grande, Red Russell, Reed, Russell, Simmonds, Ulala , Waldin .

To learn more about avocado types, fruit characteristics, cold hardiness and much more, refer to our Avocado Variety Guide - a page with very convenient interactive chart allowing you to quickly sort types of avocado by requirements of your choice (just click on column header to sort data). You may also buy a Book or download a PDF.

Photo above: 15 gal Avocado trees for local pick up. Delivery and installation available!

A: Don't lose hope just yet! We have the perfect solution for you. Plumbago is tailor-made for hot, sunny locations, offering a vibrant display of flowers with minimal effort required. This resilient plant is a true asset for southern landscapes, boasting adaptability, drought tolerance, rapid growth, and an extended blooming season. Plumbago's sky-blue blossoms are guaranteed to elevate the aesthetic of your outdoor space with their enchanting allure. With varieties like Imperial Blue and Pure White being among the hardiest cultivars, you're sure to find success with this delightful shrub.