Date: 30 Oct 2019
Fragrant Gold Leaf Orchid Vine
By Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist
Q: I am absolutely thrilled to see you have this vine. I've tried for years to get this plant! It is so, so rare. It just seemed impossible to find in this country. How do I make it thrive? I am ordering two.
A: We are happy to confirm that indeed we do have this rare vine!
Bauhinia aureifolia - Gold Leaf Orchid Vine - was discovered in Thailand in
1983. It is endemic to Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala in Southern Thailand.
Danish botanist Kai Larsen named this plant and hailed it as one of the rarest
plant species of the world when it was discovered in the eighties.
The Thai people call this vine Bai Mai Si Thong. It is a beautiful
climber with large, bi-loped leaves (7 inches or more!) and good branching.
Young leaves are a stunning burnt orange to terracotta color for about
a week and as they reach full size, they turn green over a couple of days.
This is a very rare color for Bauhinia. It produces leaves all the time and
this means this vine is always full of beautiful color. With its golden leaves,
it sure is reminiscent of Autumn.
This vine blooms from May to November. It bears bunches of small
flowers that are delicately fragrant in the evenings. The cultivated plants range
flower color from pure white to purple and pink, while the wild ones have
often white petals with pinkish patches.
Bauhinia aureifolia needs well-drained soil, full light and good humidity
to thrive. It will tolerate a light freeze once established and it is very
important to protect young plants.
Gold Leaf Orchid Vine also makes a wonderful container plant with staking
or support. It is a must for every rare plant collection!
RECOMMENDED FERTILIZERS:
Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
Date: 23 Oct 2019
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Office Snitch
Snitch is an office employee. He is Kristi's personal assistance and he owns half of her desk (well, the middle half). He is helping answering customer calls and messages.
When you visit our Garden Center, be careful when you open the office door and step in - Snitch might be playing a Doormat!
Snitch dozed off after his office hard work
Inspecting the Grounds and Above with Dobi Duck
Date: 23 Oct 2019
Best tasting white guava
Q: What's your best tasting white guava?
A: Our favorite white Guava is Viet Nam variety that is also very rare and hard to find. The fruit is
very large, up to 6"in diameter, the pulp is very sweet and somewhat
crunchy.
The seeds are small which makes it more pleasurable to eat out of hand.
Another great feature of this variety, it stays compact and branches do not
get leggy, unlike most guavas. It can be easily grown in a container,
trimmed to the desired size and it will produce fruit under proper care.
Another cool variety is Indonesian, it also has a large round fruit and very few seeds to compare with others.
And last but not least, if you prefer soft fruit to crunchy, the Peruvian variety is a great choice. The fruit is pear-shaped.
Remember to provide plant food for good production, especially if grown in a container.
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster
Date: 18 Oct 2019
Date: 18 Oct 2019
Using SUNSHINE Complete Nutrition System
For hydroponics and potted plants
Q: I recently bought both the 5ml of the sunshine epi and the 100 ml advanced nutrition kit. I read on the paper for the Epi not to use any other strong fertilizers along with this but I was wondering if it'd be alright to use both this foliar spray and nutrition watering together?
A: All solutions in SUNSHINE Booster Nutrition System (NPK-macro and micro-boosters) are
compatible.
The only exception is Sunshine-Epi - brassinosteroid bio-stimulant. Epi
should be mixed with distilled water separately from other boosters. The
reason is, it is very bio-active, and if mixed with other compounds, oxidizes
quickly which may affect its performance.
Sunshine-Epi solution must be prepared using distilled water and applied as foliar spray only (it only works on contact with leaves and not through the root system). Epi shows extremely impressive results when you apply it before the application of other nutrients because it increases plant metabolism; so all boosters become even more effective if you spray Epi the day before.
When using Micro- and Macro-boosters, you may mix all components in one watering can/tank (except for Epi), using regular tap water. Besides watering root ball, the macro-micro solution can be also used for foliar spray. It is optional, as in some circumstances growers prefer to keep leaves dry at all times: to stay away from mold, fungus and other issues caused by the wet environment.
Here is an example of Sunshine Boosters Nutrition System application:
1. Daily watering in one can: NPK 25 ml/gal (one of 5, depending on growth stage) + Constanta 5 ml/gal + Ca-Support 5 ml/gal, mixed in tap water
2. Every 2 weeks: spray Sunshine-Epi 2.5 ml/gal - to boost the immune system and growth rate,
mixed in distilled water
3. From daily to every 2 weeks: Sunshine-Power-Si 25 ml/gal to protect from diseases and keep pH at
5.5-6.5. Can be used as often as daily and mixed with a daily watering solution
(1)
4. As needed: Sunshine SuperFood and GreenLeaf - for correcting deficiencies. Can be also mixed with the
daily solution (1)
Make sure to prepare a solution right before use and do not store solution for more than 1 day. Keep concentrates and solutions protected from bright sunlight.
Here is also advanced information on Sunshine Boosters compatibility.
