🏃‍♂️ Cat treadmill New Year Resolution: progress pending

🐈📸Kiwi, Jim II, and Serge kicking off their New Year resolution - lose weight by Summer… at least by next New Year.
Step one: lay down on the treadmill and let motivation spin around.
TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden

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Stop planting shade plants until you see this one!

• 🚩Megaskepasma erythrochlamys - Brazilian plume or Red Cloak is one of my favorite winter colors in the garden. It comes from a plant most people overlook.

It keeps pushing bold red flower spikes when many plants slow down.
• 🚩It handles sun or shade, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, and even surprises people with light cold tolerance. Big leaves, strong structure, and steady color make it a solid choice for beds, fences, or large containers.
• 🚩If your garden needs color that does not quit when the season changes, this one earns its space.

🛒 Get the winter bloomer most gardens are missing

📚 Learn more:

• ✦ Megaskepasma_erythrochlamys in Plant Encyclopedia
• ✦ Turn up the color in your garden with the bold everblooming Brazilian plume

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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🐈 Always on duty

"Are you guys still opening your Christmas presents?
Time to plant some trees!"

🐈📸 Cat Snitch is already on duty in his Garden Center office at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden

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🐍 Is it deadly snake? 2025 was the Year of the Snake...

That scary-looking black garden snake? Totally harmless.
In Florida, most black snakes you see around gardens are Black racer or Black rat snake. They are not poisonous, not deadly, and actually great neighbors.
Black racer - Coluber constrictor
Black rat snake - Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Both are non-venomous, common in Florida gardens, and often mislabeled as "deadly" just because they look bold and move fast.

• ▪️They are actually shy - would rather run than fight
• ▪️Excellent pest control - they eat rats, mice, frogs, and insects
• ▪️Often mistaken for dangerous snakes because they are fast and jet black
• ▪️If you see one, it means your garden ecosystem is healthy

So no, this is not a deadly snake - just a free garden helper doing its job. Let it pass, and it will disappear as fast as it showed up!

📚 Learn more about the passed Year of the Snake:

• ▫️Year of the Snake
• ▫️2025: The Year of the Green Wood Snake A Time for Wisdom, Growth, and Renewal
• ▫️Green Wooden Dragon's favorite plants

🐈📸 Black garden snake at TopTropicals Bfarm PeopleCats.Garden

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🍴 Blackberry Warm Smash Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (Rubus sp.)
• Optional: 1 tsp honey or sugar
• Thick yogurt or toasted bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Add blackberries to a small pan and warm over medium heat.
2. Cook until berries soften and burst, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Lightly mash with a spoon. Sweeten if desired.
4. Spoon warm blackberry smash over yogurt or toast and serve immediately.

🛒 Grow your own Blackberries - hardy and productive plants

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️ Blackberry (Rubus sp.) in Plant Encyclopedia
• ▫️ Fruits with the most vitamin E, according to dietitians

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🎁 Where are MY presents?

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens

🐈📸 Cat Bob waiting for his Christmas Dinner at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden

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🎁 Cats waiting in line to use their Christmas present, watch who wins at the end!

🐈📸 Cats: James Coconuts, Niki, Timo, Bob, and Scooby are competing (impatiently!) to try their new scratching board at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden. Guess who wins?

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🎄 Do not throw out your poinsettia - 4 simple tips how to keep it alive for next Christmas

Poinsettias - Euphorbia_pulcherrima - are tender perennials, not one-season plants. After the holidays they naturally fade, rest, and regroup. With a few simple care tweaks, a healthy plant can live all year and rebloom next winter.

• 🎄 1. Let it rest after the holidays

• ✦ Flowering ends naturally - faded bracts and some leaf drop are normal.
• ✦ Prune when bracts fall: cut stems back by 1/3 to 1/2, leaving 4-5 inches.
• ✦ Wear gloves - the sap can irritate skin.
• ✦ Move to a cooler, bright spot for 4-6 weeks.
• ✦ Ideal temp: 55-60°F
• ✦ Reduce watering.
• ✦ Water only when the top 2 inches of soil are dry.
• ✦ Avoid soggy soil.

• 🎄 2. Repot in late spring

• ✦ New growth usually starts in late spring.
• ✦ Repot at this stage to refresh nutrients and give roots space.
• ✦ Use a well-draining, slightly acidic potting mix.
• ✦ Choose a pot only slightly larger, with drainage holes.
• ✦ Loosen roots gently and remove old compacted soil.
• ✦ Water lightly, then place in a bright, warm spot.
• ✦ Resume regular watering and light feeding through spring and summer.

• 🎄 3. Adjust care during the growing season

• ✦ Increase temperature gradually to 64-68°F.
• ✦ Water more often once growth resumes.
• ✦ Wilted or curling leaves signal thirst.
• ✦ Water thoroughly and evenly.
• ✦ Bright light is key, but avoid harsh direct sun.
• ✦ Use sheer curtains or a grow light if needed.
• ✦ Fertilize periodically with a balanced houseplant fertilizer.
• ✦ Pinch back new shoots in late spring for a fuller, bushier plant.

• 🎄 4. Preparing for winter color

• ✦ In fall, poinsettias need long nights to bloom.
• ✦ Provide 12-14 hours of complete darkness nightly for 6-8 weeks.
• ✦ This triggers colorful bracts in time for the holidays.

❓ Quick FAQ

Can it go outside?
Yes, in warm months only. Bring it indoors before temps drop below 50°F.

Winter outdoors?
No - poinsettias are cold-sensitive and must stay inside.

🎄 Poinsettias don't die after Christmas - they just take a nap. Give them rest, light, and patience, and they will reward you next year.

✍️ Expert reference: Homes and Gardens

🛒 Explore plants for containers

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Poinsettia - Euphorbia_pulcherrima in Plant Encyclopedia
• ▫️Can Poinsettia grow for years? 5 most common mistakes with new container plants

#How_to #Container_Garden

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🎄 Merry Christmas!

"At Christmas, all roads lead home." - Marjorie Holmes

🐈📸 Philemon the Cat waiting for the magic at TopTropicals Christmas Tree - PeopleCats.Garden.

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🌸 I wait all year for this vine to bloom!

It's this time of the year when beautiful Tecomanthe is opening her majestic blooms!
The New Guinea Creeper (Tecomanthe dendrophila) is a stunning, non-aggressive vine that will captivate with its vibrant blooms and lush foliage.

• 🌸 New Guinea Creeper, Tecomanthe dendrophila, is one of those plants that changes the whole garden when it blooms. Winter doesn’t have to be boring! In early winter through spring, it covers itself in large trumpet-shaped flowers with deep pink tubes and creamy white tips. The display lasts weeks, not days!
• 🌸 Unlike many flowering vines, this one is well-behaved. It climbs without taking over, stays glossy and evergreen year-round, and works beautifully on trellises, arbors, or strong supports. Butterflies love it, and people always stop to ask what it is.
• 🌸 A true winter show stopper for warm climates or containers!

🛒 Your garden needs New Guinea Creeper

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Tecomanthe dendrophila in Plant Encyclopedia
• ▫️How to grow New Guinea Creeper Tecomanthe

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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