🎄 Holiday Plant Market:
Saturday, Dec 13, 2025, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM 🎉
Smokey: We invited people, so we need to be prepared for the crowd.
Sunshine: I am prepared. I saw yummy donuts on the flyer.
Smokey: Of course you did, genius. You are responsible for donuts
and coffee.
It is almost here. Our big end-of-season Plant Day. All year we grow the
rare and unusual plants that will be featured at this event, and Saturday is
the day they finally meet their new homes. The garden turns into a small
holiday escape: fresh air, bright colors, music, snacks, and the PeopleCats
greeting everyone like they have known you for years.
Meet PeopleCats crew in charge
King
Sushi
Snitch
Paisley
Persephone
Loki
Why you should come
It is December in Florida - warm breeze, sunshine, and perfect planting
weather. While the rest of the country is scraping frost off windshields,
you're
choosing which banana tree to take home. Come enjoy a colorful Saturday
surrounded by plants, music, snacks, and friendly PeopleCats. This is your
holiday escape, your plant-hunting adventure, and your chance to bring home
something amazing before the season ends.
Not Local?
Not everyone is lucky enough to live close by. For our online customers,
here is 20% for online orders:
EVENT2025
Valid for online orders only. Minimum order $120 (excluding shipping and
handling). Cannot be combined with any other discounts, coupon codes,
automatic promotions, or special offers. Not valid on previous purchases.
One use
per customer. Code must be entered at checkout. Offer valid through the end
of
Sunday, 12/14/2025
Spring has arrived, and plants are coming back to life. New shoots are
appearing, fresh leaves are unfolding, and roots are beginning to grow
actively again. As plants enter this important stage of the season, they
need more than just water to support their growth. Proper nutrition is
essential for strong development and healthy
plants. SUNSHINE
Boosters provide the balanced nutrition plants need to start the growing
season strong.
A simple rule we follow in our nursery: new growth responds best to foliar
feeding.
When nutrients are sprayed directly on the leaves, plants can absorb them
quickly and efficiently.
Immediate action – nutrients are absorbed through the
leaves and start working right away.
No delay traveling through soil – plants do not need to
wait for nutrients to move down to the roots.
Avoids soil lockout – micronutrients can become unavailable
in high pH soils, but foliar feeding bypasses this problem.
Supports stressed plants – when roots are cold, damaged, or
newly transplanted, foliar feeding helps
plants recover faster.
However, sometimes plants begin to show visible nutrient deficiencies.
Yellow leaves, slow growth, brown leaf edges, or distorted new leaves are
often early signs that the plant is missing essential elements needed for
healthy development.
Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper - with
fertilizer (left) and without (right)
These symptoms are especially common in container plants, where nutrients
can be quickly depleted or become
unavailable due to soil pH and watering conditions.
Use the quick reference table below to identify common nutrient-related
symptoms and the recommended SUNSHINE solution to correct them.
Symptom you see
What to do
Pale leaves, slow growth, weak new shoots
(often nitrogen related)
For most plants, foliar feeding works best when applied lightly and
regularly during active growth.
Regular feeding (maintenance): Mix with tap water according to
the ratio on the label. For SUNSHINE Robusta use 25 ml (5 tsp)per gallon
of water and spray leaves every 5-7
days during active growth.
Correction feeding ("medicine" dose): if plants show visible
nutrient deficiencies, combine SUNSHINE Robusta with SUNSHINE Superfood and
spray every 5–7 days until new growth appears healthy. All SUNSHINE
Boosters
products are compatible and can be mixed with water in the same sprayer.
Best time to spray: early morning or evening when temperatures
are cooler and leaves can absorb nutrients efficiently.
Important: spray both the top and underside of leaves for
maximum absorption.
Coffee plants before and after regular Sunshine
Robusta applications
CAT BREEDS:
European Shorthair - a cat that came from the wild...
By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
Q: I saw your beautiful cats in your garden and now I know you are not only plant experts, but also cat experts. Do you now what is the classic color of European shorthair cat?
A: You are right, here at Top Tropicals we have a whole PeopleCats garden with all sorts of cats, and we can tell stories about each breed and personality! In fact, our cat expert Alex Boutova just started a series about cat breeds.
With European shorthair cat breed, there is a twist! Sometimes, people get confused because European shorthair covers lots of different cats found all over Europe. It's not just one type of cat, but a whole bunch! You've got cats with two colors, including bicolor cats (including tuxedo cats), multicolor cats, and even cats with just one solid color like black, grey, ginger, or tabby...
Photo above: You've met before Georgie and Philemon but you probably
didn't know they were brothers. Not twins, because they were from litters
following each other, so Georgie is the older brother. But they both are very
smart, maybe their mother taught them the same tricks.
Photo below: Wesley and Marco are actually real twins... but they are so
different! Fat and skinny, lazy and crazy, quiet and loud, velvet and fluffy.
But they are both very sweet and loving!
Gemini Cats and their Zodiac
5/21-6/20
By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
Today's story is about Gemini cats.
They are known for their exceptional communication skills. They are
undoubtedly quite the chatty felines! With a diverse repertoire of meows, and it's
up to us humans to decipher their messages. These cats possess remarkable
intelligence, capable of uttering words like 'hello' and posing 'why?' questions,
even when they are just kittens. If you happen to leave paint around, be
prepared for Gemini cats to step in it and leave paw print messages around the
house. It's their way of communicating in a feline code that may elude our
comprehension. CONTINUE READING >>
