Easy compact bush for sandy soil

Caesalpinia pulcherrima - Red Dwarf Poinciana, Bird of Paradise.

Hedges with Benefits
Reference Chart

Large and fast growing

Tithonia diversifolia - Sunflower tree
Acacia farnesiana - Sweet Mimosa
Calliandra surinamensis - Powderpuff
Aloysia virgata - Almond Bush
Dombeya x wallichii - Tropical Hydrangea
Cornutia grandifolia - African lilac
Gmelina philippensis - Parrots Beak
Hibiscus mutabilis Cotton Candy - Mallow Hibiscus
Senna alata - Empress Candle, Candelabra Plant

Medium or easy-trim

Acalypha hispida - Cat tail, Chenille plant
Bauhinia galpinii - Pride of De Kaap
Cestrum nocturnum - Night blooming jasmine
Dombeya seminole - Tropical Rose Hydrangea
Gardenia thunbergia - Forest gardenia
Hamelia patens - Fire Bush
Hibiscus variegated Snow Queen
Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans
Ochna integerrima - Vietnamese Mickey Mouse, Hoa Mai
Odontonema callistachyum - Lavender Butterfly Bush
Odontonema cuspidatum - Firespike, Red
Rondeletia leucophylla - Panama Rose
Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder

Short or slow growing

Aglaia odorata - Chinese Perfume Plant
Allamanda schottii - Dwarf Allamanda Bush
Brunfelsia pauciflora Compacta - Dwarf Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
Clerodendrum incisum - Musical Note
Calliandra schultzii - Dwarf calliandra
Gardenia vietnamensis - Vietnamese Gardenia
Leonotis leonurus - Lions Ears
Neea psychotrioides - Pigeon Plum, Hoja de Salat
Plumbago auriculata Imperial Blue

Garden Specimens

Combretum constrictum Thailand, Ball of Fire
Caesalpinia pulcherrima - Red Dwarf Poinciana, Bird of Paradise
Clerodendrum quadriloculare - Winter Starburst
Euphorbia leucocephala - Snows of Kilimanjaro, Pascuita
Gardenia nitida - Shooting Star Gardenia
Hibiscus schizopetalus - Coral Hibiscus
Jatropha integerrima compacta
Kopsia fruticosa - Pink Gardenia
Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata - Summer Snow
Mussaenda philippica x flava - Calcutta Sunset (Marmelade)
Plumeria pudica - Bridal Bouquet

Semi-Shade to Shade

Clerodendrum bungei - Glory Bower
Clerodendrum paniculatum - Pagoda Flower
Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage, Lead Flower
Clerodendrum speciosissimum - Java Glorybower Mary Jane
Justicia carnea - Pink Brazilian Plume, Jacobinia
Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia
Megaskepasma erythrochlamys - Brazilian plume
Thunbergia erecta - Kings Mantle
Tibouchina lepidota - Ecuador Princess, Jules Dwarf

Edible Hedges

Eugenia uniflora - Black Surinam Cherry Lolita
Camellia sinensis - Tea Leaf
Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel
Laurus nobilis - Bay Leaf
Manihot esculenta - Yuca Root
Nashia inaguensis - Moujean Tea, Bahamas Berry
Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus
Sauropus Variegata - variegated Katuk

Easy, stress-free plants
for Summer planting

Healthy Plant Food: Q&A from Mr Booster

Why my Sapodilla is not fruiting?

Q: I bought a Sapodilla tree from you several years ago, Silas Woods. I live in Houston area. The tree grows and produces blossoms for fruits, but then they just dry up and fall off. To-date, I have not gotten any fruits off the tree. Is there a reason for this? I really want a fruiting tree because Sapodilla is one of my favorite fruits. I have attached pictures of the tree. Please help.

A: Silas Woods is a free-flowering variety and in favorable conditions it should produce fruit almost year round, considering warm temperatures. The fact that the tree is producing flowers indicates that it is strong, overall healthy and ready for production, but for some reason these flowers don't set fruit. There may be several reasons for such behavior.

1) Too high temperature and too low humidity
In Houston area, humidity should be good in summer. However, if temperatures stay above 90F for a long time, this may cause flower dry-n-drop.
Solution: try to move the potted tree into filtered light, or in a spot where it does not get direct burning sun during the hottest hours of the day (morning sun is the best)

2) Root bound.
Solution: check if the tree needs stepping up into a larger container.

3) Lack of certain nutrients that are responsible for proper fruit formation.
In particular, elements B (Boron), Mo (Molybdenum), and a few other micro-elements (Fe - iron, Cu - Copper, etc.). This is most likely the cause of a flower drop. This is very common reason for undeveloped fruit or lack of fruit in container-grown fruit trees. When grown in the ground, plants can reach out to all necessary elements in surrounding soil (considering soils are not too poor on necessary elements). In a pot, a supply of nutrients can be exhausted very quickly, so a quality fertilizer program is very important. Fertilizer must include all necessary nutrients in easy accessible form, and a plant must have their constant supply for proper development.
Solution: prescribe to your Sapodilla tree the following combination of plant food:
- SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster. It will provide well-balanced amounts of high absorption Nitrogen, as well as other macro-elements - to provide enough energy to the tree, plus a combination of all necessary micro-elements. It is safe to apply this fertilizer as frequent as with every watering, including winter time.
- SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster. This supplement has a high content of elements Mo and B - once the tree starts getting them on regular basis (a few times a year, according to the label), it will change its habit dropping flowers and/or premature fruit drop. As extra bonus, Sunshine Honey makes fruit sweeter by bringing sugars from all over the plant and concentrating them into fruit.

4) Lack of pollinating insects.
Solution: For most effective pollination, we always recommend to put some pieces of fruit under the tree, apple peels, or even banana peel. Those attract tiny beetles that are responsible for small flower pollination.

With winter time approaching, fruiting season is about to end, however, do not get discouraged and start the fertilizing program right away: this will bring up the plant into a healthy stage within a few months, and by next season it should be covered with fruit you like so much! Remember, Sunshine liquid fertilizers can be used year round, including winter, without a risk to burn roots or overdose, as long as you follow label instructions.

Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: James Coconuts

Winning a Lucky Ticket for a Croissant

Many of you have already met James Coconuts who has been in charge of our Customer Service Team for a long time. After many years of hard work, Coconuts is now finally retired in a comfortable home but still does some consulting for Anna Banana and other office team members. So you will hear from him again in our Blog, helping with planting, and organizing holiday events.
Originally, Coconuts came from the Middle-of-Nowhere (what a surprise). Tenants from our old property in Punta Gorda left him behind when they moved out... So Coconuts lived in woods for a month and, considering being deaf (but not dumb!) from birth, living in the wild was quite a challenge for him. When he saw our car, he jumped right into the open trunk and never regretted that decision. We left us no choice but to take him into our big CatFamily. He had starved so much that he ate a whole croissant... as we had nothing else to offer at the moment... Since then, Coconuts went through lots of troubles including a minor stroke, being run over by a truck, lost in woods again for a month, and surviving a wild animal fight followed by a life-threatening abscess. Finally, he decided to stay away from trouble and happily landed on his couch with Margaritas and Nachos, getting chubby, singing his favorite opera songs, and writing poetry.