Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 30 May 2020

How to prevent mango fruit drop

Q: My mature mango tree is fully grown 15 yrs old and each year it fully blooms, sometimes twice. Shortly thereafter, all the baby mangos and flowers fall off providing no mangos for the season. I have tried fertilizing, spraying the tree for fungus or other insects, to no avail. I give up, any suggestions?

A: Dropping fruit in pretty common issue with mango trees. There may be several reasons, or a combination of reasons.
1. Fungal disease (anthracnose), and/or powdery mildew. To avoid fungal disease problems, spray your tree when it just begins to form the flower spikes. Treat foliage with Copper fungicide. There is also another one, very effective for anthracnose: Thiophanate methyl.
2. Inadequate nutrition. Feed your tree with a combination of granulated fertilizer Mango-Food, liquid booster SUNSHINE Mango Tango and micro-elements Sunshine Honey and Sunshine Superfood
Check out pictures of our mango tree problems that were fixed within a month by using Sunshine Boosters.
3. Too much rain or heavy dew during blooming and fruit set (see 1 - use preventive treatment for fungus)
4. Cold. Sometimes the cause of premature fruit drop is from the cold weather during bloom and fruit set. Usually the most affected varieties are the early bloomers including Glenn, Haden. The cold damages the developing embryo in the seed. The fruit starts to develop but because of ethylene gas given off by the damaged embryo, the fruit is triggered to drop before maturity. To see if cold temperature was the cause for your fruit dropping, cut open the fallen fruit. Even if there is a small speck of brown in the seed, that's enough damage to stop fruit development.
To learn more how to care for your mango, please read this publication.

Date: 2 May 2020

Which fertilizer is right?

Q: I need some advice on which fertilizer(s) would be perfect for my C​annonball tree and its cousin Heaven's Lotus (Gustavia augusta). ​I also have fruit trees... soursops, mango, etc. and a collection of flowers including pua keni keni, plumeria, bougainvillea, etc. I am wondering if you can recommend a custom fertilizing regimen for my garden (especially the cannonball and the gustavia since they are young).

A: It is a perfect time now to fertilize your plants as they start active growth. We have suggestions on fertilizing programs for your trees. You will find here our recommendations for:

1. Young trees
2. Flowering trees
3. Fragrant plants
4. In-ground grown fruit trees... CONTINUE READING >>

Date: 27 Feb 2020

7 secrets of a Happy Avocado Tree

Q: I purchased an avocado tree from local garden centers three times but every time it dies on me. My neighbor has a nice tree in his yard and it grows beautifuly. I just purchased one online from you and I need to know what I was doing wrong? Are there any secrets how to make an Avocado tree happy? I have a big garden and several mango trees, but no luck with Avocado...

A: Avocado tree is famous for being such a pain to establish. But once it starts growing, it's growing! We will share a few simple tricks how to make it right.

1. Plant high and provide good drainage. Wet feet is number one reason for failing an avocado tree. It doesn't like wet soil and won't tolerate soggy conditions. Plant it in the highest spot of your yard and slightly on a "hill" (3-4"higher than the surrounding ground).
DO NOT plant Avocado tree in low spots or wet spots of your yard. Save those spots for Cannas or Black Sapote or even a Mango if you want a fruit tree there.
2. Use quality soil. Use only well-drained soil with high content of organic matter. You may add compost to existing sandy soil, or add some professional potting mix that contains pine bark and perlite. Remove rocks from the hole if you see any while digging. Dig a big hole and fill it with a good soil; compact the soil in the hole very well before setting the root ball. Reminder: plant the tree high!
3. Water regularly. After planting an Avocado tree in a nice high spot with a good drainage, start watering it... daily! Avocado likes water, although it doesn't like wet feet! Once you figure out this combination, you've got the recipe of success. Water by hand daily for the first week after planting, then twice a week for couple weeks, then once you notice new growth - you may rely on sprinklers, but keep watching the tree and don't let the soil over-dry. It must be slightly moist, but not soggy.
4. Fertilize. For such finicky tree, we suggest mild formulas of fertilizers. Dry fertilizers may burn roots, especially of a young tree. Even smart-release granulated fertilizers should be used very carefully. The best way to feed your young avocado tree - get a complete set of Sunshine Boosters Pro system. It has all necessary elements for all stages of plant development and never burns the roots. Sunshine Boosters Pro can be used with every watering - no need to guess how much and when. Besides, it is a natural fertilizer based on amino acids - exactly what you want to use on your fruit trees and other edibles!
5. Boost immune system of the tree. Apply Sunshine Epi plant hormone every 2 weeks as a foliar spray to boost immune system and metabolism of the tree and protect it from diseases. Epi makes plants (especially young plants) grow twice faster! It also enhances effect of fertilizers by increasing plant metabolism.
6. Do not prune until you see significant growth. The tree is small and can use as many leaves and branches as possible for photosynthesis and healthy metabolism. We suggest to avoid pruning for at least the first year. On the second year your tree most likely will be covered with flowers (assuming you followed fertilizer program). Let it go through the blooming stage and setting fruit; prune in Fall after fruiting is over.
7. Keep number of fruit to minimum for the first crop. Don't let the small tree exhaust itself. Keep just 2-3 fruit to develop. The next year, no need to control fruit quantity, the tree will develop as many as it can support.
P.S. If you got the tree from a mail-order, remember to establish it in a pot before planting in the ground; move gradually from shade to sun. Follow planting instructions.

Learn more about Sunshine Nutrition System - a Natural solution for your garden.

Date: 9 Jan 2025

NEW VIDEO:
How to get variegated vanilla bananas.
Discovering natural banana with seeds

with Fermin Garcia

We got a variegated banana from Thailand, planted it at our farm and started fertilizing with our famous Sunshine Rubusta (featured in our earlier blog: Sunshine Boosters Winter Use - The magic fertilizer in action.

In just a few months, it grew into a massive banana tree - one of the largest we've ever seen! Soon, a flower spike appeared, followed by variegated bananas. As they ripened, they turned yellow and developed a sweet vanilla flavor, with seeds! These are natural bananas, not modified. In today's video, we're showing how we harvested the fruit, tasted it, and discovered the seeds...

We've named this banana Fermin's Vanilla Delight Banana (Musa x paradisiaca). Fermin planted the seeds and we hope to have these plants soon. Add item 6379 to your wishlist and be the first to know when they're ready!

Variegated  Banana  video

Use Sunshine Robusta magic fertilizer to have your bananas (and everything else) grow like crazy! It is safe to use all Sunshine Boosters year around with every watering.

Sunshine  Rubusta  and  C-Cibus  with  bananas

Check out different banana varieties we have at TopTropicals - delivered to your door!

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Cat  with  Papaya  fruit

Date: 24 Jun 2018

TopTropicals

New 2018 release: SUNSHINE SuperFood

"Two out of every five people on Earth today owe their lives to the higher crop outputs that fertilizer has made possible." (Bill Gates)

Micronutrient Supplement and Plant Health Booster
Misshapen, small fruit or no fruit?
Poor root growth?
Pale or yellow leaves?
Die backs?
Curled leaves?
Slow growth?
Don't let your plants starve... SUNSHINE SuperFood is your answer to all these problems!
Read more why your plants need SUNSHINE-SuperFood - Essential Element Complex that has them all: N-NH2, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo, S...
SUNSHINEâ„¢ SuperFood is a revolutionary new product released in 2018. It is a super micro-element supplement (Amino Acid Chelated Micronutrient) containing microelements, ultra-microelements, glycinates, as well as SUNSHINE-Honey ingredients. It shows amazing results in plant development, treating different element deficiencies, and improving fruit trees production.

GREEN-EARTH-ECOLOGY FRIENDLY! And it is GREEN color!

Buy SUNSHINE Superfood... item # 6000!