Date: 4 Feb 2017
Groundhog Day Feb 2
On Groundhog Day Feb 2: Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Thursday morning, predicting six more weeks of winter during Groundhog Day festivities at Gobbler's Knob, a small hill just outside Phil's hometown.
According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then the spring season will come soon; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its den, and winter weather will persist for six more weeks.
Phil promised long winter, however, we should not cry in despair but starting to get ready for Spring!
Spring Check List:
- Make sure min temperatures are above 45F before you start bringing potted plants outside.
- When active new growth appears from buds, after-winter pruning can be done.
- You may start weekly fertilizing as soon as night temperatures raise above 55F.
- Start planting in the ground as soon as there are no more chances of frost, until then keep newly arrived plants in pots so they get better established.
- Low chill cold hardy fruit trees including Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, Apples, Mulberry, Loquats go in the ground first, so you can enjoy their blooms and early fruit set. Plant Pomegranates, blueberries and cranberries, raspberries and blackberries, grapes.
- Water as needed, still keeping on dry side until afternoons get hot and plants start using more water.
- Start seeds indoors. The sooner the better, to give seedlings more time to establish before planting out in the ground.
Overwintering Magnolia (Michelia)
Michelia alba Question: I have a question about Michelia alba. My Michelia alba leaves turning yellow and losing leaves. When I brought it inside for the winter, after the leaves falling off new one grow back not all of them grow back and now the new the branches start to die. I water once a week.
A: Whenever moving a plant in or out of the home it is always best to do it gradually. Moving a plant all in one day will cause stress to the plant due to environmental changes such as, new humidity levels, new light levels and new watering requirements. Michelias
Date: 14 Jul 2019
A Cup of Tea Plant
By Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist
A: I live in Ave Maria, Florida. I want to try my hand at growing my own tea. Which plant do I need?
A: Most people do not realize they are actually enjoying
camellias when they sip their cup of tea. True tea comes from the Camellia sinensis
plant, an evergreen shrub or small tree.
In the fall and winter, the plant will produce small white flowers with
a lovely fragrance. The foliage is shiny and dark green with a very nice
informal and open look.
Camellia sinensis (or tea plant, as it is commonly known) prefers a
temperature between 65 and 86 degrees, which makes Florida an ideal area to grow
them. However, if you live in colder zones, you can certainly succeed
growing your own tea plants using a greenhouse. Alternatively, you can use
containers which can be brought inside when temperatures start falling. Tea plants
will usually survive a very slight freeze, though the leaves may be damaged or
killed. It will not tolerate a hard freeze. They prefer full sun or light
shade in the garden.
Tea plants will become small trees or large bushes if not pruned.
Hardcore tea growers trim back the shoots repeatedly to a height of around 4 feet
to encourage new growth and to contain the size.
Make sure to pick an area of your landscape where it does not flood or
remain wet during our rainy season. Camellia sinensis does not like wet feet
at all. They prefer well-drained, sandy and slightly acidic soil. If grown in
a container, add some sphagnum moss to the potting mix. They will benefit
from frequent applications of small amounts of fertilizer.
You will need some patience, too. Your plant should be around 3 years old
before you start harvesting leaves.
Recommended fertilizers:
Tropical Greenhouse Plus - Plant Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
Harvesting recipes
Now that you know how to grow the Tea, you need to check this out: the Harvesting recipes how to harvest and make different kinds of real tea: Green Tea, Japanese Style Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, Orthodox Indian Tea... Continue reading...
Date: 26 May 2021
Jasmine for a fence
In the photo: Jasmine Maid of Orleans
Q:We are looking for a jasmine variety without thorns that we can grow on a wire fence...
A: All true jasmines (Jasminum spp.) are thornless. So you are safe to get anyone you like. The most vigorous, fast growing jasmines that grow into a vine, are:
Jasminum dichotomum
Jasminum pubescens
Jasminum nitidum
Jasminum officinale
Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans - the
most fragrant!
In the photos: Jasminum nitidum (Star Jasmine)
Date: 30 Aug 2020
Healthy Plant Food
Q&A from Mr Booster
How to make Mango tree fruit
Q: Hello, I have a five-year-old Lemon Meringue tree that has only given me fruit one year. It put out about 50 mangoes and has done nothing for the past three years. Do you recommend any vitamins or any of the nutrients that you guys sell to help with this for next season?
A: We've had very similar problem with our Nam Doc Mai Mango tree, fruited once and no more next year. Usually the reason is nutrients deficiency, here in Florida we have poor soils.
We applied Mango-Tango tree booster and it
started flowering within a couple of weeks.
Generally, Mango flowering season is over by now, however, we recommend to
feed the tree starting now, during active growth season. This way it will get
better established before winter and also will store away all elements
necessary for triggering flowering and fruiting. So by late Fall through Winter it
will be ready to flower.
Along with the fertilizer, additional micro-element supplements will be
beneficial. For improving fruit quality and increasing number of flowers, we
also recommend to use
SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster
SUNSHINE Mango Tango - Mango Tree Booster, for healthy mango trees and profuse fruit production.
SUNSHINE Honey - a natural supplements that makes fruit sweeter, and increases fruit quantity and quality.
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.
