Date: 20 May 2020
How to prevent Jasmine flower drop
Q: My jasmine buds turn purple to brown and drop before it blooms. What should I do to get the jasmines to bloom fully. Appreciate your help & suggestions.
A: At this time of the year in Florida, jasmines may drop flowers because of the sudden hot weather. The plants
didn't have a chance yet to change their metabolism to summer type. The high
temperatures promoted early bloom, but the plant is not strong enough to
support the flowers. It needs extra food. To improve flower quality and reduce
bud drop, we recommend these supplements:
SUNSHINE Pikake - Fragrant Plant Booster
Sunshine Honey
and Sunshine Superfood
Date: 25 Nov 2019
Flavor of Feijoa Superfood
by Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist
Q: What exactly is Feijoa - Pineapple Guava? Does the fruit really taste like pineapple? I am curious to know if it is easy to grow.
A: Feijoa is certainly one of the easiest fruit trees to grow as it does
not require much care. It is an attractive, evergreen tree or large shrub with
dark green, oval, leathery leaves. It has an abundance of uses in the garden
and produces lovely edible flowers and fruit! The fruit is eaten fresh,
added to smoothies or fruit salad and is also commonly used to make delicious
jams and wicked chutneys. Feijoa fruit go a long way in flavor.
This plant is drought tolerant and will grow in almost any soil type. It
loves full sun or partial shade and is wind resistant. A lot of gardeners like
to grow it as a wind barrier for this reason. It can easily be shaped into a
dense, informal hedge or screen that needs very little pruning. Because of
this density, it provides excellent shelter for all kinds of wildlife.
Butterflies, birds, and butterflies will all love you for growing Feijoa!
Space the plant five feet apart to create a wind barrier hedge. Heat does
no not bother it at all and it will also withstand temperatures to 10 degrees
F.
The plant gets its names from the delicious perfume it emits. Some folks
seem the fruit taste like pineapple, with a slight minty undertone. Others feel
the flavor reminds them of juicy fruit gum! The texture is described as
smooth and slightly gritty - almost like a pear, but firmer.
If you prefer to grow this plant as a tree rather than a large shrub,
simply remove the lower branches up to one-third of the tree's height over a
period of time. The Pineapple Guava can grow up to 15 feet wide and tall. They
also do really well as a container plant on patios where you can truly enjoy the
lovely fragrance of the fruit. It prefers rich, organic, well-drained soil
and will need light fertilization every other month in most soils.
We recommend:
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - Sugar booster
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster
Pretty, pink, edible flowers will wow you from May to June, followed in late summer or fall by the delicious and fragrant fruit. An interesting thing about this fruit is that you don't pick it. It falls to the ground when it is ripe. Or simply place something under your tree, like a tarp, and shake the tree. The ripe fruit will fall off. You can store the fruit in your refrigerator for up to a week. And remember! The fruit of the Feijoa is not only a very rich source of soluble dietary fiber, but also an excellent source of Vitamin C, and very rich in antioxidants. They are also low in calories. Each fruit only holds 55 calories.
Date: 2 Nov 2018
Amazing root growth after treatment of SUNSHINE-SuperFood!
This Sansevieria grandis leaflet planted indoors in a plastic cup was treated with SuperFood once a week, along with regular monthly N-P-K, for a couple of months. On the photo, you actually see not just a ginormous root but a whole new plant started forming through the colossal size root sucker trying to find its way out. A pretty impressive result for a small plastic cup! The cup was protected from the sunlight, sitting inside of a dark planter. The plant received filtered light sitting on a windowsill with Eastern exposure.
Date: 24 Jun 2018
What you need for successful growing Adeniums
1) Adenium plants - from TopTropicals Endless selection of
Adeniums. We have double flower, red, purple, yellow
and even black flowers!
2) A small pot with excellent drainage is a must.
Position the plant in a pot, size of root system.
3) Adenium soil mix. TopTropicals Adenium Soilless Mix.
Use only well-drained soil.
4) Lots of light. Adeniums need lots of light for
heavy flowering. However from our own experience, in super
hot climates, they look healthier in filtered bright
light. After initial planting, once the plant is
established and starts growing new leaves (may take a few
weeks), gradually move it into brighter light.
5) Little water. Adeniums like a neutral to hard
water. Acidic water tends to sour the soil too fast and
may cause root rot. Water plants preferably in the early
morning, and allow them to drink up throughout the day.
Watering can be done daily to every few days. Do not water
again until soil dries on surface. Never allow your plants
to sit in a saucer of water, but don't let them to dry out
too often - this causes adeniums to go into early
dormancy. Adeniums do not like both over-watering or
drying-out.
6) Fertilizer. To make your plant develop a large
swollen base/trunk, you'll need a good quality fertilizer.
Use slow-release granulated fertilizer
for overall plant health, and liquid water soluble
fertilizer for swelling up trunks that is also used to
increase flowering. It shouldn't be too high in nitrogen,
the middle number should be the highest (similar to
10-50-10). Never apply fertilizer directly on roots and do
not liquid feed when a plant is thirsty: always water
first slightly to avoid root burn and leaf drop. Do not
wet leaves.
7) SuperFood micro-elements. Besides
macro-nutrients provided by fertilizer, Adenium needs
micro-elements for balanced development of root system and
especially caudex: Sunshine-SuperFood.
8) SUNSHINE-BC. Spray leaves with SUNSHINE-BC once a month to
encourage young growth, profuse flowering and large
caudex.
9) Growing caudex. There is a secret how to create
a large swollen caudex: raise the plant a bit every time
you re-pot it, so that the upper part of roots will be a
little exposed. The plant will form more roots that will
go down.
Date: 24 Jun 2018
URBAN TROPICAL GARDENING:
10 secrets of successful Container Mango growing on a
balcony.
Q: I live in Miami in apartment on a second floor, and I have a balcony with SE exposure. I wonder if I can grow a mango tree in a pot? Will it fruit for me? I recently moved to South Florida and I don't know much about tropical plants; but I tasted real fiberless mangos from someone's garden - it was so delicious and different from those in the grocery store. I wonder if I can have a fruiting tree on my balcony? And if yes, how do I plant and take care of it?
A:
Yes, you can! Here is what you need to do:
1) Temperature. You are lucky to live in Tropics,
keep it on a balcony year round.
2) Light. Position the pot in a spot with the most
sun exposure. Mango trees can take filtered light too, but
the less sun, the less fruit you will get.
3) Soil and Container. Use only
well drained potting mix. Step up the purchased
plant into next size container (3 gal into 7 gal, 7 gal
into 15 gal). When transplanting, make sure to keep growth
point (where roots meet the trunk) just at the top of the
soil. Covering base of the trunk with soil may kill the
plant.
4) Water. Water daily during hot season, but only
if top of soil gets dry. If it still moist, skip that day.
Mangoes (unlike
Avocados!) prefer to stay on a dry side.
5) Fertilizer. Use
balanced fertilizer once a month, 1 tsp per 1 gal of
soil. Do not fertilize during fruiting - this may cause
fruit cracks.
6) Microelements. Apply
SUNSHINE-Superfood once a month. This will help your
mango healthy, vigorous, and resistant to diseases. Use SUNSHINE-Honey to make your
fruit sweeter.
7) Insect control. Watch for scales and mealybugs,
clean with solution of soapy water + vegetable oil (may
need to repeat 2-3 times with 10 days interval), or with
systemic insecticide like imidacloprid only as needed (if
non-harsh treatment didn't help). Most Flea shampoo for
dogs contain that chemical, you may try that shampoo
solution.
8) Trimming. Once potted, do not remove leaves
that are discolored or have spots until new growth
appears. Dark dots on mango leaves, especially in humid
climate like Florida, may be signs of fungus. Treat with
fungicide according to label, and remove only badly
damaged leaves. Trim crown as needed after flowering and
fruiting (by Fall). Train into a small tree, and you may
remove some lower branches eventually.
9) Flower and fruit. Mangoes are winter bloomers
with bunches of tiny flowers coming in thousands. Many of
them set fruit (if pollinating insects present). Keep in
mind that young trees can only bare a few fruit. Normally
a tree will drop excessive fruit and keep only a few that
it can manage. To save the young tree some energy, remove
fruit if too many and leave only 2-3 for the first year.
It will pay you next year with more abundant crop.
10) Variety. Last but not least: Choose the right
variety for container culture! Pick from "condo" dwarf
varieties such as Icecream, Nam Doc Mai, Carrie, Cogshall, Julie, Fairchild, Pickering, Graham, Mallika, and a few others -
check out Mango Chart pdf
and full list of our Mango varieties