Date: 19 Nov 2020
Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster
Feeding Indoor Plants
Q: I am moving all my potted plants indoors as weather is cooling down. I still have Sunshine Boosters that I got from you in Summer. Do I need to continue fertilizing and how often, or should I wait until Spring?
A: Indoor plants add a vibrant warmth to your home, and can even
improve the air quality. But most importantly, indoor plants give you access
to year-round gardening.
While majority of house plants are easy to maintain, they still require
proper care to thrive.
Too many gardeners overlook the importance of fertilizing plants indoors.
However, proper feeding is essential to grow healthy, vibrant plants. With
outdoor plants nature sends rain and a plant will send new roots to find food,
an indoor plant is limited to only what you will give it. That is why it is
essential to feed your plants a healthy nutritious meal even indoors.
Many granular and slow-releasing fertilizers will recommend that you only
feed your plants occasionally, but this is not the healthiest for plants,
since they need to "snack" every day to satisfy their daily nutrient needs. When you feed a plant a large meal rarely, it cannot absorb the nutrients effectively, leftovers creating build up in soil (it's called "locked up nutrients") and that is why we specifically designed our fertilizers to be a light, daily nutritious meal for your plants -
Sunshine Home for houseplants...
Date: 29 Oct 2020
Healthy Plants. Q&A from Mr Booster: How to get Ylang Ylang to flowering
Q: I am writing in reference to my Ylang ylang tree. I purchased this from top tropicals a few years ago and although the plant is doing well, I don't see any flowers yet. Can you tell me when it will flower? Do I need to do something special for it to flower?
A: Cananga odorata, Ylany Ylang tree, takes a few years until it
starts flowering, hopefully it will bloom for you any time soon.
However, keep in mind that it may be a bit challenging for a potted plant.
In natural conditions, this is a large tree that requires lots of room not
only for the tree itself, but also for the root system. It is still possible to
get Cananga odorata to bloom in container, considering the plant has all
necessary nutrients for flowering. Here is the trick.
When grown in the ground, root system 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 (soluble) form, and a plant must have their constant supply for proper development.
SOLUTION:
prescribe Ylang Ylang tree the following combination of plant food:
- SUNSHINE Pikake - Fragrant Flower Booster
It will provide well-balanced amounts of high absorption Phosphorus (P) and
Nitrogen (N), as well as Potassium (K) - to provide enough flowering 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 trigger flower production.
You may also consider getting dwarf varieties of Ylang Ylang that starts
flowering in container right away:
Cananga fruticosa - Dwarf Ylang-Ylang
Currently these high demand plants are sold out, but new plants are
establishing and will be ready for sale within couple months. You may add your email
to wishlist ("Notify me when available") to get notification as soon as we
have it back in stock.
Ylang Ylang vines also start flowering within a year.
Date: 15 Oct 2020
Healthy Plants. Q&A from Mr Booster: Fertilizing Mango trees in Winter
Q: I'm living in Maryland growing zone 7A and would like some info on when to fertilize my potted mango trees. I ordered your Sunshine Mango Tango 2-2-4. All your mango trees are in pots.
A: You can start using this fertilizer right away, any time of
the year, and every time you water your plants.
Sunshine Mango Tango, as well as other Sunshine boosters, is an amino-acid
based liquid fertilizer that is scientifically developed for daily plant
needs in all necessary nutrients. This means, you may use this fertilizer with
every watering, including winter period.
Traditional fertilizers (both granulated and soluble, EDTA-chelated) can
only be used during hot months while plants grow actively, and must be limited
or not used at all during cooler months, to avoid nutrient lock up in soil
(which basically means "building up unused elements"). With Liquid Sunshine Boosters, it is safe to add them every time you water
your tree.
During cooler weather and when plant metabolism slows down, a tree will
consume less water (as well as food), and you will automatically reduce
watering, to keep over-wintering plants on a dry side. This means, less fertilizer
too. This allows you to control elements intake naturally, like you control
water amount just as much as the plant needs.
Date: 4 Oct 2020
What fig trees are good for Florida?
Q: My baby fig tree was sprayed by the lawn people with weed killer :( Any ideas? Also what figs do you have available to grow here in Florida?
A: Unfortunately once a plant is affected by a herbicide, there
is not much you can do about it.
If you don't rinse the chemical within a few seconds, it gets into the
plant internal system and nothing can be done to save the plant. The tree may
remain green for a few days up to a week, but then gradually dies back. If your
fig tree wasn't rinsed immediately after herbicide spray, it is probably too
late.
If you want to replace it with a new one, here is a few suggestions of our
favorite fig varieties which are great producers and grow well in Florida
heat:
Brown Turkey Fig - our favorite!
Black Mission Fig
Beers Black Fig
Texas Everbearing Fig
Magnolia Fig
LSU Purple Fig
Olympian Fig
Texas Blue Giant Fig
See full list of Fig Trees.
Make sure to get appropriate plant food for your fig tree so it develops faster for you and gets well-established before winter: SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster from Garden Series, or Combo Total Feed Collection - all nutrients in just one bottle, for fruit trees and edibles.
Date: 17 Sep 2020
Healthy Plant Food: Q&A from Mr Booster
How to make pineapples fruit?
Q: I have purchased a Sugar Loaf Pineapple from you a few months ago, it is growing well and producing little babies around the main plant! I am so excited to have my own Pineapple plantation! How soon will they fruit and is there anything I can do to make them fruit faster? Can I give extra fertilizer just like I do for other garden plants?
A: It takes a year or two until a pineapple plant gains enough
energy to be ready to fruit. However the total time depends on growing
conditions and availability of all necessary nutrients.
Pineapples, like all other plants from Bromeliaceae family require very
delicate fertilizer; traditional fertilizers, if overdosed, can harm Bromeliads
and even kill them. At the same time, Pineapples require extra Magnesium for
good production, and not every fertilizer has it, or contains it in
well-accessible compounds / proper proportions.
Sunshine Ananas Booster is a scientifically formulated, mild fertilizer,
designed especially for tender Bromeliads, containing Magnesium just in perfect
concentration. Its amino-acid based ingredients are natural and work perfectly
for edibles and organic gardens. Just follow the label instructions and speed
up the fruit production 3-4 times!
In the photo: Mr B checking his Sunshine Boosters