Date: 2 Jan 2025
New Year with New Plants:
Choose from 17 Tropical Paradise Resolutions!
"A garden is never so good as it will be next year..." - Thomas Cooper.
Happy New Year, dear fellow gardeners! As we step into a fresh new year, it's the perfect time to think about what exciting, special, and life-changing plants we can add to our gardens. The days are getting longer, and spring is just around the corner, so now's the time to make a plan and prepare for the season ahead. Let's take small steps each year to create the garden of our dreams. This winter, consider these fun resolutions:
- Hang a bird feeder and install a rain barrel
- Order some tropical plant seeds for an early start
- Ask your grandparents about their favorite garden plants
- Build a raised bed for succulents
- Plant a fruit tree or two to have some crop this year
- Start a compost pile
- Switch to organic fertilizers and plant boosters
- Fill empty spaces with flowering trees, shrubs, and vines
- Add butterfly attractors to your garden
- Provide water for bees and butterflies to help them thrive and pollinate your fruit trees
- Get a bonsai starter to try bonsai art
- Enjoy meals outside as often as you can
- Teach a child how to plant a tree
- Plant berry-bearing shrubs like Tropical Cherries to feed the birds
- Rake up leaves for winter mulch
- Add a few exotic plants to your indoor collection or container garden
- Share plants as gifts all year long
Happy gardening in 2025!
Date: 12 Dec 2018
Plants which are family members
By Mark Hooten, the Garden Whiz
...Perhaps approaching the New Years Season makes me appreciate the plant people I've known. It also made me take stock of the great plants I've had for the longest time. Doing so, I've come to realize that I care for over a handful of potted plants which I have
owned for a number of decades. This Euphorbia decaryi is one of them... Read the story...
...I wonder about other folks' special plants which they have kept for so long they seem like family members. So I ask any of our online friends to send us images and the brief history of some special plant which they have cared for and loved for a LONG TIME! You know, heirloom type plants. We would love to share stories and pictures of these special plants with others!..
Check out our Euphorbias
Date: 24 Jun 2018
Tip of the Month: dealing with heat waves
Q: I live in California and this summer has been super hot, with temperature above 100 degrees. This heat wave is killing my plants! Please help!
A: If
you live in Southwest, then you are familiar with heat
waves, when temperature raises above 110F and up to 120F,
while humidity is below 10%. Scorching heat can damage and
kill unprotected young plants. Especially if they're
recently planted.
Most tropical plants came from humid tropics and they
don't easily tolerate high temperatures and low humidity.
You can tell such plants immediately. Desert plants have
small, waxy succulent leaves, which are capable to reduce
evaporation. (See list of plants tolerant to hot
and dry conditions). Tropical plants have large soft
leaves and need high humidity.
These steps will help to protect them... Continue reading...
Date: 24 Jun 2018
Date: 24 Jun 2018
SUNSHINE boosters for recovering plants after shipping
Q: I live in Garden City, NJ and have a sun room with a tropical plant collection that I keep at about 40-45 degrees in winter. I used Sunshine booster during winter for my plant collection and results were amazing! I haven't lost a single plant. Now I see you have more products and I am planning to purchase more plants, how should I use Sunshine boosters to help plants recover after shipping?
A: Spray SUNSHINE-E solution right after receiving a plant from shipping. It will boost up the plant and make it 50-60% stronger and easier to recover after shipping stress. After that, apply SUNSHINE-SuperFood microelement booster to provide everything necessary for the plant to grow vigorously and happily. SUNSHINE-E is indeed a wonderful plant stimulant and stress reliever, although it is not a "magic-cure-all" medicine where one can't find its active ingredient. The hormone (epibrassinolide) is well-known and used in different countries along with other hormones for promote growth, fruiting, blooming, rooting, etc. One of the most amazing properties of SUNSHINE is that it works in extremely low dozes. Only a few drops will be enough to make a solution in distilled water, to treat a large size plant. If you want to try it out, one 5 ml bottle will last for several applications. Large bottles of SUNSHINE 50 ml and 100 ml - great for small and big gardens. It is a good idea to start bi-weekly applications to improve your plants tolerance to Summer heat, drought and improve disease resistance. The formula works through plant metabolism within 2-4 days, repeat application not sooner than in one week. After application of SUNSHINE-E, don't forget to boost your plants with SUNSHINE-SuperFood .
Check out SUNSHINE boosters... We offer FREE shipping on them, so you can make your plants happy!
