Date: 25 Jun 2021
Kristi's Loquat Tropical BBQ sauce
Loquat trees are famous for their abundant fruit production. Many customers who purchased this tree from us, soon end up with some serious crops and start asking if we have any special recipes for loquat fruit - because you can only eat so much out of hand! Here is our manager Kristi's favorite Loquat recipe - not only delicious and tropically-aromatic, but also good for you. Happy Tropical Meal!
Ingredients
2 lbs loquat fruit
- cup soft brown sugar
- cups malt vinegar
1 onion chopped - cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 cloves whole or 1/2 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
Wash the fruit, cut them in half and remove stones. The loquats will
lose about a third of their weight once stoned (3 lbs of whole fruit = 2 lbs of fruit, stones removed). Add loquats and all remaining
ingredients to a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil, then simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. The liquid will have reduced quite a bit and the fruit
will be collapsed and very soft. Allow to cool slightly, then liquidize the sauce in a blender or a food processor. Be careful, hot sauce really
burns!
This delicious tropical sauce is great for any BBQ - with meats or fish. Enjoy!
Date: 13 Apr 2021
Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster
Why my Avocado is not flowering?
Q: I have 5 avocados. Three of your cold hardy varieties and two others that have all flowered and set fruit in the past. The last two years including this year, not a single one of them has put out any flowers. I am getting lots of new growth like one would expect on a tree too young to flower. The last two years have been very mild with out any damaging frost where in previous years they lost all their leaves due to frost yet started putting out flowers once winter was over. I am confused because they have all flowered and set fruit previous years. Any ideas would be appreciated.
A: From information you provided, and considering the trees get
lots of full sun and cold was not an issue, the only explanation is - lack of
nutrients. Here is an example.
Very common situation: you get a small 2-3 ft Avocado or Mango tree in 3
gal pot (or even smaller) from a nursery, full of flowers, and sometimes even a
small fruit. You bring it home, plant it in the ground or a bigger pot, it
looks happy and grows like crazy. Then next year - oops, no fruit, sometimes
not even flowers. What happened?
When the tree lived in a nursery, it was provided with all necessary
nutrients through the injector systems (continuous feed); or some nurseries may use
top dress smart release on regular schedule. Regardless of fertilizer type,
professional grower's set up delivers plant food non-stop, on regular basis, with balanced formulas. Plants are not only growing fast but also ready to produce, since nutrients are always available for a full growth cycle.
When you plant a tree in the ground (or larger pot), conditions change.
They may be beneficial for the plant: lots of room for roots to establish, hence
lots of vegetative growth. Even if you planted it using good quality fertile
soil, this soil may contain mostly nutrients responsible for vegetative
growth (branches and leaves). Chances are, your soil may be rich in Nitrogen
(good for green growth), but poor in other elements responsible for flowering and
fruiting (Phosphorous, Potassium, and many important micro-elements such as
Molybdenum, Boron, Iron, etc.). Besides, existing soil gets exhausted
quickly, and within a year a two, if you don't add fertilizer, flowering and fruiting may be reduced or even stopped.
This is why fertilizing program is very important for fruit trees that are expected to bring a crop soon.
We recommend:
- SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster - balanced food for fruit
trees
- SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster - promotes more efficient blossoming and
pollination, makes flowers bigger and reduces bud drop
- SUNSHINE SuperFood - for improving fruit trees production
Also keep in mind that some fruit trees have a habit of "skipping" a year and may either produce less or not produce at all every other year. In any case, balanced nutrition program can help to fix this "bad habit".
Date: 4 Mar 2021
Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster
Ylang Ylang leaves after winter
Q: Hi, I purchased ylang ylang tree a couple of years ago. It's grown quite well in my Greenhouse but I'm having some trouble figuring out if I'm watering it too much not enough or if it has an insect. Can you please take a look at my photos and maybe give me a suggestion of what my problem might be?
A: It is normal for Ylang Ylang tree to get dark spots during
winter time. Sometimes Cananga gets whole branches darkened (especially dwarf variety fruiticosa), some may even fall off. But they will be replaced
with new growth in Spring-Summer. There is nothing wrong with your plant, it is
just a reaction to cold and short day light when you keep this plant indoors. These leaves eventually will fall
off as the weather warms up, and will be replaced with a new fresh green growth.
Luckily, Cananga is not susceptible to insects and diseases, but its leaves
can look unattractive in winter.
Make sure to keep watering at minimum until temperatures raise to 80's.
Start fertilizing as soon as new growth appears. We recommend SUNSHINE Pikake
- Fragrant Flower Booster, an ultimate fertilizer for fragrant plants.
Date: 22 Dec 2020
Growing Stephanotis and cold protection
Q: I bought from you 3 plants Stephanotis How do I protect them from this low temperature now? I live in Ft Myers Beach.
A: In Ft Myers Beach, you have frost-free winters. You don't have to worry about cold protection for the Stephanotis. It is pretty cold hardy plant in spite of being a true tropical (it enjoys Hawaii environment for example). From our own experience, Stephanotis can even take a light frost for a short period of time without any damage.
You can keep this plant either in a pot or plant in the ground in a nice
sunny location for more profuse flowering. It can climb a tree, a fence, or a pagoda.
However, keep in mind that during cool weather you need to reduce amount of watering. Wet + cold is a bad combination for plants. Water
again only when the soil gets slightly dry. In summer time, extra water is not critical because it evaporates quickly with high temperatures.
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.
