Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 30 Dec 2022

Cold protection for tropical plants

greenhouse  and  cold  protection  covers  on  tropical  plants

Pushing the limits of tropical gardening

The year is almost over but the winter is not. This Christmas weekend at our Sebring B-farm we had it down to 30F. As a tropical gardener, winter can be challenging, especially if you grow plants outside of tropical zones.

greenhouse  with  tropical  plants

To protect your garden from the cold, consider the following:

1. Monitor freeze watches and be prepared to take action if necessary.
2. Create temporary structures like mini-greenhouses using PVC pipes, carport frames, or bamboo sticks to support covers.
3. Use covers such as frost cloth, cardboard boxes, blankets, and bed sheets.
4. Use Christmas lights and other heating elements, including propane heaters, to keep plants warm.
5. Add a layer of heavy mulch around plant trunks to protect them from the cold.
6. Apply plant boosters that improve cold hardiness, such as Sunshine Epi, Sunshine-Si, and Sunshine Superfood.

At TopTropicals B-Farm, we sprayed our plants with a special cold hardiness treatment Sunshine-Si and covered and wrapped everything we could. We also moved cold sensitive species inside greenhouses. All of our plants are looking great and happy!

Mulching  mango  trunks  and  using  Christmas  lights  for  cold  protection

Photo above: Mulching mango trunks and using Christmas lights for cold protection

Read more about this special treatment plan: Cold Hardiness Improvement Kit.

Covering  plants  during  cold  night

Plastic  warm  house  wrapping

Photo above: Temporary wrapping of a section of a greenhouse with a plastic or frost cloth protects from a windchill. It may also win you a few degrees even without a heater. In this particular case, according to our temp sensors, it was 30F outside, and 41F inside this "dome", no heaters used.


Sunshine Boosters:

Last chance to stock up
at a lower price!

Sunshine Boosters are natural, amino acid-based liquid fertilizers made with only the highest quality ingredients. Starting in 2023, the pricing for Sunshine Boosters will be adjusting to reflect the increasing cost of supplies. This is your last chance to stock up on Sunshine Boosters before the end of the year! Sunshine Boosters are safe to use year around, with every watering.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to get the best value for your money!

Use discount for even better deal:

22FOR22
for 22% off orders $220+

Min order $220. Offer expires 12-31-22

Sunshine  boosters  for  different  plant  types

Date: 27 Oct 2022

Add a little Sunshine
to keep your plants looking their best

By Ed Jones, the Booster Guy

Mango  leaves  before  and  after  Sunshine  Boosters  application

...Just like people, a little sunshine goes a long way in keeping them happy. It is usually easier to keep a plant healthy than it is to fix it when it is not well. Proper plant nutrition is often times the issue. The good news is that it is easy to keep your plants looking good by following proper nutrition practices...
...Feeding your plants with micronutrients that they just don't get in regular fertilizers can prevent deficiencies. Let's get started on a regular program of using foliar sprays to help keep your plants looking their best...
We recommend using three products in combination - the Complete SUNSHINE Microelement Supplement Kit that consists of:

- Sunshine Superfood
- Sunshine Epi
- Sunshine Power-Si

How often do I need to treat my plants?

We are recommending a foliar spray once per week to maintain optimal health conditions. This is based on recent studies done in Ukraine by the scientist who invented Sunshine Boosters products...
Continue reading to see an easy treatment schedule that will provide your plants with:
- Increased photosynthetic activity
- Increased insect and disease resistance
- Reduced mineral toxicity
- Improvement of nutrient imbalance
- Enhanced drought and frost tolerance
- Enhanced plant growth

Read more about these wonderful products and what they do >>

Sunshine  Plant  Supplement  Kit

Sunshine Boosters are developed in Ukraine and manufactured in the USA. We support Ukraine fight for freedom. All profits from these fertilizers will be donated to support our Team in Ukraine.

Date: 28 Sep 2016

Helping plants to survive winter:
SUNSHINE BOOSTERS - FROM SUNSHINE STATE

A magic plant hormone so wanted by gardeners, is finally here! When people purchase plants and trees either on-line, or from their local nursery, expectation and anticipation for their new find is high. Many times, however, disappointment is encountered due to a variety of reasons. These reasons include changes in light, temperature, water, soil conditions and transportation; just to name a few. So how can the stress on newly transported and transplanted plants be mitigated? Easy! There are plant stimulators able to reduce the shock encountered.

One such plant stimulator, produced at TT Laboratories is SUNSHINE, a revolutionary, broad spectrum, plant stress reliever. Extracted initially from plant pollen, SUNSHINE can bring back and keep the vigor to stressed plants in both the home and garden. Sunshine is indeed a plant stimulator on the cutting edge of plant care technology. Reasonably priced, and easy to use, SUNSHINE will be your plants' best friend, next to yourself, of course.

SUNSHINE will help your plants:
- recover from stress
- dramatically increase growth rate
- get profuse flowering and fruiting
- improve disease resistance, cold hardiness, and heat resistance
- promote seed germination and root cuttings easily

Great for indoor plants and improving cold tolerance!

Line of products:
SUNSHINE-E - general plant booster, growth stimulator and immune booster
SUNSHINE-BC - Bonsai and Caudex developer
SUNSHINE-S - seeds and cuttings pre-treatment
SUNSHINE-T - Thermo-protection for overwintering tropical plants
SUNSHINE-Micro - ultimate micro-element mix from TT Laboratories

On the photo: Tomato seedlings, with and without Sunshine-E treatment; 1 week after treatment, 09-01-2016. Continue reading...

Order online

Date: 22 Nov 2025

Lychee sorbet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Lychee - Litchi chinensis

Lychee - Litchi chinensis

Lychee sorbet

Lychee sorbet

🍴 Lychee sorbet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

  • 🔴Blend Lychee pulp with lime juice, freeze until firm.
  • 🔴A refreshing tropical ice treat.

Lychee Sorbet Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups fresh lychee flesh, peeled and seeded (or canned lychees, drained)
  • 1/3 cup sugar or honey
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup cold water, as needed for blending
  • Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Prepare the lychees by peeling them, removing the seeds, and collecting the white flesh. If using canned lychees, drain them well.
  2. Place the lychee flesh, sugar or honey, lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of the cold water into a blender.
  3. Blend until completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick to move easily, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
  4. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer safe container. Cover tightly.
  5. Freeze for 2 to 3 hours, stirring with a fork every 30 to 45 minutes, until the sorbet is firm but scoopable.
  6. Scoop into bowls and garnish with fresh mint leaves and extra lychee fruit if desired. Serve immediately.

🛒 Plant your Lychee tree - Litchi chinensis

📚 Learn more:


#Food_Forest #Recipes

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Date: 14 Dec 2025

Patchouli tea: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Patchouli tea

Patchouli tea

Patchouli leaves

Patchouli leaves

🍴 Patchouli tea

Ingredients

  • Fresh Patchouli leaves - a few leaves
  • Hot water - 1 cup
  • Honey - to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Rinse fresh Patchouli leaves gently.
  2. Place leaves in a cup and pour hot (not boiling) water over them.
  3. Steep for 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Add honey if desired and enjoy warm.


🛒 Every garden needs a fragrant Patchouli leaf

📚 Learn more:

Plant Facts

Pogostemon cablin, Pogostemon patchouli, Pogostemon heyneanous
Patchouli, Pucha-pat
USDA Zone: 9-11
Groundcover and low-growing 2ft plantSmall plant 2-5 ftSemi-shadeFull sunModerate waterRegular waterOrnamental foliageSpice or herb plantEthnomedical plant.
Plants marked as ethnomedical and/or described as medicinal, are not offered as medicine but rather as ornamentals or plant collectibles.
Ethnomedical statements / products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We urge all customers to consult a physician before using any supplements, herbals or medicines advertised here or elsewhere.Fragrant plant

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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