Date: 21 Apr 2021
Trimming Pomegranate Tree
Q: I purchased a Pomegranate var. Vietnam, 3 gal from you in Feb. Your lit says trim for the first 3 years to encourage new growth. How old is my tree, please? Would you recommend I trim before leaving for the summer on April 30?
A: The Pomegranate trees we have for sale are grown from cuttings and are about 2 years old. Once you plant the tree in the ground, it will start producing new shoots. You don't need to trim it now. The best time will be end of summer.
Date: 23 Oct 2020
Cashew Nut tricks and challenges
Q: I bought a cashew plant in May of this year it has been slow-growing well then all of a sudden it started dying. I have cut it back halfway down. So a plant that was close to 3 ft tall is now 1 1/2 feet. I see new leaves trying to spring closer to the root. Help! It's in a huge 18"wide pot, I have not put it in the ground yet. I am in the Orlando area.
A: Generally speaking, Cashew is not the easiest plant to grow. Cutting it down added more stress to the plant. A few thoughts:
1) Chances are, the tree was over-watered (possibly summer rains, we had pretty wet summer this year in FL). Cashew trees are very sensitive to over-watering while young. Considering it sits in pretty large pot, this may have created soggy conditions. Don't bother repotting the plant now, just try to reduce watering. We have less rains now. If you have automatic sprinklers, move it away from sprinkler so you can control moisture manually. Even better - move it under roof (lanai, etc) where it still can get lots of bright light, but you can control water.
2) In Orlando, winters are too cold for this tree. Make sure to protect it from cold - bring inside when temperature drops below 65F, especially considering that the plant is still struggling.
3) Keep in mind that Cashew is semi-deciduous tree, meaning it looses leaves during cooler period. If all leaves are gone but the stem still green (after nail scratch) - just give it time, it may start growing vigorously in Spring.
4) You may apply Sunshine Boosters with every watering (which should be once a week, or even less frequent if the soil is still moist) - SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster
Keep the plant in full sun or at least very bright filtered light. It must be always warm. Bring inside if below 65F.
Date: 4 Nov 2019
Hardy Plumeria Pudica
Q: I have ordered plumeria pudica from you in March and it is thriving really well here in Rancho Cordova, California. The current temperatures are ranging from 68 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. My USDA zone is 9b. Does this plumeria pudica survive outside with temperatures dropping in coming winter in CA?
A: From our experience, Plumeria pudica is pretty cold hardy and takes some cold spells in
spite of being a tropical species.
Our trees (well-established) took a few hours of freeze with no
significant damage.
Potted plants are less hardy than in-ground plants. However, their
advantage is, they are easy to move indoors or inside warmer place like garage,
etc. If the temperature stays borderline around 32F for a few hours, the plant
should be safe as long as warm day temperatures follow a cold night. For
longer periods of cold, move the plant inside.
Make sure do not overwater and keep Plumeria on a dry side during
winter, since cold and wet is a bad combination and may cause root problems.
Above is the picture of Plumeria pudica tree growing in Cape Coral, FL
where low temperatures in winter sometimes go down to upper 20's for a few
hours.
To improve cold hardiness of Plumerias and other tropical plants, use SUNSHINE-Epi-T for plant thermal protection and immune system boost.
Make sure to fertilize plants on regular basis to keep them strong and
vigorous. The stronger and bigger the plant, the hardier it is!
RECOMMENDED FERTILIZERS:
Plumeria Top Dress - Smart-Release Booster
Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
Date: 7 Oct 2019
Fertilizing in Winter?
Q: I'm a bit confused about what winter fertilization schedule I should follow in South Florida. For blooming plants, usually, I use a monthly granular bloom booster fertilizer as well as a liquid fertilizer every 10 days or so. Should I continue that schedule in the winter as well? Should I stop fertilizing altogether in the winter? How about fruit trees? What fertilization schedule should I follow in the winter?
A: Here is a general fertilizing schedule for established plants that we follow here
in SW Florida.
The rule of thumb is, do not fertilize (with macro- NPK elements) when
minimum temperatures drop below 65F and stay at that level for more than 7
days. At this temperature point, most of the tropical and subtropical plants
slow down their metabolism and some of them going into dormancy. This means,
nutrients are not consumed as much as during active growth period, and built-up
nutrient supply within a plant plus whatever is available in the soil is
just enough to get by through the winter. So additional fertilizing is not
necessary. You may continue micro-element supplements and bio-stimulants
throughout the year. In fact, it is highly recommended to do so, to help the plant
survive cold spells. These are very effective tropical plant protectors:
SUNSHINE-Epi - Brassinosteroid plant hormone
SUNSHINE-Power-Si - Advanced plant protector with Silicon
SUNSHINE SuperFood - Complex microelement supplement
This rule is applied to both flowering and fruiting plants, in general. However, some species are winter-flowering and winter-fruiting. For those, you can make an exception and provide extra nutrients for flowering and fruiting, as long as the weather stays warm. During cold spells, avoid any NPK fertilizers and use only bio-stimulants and micro-elements. If you apply NPK during cold, it won't be consumed by a plant, build up in the soil, and may create a root burn situation.
In simple words, fertilize from March to October. Give plants some rest from November to February.
Date: 21 Sep 2019
Shaping a tree and regrowing branches
Q: I have been so worried about the beautiful ligustrum on my property since my husband decided to "prune" it 2 days ago. He removed about 20 branches from the tree and completely altered the look of the canopy which was so full and lovely ðŸ˜. Please advise me if there is anything I can do to help this tree. Will any of the branches grow back? Will the canopy return? It looks practically bare to me now.... so heartbroken. Any advice and reassuring would be greatly appreciated.
A: The good news is, the tree will regrow new leaves and will
branch out. The question is, how soon. Ligustrum is pretty slow-growing species
and it may take a while until it gets to the shape that is close to the
original.
On the other hand, pruning is beneficial almost for every plant, it
promotes new growth and bushy shape.
So do not panic, your beautiful tree has good chances to become even
prettier.
To speed up the process of re-leafing and promote healthy new growth,
we recommend the following:
1) Provide extra watering, assuming you have a sprinkler system that covers the yard. Water additionally 1-2 times a week using a garden house, for 1-2 minutes, saturating the soil around the tree and up to a drip line.
2) Apply the following fertilizers:
Tropical Greenhouse Plus - Foliage Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
3) In addition to fertilizers, we recommend these 2 supplements that
will enhance effect of fertilizers and make re-grow process even faster:
SUNSHINEâ„¢ SuperFood
SUNSHINEâ„¢ HumiHum - a natural humate vitamin for plant
4) Mulch well around the tree, keeping it 2-3"away from the trunk
This should help to get your tree back in shape!