Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 12 Sep 2019

Helping Citrus and other fruit trees with Nutritional Supplements

Q: Can you recommended a product to help with my citrus? Combating greening and chlorosis.

A: Citrus greening is spread by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. The psyllid feeds on the stems and leaves of the trees, infecting the trees with the bacteria that causes citrus greening. Florida Citrus growers dedicated the last decade to researching citrus greening. Officially, currently there is still no cure, however, some Nutritional solutions have shown promising results. To slow the progression of citrus greening in infected trees, nutrients are applied to the leaves and to the roots. Providing better nutrition helps trees fight against citrus greening and enables them to continue to produce quality fruit.

We recommend the following products for use on regular basis:

SUNSHINE Epi is a natural Brassinosteroid plant hormone and a bio-stimulant that may be very effective as citrus greening treatment. It works through plant's immune system and shows amazing results of recovery of weak and sick plants.

SUNSHINE Superfood, a complex micro-element supplement, maintains plant's health and provides vigorous growth.

SUNSHINE-Honey is a basic nutritional complement, it contains essential plant micronutrients Boron (B) and Molybdenum (Mo). These elements are essential to vegetative and reproductive growth, cell expansion, tissue growth, and fertility. A very common problem for most unimproved garden soils is lack of Molybdenum and Boron as soil micro-component. This results in underdeveloped / low quality fruit and/or premature fruit drop. Applying SUNSHINE Honey on your fruit trees will fill that gap and help a fruit tree to form a healthy fruit.

Macro-nutrients should be applied in combination with micro-nutrients on regular basis:

Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster (works great for all tropical fruit trees)
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Ideal blend designed to improve fruit trees health and vigor, and increase crop yield.

See SUNSHINE Boosters page for the complete list of plant boosters.

Date: 1 May 2026

This changes how you feed your plants

Smokey and Sunshine with Sunshine Boosters

This changes how you feed your plants

Stop messing with fertilizers - you’re probably feeding your plants wrong. Keep it simple. Let your plants do the work.
Most gardeners don’t have a plant problem - they have a fertilizer problem. If feeding your plants feels confusing, expensive, or inconsistent, there’s a reason. The way most fertilizers are designed doesn’t match how plants actually grow today. Here’s what’s really going on - and why a simpler system works better.

A simple way to feed your plants right

Feeding plants shouldn’t feel like a chemistry class. But somehow it always does. Too many products. Too many formulas. Too many schedules. And somehow - still not sure if you’re doing it right.
The truth is, growing healthy plants is simple. Good soil. Enough light. Proper care. And the right nutrients.
That last part is where most people get stuck.

Sunshine Boosters were made to fix exactly that. It’s a complete nutrition system that gives your plants what they actually need - without all the extra steps and guesswork.

What Sunshine Boosters are and how they work

So what is it, really?
Sunshine Boosters is a new generation of plant nutrients based on amino acids. It includes the main nutrients plants need - nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium - plus all the microelements, already balanced in one formula.

No extra bottles. No missing pieces.
It dissolves completely in water, so plants can take it in right away. No buildup in the soil, no leftovers sitting there doing nothing.
You just mix it with water and use it during regular watering. That’s it. It works through the roots, and even through the leaves if you spray it.
Instead of trying to manage a whole feeding system - you just feed and grow.
Less work, better plants.

Stay with us - this is just the start. We’ll break it down step by step so you really understand what your plants need and how to give it to them. More...

Get your plants real food

"Learn more:
Secrets if Sunshine Boosters - Complete Plant Nutrition System
Frequently Asked Questions: Plant Nutrition & Fertilizer
Green Magic + SUNSHINE Boosters: A Complete System for Strong Plant Growth
Spring Nutrition Strategy: Is Your Garden Starving?
How to keep your house plants beautiful all year by feeding them right
Why do you need Sunshine Boosters?
Which dry fertilizer to use - slow release or controlled release?
Green Magic effect: before and after
The SECRET growers never tell you: simple trick how to bring plants back to life and keep green
" What are Sunshine Boosters

#Discover #Fertilizers #How_to

Join TopTropicals

Date: 5 Jan 2021

Growing Loquat in container

Q: I purchased a Sherry Loquat tree from you in April of 2020. It got off to a slow start initially, but now is five feet tall with healthy leaf growth! It is in a 15-gallon pot and was brought into the house by October 15th. I live in Zone 6 and kept the plant outside from end of May to October 15th. I have given the tree artificial lights in addition to slow release fertilizer. Can you please advise me on what steps I need to take to get the Sherry Loquat tree to fruit? E.g., lighting requirements, soil pH, soil type, etc.

A: Loquat is normally winter flowering and spring fruiting tree, here in Florida it is usually heavily covered with fruit by April. With a proper care, you may see flowers throughout the winter and they may set some fruit for you. Considering that during this time you have to keep the plant indoors, here are some recommendations:

1. Soil. Well-drained, porous potting mix. Do not use any heavy garden soils. For our plants we use the following mix which is excellent for containers: Abundance

2. Light. The brighter the better. Sunroom would be great, or at least put the tree next to a large window. Extra lighting with grow lights is beneficial. Any type of light will work, you can even use a simple clip-on light, the brighter the better. 8-10 hours a day.

3. Water. Loquat is drought tolerant but for fruiting it will need regular watering; just don't keep soil soggy, let is slightly dry before waterings.

4. Fertilizer program. Use liquid fertilizer. We recommend Sunshine Boosters that are safe to use with every watering and year around - SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster.
We recommend to switch plants from traditional"slow-release"fertilizer to the liquid one because it makes a huge difference in plant growth and flower/fruit quality and quantity. Sunshine Boosters are scientifically balanced fertilizers that supply all necessary elements for daily plant needs. They are natural and eco-safe, great for any edibles.

5. Micro-elements. These are essential for potted plants, because in containers roots can't reach out to elements that are usually present in soil when trees grown in the ground.

Apply micro-element remedies that are very effective for improving fruit production, especially when flower or fruit drop occurs:
SUNSHINE Honey - promotes more efficient blossoming and pollination, makes flowers bigger and reduces bud drop.
SUNSHINE SuperFood - improves plant vigor and quality and size of flowers
These are all natural, eco-friendly supplements that work great for fruit trees and other edibles.

Read more about Loquat trees: The best grafted Loquat varieties.

Date: 26 Oct 2018

Improving cold hardiness before winter: fertilizer and micro-elements

Q: I live in New Jersey and it is getting cool here, with temperatures in the upper 40s, but my tropical plant collection is in a heated sunroom (still around 70s). Should I continue fertilizing my plants? And if yes, my second question about deciduous Sugar Apple tree. Should I continue fertilizing it until it drops leaves?

A: First of all, even though you live outside tropical climate, your plants enjoy warm temperatures year round, and can be treated like if they were in a Southern garden.
Plant nutrients, both macro-elements (regular fertilizer) and micro-elements (such as iron, manganese, magnesium, copper, and other elements) play an important role not only in overall plant health but also in plant hardiness.
The rule of thumb is, even in warm climates we cut off any fertilizer by the end of October. You still have time for the last treatment this year (next will be in March, or when your plants start showing new growth). You may apply just a bit of slow-release granulated fertilizer, or water-soluble by foliar spray, diluted 1/2 of label strength, to all evergreen species in your collection.
The most important application before winter is micro-elements and other plant boosters that will help you plant collection survive winter months with a shorter daylight and cooler temperatures. Now it is a perfect time to make these simple steps:

1) Miscro-element applications, any one of: Superfood, Iron Supplement, Greenleaf.
2) Sunshine-T application: for improving cold hardiness, plus immune system resistance to insects and deceases.
3) Sunshine-Honey application for all fruit trees to encourage bigger and sweeter fruit next year.

Regarding your second question. Deciduous tropical plants like Annonas, Adeniums, Plumerias, etc - do not need regular fertilizer at this time, however, go ahead and apply microelements Superfood complex, as well as Sunshine-Honey, while leaves are still green. These two will give a kick-start to provide better flowering in spring, and production of sweeter fruit later.

Check out SUNSHINE boosters - all with free shipping!

Date: 30 Dec 2022

Cold protection for 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.

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!

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

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

Buy Cold Hardiness Improvement Kit

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

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