Date: 17 Mar 2020
March 17: Day of Saint Gertrude the Patron Saint of Cats and Gardeners
Cat Patron: Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, 626 - March 17, 659
Did you know that March 17 is not only the day of St Patrick, but also
of another Saint? Saint Gertrude of Nivelles!
Cat lovers revere Gertrude of Nivelles most of all. After all, gentle
Gertrude is the Patron Saint of Cats and Cat lovers. The idea seems to have
started in the 1980s, more than 1300 years after she lived. Some sources say the
first publication to link Gertrude and cats was a 1981 catalog, Metropolitan
Cats, put out by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Since then, the
idea that Gertrude is the patron of cats - and cat owners - has spread. She is
the Patron of Cats, the Recently Diseased, Gardeners, Travelers, Those with
Mental Illness, and Those with a Morbid Fear of Mice and Rats.
Most of us can find themselves in this list!
St Gertrude's feast day of March 17 is observed by gardeners, who regard
fine weather on that day as a sign to begin spring planting!
See more info
TopTropicals Cat Club
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! If you would like to help, you may do so directly from our website: 6464 Donation for Cats - TopTropicals Cat Club. Every little bit helps. All donations will go to cat care, and you will receive appreciation surprise presents from TopTropicals, including TopTropicals Cat Club bumper sticker. Thank you, and God bless you and your pets!
Check out the Video: and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date: 16 Jan 2020
Meet People of TopTropicals. Dog of the Day: Tilda, the Assistant Editor
On January 31, 2020 TopTropicals will celebrate its official 17th birthday. While it is recognized as the World's Leading Authority on Tropical Plants, very few people know who actually stands behind the scene of our famous hand-crafted Plant Catalog with nearly 5,000 plants and 50,000 original plant photos...
Today's column is about Assistant Editor of Top Tropicals Plant Encyclopedia - Tilda. Tilda is the right hand (the right paw!) of our around-the-clock photographer, botanist, and the plant ID world known expert - Marina Rybka. Everyone knows that there is no such plant in the world that TopTropicals can not identify... we get plant ID requests from around the globe, and we always have answers for you. Do you know who is responsible for that priceless knowledge? Whose mouse touched every one of those 50,000 images and put proper names to them? Ask Tilda. She witnessed every shot!
Now that we finally decided to reveal the secrets of TopTropicals creation and history, we should continue this blog by introducing to you the rest of TopTropicals mysterious brains... Stay with us and you will find out soon!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
...and this is Tilda's Right Paw!..
...Meet Marina Rybka: creating TopTropicals History...
Date: 2 Jan 2020
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Field Grown Marco
Marco loves growing plants and be involved in different projects outside. He is good at finding spots either on top, or inside some inappropriate objects. Yet simple boxes, that most cats find super comfy, do not interest him. Is has to be a plant container, saucer, or even a charcoal grill full of ash... He can sit in some weird places for hours like on top of a fence pole, or lay in the middle of a busy walking traffic while everybody have to step over or walk around him... We have quite a collection of Marco's special places and will be sharing with you!
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date: 21 Nov 2019
Why cats???
- Ernest Hemingway -
Q: I learn a lot from your emails and it is one of the few subscriptions that I actually (usually) open and read. I don't mean to be negative but I'm not really a fan of the cat content that you now feature above the plant content. I'm surprised that you dedicate so much space to material that really is off-topic... I'm glad you guys are in business and you educate as much (or more) than you sell. I actually drove to your location to buy stuff a few years ago and most of what I bought is still alive. My neighbor also bought a cocoa plant from you and it is thriving!
A: Thank you for your comments and orders with us. We really appreciate your interest in our newsletter.
As far as cats, we added regular Cat of The Day section because it became so popular and many customers asked for it ;) While we all know that the World is made of 2 halves - CatPeople and DogPeople, most PlantPeople are PetPeople and they find this combination fun and garden-productive!
Besides, TopTropicals Garden Center is a cat-friendly Plant facility, so the cats are part of our business, as a matter
of fact... Not only do they help us with our daily hard work, they also give us so much love, and helps us to become better people. Our employees take care of them; the cat care is on their daily task list!
Do not worry, our plant content always comes first, and more interesting
stuff coming every week! Thank you for staying with us.
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date: 5 Sep 2019
How to get Jasmines to flower
Q: On the picture, these are a few of the jasmine plants that I have from Top Tropicals. I have bought so many plants from you over the years, not just jasmine. I have several varieties of jasmine. They were all doing very well. However this year I didn't get a single flower. There are a lot of buds... But before the buds open they become brown and withered. I bought fertilizer from you. Fertilized the plants once a month like I always do. I water the plants once a week. I repotted the plants hoping that would take care of this problem. Some of the jasmine plants I pruned... the plants came back vigorous growth with a lot of buds... BUT it is the same problem! Please help.
A: One of the possible reasons why they have flower issues is - maybe they don't have enough sunlight. They need to be in full sun all day long for profuse blooming and proper flower forming. However since the buds are forming, there may be just enough light. In this case, dropping buds may be a sign of overwatering.
Important steps - how to make Jasmine Sambac flower:
1. Soil. Use only well-drained soil
2. Water. Keep plants on a dry side and never over water. If the top of the soil is still moist, do not water.
3. Sun. Keep in full sun all day long. The more sun, the more flowers.
4. Bloom booster. Use Flower booster fertilizers:
Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Fragrant Plant Special booster, this 90-day Smart-Release container
plant food:
Plumeria Top Dress - Smart-Release Booster
Do not use fertilizers with high Nitrogen (1st number in NPK formula)
- those will promote more leaves instead of flowers.
5. Micro-elements. Use Apply micro-elements, they will help the
plant to develop healthy and long-lasting flowers:
SUNSHINE SuperFood - plant booster
Here is more information on growing Jasmine
