Date: 26 Jan 2022
Don't miss this one:
PodCast Premiere!
Episode 1
How to Protect Tropical plants in Winter: Q & A
Featuring Horticulturist Mark Hooten
...We are introducing our new Series: Top Tropicals Podcast. Growing tropicals and pushing the limits. Watch the first episode:
How to Protect Tropical plants in Winter
...Who doesn't like tropical beauty? Everyone wants tropical plants. But not everyone lives in a warm climate. Is it possible to grow tropicals outside of Tropics?
Top Tropicals horticulturist Mark Hooten, who is well known to many
gardeners as the Garden Doc with his
Saturday Plant Clinic, is answering gardeners' questions about how to prepare and protect tropical plants during winter...
Premiere scheduled:
Thursday, January 27, 8:00 AM
More about cold hardiness and cold protection:
Cold hardy tropical fruit trees
Growing Stephanotis and cold protection
Cold protection of tropical container plants
Plumeria cold protection
Ghost Cold Protection
Seven rules of cold protection for tropicals
Improving cold hardiness before winter: fertilizer and micro-elements
3D garden ideas and winter cold protection
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
About Cold Protection
Date: 26 Sep 2021
Edible Landscape: fruit bearing hedge
Photo above: Biquinho Pepper (2 months old plant)
Q: My mom had to remove a hedge for some renovations and after being heartbroken about losing my little bird haven, I've decided to plan on a fruit bearing hedge that offers some privacy and places for the little fledgling to wait for food. Any suggestions? I was thinking blueberries or citrus but open to any ideas.
A: Below are a few suggestions for a fruit bearing hedge planted with fast-growing, tropical species. They will contribute to a nice edible landscape for both your family and the birds - they will be very happy!
Larger size hedge (small trees), grows full-size within 1
season:
- Loquats
- Dwarf Mulberries (very cold hardy too) such as Dwarf Everbearing
Medium size hedge (shrubs or vines), 2-3 seasons to grow full
size:
-
Black Surinam Cherry Lolita
- Blackberries and raspberries
Low hedge (4-5 ft tall, 1 season, fast growing):
-
Biquinho Pepper
- Wiri
Wiri Pepper
Citrus is probably not a good idea, not bird's favorite, and blueberries require a special acidic soil here in Florida, so they will need extra maintenance, special soil, and heavy mulching.
Surinam Cherry Lolita, 2 year old plant
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: 15 Jun 2021
Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster
How to prevent mango flowers drop
Q:The mango blossoms my tree had in February have blown off due to weather conditions. Do you know what I can do to prevent this from happening again in the future?
A: The only "guarantee" to protect mango flowers from cold
weather damage here in Florida is to plant a LATE flowering variety. Generally,
mango trees are winter bloomers. Those varieties called "early season" start
flowering in January (for example, Nam Doc Mai), and of course very often they
get affected by cold, so they drop. Some varieties are so called "late season"
- for example Venus. They start flowering in spring when the weather conditions are
more favorable.
Another thing that may help you with mango flower drop is applying plant
micro-element supplement Sunshine-Honey - it contains Molybdenum and Boron, which help flower
and fruit development/strength and prevent their drop.
Read more: Boosting Mango Flowers and Fruit.
Date: 4 Apr 2021
How the Willows Came to be Called Pussy Willows?
Pussy Willows are the Symbol of Spring and Easter. But why are they called
Pussy Willows?
According to an old Polish legend, many springtimes ago a mother cat was crying at the bank of the river in which her
kittens were drowning. The willows at the river's edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the waters to rescue the tiny kittens who had fallen into the river while chasing butterflies. The kittens gripped on tightly to their branches and were safely brought to shore. Each springtime since, goes the legend, the willow branches sprout tiny fur-like buds at their tips where the tiny kittens once clung!
Ever since then, in Spring, the willow gentle velvet buds feel to the
fingers like the silky coat of a small cat. These buds are known today as catkins and remarkably, in every country, these soft
willow trees are named after cats.
Read more about
the legend.
