Date: 8 Mar 2019
Champaca tree during Spring
Q: The Joy Tree that I purchased from you is going fine but the leaves have brown tips that shriveled up. How can I avoid this?
A: All Magnolias prefer rich and moist soils. These are some
useful tips for growing Magnolia champaca:
- when planting in the ground, dig a big hole and replace sandy old
soil with a rich organic mix containing compost and lots of peat moss to retain
moisture.
- water daily for the first few months until the tree is
well-established and root system is large and strong.
- use a large amount of mulch around planting
- remember that during springtime (especially March through May)
champacas go through the semi-deciduous stage and lose a lot of leaves. Sometimes
the tree may start looking drying out - all the sudden, overnight. Give it a
few weeks and you will notice new light green re-leafing that will dress up
your tree when the time comes.
Check out Champaca trees:
Date: 16 Feb 2019
Deciduous plants soon sprouting
Many people believe that living in a warm climate will dissuade a plant from its deciduous nature. However, deciduous plants react to not only temperate but also shortened hours of daylight and changes in precipitation. Additionally, some plants will drop foliage in phases between new growth, and others use abscission to aid in pollination; blooming without wind-blocking leaves and making flowers more visible for insects.
When pruning a deciduous tree or shrub, it's generally best to wait until late winter or early spring, before the plant begins to leaf out. Avoid pruning during periods of new growth; during this time, the plant is weakened by the struggle to reestablish its growth process. Before pruning your deciduous plant, first research the specific plant, as there will always be exceptions to general instruction. For example, many Rubus varieties desire to prune in late fall, as their buds are developed during the dormant winter season. Some trees may have flower or fruit during winter while having no leaves, give them a chance to flower before pruning.
On the photo: Winter flowering Bombax ceiba
Date: 30 Aug 2024
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Date: 14 Nov 2018
Recovering Soursop after shipping and cold
From Irene &
Marjorie, PA: We wanted to share our pics with you (after Summer). I
attached also the photo of the way the tree looked before your advice (back in
April). The big is the one we almost lost and you gave us these instructions and
it came back. These were your instructions:
"The soursop is one of my favorite fruits and I was so sad to hear
yours may be dead. Good news - the tree looks great! Yes, it does have some cold
damage but I'm surprised it still has leaves on it at all! In cooler weather,
they typically drop all of their leaves and stay that way until spring. You
can remove the damaged leaves and it will resprout new growth with the warmer
temperatures."
Taking care of
Soursop after shipping
Soursop - Annona muricata trees are very sensitive to temperature drops. This
always causes leaf loss. After shipping, do not water until the soil gets
slightly dry; keep it in bright shade. No fertilizer until the plant shows active
new growth. Be patient with your plant, and it should recover soon.
Soursop is an ultra-tropical tree and doesn't take any freeze. If you
live in a cooler climate, keep the plant in a pot (the good news is, Annonas,
in general, have a compact nature and are perfect for container culture).
Bring the tree indoors during the cold period, providing bright light.
We have a very interesting article about growing and fruiting Soursop
in an apartment. Check out 4534 Tropical Treasures Magazine # 7
Date: 1 Oct 2018
Information on new exotic fruit
variety:
Artocarpus x integer (Jackfruit x Chempedak), Cheena cv.
TopTropicals
FRESH SEEDS! Grow exotic Chempedak from seeds and you will have the trees for only $1 each!
Check out a short video of the opened fruit.
Cheena is a natural hybrid between jackfruit and
chempedak. Comes true from seed.
This highly recommended variety has grown in TopTropicals
garden from a seedling of Cheena (Jackfruit x Chempedak)
that fruited within 3 years from planting. The fruit
(20-25"size) is probably the best we ever tasted! It is
super sweet, crunchy and has a rich, pleasant, excellent
flavor. It has very little latex which makes it easy to
handle when cutting up. The tree produces at the very base
of the trunk, so you can prune it as short as you want.
Our tree survived light frosts as well as 48 hours of 3ft
flooding, with no damage!
The tree has an open, low and spreading growth habit and
can be maintained at a height and spread of 8 ft with
annual pruning. It is very easy to grow and is not as cold
hardy as we thought for a Jackfruit x Chempedak types of
plants. The only two recommendations are - good fertilу
soil with a high content of compost and regular watering.
Cheena is a consistent producer. The fruit is up to 5 lbs,
long, narrow and uniform in size and shape. The skin is
green, with blunt spines that yellow and open slightly
upon maturity.
Check out Chempedak Cheena seeds - FRESH - FRESH -
FRESH
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