Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date: 13 Mar 2020
Recently, while admiring the stunning beauty of a large flowering Brownea planted on the grounds here at Top Tropicals, I began wondering why these most splendid of tropical flowering trees remain so rare and obscure in South Florida. Much of our local climate seems perfectly conducive to their cultivation...
Date: 10 Mar 2020
"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." - Jack Kerouac
King, who has been famous with his ability to get in trouble, without a
doubt is the Cat of the day, week, and month. His recent adventure went
above and beyond our expectations. King decided to take a ride.
He jumped inside the truck of our supplier from Homestead, for very
innocent reason: inspect the quality of plants delivered. No questions asked, he did
his job.
Next thing we remember was the driver calling us on his way to Homestead: "Looks like I have your cat in my truck, and he is pretty happy with the ride!"
Luckily, the discovery of the Hobo happened pretty quickly, before the
truck left Ft Myers area. So King did not get all the way to Homestead as he
planned, his adventure was interrupted. He was dropped off at Edison Estate Botanical Garden. The director Eric happen
to know TopTropicals well, just visiting us a few days before for the Leap Year Celebration
event. He kept King in his office until Onika came to pick him up.
What an adventure!
Dear visitors of Top Tropical Garden Center! When leaving our Nursery, please check your vehicles for cats! Apparently, they like to travel!
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCats. Every dollar you spend on TopTropicals plants is split between plant growers and PeopleCats who help us become better people.
Check out the Video: and more Cat of the Day stories.
After his adventures, King is resting with his pet mouse. Mouse is alive, and no animals were hurt during the adventures.
Date: 10 Mar 2020
Q: I've been a long time customer of yours and always been very happy with my purchases. Last year I purchased a coconut cream mango tree from you and while it did flower and show signs of starting to fruit, they soon fell off and I never got any fruit from the tree. This year, there are many more little buds on the tree and much earlier in the season. I want to do whatever possible to get as much fruit as I can and prevent these from all falling off again. Please advise what I should do.
A: Mango flowers can be tricky and there are several factors that may affect setting fruit and especially possible fruit drop. Here are a few ideas that may be helpful...
Date: 3 Mar 2020
In our last newsletter we told you about little Abu, a Baby-Purrrson that Kristi rescued from the woods where he had
been surviving along with other feral cats: his little sister and his Mom who
was badly injured in a car accident. We received messages from our customers
asking if we were able to rescue the other two cats...
For the past few days Kristi, Jamie and Onika have been trying to capture
them... The feral cats didn't want to come to humans, they were hiding away.
The ladies were able to trap Abu with a tuna can... then tried and tried again
with the other two with no luck... Even tried to call Animal control asking
for help catching the animals so we could give them medical help. We were
told that they don't trap cats! ("unless it's a cat-hating neighbor going
against a crazy cat lady" - Crazy Cat Lady's comment). The girls continued
their efforts again and again, with treats, traps and different capture
plans... day after day.
Unfortunately, the sick mother-cat did not survive and we found her
yesterday with her little baby crying over her cold body.
Kristi was able to grab the tiny kitten who was even smaller than her
brother Abu. She named her Raja - a friend of Abu. Raja said that her poor
mother's words were: "Go to that lady, my baby, she looks kind. It's my time to go
now, and you will be in good hands..."
The little Raja was in very poor shape herself, with eyes full of tears.
She was covered by fleas, and looked like passing out from anemia. Her paw was
injured and infected, and her little nose... first we just thought she was
pig-nosed! But her nose is also swollen. Kristi rushed her to the vet where
Raja got treatments and meds. She got much better the same day and finally
stopped crying. Raja finally recognized her brother Abu and cuddled with him.
Now Raja is on her way to recovery and will be sending her updates soon!
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCats. Every dollar you spend on TopTropicals plants is split between plant growers and PeopleCats who help us become better people.
Check out the Video: and more Cat of the Day stories.
Date: 3 Mar 2020
Tu BiShvat is the Israeli Arbor Day, and it is often referred to by that name in international media. Ecological organizations have adopted the holiday to further environmental-awareness programs. The modern practices and interpretations of Tu BiShvat often revolve around the earth and environment. This holiday is a celebration of nature and appreciation for creating the natural world. In Israel, Tu BiShvat is celebrated as an agricultural holiday. The 15th of Tu BiShvat was celebrated this year on February 10, 2020. This day marked the beginning of a new year for trees. This day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. Often the date of Tu BiShvat is used for determining the age of fruit baring trees and therefore establishes their birth dates. Therefore, Tu BiShvat is the "birthday" of trees!
The traditions and customs of Tu BiShvat vary, however, the most common include planting trees and gathering with family and friends for a meal. It is celebrated by eating fruit, particularly the kinds that praise the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, almonds, dates, olives and others. It reminds people that "a man is a tree of the field", and reflects on the lessons we can derive from the botanical analogue.
Persimmon tree
Loquat tree