Black Magic of Colocasias

Spectacular unusual plants

Q: I need something unusual to plant next to a small pond at my front yard. It is full sun location. I need a plant that is not too messy and doesn't require much maintenance. Preferably without flowers, so they don't drop into the water, and not too tall. Any suggestions?

A: Your ideal solution is - colorful Colocasia hybrids with spectacular large leaves. Our favorite is variety Black Magic - it creates a magic tropical atmosphere. The color of the leaves in full sun is dark purple, almost black, and the brighter the light, the deeper the color.
Light colored varieties - Royal Hawaiian Maui Sunrise, with bright sunny stripes, or Illustris, in case you want to create a bright, mixed-color border around your pond. Colocasias are perfect plants for perimeter borders, and naturally are marginal plants around lakes and along river banks.

Photo above: for enhanced effect of your Black Magic Colocasias, use Black Magic Ti Leaf for the background planting... Cordyline fruticosa Black Magic - Hawaiian Good Luck Ti Leaf.

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: 25 Jun 2021

Peanut Butter Fruit... tastes like peanut butter!

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...One of the most fascinating exotic fruit, as amazing as Miracle fruit, Peanut Butter Fruit is loved by both kids and adults... and yes, it tastes exactly like peanut butter!.. Yet it is much healthier food, with many medicinal benefits...
...The easy, low-maintenance Peanut Butter Fruit tree is essential for any edible landscape, rare fruit collector, or tropical/subtropical garden. It has a great ornamental or screening value. Also can be grown in container, and will fruit indoors... Similar to fast-fruiting Annonas, and its close relatives Malpighia (Barbados Cherry) and Bursonima (Nancy Tree), Bunchosia tree starts fruiting in small size and at young age: 2-3 years from seed!..

CONTINUE READING >>

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.

Date: 15 Jun 2021

Establishing Avocado tree after shipping

Q: Received my Avocado tree last week and I'm a bit concerned. Is this wilting normal with a new plant? No yellowing, or dropping of leaves. We moved it out of the sun but not sure how to handle?

A: This is normal for after-shipping stress. You did right, position the tree away from direct sun, in shade, preferably under roof (patio?) so it doesn't get over-watered with too much rain and you can control water amount. We recommend to spray the leaves with pure water and put a large clear plastic bag just over the crown (leave the soil to breath). Keep in shade. Within couple days the leaves should perk up. Do not overwater. Water only when the top of soil gets slightly dry. In a week or so, once the plant recovers, you may start moving it gradually into full sun, then to its permanent spot where you want to plant it.
Avocado is not an easy plant to establish. So be careful. It needs lots of water, however, it doesn't like wet feet - so must be planted in a well-drained spot, with at least 4-6" elevation (on a little "hill") so it never gets water-logged. It needs daily water to establish and may need more than just a sprinkler system, use additional hose water when establishing in the ground.

< Previous page Next page >Most recent entry Blog table of contents