🐾 Daily Cat Lesson #12: Do Not Disturb - Grooming in Progress.

Your cat isn't just licking himself clean. Grooming is serious cat business.

• 🐾 How much time do cats spend grooming?
  A lot! Cats may spend a surprisingly large part of their waking hours grooming themselves. For a dedicated professional like Bob, cleanliness is apparently a full-time occupation.
• 🐾 Why is a cat's tongue so rough?
  A cat's tongue is covered with tiny backward-facing, hook-like structures called papillae. They help the tongue work almost like a built-in comb, separating fur and removing loose hair and debris.
• 🐾 Does licking help cats cool down?
  Yes. Cats don't sweat over most of their bodies like humans do. When saliva left on the fur evaporates, it provides some cooling.
• 🐾 Why do cats groom when they're perfectly clean?
  Grooming isn't only about dirt. It helps maintain the coat, distribute natural skin oils and remove loose fur. Cats may also groom as a calming behavior when they're relaxing or after something mildly stressful.
• 🐾 Why does my cat immediately lick himself after I pet him?
  Don't take it personally. Your touch has disturbed the carefully arranged coat and added unfamiliar scents. Grooming helps put everything back in order and restore the cat's own familiar smell.
• 🐾 Can grooming tell you something about your cat's health?
  Yes. A sudden increase in licking, especially one particular spot, can signal itching, pain or stress. And a cat who suddenly stops grooming may also be telling you something isn't right.

Meanwhile, Bob is healthy, busy and unavailable for comment!
Please hold all questions until the bath is complete. 🐈

🐈📸 Top Tropicals rescued cat Bob being completely unavailable because Important Grooming Operations Are in Progress at PeopleCats.Garden.

🐈 Stay with us for your Daily Dose of Cat! #DailyCatLesson #PeopleCats

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🍑 What Tropical Fruit Should You Plant in Zone 9?

If you live in Zone 9, you don't have to give up on tropical and subtropical fruit trees. The trick is choosing the right variety, because "peach," "guava," or even "avocado" on a plant tag doesn't tell you whether that particular tree will handle your climate. A customer recently asked us what we'd plant in a Zone 9 backyard orchard. Here's what we recommended, based on what we grow ourselves in Florida.

❓ Q: What peaches do well in Zone 9?

Look for low-chill peaches bred for warm climates, such as:
Tropic Sweet, Tropic Prince, Tropic Beauty, Tropic Snow.

We prefer yellow peaches for Florida and other subtropical areas. In our experience, they perform better and the fruit tends to be juicier.

❓ Q: What about guava?

This depends on which guava.
For planting in the ground in Zone 9, we recommend Cattley guava (Psidium littorale). Hawaiian Gold is a yellow Cattley/Strawberry guava with exceptionally sweet and flavorful fruit.

Ruby Supreme Guava - Psidium guajava is a true tropical guava. We don't recommend planting it permanently in the ground in Zone 9 because a hard freeze can kill it. Keep it in a container instead. It grows and fruits well in pots and can be moved to protection when a freeze threatens.

❓ Q: And plums?

They're coming! We've just grafted Hypoluxo, one of our sweetest plum varieties. Those young trees should be ready in 2027.

❓ Q: What other fruit trees are excellent choices for Zone 9?

Cold-Hardy Avocados should be high on the list. The key is choosing cold-hardy varieties rather than standard tropical avocados. We've been growing and testing them here in Florida 2026 Record Freeze, and some varieties can handle surprisingly cold conditions.

🍐 Figs are another easy choice. They're naturally much more cold tolerant than most tropical fruit trees, love our long growing season, and can produce heavily without taking up much space.

🍇 Mulberries are tough, fast-growing, productive, and very well suited to Zone 9. If you want a fruit tree that doesn't need to be babied every time temperatures drop, mulberry is hard to beat.

🍊 Loquat is another excellent Zone 9 fruit tree. It's evergreen, attractive, surprisingly cold hardy, and produces clusters of juicy, sweet-tart fruit. Even better, it flowers and develops its crop during the cooler part of the year, when most of the tropical fruit garden is taking a break.

👉 The takeaway:

Zone 9 can grow a surprisingly diverse backyard fruit orchard. You just have to choose the right species AND the right variety for your climate.

• Low Chill Peaches and Plums? Absolutely.
• Cattley guava? Yes.
• Tropical guava? Yes, but keep it portable.
• Cold-Hardy Avocado? Definitely.
• Figs and Mulberries? Excellent choices.
• Loquat? Absolutely - one of the easiest choices for Zone 9.

Zone 9 isn't the end of tropical fruit growing. It's where choosing the right varieties gets interesting.

🛒 Shop Low Chill Peach Trees and Tropical Fruit Trees

📚 Learn more:

·  Prunus persica in Plant Encyclopedia
·  Full Sun Isn't Always Best for Peach Trees - Especially in Florida
·  The One Peach Tree Every Florida Gardener Should Know About: Tropic Beauty
·  What are the best Mulberry varieties
·  The fruit tree that every garden must have - Fig
·  Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes: Loquat Tree
·  15 "Bulletproof" Fruit Trees for Tough Ground
·  What is the most rewarding hardy fruit tree suitable for hot climate
· Top Ten Fruit Tree Winners of Florida 2026 Record Freeze
· Cold-hardy avocado survival groups - what the numbers really mean

#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover

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🎉 This Saturday: Fall Planting Kickoff & Plant Market - September 5!

The best planting season is almost here, and we're kicking it off with a BIG Plant Day at Top Tropicals!

🌱 30% OFF all plants

🌱 Cold-Hardy Avocados & Tough Tropicals
🌱 Rare Finds + $10 Specials + BOGO Deals
🌱 FREE Green Magic fertilizer samples

🎁 Gift Bags + Plant Raffle
🎵 Music + Snacks + Drinks
🐈 And, of course, our #PeopleCats will be supervising the whole operation!

✅ Plant Smart Before Winter

Come find beautiful, unusual, Florida-tough plants and get your garden ready for whatever the next season brings.

📅 Saturday, September 5

📍 Fort Myers Garden Center + Sebring Farm

📱 Event discounts and specials valid at both locations:

✦ Ft Myers Garden Center: 13890 Orange River, Ft Myers, FL
✦ Sebring Farm: 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL

🎁 Learn more about this Event, Holiday deals and extras

#PeopleCats

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