Most recent Newsletter

!!! Refresh browser to see new entry

Don't miss out! Subscribe to receive Happy Gardening Tips, new arrivals notifications, and discount codes in every newsletter!

TopTropicals Newsletter / 11 Jan 2021
Golden Ox Lucky Flowers. Devil's Tree. Beginning-of-year checklist.

Ready for Early Lucky Spring?

...Why always "not yet"? Do flowers in spring say "not yet"?...
- Norman Douglas -

2021 - Year of the Golden Ox

Golden Ox Year of Accomplishments

2020 Year of the Rat, as we now know, made the world go through a distinct changing of the times, not in the way anyone had hoped. A once in 100-years global pandemic severely altered our lives. While 2020 may seem like it was an epic disaster, the year of the Rat did present us with a new opportunity: to change the world for the better.

2021 - the Year of the Metal Ox (Yin Metal Cow), according to Chinese zodiac, starting from Feb. 12, 2021. Yin Metal is related to jewelry, precious gemstone, or golden. 2021 is called the Golden Ox year. The Cow is also called "the storage room of the gold". That implies the good opportunity to earn extra income is coming. That also is the sign of flaunting your wealth or property.
Ox used to be a capable farming tool in an agricultural society, which attach to the symbol of diligence, persistence, and honesty. Ox is very hardworking and methodical. 2021 is going to be a year when work will get rewarded, for those who will make a considerable effort. This is going to be a year when we will fully feel the weight of our responsibilities, a year when it is necessary to double our efforts to accomplish anything at all.
The color of Metal is white in Chinese Five Elements; the lucky color of 2021 flowers is going to be white and golden. Besides white, we have the lucky colors of the Ox: yellow and green, colors that, in Feng Shui, attract prosperity and success.
Year of Discipline. To increase your luck, wear metal accessories, and get white and golden flowers. This year, no explosive or catastrophic events will occur, so it is a favorable year for economic recovery or consolidation. 2021 is a year when all the problems get solved with discipline. A lot of discipline! Obviously, with an extra effort from us in organizing our time.
We will continue Golden Ox story in our upcoming publications...

See 2021 Golden Ox Lucky Flowers

White Gardenias, Jasmines and many other fragrant plants are perfect flowers for Year of the Metal Ox.
See 2021 Golden Ox Lucky Flowers at the end of this newsletter.

Tropical gardener beginning-of-year checklist

Final pre-Spring check of whatever we had forgotten! For a gardener, the year ahead is a chance to do things you want, as a way to achieve the things you need to do. If your number one New Year's resolution is to garden more (a want-to item), you also will be exercising more (a need-to). Or if you plant a new edible garden (want, want, want), you will end up checking off "eat more leafy vegetables and fruits" from your to-do list!

12 steps to get ready for 2021 season:

1 - Spray fruit trees and houseplants with insecticide and micro-elements
2 - Continue spraying SUNSHINE-Epi to improve plant hardiness
3 - Protect tender plants during cold spells and especially from freeze
4 - Reduce watering during cooler months, keeping the root zone on a dry side
5 - To give your plants a kick start, fertilize with liquid SUNSHINE Boosters fertilizers - they are safe to be used year round
6 - Plant fruit trees: winter planting is beneficial to avoid heat stress for roots
7 - Plant Butterfly and Hummingbird Attractants
8 - Plant bulbs, vegetables and herbs. Use eco-safe, natural SUNSHINE boosters for all your edibles.
9 - Plan your summer garden and order seeds early
10 - Start tropical plants from seeds (indoors for cooler climates)
11 - Start ordering tropical plants and beneficial soil mix to get them established after shipping in pots
12 - Clean and oil garden tools

Alstonia scolaris - Indian Devil Tree

A Scholar's Award with intoxicating fragrance

By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...This fascinating rare plant with white, strongly perfumed flowers is valued as a fast growing, impressive ornamental shade tree and is used to serve as an alternative to quinine...
Popularly known as Devil Tree, as plant is believed to the devil's abode - probably due to the intoxicating fragrance emitted by flowering trees, especially at night.
The tree is of great cultural significance in the intellectual circle, as traditionally its leaves were awarded to scholars and teachers during convocation ceremonies by the Visva Bharati University (can't think of a better name than Alstonia scholaris!). This tradition was started by Rabindranath Tagore...