Climate change is wiping out the Baobab, Africa's tree of life...
According to The Guardian News and Media, Africa's "tree of life" may not have much
longer left... These highly important species are threatened with
extinction, due to climate change and human development. Some species may not survive
the next century. While plants have generally adapted to extended droughts,
climate change is different, and with the Anthropocene, we are already
witnessing the loss of these impressive trees. Africa's largest, oldest inhabitants,
that have played silent witness to numerous generations, are already paying a
heavy price for the environmental crimes of foreign lands.
Baobab forms an integral part in people's livelihoods. In West Africa,
it is also called the "palaver tree" because of its social functions: when
there is a problem in the community, meeting under the Baobab tree with the
chief or the tribesmen would be synonymous with trying to find a solution to
that problem; it reinforces trust and respect among members of the community.
Its extinction would not simply be an environmental tragedy...
Every tropical gardener should have a Baobab to help to save this amazing species for the planet!
Mark you calendars: Groundhog Day Event 2/2 @ TopTropicals
Groundhog
Day: Spring will surely come!
Event: Top Container Plants @ Top Tropicals
When: Saturday, Feb 2, from 10 am - 5 pm
Where: Top Tropicals Garden Center, 13890 Orange River Blvd, Ft
Myers, FL
More info: Check our Facebook Event Page or call Anna Banana @ 239-771-8081
Agenda: - 25% OFF everything + freebies for local customers
- Best container fruit trees, Condo Mangos, and Avocados. No matter if
Groundhog promises early or late spring, you can keep them in pots!
- Snacks and drinks
Click on ticket link to save and print invitation flyer (for 2
people).
Q: I
intend to gift three avocados, at least one type A and one type B, to a friend who
lives in an area where the temperature never goes below 25F. The idea is to
give them a ripening season as long as possible. Which combinations do you
suggest, and which are the A and B?
A: When
talking about "A" type and "B" type in Avocados, we are referring to the
flowers. An avocado will produce both male and female flowers on the same plant.
"A" type means that the flowers are female in the morning and male at
afternoon. "B" type means that the flowers are male in the morning and female in the
afternoon. If you plant to start a commercial growth, then it's important to
create a proper mix of both types. However, in hot and humid climate a single
tree produces flowers of both types, so it is NOT necessary to have both A-
and B- types planted together in the backyard. Even a single tree produces
enough fruit for a home gardener.
It is also important to know that while there are "more cold hardy"
avocados (hardy to as low as 15F), it refers to a full grown established tree.
Young trees still need protection from the cold until they are bigger and more
established. One can not expect a small tree planted in June to survive the
first winter with a hard freeze. It'll take a few years until the tree is
strong enough.
These a few rare varieties that may be of your interest.
Poncho Avocado Very cold hardy variety. Produces medium to large green fruit. It
survived temperatures around 10F near San Antonio, Texas (Zone 8b). Mature trees
can take temperatures down to 15F for short period of time without significant
damage.
Anise Avocado This avocado has strongly scented leaves that smell like Anise. Very
rare variety. Fruit is of excellent quality, creamy and buttery.
Catalina Avocado Catalina is a very nice mid-season pear-shaped fruit that is especially
rich and creamy. It is an extremely popular variety in South Florida in the
Cuban Community. The Story of this variety says...
...Catalina is an amazing avocado floated across from Cuba, 60 years
ago just before Fidel Castro took over the Island Nation. Wise Cubans jumped
into the ocean to escape the Castro regime and tossed in some favorite scions
for us to enjoy here in the States. We owe a great debt to poor old Don Miguel
Cruz de la Santa Maria Espinoza Sanchez Alvarez Jr. who sadly was lost at
sea. His amazing scion wood, wrapped in cellophane and aluminum foil floated
over, washing ashore on Miami Beach. His shiny little package was miraculously
picked up on the shoreline and immediately grafted and cared for by keen-eyed
avocado lovers in Miami...
So be sure to think about this story every time you eat a Catalina!
These three Avocados will provide you with fruit ripening during the
whole warm season.
See more information on avocado varieties and the most cold hardy
cultivars.
We take this opportunity to extend our grateful thanks to all visitors
and friends of our garden and website. The entire Top Tropicals team wishing
you a Happy New Year with Happy New Plants!
In 2019, Top Tropicals plans include (but are not limited to):
- improved design of the website, online store and shopping cart
- many new introductions of rare flowering plants including Red Jade
Vine, lots of new Adeniums
- rare fruit trees, including Mangosteen, Nutmeg, Clove and more
- extended selection of rare tropical seeds
- many new videos of rare tropical plants
- free and discounted shipping
Stay informed with our Newsletter updates!
New Year Resolutions for Gardeners in 2019
January is the month to plan and dream about your yard and garden. Grow
your garden a few steps at a time each year: pick a few resolutions for 2019
and plan accordingly. Next year, a few more, and so on until you build the
garden of your dreams.
This winter, resolve to:
- Hang a bird feeder.
- Order seeds of some rare plants so you can have an early start.
- Prune a tree into an espalier - it's a perfect time before Spring.
- Ask your grandparents what they grew in their gardens.
- Build a raised bed for succulents.
- If you live in a warm climate, plant a fruit tree or two.
- Start a compost pile.
- Plant a palm tree.
- Try some plant boosters to improve your plants hardiness.
- Chose Flowering trees, shrubs and vines suitable for areas in your garden that still have room...
- Install a rain barrel.
- Eat outside as often as possible.
- Show a child how to plant a tree.
- Provide a water source for bees and butterflies. They are not only
cool, but also pollinators that will help to set fruit and seeds!
- Call TopTropicals for garden advise - what to plant, where to plant,
and how not to kill it!
- Plant a berry-bearing tree or shrubs to feed the birds. Mulberry, Blackberry, Tropicals Cherries - are always good choices. They are 15% OFF now, offer expires 1/8/19.
- Rake and save fallen leaves for winter mulch for your garden beds.
- Save seeds from flowers to plant next year.
- Give plants as gifts all year long.
Malpighia punicifolia - Dwarf Barbados-Cherry, Dwarf
Acerola. This dwarf form of Acerola makes a wonderful low-growing shrub or
beautiful bonsai tree with edible fruit. Profuse bloomer, it is also a nice
ornamental! Due to its shallow and smaller root system, Acerolas can be interplanted
with other crops more closely than many trees. Acerolas grows in marl,
limestone, clay and other heavy soils as long as it drains well. Has the highest
vitamin C content of any fruit. 1 Cherry is equal to 12 oranges. Used in
jellies, jams, freezes without losing its vitamin C content. The plant is drought
tolerant and easy to grow.
Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our
channel at
YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and
blooming!
Q: I was
always wondering how you guys manage to grow true tropical trees in Florida? I
live in Puerto Rico and we have Breadfruit trees growing here in a wild... but my sister lives not far
away from you, in Orlando, which is much colder, and I wonder if I can get
her a
Breadfruit tree for Christmas?
A: Your
sister can grow a Breadfruit tree in Orlando either in a pot (and bring it indoors during
cold periods) or in the ground inside a structure (an elclosed conservatory
with heating system). See our customer's Greenhouse in Virginia. Cold protection of tropical plants is a lengthy
subject and we have many interesting publications about it in our managine
Tropical
Treasures and on the website. In a nutshell, when growing tropicals outside of
tropical climate, you need to follow these 7 rules:
Cut watering to a minimum. Cold+wet kills tropical roots.
Water thirsty plants before a cold night. Jucy leaves have fewer
chances to be cold-zapped.
Wind protection is more important than a temperature drop. Plant
tropicals close to a house or surrounded by other trees.
Duration of a cold period is more critical than the cold itself. If
expecting long cold hours, bring up all available protection resources.
Christmas lights or propane heaters - as long as there is a heat source,
everything helps!
Remove plastic covers during the daytime so plants don't get
"cooked" in the sun. Fabric covers are better than plastic.
Grow ultra-tropicals in containers and bring them inside the garage
or even indoors during the cold.
Mangosteen
availability. Yesterday we received 6 Mangosteen trees from Hawaii - on the photo Anna Banana is holding one
of these very much wanted trees. We had 378 customers on a waiting list for
this amazing fruit tree. After we sent wishlist notifications, the plants were
all sold within a couple hours for $349.95 each on "first come, first serve"
basis. We even over-sold one... our shopping cart could not catch up with so
many requests! We also had 12 smaller size (1 gal pot) plants, and most were
also sold right away. As of now, only 3 plants left.
We know many people want this tree, and we apologize that we had only a
few. We are searching all our sources around the world for these plants and
seeds to supply the Mangosteen for you!
ATTENTION to all
Mangosteen seekers! Please re-submit your request for Mangosteen using our Wishlist form. We will find more plants for you, as well as will grow
them from seeds. Be on top of our Mail-list news and make sure to re-submit a wish-list request for this plant, since your original request was
removed as soon as notification was sent.
You may follow the BUY button below, and if all plants sold out, simply
click on a link "Notify me when available". We will notify you as soon as we
have the Mangosteen back in stock!
Q: When I
visited Thailand I bought this huge fruit at the market and the taste was
amazing and unique! Now I see you have this Jackfruit tree for sale. I am
excited to grow it but not sure if it will survive our winters. I live in Huston,
TX. Also are there any special conditions required for successful fruiting?
A:Jackfruit indeed is one of the most fascinating tropical fruit. In
spite of reputation being ultra tropical, the tree is not as cold sensitive as
everyone believes. Mature trees can withstand light frost for a few hours
without significant damage. The only thing, after cold snaps it may be not as
profuse producer as in frost-free climates. Keeping Jackfruit in a pot is also an
option in colder areas. The tree is quite unique not only about fruit but
also about growth habit. The fruit is so large and heavy that the tree has a
smart feature to produce only at the base of the trunk. This makes it possible
to keep Jackfruit tree at very short height - 6-7 ft tall. We have many
varieties of Jackfruit, and all of them can be grown in containers considering
regular topping/pruning.
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 muricatatrees 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.
Mark your calendar: Christmas Countdown at Top Tropicals - 12/1/18.
Celebrate the
Holiday Season with us: "25 Days to Christmas" event
Event: Holiday plant shopping and Tropical Winter Plants
When: Saturday, Dec 1, from 10 am - 5 pm
Where: Top Tropicals Garden Center, 13890 Orange River Blvd, Ft
Myers, FL
More info: See our Facebook event or call Anna Banana @ 239-771-8081
Agenda: - 25% OFF everything and freebies for locals!
- Cold protection for tender tropicals
- Winter blooming and Winter fruiting trees and shrubs
- Snacks and drinks
