PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Story of Raja: Love at First Sight and Survivor Spirit
The story below about Little Raja is heart breaking and yet teaches us
many lessons of life. Since the first columns about Raja and her brother Abu were published in our Blog, we
have been getting many letters from gardeners-slash-cat-lovers asking
questions about those heroic kitties... what have they been through and what happened
after?.. So we asked Kristi to tell us the whole story in full. Here it is,
the Raja's lessons of Life... Part 1...
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Q: I'm interested in loquat and read through the varieties you
offer but wanted your recommendation. I'm looking for a variety that is big,
sweet (not tart) with 1 seed. Of the varieties you offer... Which variety would
you recommend?
A: From our experience, the most popular Loquat variety is Christmas.
It is an early ripening type hence the name Christmas. Fruits are very large
for a loquat, they are bright yellow with a tangy apricot flavor.
Another good variety we recommend is Yehuda - it has a large fruit and very small seed
Also, variety Oliver for many years has been considered the best loquat for South
Florida. The fruiting season is March to May. It has medium to large fruit. The
fruit is very sweet with only one-two seeds.
Loquats are very cold hardy tropical fruit trees, easy to grow, drought
tolerant, fast growing. Fruit is great for eating fresh or making jam.
Encouraging blooms on the Hawaiian Sunset Bell Vine
Q: Please can you advise how to encourage the Stictocardia beraviensis the Hawaiian Sunset Bell
vine blooms? Mine is all beautiful leaves and full sun in Miami.
A: Providing full sun, Stictocardia blooms profusely. In your area, it
should be happy and thriving. However, keep in mind that these flowers can be seasonal (meaning, not ever-blooming). The good
news it, Hawaiian Sunset Bell usually blooms several times a year on and off. In our garden, we have a large plant growing in
the ground and covering a whole fence; we see flowers 3 times a year:
- Early Spring
- Summer (sporadically)
- Late Fall to early Winter
Make sure to provide proper fertilizer to encourage blooms. It is especially important if
you grow this plant in container (where nutrients are very limited). We suggest the following fertilizer for your
Stictocardia:
Exotic flowers, amazing tropical birds, cats and even portraits... all
look alive by Olena Light
Check out Olena's
page and her private collection of
exclusive art that TopTropicals is honored to have especially for you, Tropical Garden connoisseurs, at introductory price.
Hurry up, Olena is getting famous!..
Q: Hello, I have a five-year-old Lemon Meringue tree that has only given me fruit one year. It put out
about 50 mangoes and has done nothing for the past three years. Do you
recommend any vitamins or any of the nutrients that you guys sell to help with this
for next season?
A: We've had very similar problem with our Nam Doc Mai Mango tree, fruited once and no more next year. Usually the reason is nutrients deficiency, here in Florida we have poor soils.
We applied Mango-Tango tree booster and it
started flowering within a couple of weeks.
Generally, Mango flowering season is over by now, however, we recommend to
feed the tree starting now, during active growth season. This way it will get
better established before winter and also will store away all elements
necessary for triggering flowering and fruiting. So by late Fall through Winter it
will be ready to flower.
Along with the fertilizer, additional micro-element supplements will be
beneficial. For improving fruit quality and increasing number of flowers, we
also recommend to use
SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster
...I term my garden one of memories because almost every plant in it
have been given to me by some person that I cared for. The Sicilian jasmin came
from a nice lady who brought it from Sicilia in her purse, and she in turn
gave me a cutting from which I have propagated three more plants. The Mermaid
rose came from my father-in-law a rosarian, who "bootlegged" it, actually (in
his boot) in the trunk of his car as he drove from Texas where he lived.
Today that rose reaches up up the second story and covers the arch out
front...
I have made four stone arches in this Memory garden. One is the entrance
to the Chapel of All Good Spirits. It took me two years to build it from
stones I collected from many loved places...
PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of The Month: Greenhouse King
King continues being on top of the poll... thanks to his adventurous
nature. This Purrrson just loves to travel! He likes driving and biking. How many times we pulled him out of customer's car or delivery truck!
Sure thing, he just did it again, joining contractor's team. Luckily he was noticed hiding in the back of the truck before the driver hit the highway!
ATTENTION VISITORS!
We are reminding you, please check your vehicles for cats before you
leave!
On a bright side, King has been very helpful, helping to plant newly
arrived plant shipment from Thailand.
For those of you who has been waiting for rare plants, after a long delay
due to airlines lockdown, we finally got lots of rare stuff and it will be
ready for shipping soon.
Please make sure to add to your wish-list these coming-soon rare plants, this is the only
way we can ensure you will get notified when they are available for sale, on
first come first serve basis. These are limited quantities, high demand plants!
Don't miss your dream plant! Just click on "Notify me when available" and add your email to waiting list.
Limited quantities - will be ready soon
(planted with King's help)
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Q: I am creating a natural, native garden on the southwest coast
of Florida. In some of the far corners of my landscape, my soil
unfortunately is poor and my irrigation does not reach these areas. I am hoping to find
something unusual and native to grow in these challenging areas of my garden.
Any luck of finding something tough that will also attract hummingbirds
and/or butterflies?
A: Most of us have these areas in our gardens where the soil is
sandy or where irrigation simply does not reach. It is always wise to choose
tough, native plants that will grow in these areas with minimum care,
fertilizer or the luxury of being watered regularly.
One plant to consider is the Coral bean or Erythrina herbacea. This
legume, native to the southern portions of the United States, is
Florida-friendly, unusual and a great choice for natural and informal planting. It will add
interest to these challenging area(s) of your landscape from spring to fall...
Q: I received my avocado Wurtz tree yesterday. Per instructions I
have put the tree in a pot first. However I am having difficulty deciding
what to trim off. Yesterday I removed obvious damaged leaves. However as you
can see, the leaves are lighter in some areas and contain yellow and red in
some spots. What would you advise? Given this is a critical state as I do not
want to shock the tree after the trip, I would like to do everything possible
to protect it and ensure viability.
A: Your Avocado tree looks great and healthy overall. You've done excellent job planting it. Wurtz is a good, vigorous variety, while the tree is somewhat dwarf,
great for containers.
You are right, it is the best for the tree to leave it alone and do not
trim or remove leaves any more, until it starts showing new growth. Then it will
be obvious what needs to be trimmed. Reddish/orange color of young leaves is
normal. If any spots or dots - no need to remove those leaves yet. Wait
until the plant grows more leaves. It needs them for photosynthesis, in order to
become stronger.
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster from Garden Series, or Combo
Total Feed Collection - all nutrients in just one bottle, for fruit trees and
edibles.
This unknown Florida native form of Crinum americanum might actually
represent an unpublished species! We have a few of these, they are very special
and now nearly 2 years old plants.
This most beautiful and fragrant of Florida's native lilies, most commonly
known simply as "Swamp Lily", has a very wide native range, extending from
the Everglades northward across all of the Gulf states. While being wide-spread
in distribution, natural colonies generally occur widely separated from one
another, often by miles. Because isolation of breeding populations often
leads to speciation due to intense in-breeding, many of these populations develop
traits which make them distinct...
