Index > Garden Blog

Date: 22 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Christmas Fairy Tale from PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Penelope, the Squirrel Cat

Early one morning I was sitting out back on the porch and I heard a high pitch screeching. As I am looking everywhere for this sound, and what is making the sound, I see a small little squirrel baby poke it’s head from between my house and my roof... Now I am not the only one who heard and saw this baby. There were two little sets of cat eyes standing beside me who were also intrigued but for a very different reason than I was...
This is how we became pet squirrel owners. It was never intended for Penelope to stay for long, however the more we bottle feed her and interacted with her the more attached she became to us...
Every time she saw us, she would purr! That’s right, squirrels do purr, just like cats! They also play just like cats...

CONTINUE READING >>

TopTropicals PeopleCat Club and Zoo

Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community and Zoo!
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!

Photo above: Jim is exploring jungles of Tecoma Stans.

Date: 22 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Pipers, the Pepper Plants

Piper nigrum (Black Pepper), the one that is used more frequently than salt or sugar!

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...Who doesn't know Black Pepper? Every household has a pepper shaker, even if they are not fans of spicy food. But do you know where black pepper comes from? Certainly, from a plant. But not from the same plant that gives us Chili pepper! You will be surprised to know that Black pepper along with its other spicy relatives, belong to the same family as a Peperomia houseplant! In the 16th century, people began using name pepper to also mean the unrelated New World Chili pepper (genus Capsicum of family Solanaceae). Piper's spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which is a different kind of spicy from the capsaicin characteristic of Chili peppers...
Today we will tell you more about the most interesting and useful species - Piper nigrum (Black Pepper), Piper betle (Betel Leaf), Piper sarmentosum (Lalot), and Piper auritum (false Kava-Kava, or Root Beer Plant).

CONTINUE READING >>

Piper auritum (false Kava-Kava, or Root Beer Plant) - the most useful especially in Mexican cuisine

Piper betle (Betel Leaf), popular Indian herb that brings you health and happiness...

Date: 19 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Easy Sunday Morning Deals: Red Peppers and Hot Pepper Kit

It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals' Garden with savings of 50% and MORE! We're counting down to 2022 and this is our last sale of the year. There's still a few days remaining for you to receive 20% off savings on any order over $75! See discount code for this extended sale at the end of this email.

Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...

Photo above: Holmskioldia sanguinea - Chinese hat, Holiday bloomer, covered with flowers from late fall through Winter.

This week we celebrate Beautiful Red Peppers and bring the heat with our Hot Pepper Kit:

The Biquinho Pepper and the Wiri Wiri Pepper
50% OFF and MORE!

Biquinho... Wiri Wiri... sounds like an exotic island, and these rare peppers will bring you the combination of the no-heat, yet intense fruity habanero flavor of the Biquinho with the hot and flavorful taste Bang! of the Wiri Wiri.

Hot Pepper Kit - Biquinho Wiri Wiri

For this Easy Sunday we have priced these at incredible savings:
The Biquinho Pepper regularly $39, is on Easy Sunday sale for only $19
The Wiri Wiri Pepper, regularly $49, is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $24 .
Combine the two for your own Hot Pepper Kit and save even more, only $34 for the set!

Biquinho Pepper

Biquinho's oddly shaped bright orange to finally red fruits are prolifically produced along the branches of compact plants. What separates this variety from others is its unique flavor which packs quite a bang! Not because of its heat, but because of its intense fruity habanero flavor.

Wiri Wiri Pepper

The Wiri Wiri pepper from Guyana is the illustrious gem; hard sought and rarely found. What makes it so much different than any other hot pepper? Hot? It is not just about heat, it is about flavor! Guyanese dinners will only take one of those meals for you to never forget! The secret of their food is the flavor, and one of the cornerstone ingredients in many of their dishes is the Wiri pepper. The Guyanese population claim that it is not just a key ingredient to their diet, but also to why they are so good looking, live so long, and have such great skin.

Remember, the Easy Sunday special and the 20% off for eligible orders will expire on Wednesday December 22nd. Limited availability, hurry up!

For 20% off - use code YEAREND20

Min. order $75 (excluding S&H). Good through December 22d

Enjoy your Hot Deals!

Photo above: Find a cat in this Christmas tree?

Date: 16 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Zebrina Rojo - Blood Leaf Banana

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...The showy Blood Banana plants grow 6-8 ft tall in the wild, but are well-adapted to container growing and can be maintained at only 3-5 ft. They produce huge paddle-shaped leaves that grow to 6 ft long! The undersides of these large leaves are purple to red...

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Date: 16 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Why should you use Sunshine Boosters?

by Ed Jones, the Booster guy

...You have heard it before, but I will tell you again. Sunshine Boosters are safe to use with every watering. It means that you can use Sunshine Boosters amino acid based fertilizers whenever you water your plants, even in the winter. Why is that so important?..

...We normally stop using dry, timed release, fertilizers around the first of November and not resume using them until the first part of March. This is true in many areas of the deep south where the ground stays above freezing year round...

However, it is safe to use Sunshine Boosters during these cooler months... Temperature does not play a role in the absorption of nutrients when using Sunshine Boosters...

To find out how it works, see Ed's new Article Why should you use Sunshine Boosters. If you want to learn even more in depth, check out his blog: Micronutrients Delivery Systems.

As of this writing, all Sunshine Boosters are on Holiday Sale. There are boosters for all different types of plants. Check them out and -

Give your plants a little something extra for Christmas!

CONTINUE READING >>

Date: 12 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Easy Sunday Morning Deals: Golden Sugar Apple and Jackedak Cheena

What a wonderful way to start the day, and to say Goodbye to 2021! Yes, the Countdown to 2022 is officially underway, only 20 days left in 2021. Let's celebrate with a 20% off savings on any order over $75! You will find the code at the end of this email.

Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...

Photo above: Senecio confusus - Mexican flame vine is full of blooms this morning!

It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals' Garden with savings of 50% and MORE!

This week we celebrate with a Rare Tropical Fruit Collection:

Golden Sugar Apple and Jackedak Cheena
50% OFF and MORE!

We've combined the exotic fruit of this rare Annona from Costa Rica - Golden Sugar Apple with the sweet, crunchy and excellent flavor of the Jackedak Cheena. Both rare and unique plants can be yours at considerable savings, but don't delay as there are limited quantities in stock.

Rare Fruit Collection:
two Jackfruit-textured rare fruit!

For this Easy Sunday we have priced these at incredible savings:
The Golden Sugar Apple regularly $39, is on Easy Sunday sale for only $19
The Jackedak Cheena, regularly $49, is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $24 .
Combine the two for your own Rare Fruit Collection and save even more, only $39 for the set!

Jackedak Cheena

Artocarpus x integer (Jackfruit x Chempedak) - Jackedak Cheena has been grown in TopTropicals garden from a seedling and fruited within 3 years from planting. The fruit is the best we ever tasted! It is super sweet, crunchy, with a rich, excellent flavor, with very little latex which makes it easy to handle when cutting up. Our tree survived light frosts as well as 48 hours of 3 ft flooding, with no damage! Cheena is a natural hybrid between Jackfruit and Chempedak with low and spreading growth habit, can be maintained at 8 ft with annual pruning.

Picture of 3 y.o. Cheena at Top Tropicals garden, loaded with fruit:

Golden Sugar Apple

The Golden Sugar Apple or Pineapple Annona originally was brought to us by our customer from Costa Rica. We believe it to be a natural hybrid between A. muricata and A. glabra. It is a very ornamental small tree similar in growth habit to A. muricata, A. montana or Rollinia. Fast growing, forms nice bushy specimen. Fruit is very large, up to 1 lb, golden to orange when ripe, with strong Pineapple scent, and resembling Jackfruit in texture, with pineapple, papaya, apricot and melon overtones. The tree tolerates flooding and is cold hardy at least to upper 20's. Very interesting for rare fruit collectors as much more hardy and water tolerant alternative to its sensitive relatives Soursop and Rollinia.

Picture of 3 y.o. tree full of fruit:

Remember, the Easy Sunday special has been extended through Wednesday, December 15th. Limited availability, hurry up! All orders over $75 (excluding S&H) are eligible for 20% off!

For 20% off - use code YEAREND20

Min. order $75 (excluding S&H). Good through December 15th

Enjoy your Holiday Tropical Fruit!

Photo above: Jim is Holiday decorating with super-sweet tropical fruit balls - Pom-Poms!

Date: 8 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Event Mementos (Saturday 12/4)

We thank all of our guests for joining us last Saturday for the Holiday Sale. We met lots of great people who got lots of great plants and goodies! Our vendors offered wonderful treats and entertainment and everyone could find something special! The food was not only tasty but also COLORFUL!
Special Thanks to our PeopleCats who ran the show, as always!
Come back again to our next event in a few months, info coming soon.

SEE EVENT MEMENTOS >>

Date: 8 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

New Video:
Peanut Butter Tree

For our most recent Easy Sunday Deal we featured Peanut Butter Tree and Blackberry Jam Fruit, and guess what - within just a few hoursday we almost ran out! Now that most of our customers have these plants, you've started asking how to grow them. So today we will share this new video with you - how to grow Peanut Butter Tree.
And if you missed the Easy Sunday Sale - we still have a few plants left.
See also Article: Bunchosia - Peanut Butter Fruit Tree.

WATCH NEW VIDEO >>

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!

Date: 4 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

Sunday Breakfast with Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam...

It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals' Garden with savings of 50% and MORE! What a wonderful way to start the day.

Speaking of wonderful, is there any memory as wonderful as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from back in the day?! PB&J's, a true Classic, easy, savory and delicious and a universal favorite... And for a truly Top Tropicals variation of the Classic sandwich, have we got something special for you...
Bunchosia argentea and Randia Formosa. OK, we admit it may not roll off the tongue quite as easily as PB&J, but your tongue and taste buds will be thankful for the delicious flavors of the Peanut Butter Fruit Tree - Bunchosia argentea, and Blackberry Jam Fruit - Randia formosa.

Combine the rich and creamy delicious Peanut Butter with the not too sweet and fresh pulp of the Blackberry Jam Fruit and you have a unique and tasty combination destined to be a classic of its own while making your garden look even more beautiful!

Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...

For this Easy Sunday we have priced these at incredible savings:
The Peanut Butter Tree, regularly $49, is on Easy Sunday sale for only $24
The Blackberry Jam, regularly $39, is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $19

Classic Combination

Combine the two for your own Classic Combination and save even more, instead of full price $88, it's only only $39 for the set!

Blackberry Jam Fruit

Randia formosa - Blackberry jam fruit, Jasmin de Rosa - fragrant white flowers of this Gardenia relative and edible fruit that tastes like blackberry jam... Kids love the fruit! Many claim that it's even better than preserves. This exotic shrub will fruit in a container within a year and produces as many as 25 to 30 fruits at a time. It is relatively cold hardy, blooms for a few months in the fall and winter, so fruiting and flowering can be enjoyed when many other plants are dormant.

Picture of 2 y.o. plant full of fragrant flowers, ready to set fruit:

Peanut Butter Tree

Bunchosia argentea - Peanut Butter Tree.
One of the most fascinating exotic fruit, as amazing as Miracle fruit, Peanut Butter Fruit is loved by both kids and adults. Yes, it tastes exactly like peanut butter! Sweet, soft pulp with peanut flavor. The tree is small in size, grows 10-15 ft max, or can be kept as a bush. Starts fruiting within 2-3 years from seed! Keep it in a pot if you have limited space, it can be grown indoors, too. The fruit can be eaten fresh or made into milk shakes. Very rare in cultivation, and relatively cold hardy.

Picture of 2 y.o. tree full of fruit:

Remember, the special prices are good for only 24 hours and expire Monday morning at 7 am EST.
Limited to availability, while supply lasts, hurry up!

Enjoy!

Date: 2 Dec 2021 Top Tropicals Newsletter

New Video:
What is a Loquat?

Loquat is one of the easiest tropical/subtropical fruit trees to grow, with delicious fruit resembling Apricots (in fact, from the same family!). This video presented by our video host David Mortimer.

More information on Loquat trees:

Golden Loquat - the symbol of Prosperity
Kristi's Loquat Tropical BBQ sauce
Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF from Tropical Treasures Magazine)

WATCH NEW VIDEO >>

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!

Loquats 30% OFF - this week only!

Many varieties of the Loquat are available from our store The trees we have for sale are in full bloom now, ready to set fruit. You will get the fruit as early as in 3 months! The trees are in 5 gal pots, 5 ft tall, grafted, bushy and full. Loquats are cold hardy - good time to plant them now!

Great chance to collect them all!
Discount expires: 12-5-2021.