Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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What is the difference between Brunfelsia americana and nitida? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Brunfelsia americana - Lady of the Night

⭐️ What is the difference between Brunfelsia americana and nitida?
  • ⭐️ Brunfelsia americana and Brunfelsia nitida are very similar and both are commonly called Lady of the Night, They are night-fragrant shrubs that bloom with creamy white flowers, but they differ slightly in form and character.
  • ⭐️ Brunfelsia americana grows taller and more upright, reaching up to 12 feet in favorable conditions, with creamy white tubular flowers that release a rich, sweet fragrance after dusk - filling the garden with magic scent.
  • ⭐️ Brunfelsia nitida has a more compact, bushy growth habit, making it better suited for smaller spaces or containers. Its star-shaped white flowers are also fragrant at night, though the scent is typically lighter or spicier than that of B. americana. The foliage of B. nitida is glossier and more refined, adding to its neat, ornamental appearance.
  • ⭐️ While both offer evening blooms and fragrance, B. nitida stands out for its tidy size and formal appeal, whereas B. americana impresses with its height and intense perfume.


📚 Learn more:

🛒 Choose your perfect night-fragrant Brunfelsia

#Perfume_Plants #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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Blooming Lobster Claw Show at TopTropicals. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw

Blooming Lobster Claw Show at TopTropicals
  • 🔻 Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw or Parrot's Beak - is one of the most iconic tropical plants, and for good reason. Its vivid, dangling blooms look like parrot feathers or lobster claws and last for weeks, making them perfect for garden displays or cut flower arrangements.
  • 🔻This bold beauty grows up to 7 feet tall, thriving in tropical climates or large pots in cooler zones. Surprisingly cold-tolerant, it can handle temps in the high 20s and still put on a spectacular show.


🛒 Shop Heliconias and Gingers

📚 Learn more:

#Hedges_with_benefits #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

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Coral-blooming bonsai with a bottle-shaped trunk - perfect container plant. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Jatropha podagrica - Gout Plant

🔥 Coral-blooming bonsai with a bottle-shaped trunk - perfect container plant
  • Jatropha podagrica - Gout Plant - is a one-of-a-kind tropical showpiece with a knobby, swollen caudex, massive umbrella-like leaves, and bright coral-red flowers that pop like underwater treasures.
  • Compact and only 2-3 feet tall, it's perfect for containers, bonsai lovers, and small gardens craving something bold and unusual. It thrives in partial shade, grows giant leaves in low light, and needs little water to stay happy. Easy-care and eye-catching, it's more than a plant it’s a conversation starter.


🛒 Get your Gout plant - the plant with a personality

📚 Learn more:
Attention grabber: swollen trunk, giant leaves, and flowers just like corals

#Container_Garden #Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden

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Black Tacca Lily. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Tacca Lily - Black Bat Flower, Devil Flower

A flying bat with whiskers. Tacca. It's rare. It's weird.
  • Tacca Lily - also known as the Black Bat Flower or Devil Flower, looks like something brewed up in a witch's greenhouse.
  • The flower isn't really a single flower - it's a full-on performance. Giant black-maroon "wings" stretch out like a bat in flight, while long, drooping filaments dangle like eerie whiskers or jungle jewelry. Some can reach over a foot long!
  • Those weird, wild filaments? They're not just for show - they are believed to help mimic the look of decaying matter to attract pollinators like flies. Creepy? Yes. Clever? Absolutely.
  • The plant blooms best when it feels pampered - think filtered light, tropical vibes, and spa-level humidity. A smart indoor exotic for a bathroom with a skylight!
  • It grows from a rhizome, and while the Black Tacca (T. chantrieri) is prized for its spooky looks, its Green cousin (T. leontopetaloides) is actually used to make a type of tropical arrowroot starch.
  • Some gardeners say it takes a while to bloom (maybe a few months) - but once it does, it becomes the crown jewel of the greenhouse. People will ask if it's real. You'll say, "Yes, and it lives here!"
  • Tacca comes in different species/colors: Black, White, Green:

Tacca nivea - White Tacca
Tacca chantrieri - Black Tacca
Tacca leontopetaloides - Green Tacca

📚 Learn more:

🛒 Shop Bat Head Lilies - Devil's Flower Tacca

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

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A flying bat with whiskers? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Tacca Lily - Black Bat Flower, Devil Flower - cartoon

Tacca Lily - Black Bat Flower, Devil Flower - cartoon

A flying bat with whiskers?

Have you seen a flower like this? Find out from the next post!⤵️

Tacca Lily - also known as the Black Bat Flower or Devil Flower, looks like something brewed up in a witch's greenhouse.

🛒 Shop Bat Head Lilies - Devil's Flower Tacca

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

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The fiery plant that fights sugar: Nature secret insulin? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Costus igneus - Insulin Plant, Fiery Costus, Spiral Flag

Costus igneus - Insulin Plant, Fiery Costus, Spiral Flag

💚 The fiery plant that fights sugar: Nature secret insulin?
  • Costus igneus - Insulin Plant, also known as Fiery Costus or Spiral Flag, this vibrant tropical plant is famous for its potential health benefits - especially for people managing diabetes. Nicknamed the insulin plant, it's believed to help lower blood glucose levels naturally.
  • Its lush, turmeric-like leaves spiral around upright stems, with a glossy dark green top and a striking light purple underside. The plant grows up to two feet tall and forms elegant clumps from underground rhizomes.
  • In warm months, it produces bright orange, cone-like flowers that stand out beautifully in the garden.
  • Beyond its beauty, the insulin plant is credited with aiding digestion, reducing cholesterol, boosting energy, improving skin health, supporting weight loss, relieving stress, and promoting heart wellness. A real botanical multitasker!


🛒 Grow your own sugar-fighter - order the Insulin Plant

📚 Learn more:
Most interesting edible gingers

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Shade_Garden #Fun_Facts

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Flowers never seen before: Adenium Rainbow, Part 2. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Adenium Rainbow, Part 2

Adenium Rainbow, Part 2 🌈

Continued from the previous post ⤴️

📚 More about #Adenium

🛒 Shop Adenium colors and hybrids

#Container_Garden #How_to #Shade_Garden #Adenium

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Adenium Rainbow, Part 1. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Adenium varieties

Adenium Rainbow, Part 1 🌈
  • 🌸 Our Desert roses at Top Tropicals - Adeniums - were planted in March - and the first video posted in April.

    • Now, in June, they have more and more blooms! We are sharing these amazing colors with you.
    To be continued, check back soon!⤵️
  • 🌸 Check out the varieties still in stock and grab yours before they’re gone. Some are already sold out, but you still have a chance to score amazing blooms!
  • 🌸 Why Collect Adeniums?

· Easy to grow indoors or out
  • · Thrive in sun, shade, and low humidity
  • · Drought-tolerant, low maintenance
  • · Not picky about soil
  • · Stunning blooms and unique caudex shapes

  • 🌸 How Many Varieties Exist?

· Over 200 hybrids at Top Tropicals
  • · 100+ varieties in stock now
  • · From doubles to red, purple, yellow, striped, dotted, rainbow, even black flowers - you'll want them all!


🌸 How to Grow a Big, Swollen Caudex - a simple trick with big results:
Each time you repot, raise the plant slightly to expose more of the upper roots. This encourages new root growth downward and helps form a thicker, more dramatic caudex.
  • · Use a well-draining mix
  • · Water only when dry - Adeniums love dry conditions
  • · Feed with Sunshine Megaflor Booster that supports both caudex and blooms
  • · Grow best in filtered bright light


📚 More about Adeniums:

🛒 Shop Adenium colors and hybrids

#Container_Garden #How_to #Shade_Garden #Adenium

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What is the rarest Tacca? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Tacca leontopetaloides - Green Bat Flower, Devil Flower

What is the rarest Tacca?
  • 💚 Tacca leontopetaloides - Green Bat Flower, Devil Flower - is the rarest Tacca of them all!
  • 💚 Move over Black and White - this is the green bat flower, and it's in a class of its own!
  • 💚 Tacca leontopetaloides is a collector's dream and is rare in cultivation. With eerie greenish-purple flower clusters perched on tall stalks and long, trailing whisker-like bracts, this plant looks like something out of a botanical fairytale.
  • 💚 Unlike its fussy cousins, the Green Bat Flower is surprisingly easy to grow. It thrives in shady or semi-shaded spots, comes back reliably each spring, and doesn’t mind a bit of neglect. Its glossy, deeply divided leaves die back in fall and return with vigor as the weather warms up. A well-draining pot, occasional feeding, and moderate watering are all it asks for.
  • 💚 Native to Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, it's more than just a pretty face - this plant has traditional medicinal uses too. But let's be honest: most collectors grow it for the jaw-dropping display.
  • 💚 Very few collectors have this variety - don't miss your chance to be one of them!


📚 Learn more about Taccas:

🛒 Get the rare Green Bat Flower - easy to grow and unlike anything else in your garden

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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From berry to beast: how Black Dragons are born. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Anthurium Black Dragon seedlings from berry to beast: how Black Dragons are born

From berry to beast: how Black Dragons are born
  • 🐉 Baby dragons have hatched! Anthurium Black Dragon from our earlier video has been busy... and now we have baby dragons!
  • 🐉 Each bright red berry holds a single seed, and the seeds sprout easily - usually in just 2 to 3 weeks. The seedlings start off slow, but here's the exciting part: some come out variegated, with white, purple, or even pink coloring!
  • 🐉 No two are alike, and that's what makes Black Dragons some of the most unique houseplants out there. Everyone needs at least one in their jungle!


🛒 Get your own Black Dragon

📚 Learn more:

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders
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