Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow

How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow
⚡️ How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow

Cryptocereus anthonyanus (Zig-Zag Cactus) has zigzag-shaped stems and beautiful night-blooming flowers that make it a fascinating addition to cactus collections.

🛒 Order Zig Zag Cactus

#Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

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How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus flower

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus flower

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus (Zig-Zag Cactus) has zigzag-shaped stems and beautiful night-blooming flowers that make it a fascinating addition to cactus collections.

🛒 Order Zig Zag Cactus

#Container_Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

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How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around

Papaya fruit: Waimanalo, Sunrise, Maradol

Papaya fruit: Waimanalo, Sunrise, Maradol

Papaya tree

Papaya tree

🍊 How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around
  • 🟠 Many people include Papaya fruit in their daily diet because of its healing properties for digestive system. You can eat Papaya fresh as a tasty dessert, add to salads ripe or green, use fruit and leaf wraps in cooking - possibilities are endless.
  • 🟠 Buying papaya fruit from the store every day can become costly. So you can plant your own tree - Papayas are heavy producers. But like with many fruit trees, the question may arise:

❓ What to do with so many fruit at once, and where to get the fruit when it's out of season?
  • 🟠 The answer is: plant several varieties. Different Papaya cultivars, similar to Mango and Avocado, have different crop seasons.
  • 🟠 If you want to enjoy fresh delicious Papaya fruit year around, plant several Papaya varieties in your garden that have different ripening times.

    • For example:
    Waimanalo - ripens from July to October and sporadically throughout the year.
    Sunrise - ripens from January through September and sporadically throughout the year.
    Maradol - ripens from August through March and sporadically throughout the year.
  • 🟠 Papaya tree doesn't take any room in your garden: similar to a palm tree, all its leaves/crown is up high, so you can plant as many trees as you want in a very limited space and still use the room under Papaya tree for other plants.


🛒 Limited time offer: Papaya collection - 3 trees for half price!

Shop Papaya varieties

📚 Learn more from previous posts:
The secret facts of Papaya's private life
Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties

#Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

What Tree Calliandra brings into your garden? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What Tree Calliandra brings into your garden?

Calliandra houstoniana - Tree Calliandra

Calliandra houstoniana - Tree Calliandra

Calliandra houstoniana - Tree Calliandra, flower

Calliandra houstoniana - Tree Calliandra, flower

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: Tree Calliandra

🎉 Calliandra houstoniana - Tree Calliandra - is the only tree form of Powderpuff. It quickly grows into a bushy beautiful tree in just one season, and fluffy pink flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies year around

🛒 Order

#Trees #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

🏵 TopTropicals

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Bixa orellana - Lipstick Tree, Annatto, Achiote

What is lipstick made of? Lipstick plant!

Hedges with benefits

Q: What is the name of that plant that lipstick made of? Do you have it?

A: Bixa orellana - Lipstick Tree, Annatto or Achiote - is a bushy shrub or a small tree South America with large, impressive leaves, charming pink flowers and amazing... seeds! It is used in various industries, including cosmetics and culinary arts.

Natural Pigment: The seeds of the Bixa plant contain a natural pigment called annatto, which ranges in color from yellow to deep orange-red.

Cosmetic Use: Annatto is commonly used in cosmetics, including lipstick, due to its vibrant coloration. It adds shades of red and orange to cosmetic products. Extract derived from the Bixa seeds is mixed with other ingredients to achieve desired shades. It provides a natural alternative to synthetic dyes.

Famous spice Annatto is widely used as a spice in cooking, particularly in Latin American, Caribbean, and Filipino cuisines.

Flavor and color: It imparts a mild, slightly peppery flavor and is prized for its ability to add a rich, yellow-orange color to dishes such as rice, stews, and sauces.

Health benefits: Beyond its culinary use, annatto seeds have medicinal properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Flower arrangements: The dried seed pods add a unique touch to flower arrangements, enhancing their visual appeal.

Hedge or screen: Ideal for use as a hedge or screen, Bixa requires frequent pruning to encourage bushy growth at the base.

Bixa orellana - Lipstick Tree, Annatto, Achiote

Order Lipstick Tree - Annatto

Bixa orellana - Lipstick Tree, Annatto, Achiote

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Avocado fruit on a tree

Five most popular Avocado varieties

Food Forest

"What is the best variety of Avocado?"
"Do you have the one with small black fruit and bumpy skin?"
"I have avocado with very large green fruit, what variety is it?"

These are frequently asked questions we get from our customers. This basic "classification" by black/green doesn't encompass all the wonderful qualities avocados have to offer. There are numerous hybrids in cultivation, and once you plant your first tree and taste the REAL fruit (not from the grocery store), you'll be eager to explore other varieties. While it's true that avocado fruit can vary in "butter" content, most superior varieties are equally delicious. First comes first -

The most popular Avocado varieties this year are:

1. Brogdon - red-purple pear-shaped fruit, 7-15 oz. Skin is very thin, yellow buttery flesh. Fruit ripens in late summer-fall. Very cold hardy.

2. Hass - probably the most popular, but this tree prefers drier climate (Florida is humid, so we plant adaptable Florida Hass here). The fruit is dark-colored with a rough and bumpy skin, turns black when ripe.

3. Fuerte - a dwarf and a very cold hardy variety. Everybody's favorite "Condo Avocado": perfect for container culture and small yards. The mature tree in the ground is under 15 ft; 6-7 ft in containers.

4. Oro Negro - Oro Negro means "black gold" in Spanish, which is an incredibly appropriate name for this fruit. This Monroe hybrid (with big size fruit) is crossed with a Mexican type which would explain the black skin. The flesh is rich and buttery with a creamy texture.

5. Winter Mexican - one of most cold hardy varieties, Guatemalan x Mexican origin. Mature trees may withstand temperatures in the mid 20s. Oblong fruit, 12-18 oz, thick green skin. Very vigorous tree, bears heavily and regularly in December-January.

Learn more: Avocado Variety Guide - check this out for interactive chart of Avocado varieties and sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

Check Avocado variety Guide

Avocado Hass

Photo above: Avocado Hass

Avocado Fuerte

Photo above: Avocado Fuerte

Avocado Oro Negro

Photo above: Avocado Oro-Negro

Avocado Winter Mexican

Photo above: Avocado Winter-Mexican

Shop Avocado varieties

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"Are you friend or foe? Cat or dog?" I don't know yet. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Are you friend or foe? Cat or dog? I dont know yet

"Are you friend or foe? Cat or dog?" I don't know yet...

Share your pets in comments!
📸 🐈🐈🐈👇

🐾 More #PeopleCats in our Garden: PeopleCats.Garden 

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How cool is a Cucumber Tree. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How cool is a Cucumber Tree

Cucumber Tree - Averrhoa bilimbi

Cucumber Tree - Averrhoa bilimbi

Cucumber Tree - Averrhoa bilimbi, fruit

Cucumber Tree - Averrhoa bilimbi, fruit

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: Cucumber Tree
  • Cucumber Tree (Averrhoa bilimbi) - these curious fruits are incredibly sour and often used as a natural cleaning agent due to their high acidity.
  • In some cultures, bilimbi fruits are used to remove rust and stains from metal and clothes, making them a versatile household item beyond their culinary uses.
  • These fruits make a great lemonade too!


🛒 Shop rare fruit trees

#Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

What vine to plant over a big fence. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What vine to plant over a big fence

Chonemorpha fragrans - Frangipani vine

❗️ What vine to plant over a big fence.
  • 🔹 Chonemorpha fragrans, or Frangipani vine, that we mentioned before, is a large woody tropical liana with clusters of large, perfume-fragrant flowers and lush green foliage. It is close related to perfumed Plumeria - Frangipani.
  • 🔹 The fragrance is very fresh and pleasant, similar to Plumeria, fills the air around.
  • 🔹 Leaves reaching up to 12 (!) inches - very tropical, majestic look!
  • 🔹 Requires sturdy support - it can grow pretty big and heavy!
  • 🔹 Takes both sun or shade. Full sun and regular fertilizer is essential for profuse blooming.


🛒 Buy Frangipani Vine

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

What's in the bag? Sound on. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Whats in the bag? Sound on

What's in the bag? Sound on 📢

Do you have more pictures of your cat in a box? How many?

Share your cats in comments!
📸 🐈🐈🐈👇

🐾 More #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden 

🏵 TopTropicals
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