Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

What are the best Mulberry varieties. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

White Mulberry

White Mulberry

Shangri-La Mulberry

Shangri-La Mulberry

Shangri-La Mulberry

Shangri-La Mulberry

Dwarf Everbearing or Dwarf Issai Mulberry

Dwarf Everbearing or Dwarf Issai Mulberry

Pakistanu Mulberry

Pakistanu Mulberry

White Mulberry and Shangri-La Mulberry

White Mulberry and Shangri-La Mulberry

Florida Giant Mulberry

Florida Giant Mulberry

💗 What are the best Mulberry varieties

Muberries are very cold hardy (to hard freeze, up to zone 6), tough trees that take poor soils and grow well in almost any conditions once established.

💬 #Fun_Facts: Did you know that mulberries belong to the same plant family with Jackfruit?

The Best Mulberry Varieties for Your Garden:
  • 🐾 Dwarf Everbearing and Dwarf Issai - Compact, container-friendly varieties perfect for small spaces. These dwarf trees (6-10 ft tall) are disease and drought resistant, with multiple crops year-round, even from the first year! Ideal for patios and small yards..
  • 🐾 Florida Giant - A vigorous, fast-growing tree with large, heart-shaped leaves and long purple-black fruits bursting with a sweet-tart flavor. This beauty grows up to 6-10 ft per year and thrives as far north as zone 6, despite its name.
  • 🐾 Shangri-La - A modest-sized tree with giant leaves and plump, sweet-tart berries. Originally from Florida, it's heat, drought, pest, and disease-resistant. Ripens from April through summer, bringing both beauty and bounty to your garden.
  • 🐾 White Mulberry - Produces medium-sized, super-sweet white fruits without a hint of tartness. This productive tree makes a mess-free option since the fruit doesn't stain. Ideal for fresh eating or drying.


📚 Learn more about Mulberries from previous posts:
Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #7. Mulberry
How Mulberry fruit helps with diabetes

🛒 Shop Mulberry varieties

#Food_Forest

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Did you know that Lipstick plant has pretty flowers? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Bixa orellana - Lipstick Tree, Annatto, Achiote Bixa, flowers

🎨 Did you know that Lipstick plant has pretty flowers?
  • 🌸 Bixa orellana - Lipstick Tree, Annatto, Achiote Bixa flowers are special not just for their beauty but for what comes next - annatto!
  • 🌸 These delicate, pinkish-white blooms with soft petals give way to spiky seed pods filled with bright red seeds, which are the source of the natural dye and spice known as annatto.
  • 🌸 Often called the “lipstick tree,” Bixa is celebrated for these seeds, used to color and flavor foods and even in cosmetics. So, those pretty flowers aren’t just decorative - they are the start of something vibrant and useful!


📚 Check out Lipstick Plant spectacular seeds

🛒 Order Lipstick Plant

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Trees

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Date:

The secret of a happy marriage. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

😘 The secret of a happy marriage

“The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.” - Henny Youngman

Share your cats in comments!
📸 🐈🐈🐈👇

🔠 More #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden 

#Quotes

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Date:

What is your favorite Pineapple variety? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Pineapple Florida Special

Pineapple Florida Special

🌞 What is your favorite Pineapple variety? A Sunshine State Delight: Florida Special!
  • 🍍 One of our favorites here in Sunshine State is Pineapple Florida Special
  • 🍍 Bred by the Libby fruit company for Florida's unique climate, the Florida Special Pineapple once thrived across 240 acres in Immokalee before Libby sold to Nestle.
  • 🍍 This variety produces medium to large, golden-yellow fruits with a perfect balance of sweetness and tang. Known for its resilience, it can withstand temperatures down to the mid-30s without internal damage, making it a great choice for subtropical gardeners.
  • 🍍The plant's compact size, reaching 2-3 feet, makes it perfect for containers, patios, or garden beds. Its spiny green leaves form a striking rosette, adding tropical flair to any space. Whether grown for its juicy fruit or ornamental appeal, the Florida Special brings a slice of paradise to your garden!
  • 🍍 Enjoy it fresh, in smoothies, or as a tasty addition to tropical dishes.


📚 Learn more about pineapples from previous posts:
Three must-have fruit for every tropical garden
The most luscious Hospitality Fruit

🛒 Order Pineapple Florida Special

#Food_Forest

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What flower is perfect for coastal gardens. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Iris Neomarica caerulea

🏖 What flower is perfect for coastal gardens
  • 💙 Neomarica caerulea - Iris is a graceful gem with a royal twist!
  • 💙 The variety Regina, discovered in Brazil lounging by the ocean, was introduced by plant enthusiast Sid Gardino, who named it after his wife, Regina - talk about romance!
  • 💙 This beauty thrives in shady spots and sandy soil, making it perfect for gardens near the coast, thanks to its salt tolerance.
  • 💙 With its elegant blue-violet blooms and sword-like leaves, Iris Regina adds a splash of tropical charm to your garden, all while asking for very little in return. It's the kind of plant that makes your garden look fabulous without breaking a sweat!


🛒 Plant your own beautiful Iris

#Container_Garden

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How Heliconias add tropical vibe to your garden. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Heliconia

🐠 How Heliconias add tropical vibe to your garden

Heliconia is a fantastic addition to any garden with its bold, tropical vibe! Known for its striking, colorful bracts in red, orange, or yellow, it attracts pollinators like hummingbirds. This low-maintenance plant thrives in warm climates, adds height and texture to landscapes, and grows well in partial shade or full sun. Plus, it's perfect for creating lush privacy screens or vibrant focal points.

📚 Learn more from previous post:
How to grow Lobster Claw

🛒 Plant Heliconias and gingers

#Hedges_with_benefits #Shade_Garden

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Wait until he sings you a song. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Wait until he sings you a song...

Many people have cats
Many people have dogs
Some have Parrots with benefits
...and some have Peacocks!

  • 📸 Our photographer from New Zealand Eleanor Wilks has this beauty as a pet!


    • Put a ❤️ if you want one!
    Put👍 if you've heard Peacock singing!

    Share your pets in comments!
  • 📸 🐈🐈🐈👇


🔠 More #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden 

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Why Hog Plum is the most popular fruit tree after mango? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela - fruit

Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela - fruit

Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela - fruit on a tree

Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela - fruit on a tree

Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela - fruit

Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela - fruit

Why Hog Plum is the most popular fruit tree after mango?
  • 🍑 Spondias purpurea - Hog Plum, Mombin, Jocote, Ciruela... This fast-growing, spreading tree with thick branches is a favorite of tropical fruit lovers!
  • 🍑 In spring, its showy, fragrant flowers bloom from bare, leafless branches in shades of red, purple, or yellow, hinting at the color of the fruit to come. The tree produces oval to round mildly sweet fruits, 1 to 2 ½ inches long, with waxy skin, juicy flesh, and a strong plum-like flavor.
  • 🍑 Highly productive, the pleasant aroma of the ripe fruit can be smelled from many feet away!
  • 🍑 The fruits are enjoyed fresh, stewed with sugar, or pickled while green for East Indian dishes. Mombin butter, made like apple butter, is especially delicious.
  • 🍑 Even the young leaves can be cooked, though they carry a tangy, sour taste.
  • 🍑 Deciduous and quick-growing, this tree can bear fruit before sprouting new leaves in spring. It thrives in many soil types and propagates easily from large cuttings, making it perfect for a living fence.
  • 🍑 Very fast growing, and fruiting right away. Fruiting from May through July, the Hog Plum brings beauty, fragrance, and flavor to your edible landscape.


🛒 Plant Mombin Hog Plum

#Food_Forest

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