Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

How to grow your own vanilla orchid at home

• 🍨 The Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is a tropical climbing beauty and the source of the world’s favorite spice - vanilla. This luxurious plant adds elegance to any space, indoors or out.
• 🍨 A piece of history: Once revered by the Aztecs for flavoring the decadent cacao drink Xoco-latl, vanilla remains a symbol of comfort, luxury, and flavor.
• 🍨 Why it's special: Vanilla pods are scentless at first and develop their rich aroma after careful curing - a reason it’s the second most expensive spice after saffron.
• 🍨 How to grow Vanilla Orchid:

• · Support: Use a trellis, log, or burlap-covered board for climbing.
• · Light: Bright, indirect light works best.
• · Environment: Keep it warm and humid, like its natural tropical habitat.
• · For pots: Add a mini-trellis or small log to mimic its natural climbing needs.

• 🍨 Why you'll love it:

Growing your own vanilla means adding a slice of the tropics to your home, with the chance to harvest your own vanilla beans for homemade extracts. It's beautiful, exotic, and endlessly rewarding.
• 🍨 Ready to start your vanilla journey? Add a Vanilla Bean Orchiв to your cart and bring this fragrant, elegant treasure home today!

📚 Learn more from previous post:
The Secret of how to Make Vanilla Orchid bloom

🛒 Shop Vanilla Bean Orchids

#Shade_Garden #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

⭐️ Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers

• 
  🔮 Looking for an easy, compact, beautiful shrub that takes both sun and shade? Barleria cristata Lavender Lace (Striped Philippine Violet) is a rare and stunning variety perfect for fall and winter blooms.
• 
  🔮 Striking lavender-and-white-striped trumpet-shaped blooms appear in clusters from Fall through Winter. They are truly striped! 👀
• 
  🔮 Grows to about 3 feet tall, perfect as a garden hedge or shaped into neat geometrical forms with minimal pruning.
• 
  🔮 Needs some sun for profuse flowering and occasional pruning to encourage bushy growth.
• 
  🔮 Can handle cooler temperatures, making it a reliable fall and winter bloomer.

🛒 Plant Lavender Lace

#Container_Garden #Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

⭐️ Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers

• 🔮 Looking for an easy, compact, beautiful shrub that takes both sun and shade? Barleria cristata Lavender Lace (Striped Philippine Violet) is a rare and stunning variety perfect for fall and winter blooms.
• 🔮 Striking lavender-and-white-striped trumpet-shaped blooms appear in clusters from Fall through Winter. They are truly striped! 👀
• 🔮 Grows to about 3 feet tall, perfect as a garden hedge or shaped into neat geometrical forms with minimal pruning.
• 🔮 Needs some sun for profuse flowering and occasional pruning to encourage bushy growth.
• 🔮 Can handle cooler temperatures, making it a reliable fall and winter bloomer.

🛒 Plant Lavender Lace

#Container_Garden #Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🚩 How Cardinals Guard runs red carpet for Christmas⛔️👍

• 💖 If your garden needs a pop of color, Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea) is ready to take the spotlight! With its bold, scarlet-red blooms perched atop green cones, this evergreen perennial looks like it's wearing a crown.
• 💖 Striking Christmas-red flowers emerge from a green cone. Blooms most of the year.
• 💖 Adds vibrant color and a festive, tropical feel to any space.
• 💖 Upright, multi-stemmed growth with lush foliage.
• 💖 Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
• 💖 Care: Morning sun and afternoon shade (semi-shade preferred). Trim stems to prevent legginess and encourage fresh growth. Perfect for Southern gardens and large containers.

🛒 Plant Cardinals Guard

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

👍 Why Red Plumbago is so wanted for shade gardens

• ♥️ Plumbago indica - Chitraka, Scarlett Leadwort, Red Plumbago is a rare gem from India that boasts vibrant scarlet-red flowers. A semi-woody perennial shrub with graceful, flexible branches.
• ♥️ Thrives in low-light areas, bringing bold color to places where many plants struggle.
• ♥️ Works great in shade gardens, containers, or even indoors as a striking ornamental plant.
• ♥️ Traditionally used in India for enhancing digestion and stimulating appetite, thanks to compounds like Plumbagin.
• ♥️ Cold sensitive plant, protect from frost, keep above 40F.

📸 More photos in next post👇

🛒 Order Red Plumbago indica

#Container_Garden #Remedies #Shade_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

👍 How big does Paraiso Verde grow?

• ✅ Philodendron x Paraiso Verde is our favorite philodendron with striking leaves!
• ✅ This large-leaf plant is perfect for growing indoors and is virtually care-free! It has long, beautifully variegated leaves with a mix of green, cream, and sometimes pinkish hues. Each leaf has a unique pattern, just like fingerprints! 💅
• ✅ It grows fast and pretty big, so it needs some space. Each leaf is over a foot long. The plant can be trimmed as needed. Great solution for those who want to create some green paradise quickly.
• ✅This variety is highly sought after by plant collectors due to its rarity and exotic appearance, and may be pretty expensive in trade.
• ✅ As a bonus, Paraiso Verde helps purify the air by removing toxins, making it great for indoor environments - home or office.

👍 Create your tropical paradise indoors in no time!

📚 Learn more from previous post:
Rare showy plant that thrives indoors

🛒 Get your own Philodendron x Paraiso Verde

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🌸 When Brunfelsia is in bloom? Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!

• 
  🅱️ Purple-flowered Brunfelsias are at the peak of their bloom right now!
• 
  🅱️ Known as Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow for their magical color transformation from purple to lavender to white over three days: B. grandiflora, B. paucifolia, B. australis.
• 
  🅱️ Brunfelsias are wonderfully fragrant winter bloomers
• 
  🅱️ Perfect flowering shrub for shaded areas
• 
  🅱️ Ideal for growing in containers. Compact and graceful growers.

📚 Learn more about purple Brunfelsias:
The number one flower for shady spots
Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Brunfelsia from Brazil

🛒 Shop purple Brunfelsias - Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🌸 When Brunfelsia is in bloom? Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!

• 
  🅱️ Purple-flowered Brunfelsias are at the peak of their bloom right now!
• 
  🅱️ Known as Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow for their magical color transformation from purple to lavender to white over three days: B. grandiflora, B. paucifolia, B. australis.
• 
  🅱️ Brunfelsias are wonderfully fragrant winter bloomers
• 
  🅱️ Perfect flowering shrub for shaded areas
• 
  🅱️ Ideal for growing in containers. Compact and graceful growers.

📚 Learn more about purple Brunfelsias:
The number one flower for shady spots
Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Brunfelsia from Brazil

🛒 Shop purple Brunfelsias - Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

😱 What is the Secret of how to Make Vanilla Orchid bloom? Let it climb!

• ✨ Check out this Vanilla Bean Orchid thriving at TopTropicals! It's happily climbing a tree, gripping the bark tightly with its aerial roots.
• ✨ Here's the scoop: Vanilla orchids won't bloom until they start climbing and feel securely attached to something strong.
• ✨ If you are growing Vanilla in a pot, no worries - just add a small log or a burlap-covered board. This clever hack gives your vanilla the "solid ground" it craves, and soon enough, it'll reward you with blooms and vanilla beans!

📚 Learn more:
Where does Vanilla come from? How to grow your own Vanilla Beans.
Vanilla - The Most Versatile Orchid

📱 How to produce my own vanilla: secrets of Vanilla pollination
Vanilla dillioniana - The Biggest Vanilla Orchid in 100 Gal Pot

🛒 Shop Vanilla Bean Orchids

#Shade_Garden #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🎩 How to take care of house plants in Winter

💡 Let There Be (Enough) Light!
Shorter days mean less light. Move plants closer to windows but avoid freezing drafts.

🚽 Water, but Sparingly
Overwatering is a winter no-no. Check soil dryness before watering—your plants won’t mind a little thirst.

🌈 Humidity is Happiness
Dry air isn't their friend. Use a humidifier or group plants together for a moisture boost.

👀 Wise Snacks
Use only amindo-acid based liquid Fertilizer in winter, like Sunshine Boosters. Let plants take their seasonal nap from dry plant food.

Keep It Cozy
Protect plants from cold windows and heat vents - consistent warmth is key.

🍀 Dust Those Leaves
Clean leaves help plants soak in the limited light. They'll thank you with a brighter look!

🌱 Your plants may slow down for winter, but with a little care, they’ll thrive until spring!

🛒 Shop Indoor Garden

#Shade_Garden #How_to #Container_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals