Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

How to grow cold-hardy avocados and how cold-hardy are they?

Growing avocados in colder regions is possible with the right variety and care. By selecting Cold Hardy varieties, ensuring proper care, and taking protective steps during cold spells, you can successfully grow avocados outside of tropical climates.

The more established your tree, the better it will tolerate colder weather.

🌡 What is Avocado cold hardiness?

Avocados are sensitive to freezing temperatures but some Mexican varieties are cold-hardy, surviving temperatures as low as 15F once established. With proper care, some can endure brief cold snaps down to 10F.

• 👉 Cold hardiness depends on several factors, including:

• 🟢 Duration of cold: How long the tree is exposed to freezing temperatures.
• 🟢 Sun exposure: Trees with more sunlight tend to handle cold better.
• 🟢 Wind protection: Wind can make cold weather more damaging.
• 🟢 Tree health: Proper care, including fertilization, can improve cold tolerance.

❄️ How to protect avocados from cold

If you're growing avocados in a cooler climate, it's essential to protect them from harsh cold. Here are some tips:

• 🟢 Bigger is Better: Larger, more established trees are generally more cold-tolerant than young ones.
• 🟢 Wind Protection: Cold winds can be more damaging than the temperature itself. Plant your avocado in a sheltered spot, such as on the south or southeast side of a building, where it’s protected from strong winds.
• 🟢 Good Fertilization: A healthy tree is more likely to withstand cold. Make sure your avocado receives regular fertilization throughout the growing season to keep it strong.
• 🟢 Watering: Avocados need regular watering, but during winter, they require much less water. Avoid overwatering, as this can lead to root rot in cold conditions.

✍️ Specific protection for young plants

• 🟢 Covering and mulching: When a freeze is expected, mound mulch around the trunk to insulate the roots and cover the tree with a blanket for warmth. For extra protection, use Christmas lights or a small heater under the cover, following safety precautions.
• 🟢 Microclimates matter: Plant your tree closer to a building for better cold protection. Placing it in the warmest part of your landscape will help it get more heat during winter.
• 🟢 With proper care and protection, you can enjoy fresh avocados even in cooler climates!

🛒  Shop Cold Hardy Avocados

📚Learn more:

• · Can I Grow Avocado Outside the Tropics?
• · Avocado Variety Guide
• · Posts about #Avocado

#Food_Forest #Avocado #How_to

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💥 Redder than red: when orange wasn't enough, nature made this hottest flower

• 🔻This vine didn't get the memo about "'just orange"! Senecio confusus variety Sao Paulo (Pseudogynoxis chenopodiodes), or Bright red Mexican flame vine - is our favorite variety of the classic Mexican flame vine here at Top Tropicals. Sao Paulo isn't just orange, it's fire-engine red!
• 🔻Spectacular bright red blooms year-round and thick evergreen leaves that are larger and darker than regular Orange variety; they provide a lush, tropical look. Red variety is also more vigorous than regular Orange Senecio.
• 🔻Fast-growing and easy to train over fences, arbors, or trellises.
• 🔻Drought-tolerant once established and thrives on neglect.
• 🔻Attracts bees, butterflies, and birds
• 🔻A must-have for beginners and collectors alike, this vine delivers a nonstop show of blazing color all winter and beyond.

🛒Bring home the brightest flame vine on the market!

📚 Learn more:

• • Plant this if you want a vibrant color over your fence quickly
• • Most colorful carpet for your fence
• • Spectacular winter-flowering flame vine that everyone wants
• • A Fiesta of Mexican Flowers for beginners and butterflies

#Butterfly_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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🐈🐈🐈 James Coconuts: a person who never made a mistake

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

🐈 PeopleCats.Garden 
#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🌈 Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough.

Mango Wise is a forgotten gem from the golden age of mango breeding in South Florida. Originating in Miami during the post-1930s boom of cultivar development, it was once part of a wave of exciting new introductions. Over time, many of these excellent varieties faded from commercial propagation, despite having outstanding eating qualities. Wise stands out with its nearly round fruit, minimal to no fiber, and rich, juicy sweetness. It's a smart, flavorful choice that deserves a comeback in Florida gardens.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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🏵 Watch Joy Perfume in full bloom - filling the air!

📱

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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☀️ What does Joy Perfume flower smell like?

• 🏵 Meet Magnolia champaca, the Joy Perfume Tree - the most desirable perfume tree for Southern gardens and a Signature Plant of Top Tropicals!
• 🏵 At our Farm in Sebring, these stunning trees bloom almost year-round, filling the air with a fruity, enchanting fragrance.
• 🏵 Yes, this is the flower used to make the world's most expensive perfume - Joy! And it smells like fruity bubble gum... you won’t stop sniffing it!
• 🏵 With lush, lemon-lime leaves and a tall, elegant shape, Champaka is as beautiful as it is fragrant.
• 🏵 Visit Top Tropicals in Fort Myers or Sebring and bring home your very own Joy Perfume Tree today!
• 🏵 We have beautiful Champaka trees in all sizes:

3 gal pot: 3-4 ft tall - ready to bloom within a year, can be shipped
7 gal pot: 5-6 ft tall - ready to bloom, can be shipped
15 gal pot: 7-8 ft tall - have already bloomed, pick up or delivery*
25 gal pot: 10 ft tall - have already bloomed, pick up or delivery*
* Free delivery for qualified orders

🎥 These Champaka trees in the video are 5 years old (3 years in the ground) and keep blooming for the last 3 years!

🛒 Claim Your Joy Today - Own Your Perfume Champaka!

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

• 🟡 What does a mature Champaka Tree look like? Practical Growing Guide
• 🟡How to grow Magnolia champaca and get some Joy
• 🟡When does Champaka tree start blooming?
• 🟡Why Champaka is such a popular perfume tree
• 🟡Flower of the most expensive perfume
• 🟡White Champaka
• 🟡Article about Champaka

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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🐈 When Mr B is busy

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

🐈 PeopleCats.Garden 
#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🍯 Finally: a sugar that is good for your health!

• 🍩 Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) - the Brown Sugar fruit that loves you back with a health kick! Sapodilla is a delicious tropical fruit with soft, brown, sweet flesh and a malty, caramel-like flavor. It's loved not just for its unique taste, but also for its rich nutritional and medicinal value. Sapodilla is a sweet, nourishing fruit that doubles as a natural energy snack and a digestive aid.

🍴 Culinary Benefits: The sweet you don't have to feel guilty about!

• 🍩 Eaten fresh - Just scoop the flesh out and enjoy! Tastes like brown sugar or caramel with a hint of pear.
• 🍩 Smoothies and shakes - Adds creamy sweetness without the need for added sugar.
• 🍩 Desserts - Used in ice cream, custards, or fruit salads.
• 🍩 Jams, preserves - Makes a rich, flavorful jam.
• 🍩 Dried sapodilla - Can be sun-dried like dates for a chewy, candy-like snack.

💚 Sapodilla's Health Benefits:

• 🍩 Rich in fiber - Helps regulate digestion, prevent constipation, and support gut health.
• 🍩 Natural energy booster - High in natural sugars and calories, great for quick energy.
• 🍩 Packed with antioxidants - Contains polyphenols and flavonoids that help fight inflammation and cell damage.
• 🍩 Vitamins A, C - Supports eye health, immune function, and skin regeneration.
• 🍩 Iron, potassium, and folate - Supports blood health and may help maintain heart function and blood pressure.

🛒 Grow your own Sugar Fruit

📚 Learn more:
When does Sapodilla start fruiting and what is the best variety
New variety of Sapodilla: Thai Brownie

#Food_Forest #Discover

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💡 How to produce my own vanilla?

Secrets of Vanilla pollination finally revealed!
Vanilla is the World's most popular flavor and one of the most expensive spices and flavorings.
Every tropical gardener wants to have a vanilla plant and of course the most common question they ask - how to make my vanilla produce vanilla for me? In this video we will show you how:
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🛒 Shop Vanilla Bean Orchids

📚 Learn more:

• · Where does Vanilla come from?
• · The secret of how to make Vanilla Orchid bloom

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Food_Forest #How_to

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