Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

👹 This giant red stared right back at me

• 🌺 Disocactus ackermanni, also called the Red Orchid Cactus, or Jungle Cactus - is one of those plants that surprises you even when you already know it well. It grows like a tropical fern, with flat, leaflike stems that hang and drape from a basket. Most of the year it looks calm and green. Then, without much warning, it opens a single huge, bright red flower that can reach up to 6 inches wide. The color is intense, almost glowing, and the bloom only lasts a short time, which makes it even more special.
• 🌺 Despite being a cactus, it behaves nothing like a desert plant. This species is native to the tropical forests of Mexico, where it grows as an epiphyte in trees. It prefers shade or filtered light, and it enjoys regular watering. No spines, no trouble, just a very unusual growth habit and a spectacular bloom.
• 🌺 The plant usually flowers from spring through summer, sometimes offering more than one flush. When it does, it always steals attention, and it is one of those plants visitors immediately point at and ask about. This makes it a favorite among collectors of epiphytic cacti and unusual hanging plants.
• 🌺 If you grow it in a hanging basket and give it bright shade, humidity, and consistent moisture, it rewards you with one of the most striking red flowers you will ever see!

🛒 Add Red Orchid Cactus to your collection

📚 Learn more:
Red Orchid Cactus puts out the biggest bloom show
More epiphytic jungle cacti:
Epiphyllum oxypetalum - Queen of the Night
Pseudorhipsalis (Wittia) amazonica - Blue Flame
Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa - Orchid Cactus, Curly Locks

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

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🐈‍⬛ Tacca wants to be a cat! And everyone loves cats!

That’s probably the real evolutionary secret no botanist will admit! Those whiskers? Pure marketing genius from nature.
Cats had it figured out first — look mysterious, add long elegant whiskers, and everyone falls in love.
Tacca just took notes and said, “Alright, I can work with that!”

So now we have a tropical plant that looks half orchid, half bat, and just enough cat to make people stop, smile, and want one for their collection!

• 
  Tacca is also called the Bat Lily or Devil Flower. This tropical wonder grows bat-shaped wings and foot-long whiskers. The black form (Tacca chantrieri) looks straight out of a gothic dream, while the white one (Tacca nivea) is ghost-like and elegant.
• 
  Some of our plants are blooming right now in the nursery — true Halloween magic! Blooms are delicate and may not travel, but the plants are strong and will flower again soon in your care.
• 
  Tacca colors: Black, White, Green:

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

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️The mystery of the White Bat Lily - the plant with wings and whiskers
• ▫️ A flying bat with whiskers
• ▫️ The rarest Green Tacca - Tacca leontopetaloides
• ▫️ When Bat Head Devil Flower is in bloom
• ▫️ Bat Head - Devil Flower

🛒 Add Taccas - Bat Lilies to your collection

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

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🍷Before you open a bottle of wine, meet the Secret Wine Tree from Brazil

• 🍷Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) grows grapes right on its trunk! It's one of Brazil’s most fascinating and beloved native fruits. Its name alone sounds exotic, but wait until you see it in fruit: shiny, grape-like berries bursting straight from the bark!
• 🍷 Jaboticaba is the source of the famous Brazilian wine Vinho Tinto de Jabuticaba. The fruits are small, dark purple, with a thick skin and a sweet, melting pulp that tastes a lot like black currant. They can be eaten fresh, made into jams, or fermented into homemade wine with an incredible aroma and rich color.
• 🍷 Jaboticaba tree is slow-growing and compact, often used as a bonsai because of its small leaves and graceful shape. But patience pays off - mature trees covered in purple fruits are absolutely stunning! The fruiting habit, called cauliflory, means the fruits grow directly from the trunk and main branches, creating a truly one-of-a-kind look.
• 🍷 Jaboticaba trees can handle some cold (down to mid-20's once mature), don't mind wet rainy seasons and can be grown in containers in cooler areas. They make beautiful landscape trees and conversation starters wherever they’re planted.
• 🍷 If you've ever dreamed of making your own wine from fruit grown in your backyard, this is the tree for you. Jaboticaba isn’t just a plant - it's an experience, a piece of Brazil's culture, and a living work of art that rewards patience with magic.

🛒 Grow your own wine from Jaboticaba Tree

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️What does Blue Jaboticaba taste like?
• ▫️How Blue Jaboticaba is different from regular Jaboticaba?
• ▫️What is Jaboticaba? I like the sound of this word!
• ▫️What is Cauliflory?

🎥 From our customer: video about a mail ordered Jaboticaba tree

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden

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Before opening a jar, see where the natural peanut butter comes from!

• Peanut Butter Tree (Bunchosia argentea) is a small tropical tree with one of the most surprising fruits on earth. Its red, fleshy berries taste just like peanut butter - creamy, nutty, and sweet, with a texture that melts in your mouth. No nuts, no sugar, no processing - just pure tropical flavor, straight from nature!
• Native to Central and South America, this rare fruit has been a favorite among tropical fruit collectors for decades. The tree stays compact, reaching only about 8-10 feet tall, and can even be kept as a bush. It's perfect for small gardens, patios, or large containers, and it can thrive indoors with enough light. Within just 2 to 3 years from seed, it begins to reward you with clusters of yellow flowers followed by rich, red fruits that taste like peanut butter candy.
• The fruit isn't just fun - it's healthy, too. It's rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and beneficial plant compounds that support the immune system and overall wellness. Kids love it, adults can’t stop talking about it, and gardeners love how easy it is to grow.
• If you’re looking for something truly unique - an edible curiosity that sparks conversation and delights the taste buds - the Peanut Butter Tree is the one. Grow your own, and the next time someone opens a jar of peanut butter, you can smile and say, "Mine grows on a tree!"

🛒 Try the real peanut butter fruit

📚 Learn more:

• 💋Peanut butter fruit smoothie: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
• 💋Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #10. Peanut Butter Tree (Bunchosia argentea)
• 💋Delectable Peanut Butter Tree
• 💋The best small fruit trees that will produce right away
• 💋How soon will Peanut Butter Tree fruit?
• 💋Top 10 fast-fruiting trees

📱 How to grow the Amazing Peanut Butter Tree - in one short video

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders

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👀 Weird cactus looks like pasta with Dragon Fruit

• ➰ Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa - Curly Locks or Orchid Cactus - is one of the most unusual jungle cacti you can grow. Instead of the usual flat cactus leaves, this one grows curly, looping stems that twist and spiral in every direction. It looks like a green waterfall of botanical noodles, perfect for a hanging basket or a high shelf where its wild shape can really show off.
• ➰Curly Locks is actually a natural mutation of a Guatemalan jungle cactus that grows high up in jungle trees, using its stems to absorb moisture and light from the air. Like many epiphytic cacti, it produces large, fragrant flowers that open at night and look strikingly similar to orchids. After blooming, it forms small, oval pink fruits that are edible and juicy - like tiny dragon fruits!
• ➰This plant is self-pollinating, so you don’t need insects or hand pollination to get fruit. It thrives in bright, indirect light and prefers to be a bit root-bound to trigger blooming. Just water moderately, let the soil dry slightly between waterings, and avoid moving it too often once it’s happy in its spot.
• ➰Epiphyllum Curly Locks is not your typical cactus - it’s a living sculpture, a conversation piece, and a fruiting wonder all in one.

🛒 Add Curly Locks to your rare plant collection

📚 Learn more:
Botanical bedhead: curly, crazy, and full of surprises

#Fun_Facts #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

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🌺 This flower opens in a few seconds! (Time lapse)

"The earth laughs in flowers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

🎥 Phymosia umbellata - Cranberry Mallow Malva Aparasolada - one of the most impressive Malva (Hibiscus) shrubs

🛒 Explore Hibiscus species

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Cotton Candy Hibiscus
• ▫️Why this Hibiscus is changing color
• ▫️How to make your Hibiscus plants thrive and bloom
• ▫️How to get rid of pests on Hibiscus

#Nature_Wonders #Hedges_with_benefits #Quotes

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🚀 Ballistic buttons shooting from the mattress like popcorn!

• 🔘Dorstenia bahiensis - Mattress Button Plant is a shade-loving oddball. Its glossy green leaves are topped with flat, wavy discs that really do look like old-fashioned upholstery buttons scattered across the garden floor. But these button heads aren't just for show - on their surface are tiny clusters of male and female blooms, all crammed together like a mini city of flowers.
• 🔘The real fun begins when those button heads ripen. Instead of quietly dropping seeds like most plants, Dorstenia goes full popcorn mode. With a little "pop!" the seeds are catapulted yards away, just like squeezing a watermelon seed between your fingers. One moment it's calm, the next it's launching its offspring across the yard!
• 🔘At only 6-12 inches tall, this little understory dweller doesn't take up much space, but it makes up for it with personality. Content in the shade, thriving in any soil, and ready to surprise you with its seed-shooting tricks. Grow it in a pot, use it as quirky groundcover, or just keep it around as a party fun.

🛒 Get your own Mattress Button Plant

📚 Learn more:
How many buttons in this ballistic mattress?

#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Nature_Wonders

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👅 What's inside the Devils Tongue that smells like trouble?

• 👹 Amorphophallus plants - the Voodoo Lilies - are also known as Devil's tongue, Snake Palm, or Elephant Foot Yam, Corpse flower. This plant has a reputation as wicked as its name!
• 👹 Amorphophallus is the largest flower in the world and one of the most exotic bizarre flowers. Amorphophallus titanum is known for its massive size, its flower can reach heights of over 10 feet and blooms only once every few years.
• 👹 Why Corpse flower? Because of the smell that the flower omits, but for only a few hours - just long enough to summon its pollinators, the flies 🐱

After that, the air clears, leaving only the memory of the spectacle.
• 👹 The titan of the group, Amorphophallus titanum, can soar over 10 feet tall. But its cousin in this video, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, is just as fascinating. It rises from a giant underground corm (which is actually edible in Asia), then sends up either one surreal flower or one umbrella-like leaf as big as a small tree.
• 👹 Season after season, it alternates between leaf and bloom, keeping its mysterious cycle alive. Hardy enough to rest through winter dormancy, it can even be grown in a pot at home.

🎥 Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (campanulatus) - Voodoo lily

🛒 Discover more of Amorphophallus - rare and enigmatic plants

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Different species of Amorphophallus
• ▫️Amorphophallus bulbifer
• ▫️Amorphophallus konjak

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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🍭 It's a miracle: Miracle Fruit messes with your tongue, makes lemon sweet!

• 🍋🍬Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) Miracle Fruit - is a tidy, productive pot plant with a magical surprise.
• 🍋🍬 Ever wish lemons tasted like candy? This little berry makes sour foods taste sweet - lemon turns into a lemon candy, vinegar into syrup, and the effect can last for hours. The secret is a natural compound that masks the sour taste buds on your tongue.
• 🍋🍬 Miracle fruit isn’t just a fun trick - it’s also a perfect plant for your garden. A compact, slow-growing shrub, it actually prefers pots since it likes acidic soil. Indoors or out, it can fruit almost year-round, staying a neat 3-5 ft tall in a container.
• 🍋🍬 Best part? You can surprise your friends with a slice of lemon before and after trying it - and just wait for their reaction!
• 🍋🍬 What foods did you try with Miracle fruit? How did it change the taste?

🛒 Plant your own Miracle Fruit

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Why does everyone want a Miracle fruit plant?
• ▫️What is the miracle behind the Miracle fruit?
• ▫️Everyday Miracle - Grow the Dream!

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Remedies

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When plants cross into the Gothic: the Darker Bat Lily

• 🖤 Here’s a striking look at the Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri) - its dramatic dark bracts resembling bat wings, trailing whiskers, and tropical elegance all in one. If you met its cousin, the White Bat Head Lily (Tacca nivea) in earlier video, you'll notice the family resemblance - same dramatic whiskers and wing-like bracts, but this one leans fully into the dark side.
• 🖤 The Black Bat Flower isn’t just a bloom - it's a full performance. Giant black-maroon"wings" stretch out like a bat in flight, while long, drooping filaments dangle like eerie whiskers or jungle jewelry - some over a foot long!
• 🖤 Those weird, wild whiskers aren't just for show either. They're thought to mimic the look (and no, not the smell!) of decaying matter, luring in pollinators like flies. Creepy? Yes. Clever? Absolutely.
• 🖤 The Black Bat Flower blooms best when it feels pampered: filtered light, steady warmth, and spa-level humidity. It’s a smart exotic for a greenhouse or even a bright bathroom with a skylight.
• 🖤 It grows from a rhizome, and while Tacca chantrieri is prized for its gothic looks, its green cousin Tacca leontopetaloides is actually used in the tropics to make arrowroot starch.
• 🖤 Patience is part of the package - sometimes it takes months to bloom. But when it does, it becomes the crown jewel of the collection. People will ask if it's real. You'll just smile and say, "Yes - and it lives here."

🛒 Add this gothic gem to your collection - Black Tacca

Tacca colors: Black, White, Green:
Tacca nivea - White Tacca
Tacca chantrieri - Black Tacca
Tacca leontopetaloides - Green Tacca

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️The mystery of the White Bat Lily - the plant with wings and whiskers
• ▫️ A flying bat with whiskers
• ▫️ The rarest Green Tacca - Tacca leontopetaloides
• ▫️ When Bat Head Devil Flower is in bloom
• ▫️ Bat Head - Devil Flower

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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