Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Why gardeners say this is the best Mulberry ever. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Illinois Everbearing Mulberry - Morus alba x rubra

💗 Why gardeners say this is the best Mulberry ever
  • 🍇 Illinois Everbearing Mulberry (Morus alba x rubra) is a recent discovery we’re excited to share. It may be the best variety we’ve grown, and if you only plant one mulberry, this should be the one.
  • 🍇 Very hardy and adaptable. Illinois everbearing is a cross between the white and red mulberry, and it seems to have inherited the best qualities of both. It is suitable for USDA zones from 5 to 10! It survives -20F and even colder, yet it also thrives in heat and poor soils. That wide adaptability makes it one of the most dependable fruiting mulberries for many regions.
  • 🍇 Quick shade, quick fruit, long season. The tree grows fast, about 3 to 5 feet a year, turning into a 20 to 30 ft shade tree in just a few years. It has a long, everbearing harvest season and early start: some people have even had fruit the first year after planting. The berries are about an inch and a half long, shaped like stretched out blackberries. They ripen steadily through summer, not all at once, which is why it is called everbearing. That means you can walk out and pick handfuls from July right into September.
  • 🍇Delicious and abundant. The flavor is what really sets it apart. Sweet, juicy, with a little tang, many gardeners say it is the best tasting mulberry they have had. You can eat them fresh, dry them, or cook them down for jam. Birds love them too, so you may end up sharing. But there will be enough for all: it produces abundant yields of 15 to 25 pounds per tree by year two or three.
  • 🍇 Easy to grow. It is a low maintenance tree, generally free of pests and diseases. Once established it is easygoing.
  • 🍇 Universal and long-lived. Plant it for the fruit, plant it for the shade, or plant it for the wildlife it draws in. Its foliage is also attractive, with deeply carved, oak-like leaves that add ornamental value to the tree. Illinois everbearing is not just a productive tree, it becomes part of the rhythm of your summer garden. While most mulberries live a few decades, some Illinois Everbearing trees may endure much longer with good care.


🛒 Pick your Mulberry tree

📚 Learn more:

📱 Dwarf Everbearing Mulberry

#Food_Forest

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To one person you may be the world. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

To one person you may be the world

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Ballistic buttons shooting from the mattress like popcorn! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Dorstenia bahiensis - Mattress Button Plant

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Lalot beef wraps: quick n fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Lalot beef wraps

Lalot beef wraps

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Politeness. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Cat Wesley

Cat Wesley

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What's inside the Devils Tongue that smells like trouble? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (campanulatus) - Voodoo lily

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Zero Sugar fruit: forget lemonade - new perfect summer drink discovered! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Costa Rican Guava, Cas Guava - Psidium friedrichsthalianum

Zero Sugar fruit: forget lemonade - new perfect summer drink discovered!
  • 🍋 Costa Rican Guava, or Cas Guava (Psidium friedrichsthalianum) is the boldest fruit you can grow for refreshing drinks. Its flavor is sharp, tangy, and unforgettable - perfect for anyone who loves acidic fruit. Cas Guava has sugar at all, unless you decide to add some.
  • 🍋 The trees are super prolific - even young ones fruit heavily, and we make gallons of juice at Top Tropicals.
  • 🍋 The best part? You can freeze the fruit or boil it into a concentrate with a bit of sugar. That drink lasts in the fridge for months without going bad, thanks to Cas Guava’s natural antibacterial punch.
  • 🍋 Cas Guava juice is Costa Rica’s traditional Agua de Cas - tart, refreshing, and perfect for summer heat. And if you save enough, you’ll still be sipping it through the winter.


♨️ Agua de Cas Quick Recipe
We boiled this fruit and the drink lasted for months!
  • ▫️Boil halved fruits in water with sugar to taste
  • ▫️Simmer 5-10 minutes, let sit, then mash the softened fruit to release all the flavor
  • ▫️Strain through a colander, bottle, and refrigerate - just dilute with water when serving


✔️ Why choose Cas Guava?
  • • Packed with vitamin C - four times more than lemons - for a powerful immune boost.
  • • Rich in antioxidants to combat stress and inflammation.
  • • Hardy and low-maintenance, thriving in poor soils and resisting pests.


🛒 Grow your own Cas Guava

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Guava

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🌿 The Jungle Cactus with a secret life

Collage of four jungle cactus plants: top left Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa (Curly Locks Orchid Cactus), top right Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the Night), bottom left Cryptocereus anthonyanus (Zig-Zag Cactus), and bottom right Disocactus ackermanni (Red Orchid Cactus).

Jungle cactus collage: top left Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa (Curly Locks Orchid Cactus), top right Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the Night), bottom left Cryptocereus anthonyanus (Zig-Zag Cactus), and bottom right Disocactus ackermanni (Red Orchid Cactus)

Most people picture cactus as desert plants: hot sun, sharp spines, dry sand. But that’s only half the story. There’s another branch of the family that lives in the shade of rainforests. These are the jungle cacti — epiphyte plants that climb trees, trail from branches, and throw out flowers so big and showy they look closer to orchids than to cactus blooms.

See one up close and it’s a surprise. The stems can be flat, zig-zagged, or even curly. Some trail like ferns, others pile into a shaggy basket. And when the flowers open — often at night — they’re wide, fragrant, and gone by morning. It’s no wonder gardeners like them from a first sight.

✔️ Jungle Cactus Q&A

Aren’t all cacti desert plants?

Not these. Jungle cacti are epiphytes and grow in rainforests, clinging to trees and catching rain. They never touch desert sand.

What kind of light do they need?

Outdoors, filtered sun under a tree works best. Indoors, give them bright but indirect light — east or north windows are usually safe. Direct summer sun can scorch the stems, whether inside or out.

How much water is safe?

They take more water than desert cactus but still hate wet feet. Outdoors, a rain shower is fine if the pot drains fast. Indoors, water when the top inch of soil feels dry. Always use a loose mix like Adenium mix so roots get some air.

Do they bloom indoors?

Yes. In fact, many bloom better inside where conditions are steady. They set buds when a little root-bound, and cooler nights help. Outdoors in frost-free zones, flowers come with seasonal shifts. Indoors, expect surprise buds after a cool spell by the window.

Best way to display them?

Hanging baskets show off trailing stems both inside and out. Shallow pots work well on shelves or ledges indoors. In warm climates, they can even be tied to a tree branch outside — exactly how they grow in the wild.

Extra note on indoor vs. outdoor care?

Indoors, watch for dry heated air in winter — they like a bit of humidity. A tray of pebbles and water under the pot helps. Outdoors, protect from heavy midday sun and bring them in if nights dip below the mid 30s F.

Jungle cacti are easy to keep and full of surprises. Whether trailing from a basket or blooming after dark, they prove that not every cactus belongs in the desert.

Read Garden Blog about Cacti

Add Jungle Cactus to your collection

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