Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

💻 Golden and White Champaka side-by-side

Comparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees for the previous post 👆

⚪️ White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the center) has darker leaves

🟡 Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca (left and right) has lighter-colored leaves: salad-green, chartreuse or lemon-lime.

🎥 The tree on the left is 3 years old, and the other two are 4 years old.

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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✍️ Which Champaka tree is better - White or Golden?

🏆 Golden or White Champaka - Which Tree Should You Choose?
Both the White and Golden Champaka trees are prized for their intoxicating, fruity fragrance - often described as smelling like sweet bubble gum. Their blooms are famously used in the creation of Joy, one of the world's most expensive perfumes. While they share many similarities in scent and beauty, there are key differences between the two.

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  ⚪️ White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the video) is a sterile hybrid between Magnolia champaca and Magnolia montana. Because it does not produce seeds, this variety is always propagated through grafting or air layering. One major benefit of this is that grafted White Champaka trees begin blooming right away, even when they are still small. This makes Magnolia alba a more reliable and consistent bloomer from a young age.
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  ⚪️ White Champaka is also more compact and slower-growing than the Golden variety, making it especially suitable for container growing and smaller garden spaces.

• 🟡 Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca is the original species and grows from seed, which means it typically takes a few years to start blooming. However, it has an edge in cold hardiness and is more tolerant of cooler temperatures compared to the White Champaka.
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  🟡 Golden Champaka tends to be more vigorous and taller, making it a better fit for larger landscape plantings where space and height are not limiting factors.

✍️ In Summary:

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  ✔️ Fragrance: Both smell similar - like fruity bubble gum - and are used for perfume.
• ✔️ White Champaka: Grafted, blooms sooner, compact growth, ideal for pots.
• ✔️ Golden Champaka: Grown from seed, blooms later, more cold tolerant, vigorous growth.
• ✔️ Both trees are exceptional choices for Southern gardens. Whether you choose the early-blooming, compact White Champaka or the hardy, golden-flowered original, you'll be adding one of the most enchanting perfume trees to your landscape. Plant both!

See side-by-side comparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees in the next post👇

🛒 Plant Champaka trees and always have your own Joy Perfume

🎥 Magnolia (Michelia) x alba, White Champaka
Golden Champaka: video 1 and video 2

📚 Learn more about White and Golden Champakas:

• ▫️ What tree to plant for wonderful fragrance?
• ▫️ What does Joy Perfume flower smell like?

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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🖤 The secret of the black magic is unveiled: a black plant that thrives in neglect

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  ▪️This isn't just a houseplant - it's a living spell. The black ZZ plant (Zamioculcas x Black Dragon) is as mysterious as it is mesmerizing, with leaves so dark they look dipped in ink. Forget green - it's all about black - a rare, glossy marvel for collectors who crave the bold and unusual.
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  ▪️ New leaves start green... but don't be fooled. With time, they turn rich, velvety black - a transformation worthy of legend.
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  ▪️ It's not just a pretty face. Unlike any ordinary plant, this one survives on neglect. Forget to water? It won't blink. It stores water in its thick rhizomes like an ancient desert dweller, making it one of the toughest houseplants out there.
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  ▪️ It even shares a trick with ancient relics like Gonatopus - a rare power in the plant world. It's got ancient roots - literally. Its oddball talent of dropping leaflets that sprout into baby plants makes it one of the few plants in the world that can clone itself this way!

🛒 Collectors, the secret is out: bring home the magic of the the black dragon

📚 More from previous posts:

• • Are you tired of boring office plants...
• • Black-black-black plant...

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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🎅 Adenium Xmas Santa - the jolliest bloom

📸 Photo of Adenium Xmas Santa for the previous post 👆

🛒 Shop adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Adenium

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🎅 Want Christmas in Summer? Santa is packing flowers this year!

• 🍭 Adenium Xmas Santa - the jolliest bloom in the garden!
• 🍭 With its deep red and snowy white ruffled petals, this festive Desert Rose looks like it came straight out of Santa's gift bag.
• 🍭 Whether you are decking the pool or the patio, this holiday-colored wonder brings cheer all year long. And yes, it's real... no elves involved (we think). See photos of actual Xmas Santa Adenium in next post 👇

🛒 Bring home Xmas Santa today!

📚 More adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts #Adenium

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👑 What is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang

This video is about Cananga odorata - legendary Chanel No5 or Ylang-Ylang tree, history of the plant and its role in the famous perfume, and guess what - how you can grow your own!
📱

Everyone can grow their own Chanel No5, and it's easy as 1-2-3 - we have them for you at TopTropicals!

#Perfume_Plants #Trees #Container_Garden

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💮 A Plumeria you can train to climb? Fragrance on the fence - the climbing Frangipani...

• 💮 Twelve-inch leaves and a perfume cloud? Yes, it's real. Chonemorpha fragrans, or Frangipani vine, is a large woody tropical liana with clusters of large, perfume-fragrant flowers and lush green foliage. It is close related to perfumed Plumeria - Frangipani.
• 💮 Chonemorpha fragrans, the stunning Frangipani vine is a classic tropical woody climber, Plumeria's wilder cousin, bursting with huge, lush leaves (up to 12 inches long!) and clusters of intensely fragrant, creamy white flowers that smell just like your favorite Plumeria.
• 💮 Unlike its tree-form relative, this beauty grows as a vine and needs a strong support to climb - think fence, trellis, or pergola.
• 💮 Plant it in full sun for the best bloom show, though it's happy in partial shade too.
• 💮 With the right care and some fertilizer, it will turn your garden into a fragrant paradise and stop guests in their tracks. Plant it by your sitting area, and enjoy nature's own perfume drifting in the breeze!

🛒 Add Frangipani perfume to your fence

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Plant this vine over a fence to bring fragrance into your garden
• ▫️Can Frangipani be a vine? How to bring fragrance into your garden

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits

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☕️ How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans

Q: Can you make coffee from your own tree? Isn't there a process involved to prepare beans for it?
A: Absolutely! Yes, it is quite a process... But homegrown coffee lets you enjoy the freshest, chemical-free beans with rich flavor and the satisfaction of growing it yourself. Besides, it's fun! Below is a quick guide how to grow and make your own coffee from freshly harvested coffee fruit (called "cherries").

• Harvest the ripe cherries

Pick the bright red fruits when they are fully ripe. These contain the coffee beans inside.
• Remove the beans

Squeeze the cherries to pop out the seeds (beans). Rinse off any pulp and soak them in water for 1-2 days to ferment and remove the slimy coating.
• Dry the beans

Spread the clean beans on a tray in a sunny, dry spot. Let them dry for 1-2 weeks, turning them daily, until they feel hard and papery.
• Remove the parchment

Once dried, crack and remove the thin husk around each bean. You now have green coffee beans ready to roast.
• Roast the beans

Use a dry skillet or oven. Heat until beans turn brown and fragrant, stirring constantly. The longer you roast, the darker and stronger the flavor.
• Cool and grind

Let roasted beans cool completely, then grind them just before brewing. Enjoy your homemade cup of fresh coffee!

🛒 Grow it. Pick it. Roast it. Drink it. Buy your coffee tree now!

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

• • Coffee trees in bloom
• • Brew Your Future: Grow Your Own Coffee
• • What is coffee made of?
• • Why Coffee tree is the best gift plant
• • Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: #2. Coffee Tree
• • What is the most popular and the easiest tropical fruit tree grown as a house plant?
• • Video: growing a Coffee tree

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Discover

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🍭 Adenium Candy - a pure sugar for the eyes

📸 Photo of Adenium Candy for the previous post 👆

🛒 Shop adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Adenium

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🍬 Don't eat this candy… it's too pretty to unwrap!

• 🍬 Adenium Candy is pure sugar for the eyes! Its cheerful yellow petals are dipped in cherry red like a summer lollipop, with layer upon layer of sweet swirls that look almost good enough to taste.
• 🍬 But don't be fooled - this sugary beauty is all flower, no calories! Like most members of Apocinaceae plant family, Adenium sap can be irritating and poisonous iа digested.
• 🍬 With its bold colors and ruffled texture, Candy is a joyful little show-off and a must-have for your garden candy shop. See photos of actual Candy Adenium in next post 👇

🛒 Add Candy to your garden!

📚 More adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts #Adenium

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