Information on new exotic fruit variety:
Artocarpus x integer (Jackfruit x Chempedak), Cheena cv. TopTropicals

FRESH SEEDS! Grow exotic Chempedak from seeds and you will have the trees for only $1 each!

Check out a short video of the opened fruit.

Cheena is a natural hybrid between jackfruit and chempedak. Comes true from seed. This highly recommended variety has grown in TopTropicals garden from a seedling of Cheena (Jackfruit x Chempedak) that fruited within 3 years from planting. The fruit (20-25" size) is probably the best we ever tasted! It is super sweet, crunchy and has a rich, pleasant, excellent flavor. It has very little latex which makes it easy to handle when cutting up. The tree produces at the very base of the trunk, so you can prune it as short as you want. Our tree survived light frosts as well as 48 hours of 3ft flooding, with no damage!
The tree has an open, low and spreading growth habit and can be maintained at a height and spread of 8 ft with annual pruning. It is very easy to grow and is not as cold hardy as we thought for a Jackfruit x Chempedak types of plants. The only two recommendations are - good fertilу soil with a high content of compost and regular watering.
Cheena is a consistent producer. The fruit is up to 5 lbs, long, narrow and uniform in size and shape. The skin is green, with blunt spines that yellow and open slightly upon maturity.

Check out Chempedak Cheena seeds - FRESH - FRESH - FRESH
Check out Chempedak Cheena plants - special offer $30 OFF!

Wounded Warrior Project donation

Thanks to your memorial day orders! In honor of the memory of fallen brothers and sisters in battle, Top Tropicals sent a substantial donation of 5% of Memorial Day Promotion sales to Wounded Warrior Project. Reference ID: 43810379. Thank you everybody for your orders and participation!

Gemini Zodiac lucky plants

Gemini - 5/21-6/20. Ruled by the mutable, changeable planet Mercury (also patron of the art of medicine), Gemini is an AIR sign. Plants ruled by Mercury tend to have ferny or highly-divided leaves or stems (like the bronchi of lungs), hairy or fuzzy leaves (related to the cilia in the lungs), or subtle odors.

Gemini rules the lungs, shoulders, arms, and hands. Its plants help to strengthen the lungs and respiratory system, relax the nervous system, strengthen ears and hearing, the tongue and speaking, the vocal cords, lungs and thyroid, as well as the shoulders, arms, and hands. Gemini has so much going on mentally that they may need a little help to digest all the information they're constantly absorbing. Herbs that have clean, pure flavor not only help physical digestion, but assist spiritual and mental intake as well.

Gemini Zodiac lucky plants: Ferns, Blechnum, Tree ferns and Cyatheas, Fern Tree, Aralias, Jackfruit and Breadfruit, Paulownia, Anthurium, Philodendron, Philadelphus, Clerodendrums, Anise, Lavender, Myrtle, Nut trees, Macadamia, Ficus, Piggyback plant - Tolmiea menziesii, Aloe vera, Fig , Honeysuckle, Azalea, Mint Tree Satureja, Vitex, Ironwood, Mulberry, Osmoxylon, Acalypha, Allamanda, Aphelandra, Iboza, Ruda, Kiwi, Caesalpinia, Cyphomandra, Monstera, Kalanchoe , Magnolia, Oregano, Ocimum, Naranjilla, Zamia, Delionix, Acacias, Calliandra, Patchoili, Palms, Geranium, Grevillea, Eucalyptus.

For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.

Growing tropical fruit trees in containers in winter

Q: Please give me your advice. The winter is here. I bought mango tree, jackfruit tree, sugar apple tree and planned them for spring. What can I do to keep them no frost bite? My home in Bonifay FL.

A: In subtropical areas with occasional hard freeze in winter, we recommend you to keep tropical plants in pots. The plants you purchase are tender to frost. For cold protection, container growing has several advantages:
1) easy to move into wind-protected and sun-exposed locations as needed: for example, on a different side of the house. In many areas, seasonal prevailing winds have opposite directions in Summer and Winter.
2) easy to cover with frost cloth, sheets, or blankets in case of immediate cold spells. Container plants' growth is easier to control and trim, and those plants naturally stay more compact.
3) easy to move indoors, inside garage, or in covered lanai/patio.
We also recommend to keep these trees in their original pots until Spring, in containers size of the rootball. Step them up in Spring, when plants start active growth of root system. This will help you to avoid root rot due to possible overwatering in Winter. Reduce watering in any case, and keep your plants in bright, wind-protected spot. Do not fertilize until Spring. Protect from cold when night temperature drops below 35-40F.

Use SUNSHINE plant boosters to provide additional cold tolerance.

Cold protection is a lengthy subject. You may also use propane heaters during cold nights. Here is some more information on cold protection.

Black Friday starts Wednesday! Use this discount code in your shopping cart from Wednesday through end of Friday. Enter THANKS2016 in your shopping cart for 20% off on all plants and seeds from our store - no minimum order! Offer is not valid for previous purchases

Gemini - 5/21-6/20. Ruled by the mutable, changeable planet Mercury (also patron of the art of medicine), Gemini is an AIR sign. Plants ruled by Mercury tend to have ferny or highly-divided leaves or stems (like the bronchi of lungs), hairy or fuzzy leaves (related to the cilia in the lungs), or subtle odors.

Gemini rules the lungs, shoulders, arms, and hands. Its plants help to strengthen the lungs and respiratory system, relax the nervous system, strengthen ears and hearing, the tongue and speaking, the vocal cords, lungs and thyroid, as well as the shoulders, arms, and hands. Gemini has so much going on mentally that they may need a little help to digest all the information they're constantly absorbing. Herbs that have clean, pure flavor not only help physical digestion, but assist spiritual and mental intake as well.

Gemini Zodiac lucky plants: Ferns, Blechnum, Tree ferns and Cyatheas, Fern Tree, Aralias, Jackfruit and Breadfruit, Paulownia, Anthurium, Philodendron, Philadelphus, Clerodendrums, Anise, Lavender, Myrtle, Nut trees, Macadamia, Ficus, Piggyback plant - Tolmiea menziesii, Aloe vera, Fig, Honeysuckle, Azalea, Mint Tree Satureja, Vitex, Ironwood, Mulberry, Osmoxylon, Acalypha, Allamanda, Aphelandra, Iboza, Ruda, Kiwi, Caesalpinia, Cyphomandra, Monstera, Kalanchoe, Magnolia, Oregano, Ocimum, Naranjilla, Zamia, Delionix, Acacias, Calliandra, Patchoili, Palms, Geranium, Grevillea, Eucalyptus.

For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.

Cleanest fruit?

"Dirty" fruit: According to the Environmental Working Group research, Strawberries are top the list of the 12 "dirtiest" fruits and vegetables grown commercially. Spinach is the second, followed by (in order of contamination) nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell peppers. Each of these foods tested positive for pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce. This causes of course chronic health implications. Children are of special concern as younger bodies have greater susceptibility to pesticides than adult bodies, the report emphasizes. Pesticides may induce chronic health complications in children, including neuro- and behavioral problems, birth defects, allergies, asthma, and even cancer...

"Clean 15": Avocados lead 2018's clean fruits and veggies list, that also includes: mangoes, papayas, pineapples, kiwi, sweet corn, cabbage, onions, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, eggplant, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli.
Obviously, home grown fruit and vegetables are even better. Such fruit as Custard Apples, Sapodilla, Sapote, Jackfruit, Dragon Fruit, Passion Fruit and other rare varieties of tropical fruit, are even better for you because they are not grown commercially, and the choice from your own organic garden is the healthiest for yourself and your family!
Plant them today and get your cleanest fruit tomorrow!

Check out all tropical fruit trees and all tropical spice plants.

Gemini - 5/21-6/20. Ruled by the mutable, changeable planet Mercury (also patron of the art of medicine), Gemini is an AIR sign. Plants ruled by Mercury tend to have ferny or highly-divided leaves or stems (like the bronchi of lungs), hairy or fuzzy leaves (related to the cilia in the lungs), or subtle odors.

Gemini rules the lungs, shoulders, arms, and hands. Its plants help to strengthen the lungs and respiratory system, relax the nervous system, strengthen ears and hearing, the tongue and speaking, the vocal cords, lungs and thyroid, as well as the shoulders, arms, and hands. Gemini has so much going on mentally that they may need a little help to digest all the information they're constantly absorbing. Herbs that have clean, pure flavor not only help physical digestion, but assist spiritual and mental intake as well.

Gemini Zodiac lucky plants: Ferns, Blechnum, Tree ferns and Cyatheas, Fern Tree, Aralias, Jackfruit and Breadfruit, Paulownia, Anthurium, Philodendron, Philadelphus, Clerodendrums, Anise, Lavender, Myrtle, Nut trees, Macadamia, Ficus, Piggyback plant - Tolmiea menziesii, Aloe vera, Fig , Honeysuckle, Azalea, Mint Tree Satureja, Vitex, Ironwood, Mulberry, Osmoxylon, Acalypha, Allamanda, Aphelandra, Iboza, Ruda, Kiwi, Caesalpinia, Cyphomandra, Monstera, Kalanchoe , Magnolia, Oregano, Ocimum, Naranjilla, Zamia, Delionix, Acacias, Calliandra, Patchoili, Palms, Geranium, Grevillea, Eucalyptus.

For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.