Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: Cucumber Tree

• Cucumber Tree (Averrhoa bilimbi) - these curious fruits are incredibly sour and often used as a natural cleaning agent due to their high acidity.
• In some cultures, bilimbi fruits are used to remove rust and stains from metal and clothes, making them a versatile household item beyond their culinary uses.
• These fruits make a great lemonade too!

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🌸 How to grow Orchid Trees in pots

Everyone loves beautiful Orchid trees with butterfly-like leaves and colorful orchid-like flowers. They are widely used in Southern landscapes. But what if you don't have a room in your garden for another tree? Or what if it gets too cold in winter for a tropical Orchid tree? You can grow it in a pot!

📝 This is how to n enjoy the stunning flowers and foliage of Bauhinia right on your patio or balcony:

• 💠 Choose the right variety. Some species suitable for containers:

B. galpinii, B. madagascariensis, B. monandra, B. alba (candida), B. acuminata, B. bidentata, B. blakeana, B. grandidieri and many others.
• 💠 Choose the right pot: Select a large, sturdy pot with good drainage holes. Bauhinia trees have a vigorous root system
• 💠 Use a well-draining potting mix. We recommend a professional soilless mix: Sunshine Abundance.
• 💠 Sunny location: Position the pot in a location that receives full sun to partial shade. Bauhinia plants thrive in warm, sunny conditions.
• 💠 Watering: Keep the soil slightly moist but not waterlogged. Water the plant when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch.
• 💠 Fertilizing: For the most profuse flowering like in the video, feed the Bauhinia with liquid Sunshine Boosters Megaflor year around, it's safe with every watering.
• 💠 Pruning: Prune the plant to maintain its shape and encourage bushier growth.
• 💠 Winter Care: If you live in a region with cold winters, bring the pot indoors or to a sheltered location to protect the plant from frost.

📸 Bauhinia monandra - Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree, starts flowering when only 2 ft tall and grows well in containers.

📚 Earlier posts on Bauhinias: 1 2 3
Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings

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#Container_Garden #How_to

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Five most popular Avocado varieties

❓ "What is the best variety of Avocado?"
"Do you have the one with small black fruit and bumpy skin?"
"I have avocado with very large green fruit, what variety is it?"

These are frequently asked questions we get from our customers. This basic "classification" by black/green doesn't encompass all the wonderful qualities avocados have to offer. There are numerous hybrids in cultivation, and once you plant your first tree and taste the REAL fruit (not from the grocery store), you'll be eager to explore other varieties. While it's true that avocado fruit can vary in "butter" content, most superior varieties are equally delicious.

✅ We will guide you through Avocado varieties like we did with Mango varieties in earlier posts. First comes first -

🏆 The most popular Avocado varieties:

1. Brogdon - red-purple pear-shaped fruit, 7-15 oz. Skin is very thin, yellow buttery flesh. Fruit ripens in late summer-fall. Very cold hardy.

2. Hass - probably the most popular, but this tree prefers drier climate (Florida is humid, so we plant adaptable Florida Hass here). The fruit is dark-colored with a rough and bumpy skin, turns black when ripe.

3. Fuerte - a dwarf and a very cold hardy variety. Everybody's favorite "Condo Avocado": perfect for container culture and small yards. The mature tree in the ground is under 15 ft; 6-7 ft in containers.

4. Oro Negro - Oro Negro means "black gold" in Spanish, which is an incredibly appropriate name for this fruit. This Monroe hybrid (with big size fruit) is crossed with a Mexican type which would explain the black skin. The flesh is rich and buttery with a creamy texture.

5. Winter Mexican - one of most cold hardy varieties, Guatemalan x Mexican origin. Mature trees may withstand temperatures in the mid 20s. Oblong fruit, 12-18 oz, thick green skin. Very vigorous tree, bears heavily and regularly in December-January.

📚 Learn more: Avocado Variety Guide - check this out for interactive chart of Avocado varieties and sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

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❓ Why red flowers are so attractive? ❤️

💋 If red is your favorite color for flowers, this is your plant!👇

• 
  ❤️ Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia - belongs to Orchid trees that we mentioned earlier. But this one has very unusual color of flowers for Bauhinias: bright red or scarlet!
• 
  ❤️ Native to South Africa, this is a woody, vining shrub that also can be trained into a small tree, reaching 6-10 ft in height.
• 
  ❤️ As a all orchid trees it has deep green, bilobed leaves are resembling butterfly wings.
• 
  ❤️ Blooms almost year around, from Summer through late Fall, with vibrant orange-red, resembling those of nasturtiums, coming in clusters. Well-known for its stunning floral display.
• 
  ❤️ Hardy, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant once established. Prefers full sun but can tolerate partial shade.
• 
  ❤️ Attracts butterflies and bees

🛒 Order Pride of De Kaap

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❓ Why red flowers are so attractive? ❤️

💋 If red is your favorite color for flowers, this is your plant!👇

• ❤️ Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia - belongs to Orchid trees that we mentioned earlier. But this one has very unusual color of flowers for Bauhinias: bright red or scarlet!
• ❤️ Native to South Africa, this is a woody, vining shrub that also can be trained into a small tree, reaching 6-10 ft in height.
• ❤️ As a all orchid trees it has deep green, bilobed leaves are resembling butterfly wings.
• ❤️ Blooms almost year around, from Summer through late Fall, with vibrant orange-red, resembling those of nasturtiums, coming in clusters. Well-known for its stunning floral display.
• ❤️ Hardy, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant once established. Prefers full sun but can tolerate partial shade.
• ❤️ Attracts butterflies and bees

🛒 Order Pride of De Kaap

#Hedges_with_benefits

🏵 TopTropicals

💻 "Like the sweet, deep colors of tropical flowers, the fruits of the earth inspire and enrich our lives." - Homer

📸 Bael Fruit, Mangosteen, Sapodilla, Rambutan, Mango, Maprang - from Thailand fruit market

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#Edible_Forest #Quotes

🏵 TopTropicals

🍏 Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?

Annona squamosa - Sugar apple - is considered by many as the most delicious tropical fruit. We introduced the Annona trees earlier.

• 
  ✳️ Very small, compact tree, perfect for container or small yard, see photos from our Tropical Fruit Tree contest Winner.
• 
  ✳️ Starts fruiting within 3 year from seed!
• 
  ✳️ Easy to grow and undemanding
• 
  ✳️ The fruit is sheer deliciousness, pulp resembling custard.

🛒 Order Sugar Apple

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🍏 Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?

Annona squamosa - Sugar apple - is considered by many as the most delicious tropical fruit. We introduced the Annona trees earlier.

• ✳️ Very small, compact tree, perfect for container or small yard, see photos from our Tropical Fruit Tree contest Winner.
• ✳️ Starts fruiting within 3 year from seed!
• ✳️ Easy to grow and undemanding
• ✳️ The fruit is sheer deliciousness, pulp resembling custard.

🛒 Order Sugar Apple

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

What is the best showy shrub to plant under a shade tree?

• 💮 Tabernaemontana divaricata, also known as Pinwheel Jasmine or Crape Jasmine, is a true garden gem, blooming year-round to bring constant beauty to your outdoor space.
• 💮 This cute bush can be also shaped into a small tree.
• 💮 It looks beautiful beneath palms or trees.
• 💮 Blooms year-round with pretty, white, pinwheel-shaped flowers.
• 💮 Needs bright light for profuse blooming, but can tolerate shade conditions.
• 💮 Makes your garden look stunning all year around.

🛒Get Pinwheel Jasmine

#Hedges_with_benefits

🏵 TopTropicals