Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

🍌 Why every garden needs a banana tree (or three!)

• 🍌 Peel this: Banana secrets revealed.

The truth about bananas is - Bananas are everyone's favorite snack. Sweet, nutritious, and loaded with potassium. They're great for muscle cramps, post-workout recovery, and quick energy. But did you know you can grow your own bananas, even in a small backyard or container?
• 🍌Banana Trees (Musa x acuminata) are:

• 🟡Super easy to grow
• 🟡Fast-growing and low maintenance
• 🟡Clumping and self-reproducing
• 🟡Beautiful and tropical-looking with their big, tropical leaves and showy, exotic flowers

• 🍌Dwarf varieties fit in tight spaces, and rare types like Red Bananas or the creamy Banana Ice Cream bring flavors you’ll never find at the grocery store. Plus, your own bananas are organic, fresh, and way tastier.
• 🍌 Start your banana patch today - and enjoy your own homegrown fruit all year long!

🛒 Explore Banana Varieties

📚 Learn more about Banana varieties:

• ▫️The best varieties of edible Banana to plant
• ▫️What banana fits anywhere - Banana Truly Tiny
• ▫️How to double your banana crop without extra space - Banana Double Mahoi
• ▫️Which Banana has red fruit and leaves - Banana Bordelon
• ▫️Why everyone wants Banana Lakatan - Banana Lakatan
• ▫️Is Blue Java Banana really blue? - Banana Blue Java Banana (Ice Cream)
• ▫️More about #Bananas

📱Red Leaves, Red Fruit, Real Wow Banana

#Food_Forest #Bananas

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🍊Why your gut is begging for papaya

• 🌴Papaya (Carica papaya) is more than just a tasty tropical fruit - it's a natural remedy for your gut. Thanks to an enzyme called papain, it helps with digestion, bloating, and even supports immune health with high levels of vitamin C and A.
• 🌴But here's what makes papaya a must-have in every garden: it's fast, space-saving, and super productive. Many trees start fruiting within a year!
• 🌴Dwarf varieties only reach 6-8 feet but still give you full-sized fruit that's easy to harvest.
• 🌴Grow it in the ground or in a container - it thrives in sun, handles light freezes, and even stands strong in high winds.
• 🌴Low effort, high reward. Sweet fruit, strong plant. What more do you need?

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

• 🟡more about #Papaya
• 🟡 How to grow tons of fruit in limited space - it's incredible!
• 🟡 How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around
• 🟡 Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties
• 🟡 Carefree Garden: practical Guide to Growing Papaya.

🛒 Your gut will thank you - plant Papaya

#Food_Forest #Papaya

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Late season mango Kent: Florida's delight.
Mango Rainbow🌈

• 🟡Kent is Florida's late-season superstar that never disappoints!
• 🟡These big, oval mangoes turn yellow-green with a ruby-red blush and emit the most tropical, peachy aroma. Slice inside and you’ll find dense, fiberless orange flesh that melts in your mouth with a sweet-tangy burst and warm spice notes. It's juicy, succulent, and perfect fresh or in smoothies - and they keep coming from July through early fall.
• 🟡This tree is a heavy bearer, disease resistant, and a must-have in any mango collection!

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Giant mango Keitt never quits!
Mango Rainbow🌈

• 🟡This is Keitt a late-season monster. It is the largest mango we've ever seen - no kidding! Some of these weigh up to five pounds!
• 🟡And the best part? They just keep coming from July all the way through fall.
• 🟡The flavor is sweet, smooth, super juicy, and barely any fiber. You can eat it ripe, slice it green, or make an awesome mango pickle.
• 🟡This tree's a total champ - crazy productive and super reliable.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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🍈 We Cut Open a 37 lb Jackfruit - You Won't Believe What's Inside!

📱

• 
  🍈 Cutting into a 37-pound Jackedak Jackfruit with Chiane and Ashley!
• 
  🍈 Join us at Top Tropicals as we explore one of the largest fruits on Earth - the mighty Jackfruit. From sweet, tropical fruit to edible seeds and even a meat substitute known as the "rag" - this fruit does it all!

• ✔️Learn how to cut and clean a jackfruit
• ✔️See which parts are edible (you might be surprised!)
• ✔️Discover why it's a favorite for vegan pulled pork
• ✔️Hear our taste-test reactions: bubblegum, custard, pineapple?

• 🍈 Whether you're into exotic fruits, cooking, or growing your own tropical trees, this is one tasty experience you don’t want to miss.
• 
  🍈 Want to grow your own Jackfruit? We’ve got you covered

📚 Learn more:
🟡about #Jackfruit

🛒 Buy Jackedak Cheena Tree - Delivered to Your Door

#Food_Forest #Jackfruit

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Why tipping mango trees makes them fruiting machines (DIY Garden Tip)

📱

🌳 Want more mangoes from your backyard tree?
In this step-by-step guide, Ed from Top Tropicals in Fort Myers, Florida, shows how to tip mango trees to boost branching, improve structure, and increase fruit production. Whether you're growing Valencia Pride, Orange Sherbet, or Glen mangoes - this method works!

✔️ You'll learn:

• 
  ▫️When and how to tip branches
• ▫️ What tools to use (and how to clean them)
• ▫️Real before-and-after results from trees in our Florida garden
• ▫️Tips for shaping young trees for long-term success

🛒 Get your own mango trees

🌱 More garden tips and tropical fruit care

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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🍓Strawberry Guava for best Margaritas - the easiest fruit tree you'll ever grow!

• 🍓 If you're looking for a cold-hardy tropical fruit tree that thrives on neglect, you’ve found it: Strawberry Guava, or Cattley Guava (Psidium littorale). It's our favorite Guava at Top Tropicals!
• 🍓 This fast-growing, evergreen small tree or dense bush doesn’t mind poor soil, limestone, or salt. It’s hardy to the low 20s F, drought-tolerant once established, and can even handle short-term flooding. Great as a hedge, windbreak, or container specimen, it also adds beauty year-round with glossy green leaves, peeling reddish bark, and soft red new growth.
• 🍓 You’ll get round, tangy-sweet fruit from spring through fall - perfect for snacking, jams, or jellies, juices, and adding to all kinds of drinks, especially Margaritas and Mojitos! 🍸
• 🍓 The red and yellow types are both tasty, with the yellow often a bit larger and sweeter. The sweetest and the most flavorful Cattley Guava variety is Hawaiian Gold - Psidium littorale var. Lucidum. This one is our favorite for eating out of hand!
• 🍓 Cattley Guava is productive, low-maintenance, and ornamental - one of the easiest tropical fruit trees to grow in poor or alkaline soils.

🛒 Add a sweet guava hedge to your yard

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Favorite Guava fruit for eating fresh
• ▫️Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #2. Cattley and Tropical guava
• ▫️How to always have lots of Guava Juice

#Food_Forest #Guava

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🍍What is the best pineapple to grow at home

• 🍍 Pineapple plants (Ananas comosus) are easy to grow, virtually carefree plants. You you plant a few - you will always have the benefit of fresh and delicious fruit on the table, full of health benefits.
• 🍍 White Jade Pineapple, also known as Eleuthera, is one of the most prized pineapple varieties you can grow at home - and for good reason. If you're only growing one pineapple, make it this one. And here is why:

✔️ Six reasons why you want to grow White Jade Pineapple

• 🟡Super sweet and low acid: White Jade has tender white flesh that's ultra-sweet with almost no acidity. The flavor is smooth and rich, far better than anything you'll find in a grocery store.
• 🟡Edible core: The core is soft, juicy, and 100% edible - no waste and no tough center.
• 🟡Spineless leaves: Unlike most pineapples, White Jade has soft, spineless leaves, making it much easier and safer to handle.
• 🟡Compact and container-friendly: It stays small, perfect for pots, patios, or tight garden spaces.
• 🟡Backyard hero, not for shipping: This variety bruises easily, so it's rarely seen in stores - but perfect for home gardeners who want top-tier taste.
• 🟡Tropical beauty + fast fruiting: With its blue-green foliage and striking fruit, it's ornamental as well as productive. Expect fruit in as little as 18-24 months with good care.

• 🍍 Although often mistaken as a Hawaiian variety, White Jade actually originated in Eleuthera, Bahamas. It thrives in warm climates and rewards gardeners with a sweet, low-acid treat unlike any commercial pineapple. It is grown in Hawaii now, especially by backyard gardeners and small farms, because it does so well there.
• 🍍 Make sure to feed your pineapple plants what they crave - sunshine and nutrients! Boost their growth with - SUNSHINE Ananas - Pineapple and Bromeliad Booster. This special formula gives your plants the energy they need to thrive and produce tons of sweet, juicy fruit just for you!

🛒 Plant the pineapple that grocery stores can’t sell

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️What are the best varieties of Pineapples?
• ▫️How we ate all pineapples from that ugly corner
• ▫️The most luscious Hospitality Fruit: Pineapple
• ▫️Three must-have fruit for every tropical garden

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Discover

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🍒 Cocoplum: secret fruit in your hedge

• 🍒 Most people think Cocoplum is just a boring hedge plant: Bahamas Cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco). Thick, green, easy to trim - great for privacy. But hidden in all that greenery? Super-sweet plum-like fruit that are edible and very tasty! They look like small plums and come in pink, purple, or white when ripe.
• 🍒 Cocoplum is native to Florida and has been quietly feeding people for generations, long before it became a landscaping go-to. The fruit is mild, a little sweet, and great for snacking or making into jam.
• 🍒 Cocoplum isn't just a tasty surprise - it comes with some health perks too:

▫️Rich in antioxidants - especially anthocyanins, which give the purple fruit its color and help fight free radicals in the body.

• ▫️Good source of fiber - helps with digestion and keeping you full.
• ▫️Contains vitamin C - supports your immune system and skin health.
• ▫️Low in calories - great for snacking without guilt.
• ▫️So when you bite into a Cocoplum, you're not just tasting Florida - you're getting a little wellness boost too.

🍯 Quick Cocoplum Jam:

• 🔸2 cups ripe Cocoplums
• 🔸1 cup sugar
• 🔸1 cup water*
• 🔸1 tbsp lemon juice
• 🔸Mash it all up, cook on low 20-30 minutes until thick. Cool and enjoy!

*To make a delicious summer drink, add 10 cups of water and just get to boil. Let sit 2 hrs, mash up, drain fruit and cool to enjoy.

So next time you walk by a Cocoplum hedge, check for fruit. There might be a free snack waiting for you!

🛒 Get your edible hedge Cocoplum: privacy with perks

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🌳 Five best fruit trees to plant in Summer

☀️ Summer might be scorching, but it’s actually a great time to plant fruit trees that love the heat. If you've got sunshine and a little space, these five tropical picks will reward you with fresh, homegrown fruit - some you’ll never find in a store!

1. Mango - the King of all fruit, a must have in every garden. Fiberlress varieties only! You can't buy those in the store.

2. Avocado - a must have super-fruit in everyone's diet, grow your own!

3.🐲 Dragon fruit - heat tolerant easy plant with low water needs, sweet fruit-bearing cactus

4. 🍉 Guava - by far the most flavorful tropical fruit, great for Summer drinks

5. 🍐 Black Sapote - fast growing, heat- and flood-tolerant, fruit tastes like chocolate pudding

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

• 🟡10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes
• 🟡Top 10 fast-fruiting trees
• 🟡Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits

🛒 Explore the finest rare tropical fruit trees

#Food_Forest #Discover

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