Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

Guava Tree Plant Care

Tips from Top Tropicals Plant Expert - Tatiana Anderson

Guava trees for sale in 3-gallon nursery pots, healthy young plants with green foliage.

Where to Plant Outdoors

Guavas love full sun — aim for 6–8 hours of direct light. They’re adaptable to many soils but do best in well-drained, organic-enriched mixes. Plant them in a spot where you can water easily; guavas are thirsty trees during fruiting.

Container & Indoor Growing

Don’t have space or live in a cooler climate? Guavas thrive in large pots. Use well-drained potting mix. LINK TO OUR SOIL Keep them on a sunny patio during warm months and bring them indoors when nights dip below freezing. Compact varieties like Dwarf Hawaiian Rainbow or Tikal are especially good for pots.

Winter Care

Mature guavas can handle a light frost (down into the high 20s F), but young plants need protection. If planted outdoors, cover them with frost cloth on cold nights. Container guavas can be wheeled into a garage, greenhouse, or bright indoor window until the weather warms.

Watering and Fertilizing

Water deeply once or twice a week, more often in hot weather or when fruit is developing. They don’t like soggy soil, but they won’t complain about short floods either. Fertilize 3–4 times a year during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree fertilizer. Guavas especially love potassium and phosphorus for strong flowering and heavy crops. We recommend liquid crop booster Sunshine C-Cibus and balanced controlled release fertilizer Green Magic.

Pruning

Prune after fruiting to keep them compact and open up airflow. Remove crossing or dead branches. In containers, trim back vigorous shoots regularly to manage size and encourage more fruiting wood.

Pests and Problems

Guavas are generally tough and pest-resistant. The main thing to watch for in humid or rainy climates is mealybugs - those cottony white clusters on leaves or stems. They're easy to manage with neem oil or a quick spray of horticultural soap.

Fruit time

Guavas fruit young - often within a year or two.

Pollination

Guavas are self-pollinating, so you'll get fruit even with a single tree. Planting more than one tree, however, often boosts harvests and gives you a longer fruiting season.

If you've ever wanted instant gratification from a fruit tree, guava is it.

Ruby Supreme Guava tree with a large ripe yellow fruit, variety known for sweet pink flesh and reliable harvests.

🍴 Guava Recipes

With all that fruit, the next question is always: "What do I do with it?" Here are our favorites:

  • Cas Guava: Make Agua de Cas

    Boil halved Cas Guava fruits with sugar, simmer, strain, and bottle. Dilute with water when serving. The concentrate keeps for months in the fridge.
    Check out the recipe.

  • Hawaiian Gold: Make Drinks

    Perfect for Mojitos or Margaritas. Sweet, tangy juice pairs beautifully with lime and mint. Learn more

  • Araca Pera: Guava Wine

    Famous in Brazil, where the fruit is turned into a vibrant rosу wine. Locals say it’s the taste of summer in a glass — and yes, you can make it at home too. Learn more...

  • Quick snack: Guava Grilled Cheese

    Spread guava paste or fresh mashed fruit with cheese, grill until golden. Sweet and savory heaven. Learn more...

  • Simple Guava Juice

    Blend ripe guavas with water, ice, and a little sugar if you like. Instant refreshment.

✅Ready to Grow? Whether you want fresh juice, sweet fruit, or even your own guava wine, we’ve got the best varieties in stock right now. Your future self, sipping guava juice on a hot summer afternoon, will thank you.

👉 Order your guava tree today

Tabby cat sitting between a glass of yellow guava juice with white guavas and a glass of pink guava juice with green guavas and cut pink guava fruit.

Date:

Guava: The Healthiest Fruit You Can Grow

Collage of guava varieties: pink, white, Cas, red Cattley, and golden Cattley guavas, shown as whole fruits, cut sections, and clusters on the tree.

Guava varieties: Pink flesh (upper left quarter), White flesh and Cas (upper right quarter), Red Cattley Guava (bottom left quarter) and Golden Cattley (bottom right quarter).

Let’s talk Guava. Few fruits check as many boxes: flavor, productivity, health, and adaptability. We’ve grown guava trees at Top Tropicals for years here in Florida, and it never fails to surprise people with how easy it is — and how quickly it rewards you.

🌿 Health Benefits

We know the first question: "Why guava in addition to all the other fruit trees I could plant?" Because guava is one of the healthiest tropical fruits you can eat and grow — and it produces faster than almost anything else.

  • Vitamin C powerhouse — guava has four times more vitamin C than oranges. One fruit covers your daily needs and then some.
  • Potassium and fiber — good for balancing blood pressure and keeping your heart strong.
  • Antioxidants like lycopene and vitamin C — these keep your skin glowing and help protect your cells from damage.
  • Dietary fiber — aids digestion and helps keep blood sugar steady.
  • Guava is a true "food as medicine" tree you can plant right in your backyard or in pot.

♥️ Our Favorite Varieties are Available Now

We currently have a DOZEN excellent guava varieties in stock selected by our plant expert Tatiana Anderson — something special for every garden. Our top picks are:

Pink Guavas

  • Barbie Pink – Yellow pear-shaped fruit with thick pink flesh, sweet and juicy. Cold hardy for a tropical fruit. The best seller.
  • Hong Kong – Large, round, smooth pink fruit. Sweet flavor, very few seeds, and very productive.
  • Tikal – Our top pick. Fast-growing, disease-resistant, and produces the sweetest pink guavas with very few seeds.

White Guavas

  • Indonesian White – Aromatic, classic white-fleshed guava with an excellent tropical flavor.
  • Kilo White – Giant fruit up to 2 lbs (1 kilo) each! Few seeds, creamy white flesh, and fruits even in containers.

Compact/Dwarf

Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow tree with dense green foliage, inset showing pink-fleshed guava fruit with seeds.

Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow

Specialty Varieties

Cas Guava fruits on tree, with ripe yellow and unripe green fruit, one cut open to show pale flesh. Traditional Costa Rican Agua de Cas fruit.

Cas Guava with zero sugar for Costa Rican Agua de Cas drink

  • Cas Guava – Bold, tangy, almost zero sugar. The traditional Costa Rican Agua de Cas drink comes from this fruit. Cold hardy.
  • Hawaiian Gold, Yellow Strawberry Guava – The sweetest Strawberry Guava, golden fruit, great for fresh eating and drinks.
  • Brazilian Araca Pera – Rare hybrid used for Guava Wine in Brazil. Tart, concentrated juice makes excellent wine, sorbet, or jelly. Learn more...
  • Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen – Feijoa sellowiana. Strongly perfumed fruit, best enjoyed when the pulp is mixed with sugar – like forest strawberries. Cold-hardy, tolerates freeze, and doubles as a great windbreak. Learn more...

Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana) fruit and flowers. Green oval fruit with soft aromatic flesh, and white-red blossoms with long stamens

Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen – Feijoa sellowiana

Every one of these thrives here in Florida or in warm climate. Some are better in pots, some as landscape trees, but all produce generously.

🎥 Watch short videos about Guava:

" style="border: 0px solid red; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; padding: 14px 0px; width: 100%; font-size: 15px; max-width: 600px; margin: auto; display: block; color: white !important; cursor: pointer;background-color: rgb(33, 144, 23);">Cas Guava - Zero Sugar Fruit

" style="border: 0px solid red; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; padding: 14px 0px; width: 100%; font-size: 15px; max-width: 600px; margin: auto; display: block; color: white !important; cursor: pointer;background-color: rgb(33, 144, 23);">Best Guava Varieties

" style="border: 0px solid red; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; padding: 14px 0px; width: 100%; font-size: 15px; max-width: 600px; margin: auto; display: block; color: white !important; cursor: pointer;background-color: rgb(33, 144, 23);">Strawberry Guava for Margaritas

💲 Special Offer – 20% off Guava Fruit Plants!

Get 20% OFF already discounted Guava plants with code

GUAVA2025

Min order $100. Excluding S/H, valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.

Hurry, offer expires October 02, 2025!

Explore Guava Fruit Plants

Date:

How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box

How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box.

🚚 How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box.
  • 📦 In the previous video (Part 1: prepare the plant), we showed you how to prepare a plant for shipping.

    • Now comes the most important step - boxing it up!
  • 📦 We’ll show you how to place the plant in the box, keep it snug and secure, and make sure i'’s ready for a safe trip from our nursery to your door.
  • 📦 Watch out for shipping confirmation email to avoid your package sitting on a hot porch or freezing doorstep.


🎥 Part 2 shows you how to pack a plant.

❗️Stay tuned - the final step is coming in Part 3!

🛒 Shop plants online

📚 Learn more:
Shipping information page

#How_to

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Tequila Sunrise Hibiscus breaks the rules. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Tequila Sunrise Hibiscus breaks the rules

Hibiscus El Capitolio Tequila Sunrise

Hibiscus El Capitolio Tequila Sunrise

Tuxedo cat Smoky and Orange Cat Sunshine enjoying Tequila Sunrise

Tuxedo cat Smoky and Orange Cat Sunshine enjoying Tequila Sunrise

🍸 Tequila Sunrise Hibiscus breaks the rules
  • 🌅 Hibiscus El Capitolio Tequila Sunrise is a cousin of Hibiscus El Capitolio Bloody Mary we introduced earlier. El Capitolio is an unusual type of Hibiscus with a graceful, fountain-like growth habit and unique pendant, double-skirted blooms
  • 🌅 Tequila Sunrise has warm peach-orange tones, often with soft pink highlights. The pom-pom-like flowers stand out against glossy green foliage, adding a bright, exotic touch to the garden.
  • 🌅 Blooming from summer through fall, this hardy hibiscus thrives in full sun to partial shade, tolerates heat, drought, salt, and even wet soils. A fast grower reaching 5-10 ft, it's perfect as a showy specimen, hedge, or container plant in USDA zones 9-11.


🛒 Shop Hibiscus plants

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

#Hedges_with_benefits

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Date:

How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant

How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant.

🚚 How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant.
  • 📦 We hear it all the time: "You guys ship plants? Wow! How do you ship a plant? It's... live!"
  • 📦 Well, we've been doing it for almost 25 years now - that's a quarter of a century! Top Tropicals was one of the first nurseries to figure out plant shipping, long before Amazon and all the big online platforms where today you can order just about anything.
  • 📦 After so many years, our Team worked it to perfection. Want to see how it's done?
  • 📦 Like they say, it's better to see once than hear a hundred times. In this video, we'll show you the tricks that keep plants safe on their journey from our nursery to your doorstep.


🎥 Part 1 covers how we prepare the plant before it goes into the box.

❗️Stay tuned for the next step in our upcoming video!

🛒 Shop plants online

📚 Learn more:
Shipping information page

#How_to

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

The SECRET growers never tell you: simple trick how to bring plants back to life and keep green. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The SECRET growers never tell you: simple trick how to bring plants back to life and keep green

Green Magic Fetilizer makes plants green

🌳 The SECRET growers never tell you: simple trick how to bring plants back to life and keep green
  • 💚 Green Magic is plant food that really works. It keeps your plants green, strong, and growing steady.
  • 💚 We call it Magic - because it even brought back plants we thought were gone! So thу Green Magic can bring dead to live!
  • 💚 The secret is slow release. Most dry fertilizers dump everything at once, burn the roots, then disappear. Green Magic feeds little by little for six months straight. No burn, no guesswork, just steady food that plants love.
  • 💚 It's perfect for potted fruit trees, ornamentals, and houseplants. One handful is all it takes, and your plants stay fed for half a year.

  • ✔️How to use:

    • Mix in 1 teaspoon per gallon of soil when potting, or sprinkle on top once every six months. That's it!
  • ✔️ Why it works:

  • ▫️Feeds slowly and evenly for six months
  • ▫️Keeps leaves green and plants healthy
  • ▫️Strong growth, even for weak or struggling plants
  • ▫️Works in any climate, indoors or out
  • ▫️Great for containers, trees, and ornamentals
  • ▫️This isn’t a flower booster. It’s a growth booster. The kind of steady food that builds strong plants for life.

  • 👉 Watch your plants come back to life and thrive with this professional-grade, controlled-release fertilizer - Green Magic. Even struggling plants can turn lush and green again.

    • Give it a try - your plants will thank you!


🛒 Buy once, feed for 6 months!

📚 Learn more

#Fertilizers #How_to
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Date:

Dragon Fruit Plant Care – Tips from the Garden Expert

Stages of dragon fruit pitaya plant growth and trellis support system

Dragon fruit is one of those plants that look exotic but are surprisingly easy once you know the basics. Here is what works best in the garden:

  • Soil: They hate wet feet. A sandy, fast-draining soilless-mix is your friend. If water sits around the roots, rot comes fast.
  • Watering: Deep watering is better than frequent sips. Let the soil dry between waterings. In rainy season they cope well, but in pots you need to be careful.
  • Sunlight: Full sun is great, but in very hot places a touch of afternoon shade keeps them happy.
  • Support: They are natural climbers. A wooden post, concrete pole, or trellis will give them something to grab and makes harvest easier.
  • Fertilizer: Feed lightly but often. A gentle liquid like Sunshine C-Cibus liquid booster with every watering, or Green Magic controlled release fertilizer every 5-6 months. It encourages strong roots, lush growth, and lots of flowers.
  • Pruning: Trim off tangled or weak stems. This guides energy into strong branches that will flower and fruit.

Think of it as training a cactus vine into a small tree. Once it settles in, it almost takes care of itself — and pays back with fruit you can’t buy in stores.

🌱 Dragon Fruit Plant Care – Outdoors and Indoors

Outdoors: Dragon fruit thrives in USDA Zones 10–11 year-round. In warm regions like Florida, Texas, California, and Hawaii, you can grow it outside in the ground. Give it fast-draining soil, full sun with a little afternoon shade in the hottest months, and a sturdy trellis or post to climb. Deep watering with drying periods in between keeps roots healthy. A yearly pruning shapes the plant and boosts flowering.

Indoors or Patio Pots: Gardeners in cooler zones can still enjoy dragon fruit in containers. Use a large pot with sandy, well-draining mix or soilless-mix and a pole for support. Place the pot in the brightest spot — a greenhouse, sunroom, or patio that gets 6+ hours of light daily. Move pots inside when temperatures drop below 40F. Even indoors, a healthy plant can bloom and fruit if it has enough light and warmth.

❓ Dragon Fruit FAQ


How soon will a dragon fruit start producing?

Cuttings can flower and fruit in as little as 2–3 years. Seed-grown plants take longer, often 4–6 years. Large developed specimens can start flowering and fruiting within a year or even the same season.

Do I need more than one plant for pollination?

Some varieties are self-fertile, others need a second plant for cross-pollination. Even self-fertile types usually set more fruit with a partner nearby.

How big do they get?

In the ground, dragon fruit can climb 15–20 ft if you let it. With pruning and a trellis, you can keep it shaped like a small tree, 6–8 ft tall.

Can I grow it in a pot?

Yes. A large container with sandy mix or soilless-mix and a pole for climbing works well. Indoors it will need bright light or a grow lamp.

What does a dragon fruit taste like?

Sweet and juicy, like a blend of blackberry and raspberry. Varieties differ: flesh can be white, pink, deep red, or purple, wrapped in skins of red, pink, or yellow. White flesh is mild and refreshing, red flesh is sweeter, and yellow flesh is the sweetest with a honey-pineapple flavor.

What zones can I grow dragon fruit outside?

USDA Zones 10–11 are best for year-round outdoor planting. In cooler areas, grow it in containers and bring inside for winter.

How often should I water?

Deep water, then let the soil dry. Too much water causes root rot. Think “desert cactus with a taste for rain.”

Is dragon fruit easy to grow?

Yes. Pitayas grow like cactus trees on strong supports, but they are easy to care for — little water, sun or semi-shade, and they thrive.

How long do they live?

A healthy dragon fruit cactus can produce for 10 years or more with proper care.

What are the health benefits?

Dragon fruit is high in fiber, supports digestion, and is low in calories. It is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, making it good for immunity and overall wellness. Many gardeners enjoy it as a healthy snack or in smoothies.

Explore Dragon Fruit varieties

Date:

🐲 The taste you will never forget

Dragon fruit collage - yellow, red, purple, white varieties

If you only know dragon fruit from the grocery store, you probably think it looks pretty but tastes bland. That is because most commercial fruit is picked early, shipped far, and loses its sweetness. The truth? Homegrown dragon fruit is juicy, sweet, and full of flavor. The best of all is the yellow variety, Palora (Selenicereus megalanthus), a cactus fruit from Ecuador that bursts with tropical taste.

🌵 Pitaya or Dragon fruit – what is the difference?

Both names describe the same climbing cactus. In Latin America it is called Pitaya, while Asia and English speakers say Dragon fruit. There are three main kinds:

Some hybrids give purple or magenta flesh. All are beautiful, all are easy to grow at home.

⚡️ Do red, white, and yellow taste different?

Yes. White types are mild and refreshing. Reds are sweeter and juicier. Yellows are the sweetest of all.

⚡️ Flowers from a fairy tale

Close-up of a blooming dragon fruit pitaya flower with white petals and yellow center

Dragon fruit flowers are among the most spectacular in the plant world. They open at night, glowing under moonlight, with pale petals and a sweet fragrance. Each flower can be a foot wide. Seeing one bloom feels like stepping into another world.

⚡️ Top Dragon Fruit Health Benefits

  • High in fiber for digestion and gut health
  • Low in calories but full of vitamins
  • Great for weight management
  • Adds color and freshness to smoothies and salads

🍹 Dragon Fruit Smoothie recipe

Glass of dragon fruit pitaya smoothie with fresh dragon fruit, banana, mango, lime, sugar, and ice cubes

Blend together:

  • 2 dragon fruits, peeled
  • 1/2 cup mango pulp
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup milk of your choice
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • Ice cubes to taste

Top with mint for a refreshing tropical treat.

Watch Dragon Fruit short videos:

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" style="border: 0px solid red; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; padding: 14px 0px; width: 100%; font-size: 15px; max-width: 600px; margin: auto; display: block; color: white !important; cursor: pointer;background-color: rgb(33, 144, 23);">DIY Dragon Fruit plantation

💲 Special Offer – 25% off Dragon Fruit Pitaya Plants!

Get 25% OFF Pitaya plants with code

DRAGON2025

Min order $100. Excluding S/H, valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.

Hurry, offer expires September 29, 2025!

Explore Dragon Fruit varieties

Date:

Why Desmos - a cousin of Ylang Ylang - is every gardener's dream. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why Desmos - a cousin of Ylang Ylang - is every gardeners dream

Desmos chinensis - Ylang Ylang Shrub

⭐️ Why Desmos - a cousin of Ylang Ylang - is every gardener's dream
  • ⭐️ Desmos chinensis - Ylang Ylang Shrub - is a rare treasure for fragrance lovers. It's a compact, bushy, vining cousin of the famous Ylang Ylang tree, but with an even more intense perfume. The scent is often compared to sweet lemon candy.
  • ⭐️This shrub shows off graceful, arching branches and pendant flowers that come in golden yellow or the even rarer bright red form. It thrives in warm, humid conditions and becomes vigorous once established.
  • ⭐️Unlike the big Ylang Ylang tree (Cananga odorata) that can shoot up quickly and needs space, Desmos stays compact and can be maintained at about 3 to 6 ft. Perfect for smaller gardens or containers, while still delivering that unforgettable fragrance.


🎥 The rare red-flowered variety of Desmos is one of the most sought-after perfume plants of Southeast Asia.

🛒 Make Desmos the highlight of your fragrance collection

📚 Learn more:
Perfume in a pot: exotic Dwarf Chanel No 5 Tree

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden

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Date:

How to make lots of Insulin Ginger plants quickly and get more health benefits. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to make lots of Insulin Ginger plants quickly and get more health benefits

Costus igneus (Chamaecostus cuspidatus) - Fiery Costus or Spiral Flag

💚 How to make lots of Insulin Ginger plants quickly and get more health benefits
  • Costus igneus (Chamaecostus cuspidatus) - Fiery Costus or Spiral Flag is believed to help lower blood glucose levels naturally and managing diabetes.
  • Have you heard of Insulin Ginger? Everyone wants to have it in the garden!
  • Gardeners in India grow it not just for its pretty spiral leaves, but for what those leaves do. People with diabetes often chew them fresh or brew them into tea, saying it helps keep their blood sugar under control.
  • Researchers have found something interesting: the leaves contain an insulin-like compound, along with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. In animal studies, extracts from the plant lowered blood sugar, protected the liver and kidneys, and even made the body more sensitive to insulin.
  • The way folks use it is simple. You can chew a leaf right off the plant, steep dried leaves for tea, or find it in powders and capsules. It's one of those plants that shows how tradition and science sometimes meet in the garden.
  • Its lush, turmeric-like leaves spiral around upright stems, with a glossy dark green top and a striking light purple underside. In warm months, it produces bright orange, cone-like flowers that stand out beautifully in the garden.
  • Beyond its beauty and natural insulin effects, the insulin plant is credited with aiding digestion, reducing cholesterol, boosting energy, improving skin health, supporting weight loss, relieving stress, and promoting heart wellness. A real botanical multitasker!


🎥 In this video, we’ll show you how to multiply Insulin Ginger fast, so you’ll have plenty of plants for yourself and even extras to share with friends and family.

✅ Don’t forget to use Green Magic fertilizer for the best results. Gingers absolutely love this plant food - they thrive on it and respond better than any other plant, with vigorous growth, lush foliage and loads of leaves you’ll need for all the benefits.

🛒 Grow your own sugar-fighter - the Insulin Ginger

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Shade_Garden #Discover

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