Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

👽 Big alien?

Pelmen growing in progress.

🐈📸 Cat Pelmen is a friend of TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats

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💦Stop watering your Monstera on a schedule - here is what it really wants!

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  ☘️ Monstera might look like a big diva, but it's actually one of the easiest houseplants to keep happy, according to the gardening experts from Southern Living.
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  ☘️ The trick is not sticking to a strict watering schedule, but checking the soil. Water only when the top couple inches feel dry - usually every week or two in warm months and less in winter. Give it a good soak until water drains out the bottom, then let it dry again.
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  ☘️ Too much water is worse than too little – soggy soil means root rot. Signs of overwatering include yellow or droopy leaves, dark spots, or gnats buzzing around. Underwatering looks similar, but the soil will be bone dry. When in doubt, check the dirt!
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  ☘️ You can water from the top or let the pot sit in a shallow tray to soak from the bottom – just don’t let it sit in water. Bright, indirect light and a well-draining pot are your best friends. Keep that balance, and your Monstera will thrive for decades.

📸 In the photo: Rhaphidophora tetrasperma - Mini Monstera, Dwarf Monstera Ginny, a rare collectible for plant enthusiasts.

🛒 Shop Monstera plants

📚 Learn more:

• • Fruit growing on a house plant!
• • How to harvest and eat Monstera Ice Cream
• • How mini is Mini Monstera?
• • Holy Swiss Cheese Plant
• • Monstera x adansonii - Baby Swiss Cheese Plant

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #How_to

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🍴 Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

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  🔴Cook Grumichama cherries with sugar and lime juice.
• 🔴A deep red jam with a cherry-meets-blackberry flavor.

🛒 Plant Grumichama tree (Eugenia brasiliensis)

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️The best tasting and most beautiful tropical cherry
• ▫️Why grow Grumichama? Benefits of Brazilian Eugenia Tree - Cherry of the Tropics

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🌳There is always the garden

"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden"... [and cats!] - Minnie Aumonier

🐈📸 Cats Timo and Matilda at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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☄️ You won’t believe this red orchid tree exists!

• 💥 Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Orchid tree - has the most unusual color for Bauhinias. It went bold with bright scarlet flowers that look like little flames!
• 💥 Native to South Africa, it’s a woody shrub you can shape into a small tree about 6-10 feet tall.
• 💥 It blooms almost year-round, covering itself with clusters of fiery red blooms that butterflies can't resist. The flowers resembling those of nasturtiums, coming in clusters.
• 💥 As all orchid trees, it has deep green, bilobed leaves are resembling butterfly wings. Tough, sun-loving, and low-maintenance - this beauty brings a touch of Africa right into your garden.

🛒 Plant beautiful Pride of De Kaap

📚 Learn more:
• Why red flowers are so attractive?

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_plants

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😏 He who has a why to live

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." - Friedrich Nietzsche

🐈📸 Philemon the Cat at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot!

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  🍒 If you dream of picking fresh tropical fruit - Mango, Avocado, exotiс Annona and more - but only have a patio, balcony, or small yard, you’re not out of luck. Many tropical fruit trees grow perfectly well in large containers. The key is choosing the right variety, pot, and care routine.
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  🍒 Pick a compact tree type

Start with a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety. Regular tropical trees can grow huge, but container-sized cultivars stay under 8–10 feet and are much easier to manage. For example, Condo varieties of Mango like Pickering or Ice Cream stay small and still produce full-sized fruit. The same goes for Dwarf Avocados like Wurtz (also called Little Cado) and Sugar apples. Blackberry Jam fruit tree (Randia formosa) and Peanut Butter Fruit tree (Bunchosia argentea) are also excellent choices.
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  🍒 Choose the right pot

Begin with a 5-gallon container and move up as the tree grows. A mature plant will be happy in a 20–25-gallon pot. Drainage is critical - roots will rot if the pot stays soggy. Use a sturdy plastic, ceramic, or wooden container with multiple holes in the bottom.
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  🍒 Soil and watering

These trees all like loose, well-draining soil. Mix potting soil with perlite or pine bark for better aeration. Water deeply but not too often - let the top few inches dry before watering again. Overwatering is the quickest way to kill a potted tropical.
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  🍒 Light and feeding

Full sun is a must - aim for at least 6 hours daily. Fertilize during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree or slow-release fertilizer like Green Magic or liquid Sunshine Boosters. Many tropicals appreciate an extra boost of micronutrients like iron and magnesium to keep their leaves green.
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  🍒 Cold protection and pruning

If you live where winters get chilly, move the pot indoors or into a greenhouse before frost. Prune lightly in spring to keep shape and airflow. Container trees can fruit heavily if given light, warmth, and consistent care.

At the end of the day, container culture lets you grow the tropics anywhere - from a city balcony to a backyard deck.

➡ Next: The best tropical fruit trees for containers...

📸 Growing and fruiting Soursop in apartment (PDF download)

🛒 Explore tropical fruit trees

#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover

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🌞 The solution to eliminate weeds finally found!

📱

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  🟡 Senna (Cassia) alata – Empress Candle, Candelabra Plant - grows fast and stays in bloom from Summer through Fall, for many months. It covers your garden with lush, vibrant greenery and sunny, candle-like flowers.
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  🟡 This garden wonder lights up your space with golden, candle-like flowers, while its huge leaves provide cool shade and keep weeds at bay! Weeds 🌱 just don't have a chance to grow under its canopy!
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  🟡 In just one or two seasons, it can grow up to 10 feet wide and 6-8 feet tall, creating a natural masterpiece of beauty.
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  🟡 Butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees flock to its bright yellow flowers, which are followed by intriguing, rattling seed pods 🐝
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  🟡 The Empress Candle isn't just a plant - it's a stunning, must-have addition that transforms any garden into a living work of art.

🎥 Watch" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" > the video

🛒 Plant sunny Empress Candle and say goodbye to weeds

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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➕ The fruit of chance and necessity

"Everything existing in the universe is the fruit of chance and necessity." - Democritus

🐈📸 Cat James Coconuts is a stoic of TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

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How long does it take for a mango tree to bear fruit?

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  A Mango tree (Mangifera indica) grown from seed can take anywhere from 7 to 10 years to start fruiting, depending on conditions. Doesn’t sound too exciting, ah? Besides such a long wait, you never know how good the fruit will be – most likely it'll taste fibrous and not very sweet. Unless your cross-pollination was perfectly set between some top-notch parent cultivars, it's a gamble. Seedling results are always hit or miss.
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  That's why you need a grafted tree – it fruits soon (in the ground or in a large container) and guarantees the quality of the fruit. There are hundreds of cultivated varieties to choose from: juicy, sweet, and flavorful. Some taste like pina colada, pineapple, or lemon meringue pie, others like peach sherbet or even guava! The mango flavor spectrum is broader than that of apples!
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  So, you’ve got yourself a nice mango tree in a container and can’t wait for your first harvest. How soon?

Mango trees start flowering from early winter (early cultivars like Nam Doc Mai) to early spring (late cultivars like Keitt). One little tree can produce hundreds, even thousands of tiny flowers, but not all will set fruit. The younger the tree, the fewer fruits it can hold. Expect just a few the first year. Even if your mango sets a lot, don’t keep them all - let the young tree focus on establishing roots and strong growth. Leave 1-2 fruits and remove the rest. Your tree will thank you and grow fast and sturdy.
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  By the second year, you can let your tree keep a bit more fruit. Young trees usually know their limits and will naturally drop any extra fruit they can’t support. Within 2–3 years, you’ll be harvesting good crops – enough to enjoy yourself and share with friends!
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  Remember, a strong, healthy tree produces sooner and more. Feed it with Sunshine Mango Tango liquid booster or Green Magic controlled-release fertilizer, and protect it from frost, especially while young. Once established, your mango will reward you with reliable, abundant harvests year after year.

📸 In the photos: the trees in 7 gal pots are 2 years from grafting, and the trees in the ground are 1 year from the time of planting and 3 years from grafting.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Learn more about #Mango and different varieties: #Mango_Rainbow

#Food_Forest #Mango

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