Newsletter sign up Call Us: 1-866-897-7957
Select FREE SHIPPING
Cart

Index > Garden Blog

Date:

Golden and White Champaka side-by-side Golden and White Champaka side-by-sideComparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees for the previous post White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the center) has darker leaves Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca (left and right) has lighter-colored leaves: salad-green, chartreuse or lemon-lime. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Golden and White Champaka side-by-side

💻 Golden and White Champaka side-by-side

Comparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees for the previous post 👆

⚪️ White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the center) has darker leaves

🟡 Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca (left and right) has lighter-colored leaves: salad-green, chartreuse or lemon-lime.

🎥 The tree on the left is 3 years old, and the other two are 4 years old.

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Which Champaka tree is better - White or Golden? Golden or White Champaka - Which Tree Should You Choose? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Which Champaka tree is better - White or Golden?

✍️ Which Champaka tree is better - White or Golden?

🏆 Golden or White Champaka - Which Tree Should You Choose?
Both the White and Golden Champaka trees are prized for their intoxicating, fruity fragrance - often described as smelling like sweet bubble gum. Their blooms are famously used in the creation of Joy, one of the world's most expensive perfumes. While they share many similarities in scent and beauty, there are key differences between the two.

  • ⚪️ White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the video) is a sterile hybrid between Magnolia champaca and Magnolia montana. Because it does not produce seeds, this variety is always propagated through grafting or air layering. One major benefit of this is that grafted White Champaka trees begin blooming right away, even when they are still small. This makes Magnolia alba a more reliable and consistent bloomer from a young age.

  • ⚪️ White Champaka is also more compact and slower-growing than the Golden variety, making it especially suitable for container growing and smaller garden spaces.

  • 🟡 Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca is the original species and grows from seed, which means it typically takes a few years to start blooming. However, it has an edge in cold hardiness and is more tolerant of cooler temperatures compared to the White Champaka.

  • 🟡 Golden Champaka tends to be more vigorous and taller, making it a better fit for larger landscape plantings where space and height are not limiting factors.


✍️ In Summary:

  • ✔️ Fragrance: Both smell similar - like fruity bubble gum - and are used for perfume.
  • ✔️ White Champaka: Grafted, blooms sooner, compact growth, ideal for pots.
  • ✔️ Golden Champaka: Grown from seed, blooms later, more cold tolerant, vigorous growth.
  • ✔️ Both trees are exceptional choices for Southern gardens. Whether you choose the early-blooming, compact White Champaka or the hardy, golden-flowered original, you'll be adding one of the most enchanting perfume trees to your landscape. Plant both!


See side-by-side comparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees in the next post👇

🛒 Plant Champaka trees and always have your own Joy Perfume

🎥 Magnolia (Michelia) x alba, White Champaka
Golden Champaka: video 1 and video 2

📚 Learn more about White and Golden Champakas:

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Where do almonds come from? From the prettiest red-leaved tree with health benefits! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Where do almonds come from?

🌰 Where do almonds come from? From the prettiest red-leaved tree with health benefits!
  • 📝 Most commercial almonds come from the Prunus dulcis tree, a close relative of Peach Tree, native to the Middle East and South Asia. However, Tropical Almond (Terminalia catappa), also called Indian almond or Sea almond, produces a similar nut in tropical regions.

  • 📝 The Tropical Almond tree puts on a spectacular fall display rarely seen in evergreen tropical regions. As a deciduous tree, it sheds its large, glossy leaves in a burst of color - shifting from green to brilliant shades of red, orange, and especially bright mauve. This fiery transformation sets it apart from most tropical trees. At the same time, the almond-like fruits ripen, making this tree not only a visual showstopper but also a source of delicious, nutritious nuts.


🌰 Health benefits of Tropical Almond:

  • ✅ Rich in omega-3 fatty acids - supports brain and heart health.

  • ✅ High in protein and healthy fats – helps build and maintain muscle and energy.

  • ✅ Strengthens bones and teeth – due to its calcium and phosphorus content.

  • ✅ Improves eye health – thanks to antioxidants like vitamin E.

  • ✅ Reduces inflammation – naturally anti-inflammatory.

  • ✅ Supports liver and digestive health – traditional medicine uses the leaves for liver diseases, diarrhea, and dysentery.

  • ✅ Used as an aphrodisiac – in some traditional systems.


Tropical Almonds can be grown in the ground or containers and are tolerant of heat, drought, and salt, making them great for tropical and coastal gardens.

🛒 Plant the Tropical Almond Tree with mauve fall color

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover #Fun_Facts

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

What is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang What is Chanel No5 made of? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang

👑 What is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang

This video is about Cananga odorata - legendary Chanel No5 or Ylang-Ylang tree, history of the plant and its role in the famous perfume, and guess what - how you can grow your own!
📱

Everyone can grow their own Chanel No5, and it's easy as 1-2-3 - we have them for you at TopTropicals!

#Perfume_Plants #Trees #Container_Garden

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans Q: Can you make coffee from your own tree? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans

Coffee Tree in a cup (Coffea arabica)

Coffee Tree in a cup (Coffea arabica)

Coffee Tree with fruit (Coffea arabica)

Coffee Tree with fruit (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee cherries on a tree (Coffea arabica)

Coffee cherries on a tree (Coffea arabica)

☕️ How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans

Q: Can you make coffee from your own tree? Isn't there a process involved to prepare beans for it?
A: Absolutely! Yes, it is quite a process... But homegrown coffee lets you enjoy the freshest, chemical-free beans with rich flavor and the satisfaction of growing it yourself. Besides, it's fun! Below is a quick guide how to grow and make your own coffee from freshly harvested coffee fruit (called "cherries").
  • 🫘 Harvest the ripe cherries

    • Pick the bright red fruits when they are fully ripe. These contain the coffee beans inside.
  • 🫘 Remove the beans

    • Squeeze the cherries to pop out the seeds (beans). Rinse off any pulp and soak them in water for 1-2 days to ferment and remove the slimy coating.
  • 🫘 Dry the beans

    • Spread the clean beans on a tray in a sunny, dry spot. Let them dry for 1-2 weeks, turning them daily, until they feel hard and papery.
  • 🫘 Remove the parchment

    • Once dried, crack and remove the thin husk around each bean. You now have green coffee beans ready to roast.
  • 🫘 Roast the beans

    • Use a dry skillet or oven. Heat until beans turn brown and fragrant, stirring constantly. The longer you roast, the darker and stronger the flavor.
  • 🫘 Cool and grind

Let roasted beans cool completely, then grind them just before brewing. Enjoy your homemade cup of fresh coffee!

🛒 Grow it. Pick it. Roast it. Drink it. Buy your coffee tree now!

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Discover

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Coffee trees are in bloom! Coffee prices are climbing, supplies are tightening, and drought in Brazil is hitting hard The best time to plant a Coffee Tree was yesterday - the next best time is right now! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Coffee trees are in bloom!

Coffee trees in bloom

☕️ Coffee trees are in bloom!

☕️ Coffee prices are climbing, supplies are tightening, and drought in Brazil is hitting hard 🫤
The best time to plant a Coffee Tree was yesterday - the next best time is right now!

🎥 Our Coffee trees (Coffea arabica) are bursting with blooms, promising a fresh harvest and home-roasted coffee like no other.
It's time to take your morning cup into your own hands!

🛒 Grow it. Pick it. Roast it. Drink it. Buy your coffee tree now!

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Discover

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Too weird to ignore, too easy not to grow! Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Too weird to ignore, too easy not to grow!

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, flower

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, flower

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, leaves

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, leaves

🤡 Too weird to ignore, too easy not to grow!
  • ⚡️Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus. Also known as Anthony's Rick-Rack or Fishbone Cactus, this oddball epiphyte is famous for its zigzagging, succulent leaves that look like a green lightning bolt.
  • ⚡️ In nature, it climbs trees using aerial roots, but it's happy in a pot too.
  • ⚡️Give it bright, indirect light and let the soil dry out completely between waterings.
  • ⚡️In spring, it may reward you with a rare night-blooming flower that lasts just one magical evening.
  • ⚡️ Easy, sculptural, and full of character!


🛒 Add this oddball to your jungle

📚 More about exotic epiphytic cacti:
Disocactus ackermanni - Red Orchid Cactus
Epiphyllum oxypetalum - Queen of the Night
Pseudorhipsalis (Wittia) amazonica - Blue Flame
Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa - Orchid Cactus, Curly Locks

#Fun_Facts #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

NEW SHORT VIDEO:
Watch Joy Perfume in fool bloom!

Magnolia champaca, the Joy Perfume Tree is the most desirable perfume tree for Southern gardens and a Signature Plant of Top Tropicals! At our Farm in Sebring, these stunning trees bloom almost year-round, filling the air with a fruity, enchanting fragrance.

This is the flower used to make the world's most expensive perfume - Joy! And it smells like fruity bubble gum... you won't stop sniffing it! With lush, lemon-lime leaves and a tall, elegant shape, Champaka is as beautiful as it is fragrant.

Shop online or visit Top Tropicals in Fort Myers or Sebring and bring home your very own Joy Perfume Tree!

We have beautiful Champaka trees in all sizes:
3 gal pot: 3-4 ft tall - ready to bloom within a year, can be shipped
7 gal pot: 5-6 ft tall - ready to bloom, can be shipped
15 gal pot: 7-8 ft tall - have already bloomed, pick up or delivery*
25 gal pot: 10 ft tall - have already bloomed, pick up or delivery*
*Free delivery for qualified orders - contact us for delivery estimate.

Claim Your Joy Today - Own Your Perfume Champaka

Subscribe to our Channel:

Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!

Subscribe

Date:

What fruit can reduce your blood pressure?

Top ten tropical fruit that help reduce blood pressure

Q: Can you recommend trees which fruit are beneficial for balancing blood pressure? I have limited space, so I want to be selective and grow a food forest that truly supports my health.

A: You don't need to spend $$$ on doctors and medications to stay healthy and young. By eating right and adding a few powerful plants and fruits to your diet, you can naturally keep your blood pressure in check. If you plant them today - you can harvest your own medicine tomorrow. And don't forget - gardening itself is therapeutic! It keeps you active, reduces stress, and helps your whole body stay in balance.

💚 Top ten tropical fruit that help reduce blood pressure:

🍈 Jackfruit - Contains potassium and magnesium, which help relax blood vessels and regulate blood pressure.

🍉 Guava - Rich in potassium and fiber, supports vascular health and may help lower blood pressure.

🍊 Papaya - High in potassium and antioxidants, promoting healthy blood pressure.

🍌 Banana - Well-known for its high potassium content, which helps counteract sodium and lower blood pressure.

🍍 Pineapple - Contains potassium and bromelain, which may support circulation and reduce inflammation.

🍅 Persimmon - High in fiber and antioxidants, which can contribute to better heart and vascular function.

🍇 Mulberry - Contains resveratrol and other antioxidants linked to heart health and blood pressure support.

🥓Tamarind - Rich in potassium and fiber, may help regulate blood pressure and support arterial health.

🍑 Loquat - Contains potassium, aiding in fluid balance and blood pressure control.

🍒 Tropical Cherry (Eugenia) - Contains antioxidants and supports healthy circulation.

Shop tropical fruit trees that boost your health

Date:

How to grow cold-hardy avocados and how cold-hardy are they? Growing avocados in colder regions is possible with the right variety and care. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to grow cold-hardy avocados and how cold-hardy are they?

Cat is growing cold-hardy avocados

Cat is growing cold-hardy avocados

🥑 How to grow cold-hardy avocados and how cold-hardy are they?

Growing avocados in colder regions is possible with the right variety and care. By selecting Cold Hardy varieties, ensuring proper care, and taking protective steps during cold spells, you can successfully grow avocados outside of tropical climates.

The more established your tree, the better it will tolerate colder weather.

🌡 What is Avocado cold hardiness?

Avocados are sensitive to freezing temperatures but some Mexican varieties are cold-hardy, surviving temperatures as low as 15F once established. With proper care, some can endure brief cold snaps down to 10F.
  • 👉 Cold hardiness depends on several factors, including:

  • 🟢 Duration of cold: How long the tree is exposed to freezing temperatures.
  • 🟢 Sun exposure: Trees with more sunlight tend to handle cold better.
  • 🟢 Wind protection: Wind can make cold weather more damaging.
  • 🟢 Tree health: Proper care, including fertilization, can improve cold tolerance.


❄️ How to protect avocados from cold

If you're growing avocados in a cooler climate, it's essential to protect them from harsh cold. Here are some tips:
  • 🟢 Bigger is Better: Larger, more established trees are generally more cold-tolerant than young ones.
  • 🟢 Wind Protection: Cold winds can be more damaging than the temperature itself. Plant your avocado in a sheltered spot, such as on the south or southeast side of a building, where it’s protected from strong winds.
  • 🟢 Good Fertilization: A healthy tree is more likely to withstand cold. Make sure your avocado receives regular fertilization throughout the growing season to keep it strong.
  • 🟢 Watering: Avocados need regular watering, but during winter, they require much less water. Avoid overwatering, as this can lead to root rot in cold conditions.


✍️ Specific protection for young plants
  • 🟢 Covering and mulching: When a freeze is expected, mound mulch around the trunk to insulate the roots and cover the tree with a blanket for warmth. For extra protection, use Christmas lights or a small heater under the cover, following safety precautions.
  • 🟢 Microclimates matter: Plant your tree closer to a building for better cold protection. Placing it in the warmest part of your landscape will help it get more heat during winter.
  • 🟢 With proper care and protection, you can enjoy fresh avocados even in cooler climates!


🛒  Shop Cold Hardy Avocados

📚Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Avocado #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Next page >Most recent entryBlog table of contents