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Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough

Mango Wise tree with fruit on it

🌈 Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough.

🥭 Mango Wise is a forgotten gem from the golden age of mango breeding in South Florida. Originating in Miami during the post-1930s boom of cultivar development, it was once part of a wave of exciting new introductions. Over time, many of these excellent varieties faded from commercial propagation, despite having outstanding eating qualities. Wise stands out with its nearly round fruit, minimal to no fiber, and rich, juicy sweetness. It's a smart, flavorful choice that deserves a comeback in Florida gardens.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Finally: a sugar that is good for your health! Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) - the Brown Sugar fruit that loves you back with a health kick! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Finally: a sugar that is good for your health!

Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) - the Brown Sugar fruit tree

🍯 Finally: a sugar that is good for your health!
  • 🍩 Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) - the Brown Sugar fruit that loves you back with a health kick! Sapodilla is a delicious tropical fruit with soft, brown, sweet flesh and a malty, caramel-like flavor. It's loved not just for its unique taste, but also for its rich nutritional and medicinal value. Sapodilla is a sweet, nourishing fruit that doubles as a natural energy snack and a digestive aid.


🍴 Culinary Benefits: The sweet you don't have to feel guilty about!
  • 🍩 Eaten fresh - Just scoop the flesh out and enjoy! Tastes like brown sugar or caramel with a hint of pear.
  • 🍩 Smoothies and shakes - Adds creamy sweetness without the need for added sugar.
  • 🍩 Desserts - Used in ice cream, custards, or fruit salads.
  • 🍩 Jams, preserves - Makes a rich, flavorful jam.
  • 🍩 Dried sapodilla - Can be sun-dried like dates for a chewy, candy-like snack.


💚 Sapodilla's Health Benefits:
  • 🍩 Rich in fiber - Helps regulate digestion, prevent constipation, and support gut health.
  • 🍩 Natural energy booster - High in natural sugars and calories, great for quick energy.
  • 🍩 Packed with antioxidants - Contains polyphenols and flavonoids that help fight inflammation and cell damage.
  • 🍩 Vitamins A, C - Supports eye health, immune function, and skin regeneration.
  • 🍩 Iron, potassium, and folate - Supports blood health and may help maintain heart function and blood pressure.


🛒 Grow your own Sugar Fruit

📚 Learn more:
When does Sapodilla start fruiting and what is the best variety
New variety of Sapodilla: Thai Brownie

#Food_Forest #Discover

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How to produce my own vanilla? Secrets of Vanilla pollination finally revealed! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to produce my own vanilla?

💡 How to produce my own vanilla?

🫘 Secrets of Vanilla pollination finally revealed!
Vanilla is the World's most popular flavor and one of the most expensive spices and flavorings.
Every tropical gardener wants to have a vanilla plant and of course the most common question they ask - how to make my vanilla produce vanilla for me? In this video we will show you how:
📱

🛒 Shop Vanilla Bean Orchids

📚 Learn more:

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Food_Forest #How_to

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What banana fits anywhere? Meet the world's smallest banana tree - big flavor in a tiny package What banana fits anywhere? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What banana fits anywhere? Meet the worlds smallest banana tree - big flavor in a tiny package

Banana Truly Tiny

🔥 What banana fits anywhere? Meet the world's smallest banana tree - big flavor in a tiny package
  • 🪴 Banana Truly Tiny is one of the most in-demand banana plants for collectors, small-space gardeners, and anyone who wants to grow bananas indoors. Here's why:
  • 🪴 World's Smallest Banana Plant: As the name suggests, it’s the most compact edible banana variety. It grows just 2-3 feet tall, making it perfect for apartments, balconies, or desktops.
  • 🪴 Edible Mini Bananas: Yes, it produces real, sweet, snack-sized bananas - not just an ornamental plant! The fruit is delicious and just the right size for kids or snacking.
  • 🪴 Perfect for Containers: Its dwarf size makes it ideal for pots. You don’t need a yard or greenhouse - just a sunny window or patio.
  • 🪴 Cute, Decorative, and Functional: It’s both a conversation piece and a fruit producer. Great for gifts, collectors, and home décor.
  • 🪴 Indoor-Friendly: One of the few banana plants that thrives indoors with good light and care. It also stays manageable and won’t outgrow your space.
  • 🪴 Fast-Growing and Fun: Like other bananas, it grows quickly and is exciting to watch - perfect for kids, first-time growers, and anyone who wants a rewarding plant.
  • 🪴 Why Everyone Wants Truly Tiny? Because it’s the cutest banana plant in the world, and it actually produces fruit! Whether you're a collector or just want something exotic and productive in a small space, Truly Tiny is in a league of its own.


🛒 Get Truly Tiny - the cutest banana you'll ever grow!

📚 Learn more about #Bananas

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Discover

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Discover the health benefits of Katuk: a Superfood for your mind and body Discover the health benefits of Katuk: a Superfood for your mind and body Katuk, or Tropical Asparagus (Sauropus androgynus), is a delicious leafy vegetable popular in South and Southeast Asia. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Discover the health benefits of Katuk: a Superfood for your mind and body

Katuk,Tropical Asparagus - Sauropus androgynus

🏆 Discover the health benefits of Katuk: a Superfood for your mind and body
  • 🌿 Katuk, or Tropical Asparagus (Sauropus androgynus), is a delicious leafy vegetable popular in South and Southeast Asia. Its young shoots, often referred to as tropical asparagus, are highly prized for their taste and high yields.
  • 🌿 In Vietnam, Katuk is commonly cooked in soups with crab meat, minced pork, or dried shrimp, while in Malaysia, it’s stir-fried with egg and dried anchovies.
  • 🌿 The plant is unique for being one of the few plants that contains vitamin K. It’s also rich in folate, vitamin K, and lutein - nutrients linked to improved memory and reduced cognitive aging.
  • 🌿 Katuk thrives in full sun or semi-shade, making it a versatile and healthy addition to your garden or kitchen.


Lean more:
📚 Tropical Asparagus, Katuk: Grow your own food
📱 How to cook with Katuk

🛒 Add Katuk Superfood to your edible garden today

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover

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How to double your banana crop without extra space How to double your banana crop without extra space Double Mahoi - is a Cavendish banana variety that typically produces a double stalk of bananas in its second year, boosting the harvest. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to double your banana crop without extra space

Banana Double Mahoi

🍌 How to double your banana crop without extra space
  • 🍌 Double Mahoi - is a Cavendish banana variety that typically produces a double stalk of bananas in its second year, boosting the harvest. It is one of the most popular banana varieties for home growers - and for good reason! Here's what makes it so great:
  • 🍌 Double the Fruit: After the first fruiting, this variety often produces a second flower stalk - two harvests from one plant, which is rare among bananas.
  • 🍌 Heavy Producer: Known for large, dense bunches of sweet, dessert-type bananas. One plant can produce up to 100 bananas per cycle!
  • 🍌 Dwarf Size: Grows only about 6 to 8 feet tall, making it perfect for smaller yards, containers, or even patios.
  • 🍌 Tasty Fruit: The bananas are sweet, soft, and flavorful, similar to the classic Cavendish but often fresher and more satisfying.
  • 🍌 Self-Pollinating & Reliable: Easy to grow, doesn't need another plant to fruit, and performs well with basic care.
  • 🍌 Great for Containers: Compact growth and fast fruiting make it ideal for container growing - even indoors with enough light.
  • 🍌 Fast Fruiting: Can begin producing in 12-18 months under good conditions.
  • 🍌 Why everyone wants Double Mahoi Banana? Because it's the most productive dwarf banana for home gardens. You get lots of fruit, it doesn't take up much space, and you can grow it in almost any warm climate - or in a pot anywhere else. Double Mahoi is the go-to banana for gardeners who want reliable harvests in a small footprint.


🛒 Grow twice the Bananas - plant Double Mahoi

📚 Learn more about #Bananas

#Food_Forest #Discover

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Why Hummingbird Tree? Why is Sesbania grandiflora (Hummingbird Tree) so popular? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why Hummingbird Tree?

Sesbania grandiflora (Hummingbird Tree)

🦜 Why Hummingbird Tree?
  • 🍥 Why is Sesbania grandiflora (Hummingbird Tree) so popular? Because it's as useful as it is beautiful. This small, fast-growing tree stands out with its striking, bird-shaped flowers and incredible versatility:
  • 🍥 Ornamental beauty: The large flowers (ivory-white or red) resemble little birds and bloom in abundance, creating a floral canopy from fall through summer.
  • 🍥 Edible flowers and leaves: Used in curries, salads, and even fried in batter. Tender leaves and green fruits are also eaten in Southeast Asian cuisine.
  • 🍥 Fast-growing, flood-tolerant: Great for reforestation, shade, or as a quick ornamental tree for wet or challenging areas.
  • 🍥 Medicinal: Every part of the plant is used: bark for fiber and medicine, flowers for food, wood for light construction, gum for fishing lines, and even as natural pest control.
  • 🍥 It's a food plant, a medicine cabinet, a garden centerpiece, and a support system for other plants - all in one tree. That's why gardeners, farmers, and chefs all love the Hummingbird Tree.


🛒 Get an edible Hummingbird Tree

📚 Learn more about Sesbanias:
Black flowered Sesbania
Hummingbird trss: you can eat the whole tree!

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Butterfly_Plants #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

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Stunning kaleidoscope of Nancy Tree Stunning kaleidoscope of Nancy Tree Look at this beautiful kaleidoscope of colors! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Stunning kaleidoscope of Nancy Tree

Nancy Tree, Golden Spoon, Nance (Byrsonima crassifolia)

🎆 Stunning kaleidoscope of Nancy Tree
  • 🎇 Look at this beautiful kaleidoscope of colors! The flowers of the Nancy Tree glow in vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red, creating a stunning display that lights up any garden. What a breathtaking tree! But it’s not just about beauty - the fruits of the Nancy Tree are not only delicious but also has health benefits.
  • 🎇Nancy Tree (Byrsonima crassifolia), also known as Golden Spoon or Nance, is a stunning medium-sized tree with round crown and glorious flowers, transitioning from yellow to orange and red as they age, make it a true standout.
  • 🎇Native to tropical and subtropical climates, the Nancy Tree is not commonly seen in cultivation, making it a rare gem for plant lovers. The fruits are a tasty treat that can be enjoyed fresh or cooked, often used in desserts, soups, or as stuffing for meats.
  • 🎇

  • The roots and stems of the Nancy Tree have antibacterial properties, giving it a natural medicinal edge.
  • 🎇Nancy Tree is highly drought-tolerant, making it an excellent choice for water-wise gardens.
  • 🎇Perfect for those seeking a colorful, health-boosting, and low-maintenance tree, the Nancy Tree is a must-have for tropical and subtropical landscapes.


🛒 Add colorful Nancy Tree to your garden today

#Food_Forest

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Which Banana has red fruit and leaves? Banana Bordelon - Red Leaves, Red Fruit, Real Wow! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Which Banana has red fruit and leaves?

Banana Bordelon

🥕 Which Banana has red fruit and leaves?
  • 💃 Banana Bordelon - Red Leaves, Red Fruit, Real Wow!

  • Not just leaves - this banana bears red fruit too!
  • 💃 Banana Bordelon is a show-stopping ornamental AND edible HARDY banana that gardeners love for its bold look and surprising resilience.

  • Here's why it's in high demand:
  • 💃 Striking Red-Striped Leaves: The main attraction is its dramatic foliage - large green leaves boldly striped with deep red. It instantly adds a tropical, exotic flair to any garden.
  • 💃 Tall and Impressive: Grows 10-15 feet tall, making it a fantastic focal point or privacy screen in warm climates.
  • 💃 Hardy for an Ornamental: Despite its tropical look, 'Bordelon' is more cold-tolerant than many bananas. With protection, it survives mild winters and can even flower and fruit in zone 8b and up.
  • 💃 Flowers and Fruits: It's not just eye candy. With proper care and winter protection, Bordelon produces deep purple flowers and striking red fruit - a rare and beautiful bonus in ornamental bananas.
  • 💃 Native Charm: Originally discovered in Bordelonville, Louisiana, it's adapted to Southern gardens and thrives in warm, humid conditions.
  • 💃 Why everyone wants Bordelone Banana? Because it's both beautiful and tough. Bordelon brings color, height, and a tropical vibe to any landscape - and unlike many ornamentals, it can survive a chilly season and still reward you with vibrant foliage, flowers, and fruit. It’s perfect for collectors, Southern gardeners, and anyone who wants bold impact with low maintenance.


🛒 Bring home Bordelon: the Banana that paints your garden RED!

📚 Learn more about #Bananas

#Food_Forest #Discover

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