Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree

Q: I'm looking for a plant to replace a Torrey pine that was sadly cut down. The pine made the soil very acidic and it's already silty, sandy, and salty from being near a coastal marsh. I was thinking of a Kei Apple. However, there are only seeds available on the website and I'd prefer a sapling to get things started faster. Are there other trees you'd suggest for that environment?

A: Here are some fast growing salt tolerant trees that we can suggest, just to name a few: Bucida buceras - Florida Black Olive Tree, Callistemon citrinus - Weeping red Bottlebrush, Capparis cynophallophora - Jamaica Caper, Cassia fistula - Golden Shower Tree, Coccoloba uvifera - Sea Grape, Cordias, Delonix regia - Royal poinciana, Flamboyant, Elaeocarpus grandiflorus - Fairy Petticoats, Ficus lyrata - Fiddle-Leaf Ficus, Ficus religiosa - Bo-Tree, Peepal, Sacred Ficus, Mahoe, Peltophorum pterocarpum - Yellow Poinciana, Plumeria, Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree (shown on right). See full list of salt tolerant plants.

15% on all mango trees! This weekend only. Offer is valid through Sunday, June 26. See all mango varieties available.

New Top Tropicals Video

Top Tropicals Video - Pesticide 101 Safe and Easy. Top Tropicals Plant Clinic with Robert Riefer (Certified Crop Adviser, ISA Certified Arborist). Many people are afraid of using harsh chemicals. We will discuss some pests you may find in your garden and what you can do about them, including using easy and safe household remedies.

Check out this video: Pesticide 101 Safe and Easy.

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

Father's Day discount. A live plant is the most special gift for the Dad!
15% off coupon: FATHER2016 (plus usual 5% discount on top of this offer)
Enter discount code in shopping cart and click "recalculate"
Valid through end of the day of Sunday June 19, 2016. Minimum order $100 (excluding S&H). Not valid on previous purchases. You may also purchase a GIFT CERTIFICATE so he can select his favorite plant!

New Top Tropicals Video

Top Tropicals Video - Pesticide 101 Safe and Easy. Top Tropicals Plant Clinic with Robert Riefer (Certified Crop Adviser, ISA Certified Arborist). Many people are afraid of using harsh chemicals. We will discuss some pests you may find in your garden and what you can do about them, including using easy and safe household remedies.

Check out this video: Pesticide 101 Safe and Easy.

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

Father's Day discount. A live plant is the most special gift for the Dad!
15% off coupon: FATHER2016 (plus usual 5% discount on top of this offer)
Enter discount code in shopping cart and click "recalculate"
Valid through end of the day of Sunday June 19, 2016. Minimum order $100 (excluding S&H). Not valid on previous purchases. You may also purchase a GIFT CERTIFICATE so he can select his favorite plant!

Top Tropicals Video and Father's Day

Father's Day discount. A live plant is the most special gift for the Dad!
A fragrant jasmine is the best present ever.

15% off coupon: FATHER2016 (plus usual 5% discount on top of this offer)
Enter discount code in shopping cart and click "recalculate"
Valid through end of the day of Sunday June 19, 2016. Minimum order $100 (excluding S&H). Not valid on previous purchases.
You may also purchase a GIFT CERTIFICATE so he can select his favorite plant!

The most wanted tropical plant. Do you want to know what is the most wanted tropical plant ever? We are revealing a secret, because this plant... was a creator of Top Tropicals. There is the reason why every gardener wants to have this plant! The fragrance is so wonderful, it will attract you like a bee to a honey and make you feel GOOD! This video contains a unique information - a guide to different varieties of this fascinating plant.

Check out this video: Jasminum Sambac - Absolute Flower.

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

How to get Clerodendrum to bloom?

Q: My Clerodendrum thomsoniae is not blooming. Actually it is not doing much of anything except putting out weak growth and small leaves. I purchased this plant May 26. 2015. Over the winter it was in a heated sunroom, at night 60 degrees, where it received some direct sun from the skylights. I reduced the water to prevent excessive leggy growth. I don't see how this plant can take full sun or even part sun. Temps here in Raleigh NC are 80-85 degrees and 65-70 at night, at the moment. I figured I would gradually expose it to more direct sun after being in a sunroom but the leaves burn. I had this plant in San Jose many years ago where it did quite well, blooming with no special treatment. So thought I'd give it a try again. Any advice?

A: Clerodendrums are all time favorites, appreciated by both gardeners and house plant collectors, for their showy, fragrant flowers and very easy culture. When growing Bleeding Heart (Clerodendrum thomsoniae), a few things should be taken in consideration:

1. Temperature.Like most clerodendrums, this plant is semi-decidious outside of tropics and goes dormant in winter. It may lose some or all leaves if temperatures drop below 60-65F. It is not too cold sensitive, the plant can even take some light freeze. However when it is not hot and humid, it slows down metabolism. This means, water should be reduced during cooler months.
2. Light. This plant can grow in both sun and shade like most clerodendrums - this is the beauty of this genus. However like with all flowering plants, more sun promotes more bloom. In shade, it will grow beautiful dark green foliage (leaves will be bigger than in the sun) on the account of flowering; in full sun leaves turn lighter color and sometimes may even get unattractive "faded" look, but flowering will be profuse. Also remember that Arizona full sun is different than New York full sun. Here in Florida, Bleeding Heart can take some full sun, but if exposed to sun all day long, leaves often get sun burn.
3. Acclimation. Also called acclimatization - this is a process when a living organism adjusts to environment changes. Acclimation is always the case when growing plants indoors, even in a sun room. When Spring comes, and especially when we start taking outdoors those plants that have spent a few months indoors, light level increases dramatically, and this may cause leaf loss, and leaf burn. It is not necessarily a bad thing, it is just a mechanism of acclimation. Example: imagine yourself after living in a warm tropical climate, moving to a cold country. For a while your body will feel discomfort from "too much cold", while native residents may feel comfortable. We call it "My blood has thinned after living in Florida" - and this is a physiological fact. And vice versa, if you are a Northerner, moving to hot climate may be a challenge; it will take a while until you get used to hot and humid tropical summers. Same thing with plants: during cooler and darker period, their body (leaves and stems) becomes "winter type", with some serious chemical restructuring. Immediate environment change, like bright light and high temperature, causes a shock to those "winter cells", and as a defense mechanism, the plant gets rid of those useless "winter" leaves, replacing them with new "summer" leaves with completely new chemistry and metabolism.

From what you described, you know your plants, and you know what you are doing. You did everything right by reducing watering in winter and gradually moving the plant into brighter light. You still may see some stress, and this is normal. If you patiently keep changing environment slowly, eventually your plant will generate new healthy "summer" growth, it will also improve more vigorous root grown which will help the plant to establish better and to be stronger. You will see larger, thicker leaves, and definitely some flowers.

Desert rose winter care

Q: I purchased several pockets of desert rose seeds last year . I now have 45 very healthy seedlings some of them in bud. Almost all of my seeds grew but I lost most of them when I rook them in during winter. I did not water them for a month , kept them in their pots and set them by the window. they either dried up and died or rotted and died. I noticed when you send me grafted specimens that you bareroot them. Is this a better way to keep them inside in winter, bareroot? I hate to lose these plants come winter time. Pls advise me. I live in Houston, Tx. where we get temps below 40 degrees and sometime a day or more of freezing temps.

A: Thank you for your question. Rot is pretty common problem with Desert Roses. We monitor our Adeniums closely and have a special set up of watering environment and schedule, in dedicated greenhouses just for them. Nevertheless - every now and then we see a rotten caudex and can't help it to say "oops! over-watered!" These plants are very sensitive to environment changes, especially when it comes to a combination of water and temperature. These are a few tips that should help you to reduce risk of plant loss to a minimum:

1) Use only well drained mix with much higher content of perlite than you would use for most tropical plants. For adeniums, we use mix with 30-40% of perlite in it, while regular mix has 10-15%.

2) Adeniums like alkaline soil, unlike most of tropical plants (hard to say what else likes alkaline... Ficus for sure!). This means, regular mix with high content of peat moss may cause root rot. To increase alkalinity, you may add dolomite. Here in Florida where we have natural supply of shell rock handy, it is easy to add some shell to a potting mix (shell sand, rather than quartz sand). We always add a few large shells on top of a pots with a big specimen. Besides increasing soil pH (making it more alkaline), shells look very decorative.

3) Water very carefully during cooler months. When it is hot (85-100F), excessive water usually won't harm adeniums: it will be partially used by a plant, and partially will evaporate. Especially be careful with water when temperatures drop below 65F - then tropical plants simply stop growing process and go dormant. Once adeniums start losing leaves, this is a sign to reduce watering to once a week to once a month, and in very small quantity (couple tablespoons per pot).

4) We do not bareroot adeniums for winter storage. They are not bulbs. Barerooting of this plant is recommended only during shipping. Adeniums can stay without soil for up to a week without hardly any stress, sometimes even longer.

5) We keep our big collection specimens on a roofed porch during winter, where level of light is very low. Last winter we haven't lost a single plant due to low light. They take shade pretty well considering minimum or no water. However bright light is always better - it creates healthier environment for a plant. We all know about space limitations for our large collections, especially in winter. So if you can afford a bright spot for adenium during winter - the plant will be lucky!

Adenium Summer Sale: 20% off plants and seeds!

Memorial day and week-after discounts

Memorial day discounts. . Our Memorial weekend special offers:

1. Remember to use discount coupons
2. off for orders over $100 (excluding S&H): MEMORIAL15
3. off for orders over $200 (excluding S&H): MEMORIAL20

codes are valid till end of day Monday, May 30, 2016.

2) 50% off! - on many interesting rare plants. Check out offers below. Offer ends at the end of day Monday, May 30, 2016.

3) 75% off! - extended discount for local walk-in customers only, on those items listed below. Just print out and bring this email with you, and enjoy 75% off on these plants, what a deal! While supply lasts. Offer ends by end of the week: Saturday June 4.
NEW! Attention Garden Center visitors: for your shopping convenience in our Nursery, print this locations map with QR code to find plant and check price using your smartphone while shopping.

See all offers and sales. Happy Memorial Weekend!

Memorial day discounts

Memorial day discounts.
15% for orders over $100 (excluding S&H): MEMORIAL15
20% for orders over $200 (excluding S&H): MEMORIAL20
codes are valid till end of day Monday, May 30, 2016.

Everyone who has seen and smelled this flower was delighted by its beauty and instantly became a passionate admirer of the purity and essence of this magical flower. The virgin white, waxy blossoms with sweet intoxicating fragrance bring memories of exotic tropical islands, the night sky turns darker, the stars shine brighter, and the sound of the ocean comes into your mind. There has always been a reason Gardenia was a beloved flower of our grandparents at all times. Along with Camellia, Gardenia was the most praised late bloomer of the 19th century... Read more about Gardenias in Tropical Treasures magazine Issue#8.

Welcome to the world of Gardenias - how to grow them and make them happy. With these few little secrets you will have amazing fragrant beauties blooming most of the year in your garden, or as potted specimens of your indoor/container rare plant collection.

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

See full list of our gardenias.

Gemini - 5/21-6/20. Ruled by the mutable, changeable planet Mercury (also patron of the art of medicine), Gemini is an AIR sign. Plants ruled by Mercury tend to have ferny or highly-divided leaves or stems (like the bronchi of lungs), hairy or fuzzy leaves (related to the cilia in the lungs), or subtle odors.

Gemini rules the lungs, shoulders, arms, and hands. Its plants help to strengthen the lungs and respiratory system, relax the nervous system, strengthen ears and hearing, the tongue and speaking, the vocal cords, lungs and thyroid, as well as the shoulders, arms, and hands. Gemini has so much going on mentally that they may need a little help to digest all the information they're constantly absorbing. Herbs that have clean, pure flavor not only help physical digestion, but assist spiritual and mental intake as well.

Gemini Zodiac lucky plants: Ferns, Blechnum, Tree ferns and Cyatheas, Fern Tree, Aralias, Jackfruit and Breadfruit, Paulownia, Anthurium, Philodendron, Philadelphus, Clerodendrums, Anise, Lavender, Myrtle, Nut trees, Macadamia, Ficus, Piggyback plant - Tolmiea menziesii, Aloe vera, Fig, Honeysuckle, Azalea, Mint Tree Satureja, Vitex, Ironwood, Mulberry, Osmoxylon, Acalypha, Allamanda, Aphelandra, Iboza, Ruda, Kiwi, Caesalpinia, Cyphomandra, Monstera, Kalanchoe, Magnolia, Oregano, Ocimum, Naranjilla, Zamia, Delionix, Acacias, Calliandra, Patchoili, Palms, Geranium, Grevillea, Eucalyptus.

For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.

Q: I live in California and about a month ago ordered several plants from you, including fruit trees (Carambola, Mango, Avocado) and flowering trees (Xanthostemon, Adeniums, Champaca, Ylang Ylang). They were all doing well until I tried to move them into full sun, when they got leaf burn immediately. Ylang Ylang was doing great in a shade, but I repotted it from 1 gal into 3 gal and it is drooping leaves now. It has been very hot (over 100F) and dry (humidity is less than 25%). Any suggestions?

A: Hot summer can be pretty challenging time for establishing new plants. These are some guidelines to make your summer gardening more successful and rewarding.

1. You can order plants at any time, but keep your eye on your local weather forecast and try to chose cooler periods to schedule your plant shipments. Here at TopTropcals we monitor weather at destinations, and we can also delay shipment per your request until more favorable conditions.
2. During hot Summer months, many plants are still OK to ship, and to be planted, many species are heat tolerant. It's usually safe to ship most succulents, including Desert roses and Euphorbias. Some fruit trees are pretty easy too, like Loquats, Mango, Eugenias. Many flowering trees can take heat: Acacias, Clusias, Jatropha, Sausage Tree, Plumerias and many others. Check our full list of plants suitable for hot and dry conditions. Most jasmines, including Jasmine Sambac and Trachelospermum make also a safe choice for hot weather planting.
3. Use shade cloth or simply white sheets to protect young plants and new plantings from hot sun.
4. When establishing mail ordered plants during hot weather, keep them in shade for longer period of time than average recommended 1-2 weeks. Give them a chance to establish really well. In areas with low air humidity, try to create a simple mist system. It can be purchased in your local Home Depot for only $20 and set up takes only 10 minutes! It makes a big difference and can help you save many plants from hot weather stress.
5. Although it may seem that during hot weather plants need more water due to high evaporation, be careful with watering, and check soil with your finger before watering - don't water if it is still wet. Combination of "hot and wet" can be as harmful for the root system as "cold and wet" during winter. Protect root systems from overheating: covering black pots with white cloth will work. Remember when temperature is above 90F, most of plants slow down their metabolism, which means roots slow down or even stop pumping water and become more vulnerable to overwatering. For the same reason, do not hurry to step up into bigger container if roots haven't filled yet the existing pot.