Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
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Attention California gardeners:
New additions to CA list
Photo above: Exotic Stags Horn Fern - Platycerium x Netherlands - that everyone wants to have in their tropical plant collection. We have large developed plants in stock.
More plants added to the list certified for shipping to California
Top Tropicals ships plants Nationwide and Worldwide. We are certified
for shipping to all 50 states including California which has very strict
agricultural regulations from the State.
Additional plant list certified for shipping to California has been
approved, and you can check a few updates at the end of this email. As usual, some
items are limited quantity while many people have been waiting for them to be
approved for shipping. So hurry up, first come, first serve!
Remember to always pay attention if a plant is certified for CA
shipment.
Please note that in addition to our company annual certification approved
by USDA, we are sending a Phyto Certificate with every plant shipment!
Photo above: Xanthosoma albo-marginata - Mickey Mouse Taro - one of most unusual plants in cultivation, a show stopper! This plant is thought to be a mutation of a species or even a possible hybrid. The leaves are never identical most are streaked with large blotches of white on dark blue green leaves. Leaves will develop a small cup like pocket at the leaf tip, and grow horizontally. It is always a conversation piece in the garden.
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Easy Sunday Morning Deals: Sweet Dragon or Sweet Cherry?.. Both!
Sweet Dragon or Sweet Cherry?.. Both!
Photo above: Biquinho Pepper (Capsicum annuum x chinense) - nipple-shaped bright orange to red fruits with unique flavor which packs quite a bang!
Not because of its heat, but because of its intense fruity habanero flavor!
Saving on your favorite plants is Easy. Easy like Sunday Morning...
This weekend we celebrate our Easy Sunday and Cyber Monday together!
So we've doubled your opportunity to Save AND we've added a second beautiful plant to help you save even more!
Take an extra day to enjoy your Easy stroll through Top Tropicals' Garden with savings of
50% OFF and MORE!
For two days only, you can easily get the sweetest variety of the Dragon Fruit and add a super rare variety of Tropical Black Cherry Lolita to your garden!
Both plants Easy Priced at $19, that's a savings of more than 50% from the regular $39 price!
Learn more about these plants:
Yellow Dragon Fruit
Selenicereus megalanthus - Yellow Pitaya, Dragon Fruit
- is the best tasting Dragon Fruit in the world that is not only sweet, it
has a great flavor (unlike most Pitayas that are pretty watery).
These plants originated from Ecuador and are well-developed, multi-branched, as you can see from the photo.
Picture of the actual plants for sale:
Lolita Cherry
Eugenia uniflora - Black Surinam Cherry Lolita
- rare, hard-to-find black-fruited variety Surinam Cherry starts as red and turns black as it ripens.
It is very sweet and has exceptional flavor, without aftertaste, large 1-1.2 inch, very juicy.
Reliable producer. The tree is upright, freely branching, cold hardy to upper
20's once established.
Plants are in 2 gal pots, well branched and ready to fruit next season.
Picture of the actual plants for sale:
You can save even more by using our Black Friday sales discount code on your order:
FRIDAY20 - 20% OFF - for orders over $200
FRIDAY15 - 15% OFF - for orders over $150
FRIDAY10 - 10% OFF - for orders over $100
Excluding S&H. Codes extended through Monday: 11/29/21
Remember, the special $19 prices are good for only 48
hours and expire Tuesday morning at 7 am EST.
Limited to availability, while supply lasts, hurry up!
Enjoy!
Date:
Winter is coming tips
Reminder from Kristi, the Tropical Flower Girl
As the weather gets cooler, many of you move your potted tropical plants
indoors. Please remember:
1. Leaf drop. Lower air humidity, lower light and short day may
cause some leaf drop. This is normal for seasonal environment change.
2. Reduce watering as it gets cooler and darker. Under lower light
and in cooler temperature, plants won't need much water; some plants go dormant and only need minimum water (so soil doesn't completely dry out). Excess water may damage roots and kill a plant in winter.
3. No dry fertilizer in winter. Active growth stops. Let the plant
to go into dormancy or simply have a rest. You can continue liquid Sunshine Boosters according to regular dosage chart with every
watering. Since the watering is reduced, the plants will get only as much food as
needed for getting through the winter.
4. Watch for insects by inspecting leaves regularly. They may attack
plants more likely in the indoor conditions. You may use organic NoBug insecticide especially for your indoor plants.
Stay Warm!
In the photo: Mr Big and Zoe-the-Scooby-Doo sharing a warm tub with Emerald Peperonia.
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Carambola - the Star of the orchard
from seed to flower... in less than 2 years?
by Ed Jones, the Booster guy
...My story starts on Dec. 2, 2019 when a co-worker brought a bag of
carambola. Well, being a crazy plant person, and being still fairly new to
Florida, you know I had to save a seed and plant it, right? Why not, it just might
grow. If it does, I may get my own star fruit someday. But when? Google
tells me that it takes 3 - 8 years to get fruit from a carambola that is planted
from seed. OK, I am good with 3 years....8, not so much, but I was willing to
give it a shot... Not really knowing what to expect, I planted just one
salvaged seed in some potting soil in a coffee cup and placed in on a shelf on
our lanai...
...Here is a picture of that plant FLOWERING and ready to fruit, taken at
the end of October 2021... Now, read the whole story...
CONTINUE READING >>
Grafted Carambola Trees available from our store are ready to flower and fruit right away. Some of them start fruiting right in a pot!
Date:
7 reasons to get an Aroid Houseplant
1. It's almost Winter... You need something tropical in your home! Aroids have the most tropical look!
2. Aroids tolerate low light conditions of indoors.
3. Aroids require almost no care. Care is easy because if you watch for the
signals, the plant will tell you exactly what it needs
4. Aroids adapt to wide range of conditions. Many of them thrive in neglect
and survive even in sub-optimal conditions... Unlike most tropicals, Aroids
don't experience much stress when moving from indoor to outdoor settings and adapt readily to conditions inside the home.
5. Aroids are compact and easy to manage.
6. Aroids are fast growing while still being compact.
7. They are on sale now!
Check out our Philodendrons, Monsteras, Fancy Syngoniums, Alocasias, Colocasias.
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Philodendrons: from the Magic Rainforest...
by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
...Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and
the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines
have been discovered there... One of the most excellent representative of
this green world is a Philodendron... Taxonomically, the genus Philodendron is
still poorly known, with many undescribed species...
...Philodendron care is easy because if you watch for the signals, the
plant will tell you exactly what it needs. Even inexperienced houseplant owners
will have no trouble growing philodendron plants because the plants adapt
readily to conditions inside the home. This makes learning how to care for a
philodendron incredibly simple...
CONTINUE READING >>
Date:
Cat of the Week:
Snitch, the Garden Boy
...According to the National survey, 80% of cats suffer misunderstanding from humans: "Every time I try to have a serious talk with him, he simply gives me food" - this was the most common opinion among cats who took the survey...
See more: TopTropicals PeopleCats
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Yerba Mate Tea from Argentina
(llex paraguariensis)
by Ed Jones, the Booster guy
...My first introduction to Yerba Mate happened many years ago when my stepson returned home for a visit after graduating from college and then touring with a vocal group from the school. One of the stops on their tour included the country of Argentina. While there, they took in the local customs, one of those being the sharing of a cup of tea made from this tree. He brought a bag of the dried tea home along with a special vessel that is used to steep and drink the concoction and gave it to my wife as a gift...
CONTINUE READING >>
...Yerba Mate is high in antioxidants, contains 24 vitamins and minerals and several amino acids...Find out more...
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How to grow a nice Olive tree fast?
by Ed Jones, the Booster guy
Q: I got an Olive tree from you a few months ago, planted in the ground and it is doing well, but I don't see any active growth. The tree looks healthy but still about the same size when I planted it in June. I'm old and I want to see the olives sooner than later. Any suggestions, should I give it some fertilizer?
A: Olive trees are relatively slow growers, however, with balanced nutrition they can grow much faster, as fast as a few feet per year. Check out this Article by Ed Jones where he describes how he grew nice, bushy Olive trees just within one season with a help of Sunshine Boosters fertilizers. The article shows in details how to properly use liquid fertilizer on your fruit trees.
CONTINUE READING >>
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Is Ugly Betty mango ugly or awesome?
A note from our customer
"...Hello my name is Gary, I bought your Ugly Betty Mango tree a little over a year ago. When I saw your photo I thought to myself why are they calling this mango ugly Betty? It doesn't look ugly at all to me. It was a deep yellowish orange with a little red to it round so what is so ugly about it? Once the fruit started developing on my tree I thought - now I understand, it's such an odd shape! However, it looks nothing like your photo and personally I thought this mango should be called Awesome Mango! I did not find it ugly at all. Here's a photo of what you call an ugly mango Betty..."
Sunshine Mango Tango.
Plant Food for every Mango to be Awesome
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Soil, media, substrate or just plain dirt, which is correct?
by Ed Jones, the Booster guy
...Dirt. What is it really and does it matter what you use to grow your plants? What is the right dirt for growing plants? In the growing industry, we refer to it as soil, media or substrate. In the real world, we just call it dirt. But is it? Is it just dirt or is it something special? We will try to give some good insight in this article...
CONTINUE READING >>
Date:
New Video:
Secrets of Longevity
Best Hot Humid Weather Spinach Crops:
Longevity and Okinawa Spinach
by David Mortimer, Tropical Edibles Expert
...This video is all about the greens. Most find it difficult to grow vegetables year round in hot climates. In this video we show you two different spinach varieties that not only handle the heat but thrive in it...
Even more: Longevity Spinach recipes!
...Can healthy food taste delicious? Healthy Longevity Spinach... it tastes like... spinach. You can add it to your salads, but let's face it, you can only eat so much of... a salad. So try it cooked!..
CONTINUE READING >>
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Bottlebrush to Little John
or the story of a Dwarf Plant
by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
...Bottlebrush... Bottle washing brushes... Nowadays, it is hard to
imagine a more outdated concept! For reuse, all glass containers have been
cleaned industrially for many years. Young people have never even heard of,
especially used, such a thing. Nevertheless, Bottlebrush not only lives, but is
often used by many people. In today's world, Bottlebrushes are not brushes at all, but... beautiful ornamental plants!..
...This plant was originally selected as a chance seedling in the 1980s by
Ken Dunstan of Alstonville, New South Wales and was also called Callistemon
Alstonville Dwarf, Tom Thumb and, at last, Little John. They said that the
choice of this name was the song "Little John, Bottle John" by the American singer and songwritter Terry Grosvenor on lyrics by Laura E. Richard. Little John was the 1986 Shrub of the Year in Australia and was originally introduced as a plant that only grew to 3ft tall...
CONTINUE READING >>
Date:
New Video:
Shaping your Mango Trees
by Ed Jones, the Mango Guy (and the Boosters Guy)
Learn how to shape your mango trees using a technique known as tipping. Tipping your mangos will help to develop more branches and will give the tree more places to flower and produce fruit.
See more by Ed Jones:
How to prune mango trees for best shape and production
...Why should you prune your mango trees? There are at least 3
reasons.
1. A good foundation is the key to strong growth and a shapely tree.
2. If you get your mango tree started off on the right foot with a strong
foundation, it becomes much easier to keep it shaped nicely.
3. It will be forced to produce more branches allowing for more places for
fruit production.
CONTINUE READING >>
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!
See all available mango varieties from our store.
Date:
Flowering vine around garage trellis
Q: I want to grow flowering vines up and around my garage; however I want to make sure whatever I put will grow long enough to make it all the way around the top. I attached photo of my garage and where I mounted the bolts for the trellis. What plants do you recommend for doing something like this that will eventually grow long enough to complete the arch over the garage? Right now I have mandevillas there but I know they aren't the right species. I know bougainvilleas will work, but I was hoping to do something less thorny since it's near the walkway.
A: There are several vines that can fit your project. These are just a few suggestions:
1017 Aristolochia gigantea - Giant Pelican Flower
Camptosema grandiflora - Dwarf Red Jade Vine
Cissus
rotundifolia - Arabian Wax Leaf (very fast glowing)
Clerodendrum speciosum - Red Bleeding Heart
Clitoria ternatea - Blue Butterfly Pea (very fast glowing)
Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans
Senecio confusus - Mexican flame vine
Stictocardia beraviensis - Hawaiian Sunset Bell (very fast glowing)
Thunbergia alata var. aurea Sunlady
Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine
Trachelospermum jasminoides - Confederate Jasmine
Urechites lutea - Yellow Mandevilla
Check out full list of flowering vines
Photo above: Clerodendrum speciosum - Red Bleeding Heart
Photo above: Senecio confusus - Mexican flame vine
Photo above: Clitoria ternatea - Blue Butterfly Pea
Photo above: Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine