In the photo: James Coconuts and Riki are purrfectly
hot People!
Not too warm on the way to your home? No problem! Heat Pack will help your plants to have a safe and warm trip from Top
Tropicals to your house.
Heat Pack
maintains warm temperature while shipping, and is good for 20+ hours. It is a
must if temperature drops below 40F in your area. Large orders require 2-3
packs. When ordering large 3-7 gal size plants (especially sensitive
ultra-tropical plants), you may need 1 pack per plant. Contact us for more information on
particular species.
Alternatively, we can
include a warm cat!
(subject to limited supply)
Vietnamese Mickey Mouse Plant...
Hoa Mai - for good luck!
Ochna integerrima (thomasiana)
What is the yellow flower that brings good luck on Vietnamese New Year (Tet) Celebration? Why is it called Mickey
Mouse Plant?
The most celebrated flower in Vietnam, Ochna integerrima, called in Vietnam Hoa Mai
or Mai Vang, blooms profusely on the occasion of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. Commonly known as Yellow Mai Flower (Hoa Mai literally means
"yellow blossoms"), this plant is considered the quintessential symbol of Spring. In
Southern Vietnam, Hoa Mai are some of the first plants to flower.
This plant is a must for exotic plant collection. It is a rather slow
growing, medium size shrub that can be trained into miniature tree. In winter the plant is covered with pretty bright yellow
flowers, believed to bring good luck and prosperity. They are followed by cute shiny black berries on bright red sepals that resemble the face of
Mickey Mouse.
The plant is easy to grow and relatively cold hardy to light freeze. Start fertilizing your Hoa Moa plant right now through the Winter to encourage early blooms. Luckily, we have a perfect bloom
booster liquid fertilizer that is safe to use year around, including Winter months: Sunshine Boosters MegaFlor!
Lunar year 2023 will be a year of the Cat on the Vietnamese zodiac, from January 22nd, 2023 to February 9th, 2024. Cat is the fourth sign in Vietnamese
Zodiac, taking place of the Rabbit in Chinese Zodiac.
Annona montana - Mountain Soursop
Grow Your Own Food
Exotic fruit, a cold hardy
alternative to a Soursop
Not only tasty, this exotic fruit has the most unusual
looks! This exotic beauty grows up to a pound and just look at these curious
and life-like spines! We guarantee that everyone who sees this fruit in your
garden will ask for seeds even before they taste the fruit. And you will have
lots of seeds to share because Mountain Soursop is very reliable producer
with many seeds in each fruit.
Mountain Soursop tastes similar to regular Soursop (better known as the
Guanabana), with slightly milder flavor. The pulp is highly scented, with good
aroma. It is eaten out of hand or can be used in milkshakes and smoothies. The
fruit is softball sized with orange-yellow flesh, somewhat smaller and
rounder than the regular Soursop. The tree is medium sized, with beautiful, large,
leathery dark green leaves that emit a strong aroma when crushed.
How to grow Mountain
Soursop?
Mountain Soursop is a very easy to grow, medium size
exotic fruit tree that is great for beginners. This species is much more cold
hardy than the Soursop, established trees can take temperatures a few degrees
below freezing, tolerating cold spells down to 24F when full grown. Mountain
Soursop tolerates a variety of soil types and will grow well in dry
conditions. Trees produce within just 2-3 years from seed, like many Annonas, and can
happily grow and produce in a large container.
Add a little Sunshine
to keep your plants looking their best
By Ed Jones, the Booster Guy
...Just like people, a little sunshine goes a long way in keeping them
happy. It is usually easier to keep a plant healthy than it is to fix it when
it is not well. Proper plant nutrition is often times the issue. The good
news is that it is easy to keep your plants looking good by following proper
nutrition practices...
...Feeding your plants with micronutrients that they just don't get in
regular fertilizers can prevent deficiencies. Let's get started on a regular
program of using foliar sprays to help keep your plants looking their best...
We recommend using three products in combination - the Complete SUNSHINE Microelement Supplement Kit that consists of:
We are recommending a foliar spray once per week to maintain optimal
health conditions. This is based on recent studies done in Ukraine by the scientist who invented Sunshine Boosters products... Continue reading to see an easy treatment schedule that will provide
your plants with:
- Increased photosynthetic activity
- Increased insect and disease resistance
- Reduced mineral toxicity
- Improvement of nutrient imbalance
- Enhanced drought and frost tolerance
- Enhanced plant growth
Sunshine Boosters are developed in Ukraine
and manufactured in the USA. We support Ukraine fight for freedom. All
profits from these fertilizers will be donated to support our Team in Ukraine.
Grow your own food:
Pouteria campechiana - Canistel
The curious heart-shaped Egg Super-Fruit
by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
...You will be surprised how many health benefits this fruit can
offer! Yet is is a beautiful, curiously shaped piece of Nature's Art, and the
tree is super easy to grow. It is relatively cold hardy and fast growing,
providing with the first crop within a year or two...
10 greatest health benefits of Canistel
fruit
1. Canistel is good for the heart
2. Canistel lowers the risk of diabetes
3. Canistel lowers the risk of cataract
4. Canistel treats osteoarthritis
5. Canistel prevents cancer
6. Canistel is immunity booster
7. Canistel is great for digestion
8. Canistel prevents anemia
9. Canistel promotes healthy bones
10. Canistel reduces the risk of Alzheimer's
A Miracle for every special
garden:
Synsepalum - Miracle Fruit
...Every tropical plant lover wants to have this plant in their collection. And there are at least three good
reasons for it:
it is a true miracle fruit
It enjoys growing in a pot, stays compact and brings you miracle berries nearly year
around
it can be grown indoors as it has very low water and light needs.
Miracle fruit is one of the strangest tropical fruits. The most unusual thing about it is the
effect it has on one's taste after this miraculous berry has been consumed. The
"miracle" is that if lemon or other sour food is eaten after the miracle
fruit, the sour tastes sweet, as if sugar has been added. That kind of magical
experience is unforgettable! The interest in this plant is so high that anyone who has a plant always finds eager volunteers to test its sweetening
properties. A natural chemical in the fruit masks the tongue's sour taste buds so that lemons taste like lemonade or lemon pie, or lemon candy; beer
tastes like Malta drink, sour strawberries taste super sweet, and a grapfruit
tastes delicions and not bitter! What causes the miracle? The fruit has a unique taste changing glycoprotein that inhibits tastebuds' perception of
sour taste. The sweet sensation lasts for half an hour to a few hours...
The fruit of Heaven:
Phyllanthus acidus - Amlak, Otaheite Gooseberry
Grow Your Own Food
This is a fun rare fruit tree to have if you like lemonade and believe
in Vitamin C benefits! The tree is super easy to grow, relatively cold hardy
and doesn't require any special care. It is a fast growing plant, however the
mature tree is only about 20 ft so it will be well suited for any size
garden, even container garden. As you can see, it happily fruits in a pot. Bright
yellow fruit are beautiful and curious, they always make a conversation piece!
About Otaheite Gooseberry
Otaheite Gooseberry, or Amlak, is a rare tropical fruit tree from SE Asia and India, very
close related to Phyllanthus emblica (Amla, Amlaki), however it is much cold
hardy than Amla. Known as Amritphala in Sanskrit, which literally means "the
fruit of heaven" or "nectar fruit". It is so called because it has many
helth benefits. Amlak is one of the favorite fruit of Indian people who definitely know what is good for
you! Fruit paste is a major ingredient of Chavyanprash, a popular Ayurvedic tonic. It is the
richest source of vitamin C.
Fruits are borne in loose clusters, which hang from the tree trunk and main branches. Fruits are esteemed for jellies,
preserves and pastries, and are great for making a delicious lemonade rich in vitamin C. There are no commercial plantings; trees grow only in
home gardens.
You need to have one! Or two. We have only limited quantities.
Q: I love your tropical fruit selection and I wish I lived in a warmer climate. Is
there any fruit tree that can be happy indoors during winter and have fruit? I
am not expecting a big crop but it would be fun to have a small piece of
tropics at home. I don't have much gardening experience, can you suggest something
easy for a start?
A: Several tropical fruit trees can be grown indoors, in pots,
providing bright light that is necessary for flowering and setting fruit. Among
them are many varieties of Bananas,
Guavas,
Annonas and tropical Cherries - these can be easily maintained in containers. Even dwarf
varieties of
Avocado and Mango
are good candidates for indoor culture. You can bring containers indoors for
winter and take outside into full sun during warm months so your plants can
store lots of energy in Summer.
The easiest fruit tree for indoor culture that doesn't require bright light
and can be grown indoors year around is a Coffee tree. Start with it, it is on sale today! Once you gain some experience, you can upgrade to
a Chocolate tree!
Remember, all container grown plants need balanced nutrition program. It
can be easily provided with Sunshine Boosters your around. For fruit trees, just add some Sunshine C-Cibus Crop Booster to your cart.
Q: I am looking for a fruit tree for my backyard that is low
maintenance, fast fruiting, and can take some cold (I live in Orlando FL and we
do get occasional frost in winter). I like the taste of Loquat fruit, it
reminds me of apricots. How cold hardy is this tree?
A: Loquat tree is a very good choice for Florida gardens. It can
take both cold and heat and produces lots of tasty fruit right away. Last
winter when we had a record freeze in our area with a couple of nights around
25F, the only trees that didn't get any damage at all were Loquats and
Macadamias, and those were still young, newly planted 4 ft trees.
To learn more about Loquat trees, check out this video and article: Golden Loquat - the symbol of Prosperity.
Q: Do I need to have more than one avocado tree in order to
produce fruit?
A: While a single avocado tree will normally produce enough fruit
for most people, it never hurts to have more than one tree and even more
than one variety to increase the chances for good pollination. Be sure to look
at our catalog for the many different varieties available from our store.
