Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

🍊 Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties

Papaya fruit is one of the superfoods as we mentioned earlier. Below are the top 3 most interesting varieties: a full size tree, a semi-dwarf and a dwarf.

1. Maradol. Vigorous full size plant with high yield. Commercially grown throughout Central Mexico, these papayas are 3 to 5 pounds in weight and the shape of an elongated melon. Soft and juicy, they have salmon pink or red flesh that is very sweet with a slightly perfumed, fruity flavor. Cut them in half lengthwise. Delicious and irresistible with a sprinkle of fresh lemon or lime juice.
2. Solo Sunset, Semi-Dwarf from Hawaii. Commercially grown primarily on Kauai, it has dark pink to reddish-orange flesh. The fruit is medium to small size, shape is somewhat round. This is the sweetest Papya variety we ever tasted!
3. Solo Waimanalo, Dwarf - oval, large size yellow fruit with dark yellow flesh. Low bearing tree makes harvesting easy. Grows wonderfully in Central Florida in both a container or in the ground. Will go from seed to fruit in just one year. Waimanalo has yellow-orange flesh.


❓Do you eat Papaya fresh or you also cook with it? Share in comments👇

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👀 What is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world?

🍈 Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) reaches 80 pounds in weight and up to 36 inches long! It is one of the most fascinating fruit in the world.

• ✳️ The fruit consists of large edible bulbs of yellow, sweet, banana-flavored aromatic flesh. 
• ✳️ The fruit is so large and heavy that the tree has a smart feature to produce only at the base of the trunk.  So the tree can be (and should be) pruned annually to 7-12' producing as much as 200 lbs. of fruit per year!
• ✳️ Seedlings start fruiting within 3-4 years.  Fruit ripen pretty quickly, 4-6 months from flower to maturity. 

📚 Learn more about Jackfruit

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10 steps: how to grow a mango tree?

Follow these steps and you'll be on your way to growing a healthy mango tree and enjoying delicious fruit:

1. ❗️ Choose the right variety that suits your needs and yard. See earlier posts:
5 most Favorite Mango Varieties
10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango
5 large and vigorous Mango varieties

2. 🌳 Buy a grafted tree from a reputable nursery to ensure better fruit quality and faster fruiting.

3. 🏡 Planting site: choose a sunny location with well-draining soil. Ensure there is enough space for the tree to grow, as some varieties can become quite large.

4. ⛏️ Planting: dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the root ball. Mix in organic compost to enrich the soil. Place the tree in the hole, making sure the growth point is 1-2" above the soil line. Fill the hole with soil, pressing gently to remove air pockets. Water the tree thoroughly.

5. 💦 Watering: Water the tree regularly, especially during the first few weeks. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings to prevent root rot.

6. Mulch: apply mulch around the base of the tree to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk to prevent rot.

7. Fertilize: use a balanced fertilizer formulated for fruit trees. We recommend Sunshine Boosters Mango Tango formulated specially for mango trees.

8. ✂️ Prune to shape the tree to encourage good airflow and sunlight penetration, and to improve the yield.
🎥 Shaping your Mango Tree.

9. 🕷 Pest and disease control: monitor for scale and mealybugs and treat them with systemic pesticides. Keep an eye out for fungal diseases and treat them promptly with copper spray.

10. Harvesting: Mangoes are ready to harvest when they change color and soften slightly.

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💰Good luck tree that brings money and prosperity? And yet shade, spectacular flowers and edible nuts? It is Guiana Chestnut!

• Pachira aquatica (Bombax glabra) - Malabar Peanut or Guiana Chestnut is a beautiful, fast growing flowering tree with edible nuts!
• Tropical wetland tree native to Central and South America, known for its large, glossy leaves and its distinctive, braided trunk.
• The tree is believed to bring good luck and prosperity to those who own it, and is sometimes referred to as a "money tree."
• Pachira aquatica is also used in traditional medicine and often used for bonsai.

❓ What other plants bring good luck? Share in comments👇

🛒 Order Guaiana Chestnut Money Tree online

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Happy Father's Day - June 16!

❤️ Have a perfect day with dear friends, loving family, and healthy meals.

Consider growing a #Food_Forest to add some good stuff to your diet 🍌🍍🌶🍒

💥 Use this discount coupon for any plants you want:

FATHERS2024

Your savings with this code:
5% off orders $100+
10% off orders $150+
15% off orders $200+
Excluding S/H. Exp. 6-17-24

🎁 Last minute gift shopping: get a Top Tropicals Gift Card with 15% bonus value.

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🍊 The truth about Papaya:
1) it is grass, and
2) it can go transgender!
The secret facts of Papaya's private life.

• 📌 Did you know that Papaya technically is not a tree? It is a large herbaceous plant, usually with a single, straight trunk that can reach 30 feet!
• 📌 Many dwarf varieties available in selection, reaching only 6-8 ft tall, but producing large crops of full size fruit - they are easy to harvest.
• 📌 Papaya trees have very complex gender mechanism, but the bottom line is - the tree can chance its sex based on conditions! Many varieties are self-fertile, but it always recommended to plant a few trees for cross-pollination and better yield.
• 📌 The sweetest Papaya is from so called "Solo" cultivars: the fruit is usually round or oval, on a smaller side, but super sweet.
• 📌 Fruit from Solo cultivars are not susceptible to fruit flies.
• 📌 Being officially a tropical plant, Papaya is pretty cold resistant and can withstand light freeze without significant damage.
• 📌 Surprisingly, Papayas are also hurricane-resistant plants and can take strong winds without damage. They still stand when other trees are down!
• 📌 Papaya is one of the Super-Foods thanks to papain - a natural enzyme containing in this fruit. Papaya fruit offers the best digestive aid! Eat some papaya after each meal to maintain healthy digestion.
• 📌 Try papaya leaf wraps for cooking meats - you won't need a meat tenderizer!
• 📌 Easy to grow trees, Papayas don't take any space in the garden, but bring so much goodness into your life!

🛒 Shop Papaya Trees

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Top 5 recommended vigorous Mango tree varieties, reliable producers.

• 🟠 1. Glenn - Excellent eating quality, consistent production, and effortless to grow.
• 🟠 2. Pim Seng Mun - extremely productive mango.
• 🟠 3. Sweet Tart - New patented variety - exclusive offer.
• 🟠 4. Fruit Punch - Multi fruit flavor, delicious!
• 🟠 5. Orange Sherbet - One of the best new varieties for backyard growing. Flavor is sweet citrus-orange and less lemony than Lemon Meringue mango. The tree is moderately vigorous.

❓What is your favorite Mango variety? Share in comments 👇

📝 See also earlier posts:
5 most Favorite Mango Varieties
Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango

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How to grow Noni tree for fruit?

💊 The medicinal Noni tree (see our earlier post) is one of the most suitable fruit trees for potting culture. A 1-3 gallon size plant will flower and fruit for you within a year.

Noni's special features:

• 
  ✅ flowers and fruits at young age, nearly year around.
• 
  ✅ tolerates shade and grows large ornamental leaves in filtered light.
• 
  ✅ suitable for indoor culture

- easy in cultivation, drought and water tolerant, not susceptible to insects.
• 
  ✅ medicinal properties are endless and cannot be under-appreciated.
• 
  ✅ This plant can be grown in any climate indoors, and will produce fruit for you under minimal care. Just provide warm frost-free conditions, as this tropical tree is very cold sensitive.

📚 Learn more: Morinda citrifolia - Noni. Life Sustaining Plant

🛒 Order Noni Tree

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How to grow Noni tree for fruit?

💊 The medicinal Noni tree (see our earlier post) is one of the most suitable fruit trees for potting culture. A 1-3 gallon size plant will flower and fruit for you within a year.

Noni's special features:

• ✅ flowers and fruits at young age, nearly year around.
• ✅ tolerates shade and grows large ornamental leaves in filtered light.
• ✅ suitable for indoor culture

- easy in cultivation, drought and water tolerant, not susceptible to insects.
• ✅ medicinal properties are endless and cannot be under-appreciated.
• ✅ This plant can be grown in any climate indoors, and will produce fruit for you under minimal care. Just provide warm frost-free conditions, as this tropical tree is very cold sensitive.

📚 Learn more: Morinda citrifolia - Noni. Life Sustaining Plant

🛒 Order Noni Tree

#Food_Forest #Remedies #How_to

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☕️ Where does the tea come from? Tea Leaf Plant!

• 🍃 Camellia sinensis - Tea Leaf. Yes, tea comes from a camellia!
• 🍃 Tea Leaf is a small evergreen tree, usually pruned back to shrubs in cultivation.
• 🍃 In the fall and winter, the plant will produce small white flowers with a lovely fragrance.
• 🍃 Tea is the second most commonly drank liquid on earth after water. It has numerous medicinal benefits mainly due to its antibacterial and antioxidant properties.
• 🍃 To grow Tea Leaf Plant, make sure to pick an area of your landscape where it does not flood or remain wet during our rainy season. Camellia sinensis do not like wet feet at all. They prefer well-drained, sandy and slightly acidic soil.

📚 Learn more: Tea Leaf Plant and Tea Harvesting Recipes

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