Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date:
Variegated Shell Ginger - Alpinia zerumbet
By Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist
Q: I live in Deltona, Florida and hoping to find spreading ginger with interesting foliage to grow in a partially shaded area in my garden under a group of trees. Any suggestions?
A: Variegated ginger Alpinia zerumbet variegata is a clumping ginger valued for its
beautiful variegated foliage. The dark, green leaves have striking yellow stripes.
This ginger is sought-after, not only for the stunning foliage but also for its
beautiful flowers. The flowers are different from other members of the
ginger family and appear in drooping racemes from the ends of leafy stems rather
than directly from the rhizomes. This ginger is also commonly known as Shell
Ginger because the flowers resemble seashells! They are pink-tinged, fragrant
and appear in summer.
This evergreen perennial grows in upright clumps 3-5 feet tall. You may
prune the plant to control size.
It does not tolerate drought or a hard freeze but can take a few hours
or light frost (goes dormant in such case). In colder areas, rhizomes should
be dug up and stored in a cool room during winter.
This ginger will love a shaded corner in your garden. Plant it in
organically rich, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Keep the soil moist
but not soggy, and spread a thick layer of organic mulch around the plant
for moisture retention. There are no serious insect or disease problems to
worry about!
This ginger can be also be grown as a house plant as long as it has
bright light and humid conditions. It will grow to around 3-4 feet tall as a
houseplant.
Recommended fertilizers:
Broad Leaf Plus - Ginger-Heliconia-Banana Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
Limited time special offer:
Instant $5 off Variegated Ginger - Alpinia zerumbet
Would you like to spice Up Your Garden with Variegated Ginger?
Alpinia Zerumbet Variegata Variegated Ginger
Alpinia Zerumbet Variegata Variegated Ginger
Alpinia Zerumbet Variegata Variegated Ginger flower
Alpinia Zerumbet Variegata Variegated Ginger
Alpinia Zerumbet Variegata Variegated Ginger
- 🌿 Alpinia Zerumbet Variegata is a clumping ginger valued for its beautiful variegated foliage. With its colorful foliage and beautiful flowers, variegated ginger is a stunning ornamental.
- 🌿 Striking Foliage: Glossy green leaves with white striping add a pop of color and interest to your garden.
- 🌿 Unique Flowers: Unlike other gingers, its beautiful, fragrant, shell-like flowers droop from leafy stems, adding summer charm.
- 🌿 Perfect Size: This small shrub grows 2-4 feet tall and can be pruned for size control.
- 🌿 Moisture Lover: Keep the soil moist for happy, thriving plants.
- 🌿 Ideal Conditions: Thrives in shaded garden corners with organically rich, well-drained soil. Mulch for best results.
- 🌿 Low Maintenance: No serious insect or disease problems, making it an easy addition to your garden.
- 🌿 Indoor Option: Can be grown as a houseplant with bright light and humid conditions, reaching 3-4 feet indoors.
- 🌿 Edibe: Like every ginger, this ornamental beauty also has edible rhizomes.
🛒 Shop Vriegated Ginger
#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Food_Forest
🏵 TopTropicals
Date:
Dwarf Red Ginger - more than just a pretty face
Q: I've just recently moved to Florida from North Carolina. I don't know much about tropical plants. Can you perhaps suggest an easy and pretty flowering plant for a beginner which I can plant around my garden pond for a tropical feeling?
A: For adding that tropical look to your garden, few plants beat
beautiful ginger! Alpinia purpurata, the Dwarf Red Cone Ginger with its bright red floral
spikes and lush, lance-shaped foliage is no exception. This striking
perennial will add a tropical effect to your garden that will definitely take your
breath away.
The Dwarf Red Cone grows between 3 and 4 feet tall and blooms 8-9
months of the year! The blooms will hold on the plant for up to 3 weeks! It makes
a very attractive and distinctive backdrop for other plants.
Red Cone Ginger likes partial shade and moist, humid conditions, but
will tolerate full sun. It is fast growing, easy to grow and resistant to
disease, heat, and insects. The plant is a wonderful accent in a garden and works
well as a focal point specimen, show-stopping when planted around garden
ponds or near entryways. This ginger also works very well in containers and
planters. Either in mass plantings or smaller groups, all gingers add tropical flair which never disappoints.
In addition, the beautiful flower spikes make for great, long-lasting
cut flowers and is an interesting addition to bouquets.
An added bonus? Dwarf Red Ginger is super easy to propagate. If stems
are cut at the base and placed in water, they will generally root within a few
weeks. Eventually, you can make a whole flowering hedge just from one
plant!
Who does not like a plant that is non-fussy and not only beautiful but easy to grow? Dwarf Red Ginger is more than just a pretty face!
To keep this plant happy and blooming, give it some food: Broad Leaf Plus - Ginger-Heliconia-Banana Booster.
Thumbs up the most fragrant ginger ever!
White Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium coronarium)
White Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium coronarium)
White Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium coronarium)
- White Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium coronarium) is a must for every Southern garden.
- Famous for its intense, sweet scent.
- Symbol of Hawaiian Paradise along with Plumeria and Jasmine we mentioned earlier.
- Lei and hair decoration: popular in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands for leis and hair adornments.
- Butterfly-like flowers: bears fragrant, butterfly-resembling flowers in summer.
- Great cut flower: long lasting cut flowers, ideal for scenting the home.
- Can survive light freezes, with tops regrowing in the spring. Takes sun or shade.
🛒 Shop Butterfly Ginger
#Shade_Garden #Perfume_Plants
🏵 TopTropicals
Date:
Re-Leaf discount extended!
The prettiest plants of the month
Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen
We thank everyone who made a purchase in the past few days, you made a big difference! We continue clearing debris and rebuilding our greenhouses. Thanks to your support, we will be able to get our plants ready for winter! This is what we are doing this month:
rebuilding woodframes for greenhouses
installing new shade cloth and plastic
cutting fallen trees
getting new equipment that suffered from flood
adding rock in the nursery to be ready for the Fall Festival
You help us - we help you!
Ask for more RE-LEAF specials when you visit our Garden Center!
Hurricane Ian re-leaf discount extended
For 10% off your entire order, use this code:
IANRELEAF
Use this code on top of our fantastic deals and make it a
super deal:
As low as $5
sale of selected items
Secret
Garden - 50% off
Min order $100. Exp. 10-08-22.
Hedychium flavum x coccineum Dr. Moy - Variegated Hardy Ginger Lily
Date:
Aries - 3/21-4/19. Aries is a FIRE sign ruled by the planet Mars. Plants associated with this element and planet very often have thorns or prickles. They can be also spicy or bitter in flavor, or red in color.
Because Aries rules the head, eyes and face, the plants for Aries purify the blood, stimulate the adrenal glands, and/or are high in iron (Mars rules the mineral iron). Mars-ruled Aries is assertive, energetic and fearless. Mars rules the red blood cells, the muscles, and metabolic processes, as well as the motor nerves and the head. These plants help you when you want more get-up-and-go and the courage to take on the world.
Aries Zodiac lucky plants - Governors plum, Hibiscus Karkade, Tapioca, Mamey Sapote, Ruda, Baobab, Euphorbia, Acanthus, Aloe, Caesalpinia, Erythrina, Opuntia, Dragon Fruit, Pachypodium, Pomegranate, Chilli peppers, Syngonium, Begonia, Geranium, Red Sandalwood, Jamiaca pepper (Pimenta, Allspice), Camphor, Jujube, Anise, Red Roses, Tiger Lily, Impatiens, Calendula, Tarragon, Ginger, Coriander, Basil, Ruda, Amaryllis, Wild Indigo, Gooseberries, Sesbania, Campsis, Red Oleander, Maple, Schotia brachypetala, Momordica, Coffee, Amla , Ephedra, Red Kapok.
For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.
Date:
Three colors of flowers
for 4th of July
Q: Our anniversary is on the 4th of July. Do you have anything that might be a good gift? Maybe something flowering that has red, white and blue flowers... I know that is a lot to ask but maybe you have an idea?
A: We appreciate your intriguing question and extend our heartfelt congratulations on your approaching anniversary. Numerous tropical plants lend themselves beautifully to a captivating blend of red, blue, and white hues. Here are our top recommendations for the most delightful combination:
White: Jasmine sambac fragrant bush (var. Arabian Nights is our favorite, it's a free-bloomer and easy to grow)
Blue: Clitoria Vine, it is fast growing controllable vine, everbloomer. There is also a White variety of Clitoria, you can plant them together!
Red: Gloxinia, a smaller perennial that perfectly fits into this combination of three.
More flowers for white-blue-red colors:
White: Gardenias, Jasmines, Almond Bush, Brunfelsia, Clerodendrum Bridal Veil, fragrant Cashmere Bouquet, White Brazilian Plume Flower, Montanoa - Tree Chrysanthemum
Blue: Blue Sage Lead Flower, Blue Butterfly Clerodendrum, Weeping Blue Ginger, Duranta, Thunbergia erecta - Kings Mantle, and its white variety Alba, Blue Sky vine
Red: Cat Tail Acalypha, Dwarf Poinciana, Red Bottlebrush, Pavonia multiflora - Brazilian Candles (it's actually red-and-blue), Red Button Ginger - French Kiss, Brazilian plume, Firespike , Scarlet Flame Passion Flower, Quisqualis (has white and red flowers on the same plant).
Quisqualis Indica - Rangoon Creeper. Spectacular bloom, flowers change color from white to pink to red. Sweet fragrance. Very fast growing, perfect for covering a fence or pagoda.
Date:
Plant Horoscope:
Libra Lucky Zodiac Plants
09/23-10/23
By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
...We already know that most fortunate "green thumbs" have Air signs -
Gemini, Libra and Aquarius - and between them, the "greenest" thumb belongs to
Libra. The light of a distant greenish star Zuben-el-Shamali, which controls
not only the stability of the Universe, but also gives to people born under
this sign the opportunity to make our world better and more beautiful by
growing of all kinds of plants. This is the main purpose of Libra.
...Under Libra's green thumb, everything they touch grows and blooms. The
plants with large light-colored flowers and a delicious fragrance will be most
beloved by Libra...
CONTINUE READING >>
Photo above: Alpinia nutans (False Cardamom, Cinnamon Ginger)
Date:
Tropical Fruit Collections
September is a great month to plant. The soil is warm and the air is beginning to get cooler which helps to encourage new roots to grow. For much of the Country, September typically brings more opportunity for additional rain and moisture, allowing you to water less. Take advantage of this time of year to establish new plants in your gardens!
Tropical Fruit Starter Collection
Tropical Fruit Starter Collection - 4 plants for price of 2.
Tropical Fruit Starter set for half price! Rare tropical fruit trees that
are easy to grow even for beginners. Start today to get fruit of your labor
tomorrow! The Collection includes 1 of each: Fig, Banana, Mulberry, and
Pomegranate.
Ficus
carica - Fig Brown Turkey
Musa -
Banana Double Mahoi
Morus
sp. - Mulberry, Dwarf Everbearing
Punica
granatum - Pomegranate var. Eversweet
Super Foods Bundle
Super Foods Bundle Collection - 4 plants for price of 2
Super Foods Bundle for half price! Get health foods right from your
backyard. Start today to get healthy tomorrow! The Collection includes 1 of each:
Goji Berry, Spice Ginger, Pomegranate, Tropical Asparagus (Katuk).
Lycium
barbarum - Goji Berry
Zingiber officinale - Spice Ginger
Punica
granatum - Pomegranate var. Eversweet
Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus
Rare Fruit Collection
Rare Fruit Collection - 4 rare plants for half price.
Rare Fruit Set for Real Collectors - for half price! Hard to find, much
wanted species all at once at low cost! Limited time offer. The
Collection includes 1 of each: Chocolate Tree, Vietnamese Pepper, Peanut Butter Tree,
Jackfruit.
Theobroma cacao - Chocolate tree
Piper
sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot
Bunchosia argentea - Peanut Butter Tree
Artocarpus heterophyllus - Jackfruit Super Thai
Date:
CAT BREEDS:
European Shorthair - a cat that came from the wild...
By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
Q: I saw your beautiful cats in your garden and now I know you are not only plant experts, but also cat experts. Do you now what is the classic color of European shorthair cat?
A: You are right, here at Top Tropicals we have a whole PeopleCats garden with all sorts of cats, and we can tell stories about each breed and personality! In fact, our cat expert Alex Boutova just started a series about cat breeds.
With European shorthair cat breed, there is a twist! Sometimes, people get confused because European shorthair covers lots of different cats found all over Europe. It's not just one type of cat, but a whole bunch! You've got cats with two colors, including bicolor cats (including tuxedo cats), multicolor cats, and even cats with just one solid color like black, grey, ginger, or tabby...
Continue reading:
European Shorthair: a cat that came from the wild.
