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How to grow your own Pepper plants

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot leaves wraps

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot leaves wraps

Piper nigrum - Black Pepper

Piper nigrum - Black Pepper

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava

Piper betle - Betel leaf

Piper betle - Betel leaf

Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Peppe

Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Peppe

🔥 How to grow your own Pepper plants. Five most valuable 'Pipers'.

ℹ️ Leafy Pepper plants - Pipers - are a source of black pepper and many other "peppery" flavors. These plants come from the Piperaceae family and are used as a spice for their pungent, peppery flavor. Don't confuse them with with Capsicum peppers, such as bell and chili peppers.
  • 🔻Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot: it is eaten raw in salads or cooked with other greens or dishes, or wrap meats and cook in oven or on stove or grill. It is used medicinally in India and SE Asia. The root is also chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine. The leaves are used as food (food wraps) in Vietnam.
  • 🔻 Piper nigrum - Black Pepper: While black and white pepper were already known in antiquity, but green pepper (and even more, red pepper) is a recent invention. Pungent and aromatic. The pungency is strongest in white pepper and weakest in green pepper, while black and green pepper are more aromatic than the white one. Moderate growing vine that can be grown on a trellis. Prefers shade to semi-shade.
  • 🔻 Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava: close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava) and probably has some similar tonic effects. It is used for its spicy aromatic scent and flavor, liken to root beer, or to anise-clove. Huge leaves can grow over a foot long. The leaves are used for flavoring, as wrappings for meats and tamales.
  • 🔻 Piper betle - Betel leaf: very popular Indian spice with medicinal properties. Chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine. Great for wrapping food (similar to grape leaves).
  • 🔻 Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Pepper: edible and medicinal plant used as spice and in traditional Chinese medicine. Fruit used as a spice and seasoning. It has sweeter and less pungent taste than Black pepper. Highly valued medicinal plant used to treat respiratory infections, stomachache, bronchitis, cough, and much more.


Learn more:
📚 Vietnamese Pepper - Lalot food wraps BBQ recipe
🎥 Growing Lalot Pepper

🛒 Shop pepper plants: Pipers

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Container_Garden #How_to


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Date:

Where does Vanilla come from? How to grow your own Vanilla Beans

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid beans, seeds

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid beans, seeds

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid flower

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid flower

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid

Vanilla dilloniana - Leafless Vanilla Orchid, flower

Vanilla dilloniana - Leafless Vanilla Orchid, flower

🫘 Where does Vanilla come from? How to grow your own Vanilla Beans.
  • ❣️ Vanilla spice comes from Vanilla Orchid!
  • ❣️ Vanilla planifolia is a leafy climbing orchid from hot, wet tropical America. It is grown for its pods which, when dried, become the commercial vanilla.
  • ❣️ The flowers are hand pollinated.
  • ❣️ The Aztec Indians in Mexico used Vanilla Pods to flavor their chocolate drink 'Xoco-latl'. Vanilla was believed to be a tonic for the brain.
  • ❣️ Vanilla Pods are picked green when they have no scent. The lengthy curing process, which develops fragrant aroma, is one reason for its high cost.
  • ❣️ Vanilla orchid needs a flat, solid, porous support for climbing and in order to flower and produce seed pods. It can be grown over a log or a board (make sure the support wood is not chemically treated), or climb over a tree.
  • ❣️ If really happy, Vanilla orchid can exceed 100 feet in length in just a few years. The plants flower only when mature, which takes a few years. It only flowers when it gets strongly attached to a support with its aerial roots.
  • ❣️Vanilla orchid can be grown indoors as a house plant. Culture is similar to traditional orchids, however, it will need a support or trellis. Just keep in mind that for Vanilla Bean production, Vanilla Orchid must attach to a porous surface (like a wood log).


Learn more:

📚 Vanilla - The Most Versatile Orchid

🎥 How to produce my own vanilla: secrets of Vanilla pollination
Vanilla dillioniana - The Biggest Vanilla Orchid in 100 Gal Pot

🛒 Shop vanilla orchids

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Container_Garden

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Date:

What is the most beautiful ginger? 5 most spectacular Ginger species

Hedychium flavum x coronarium - Yellow Butterfly Ginger

Hedychium flavum x coronarium - Yellow Butterfly Ginger

Costus arabicus (amazonicus) variegata - Variegated Spiral Ginger

Costus arabicus (amazonicus) variegata - Variegated Spiral Ginger

Zingiber Zerumbet - Pine Cone Ginger, Shampoo Ginger

Zingiber Zerumbet - Pine Cone Ginger, Shampoo Ginger

Costus vargasii - Spiral Ginger Raspberry Yogurt

Costus vargasii - Spiral Ginger Raspberry Yogurt

Costus fissiligulatus - African Princess, Cameroon Costus

Costus fissiligulatus - African Princess, Cameroon Costus

🎋 What is the most beautiful ginger? 5 most spectacular Ginger species.

Ginger is famous for its culinary and medicinal uses, and many species are also strikingly beautiful, making them perfect centerpieces for tropical gardens or potted plant collections, especially in shaded spots. Here are a few of our favorite cultivars.
  • 🍭 Hedychium flavum x coronarium - Yellow Butterfly Ginger, Nardo Ginger Lily - rare hybrid of White Butterfly ginger we mentioned earlier, it is more vigorous and tall than its parent. With attractive long green leaves with a slight fuzziness, this ginger has open long spikes of pastel yellow flowers with a beautiful heady aroma. Exquisitely fragrant!
  • 🍭 Costus arabicus (amazonicus) variegata - Variegated Spiral Ginger - is a show stopper! Very popular in Hawaii and Florida. Spiraling stems rise with a strong white variegation and topped with green and white cone like flowers. Vigorous grower, it prefers shade, moist soil and lots of water.
  • 🍭 Zingiber Zerumbet - Pine Cone Ginger, Shampoo Ginger - is probably the most popular one. All parts of this ginger are spicy fragrant. The cone shaped flowers are long lasting and useful for cut flower arrangements. It is in fact used as a shampoo in Asia and Hawaii, and as an ingredient in several commercial shampoos! Pinecone ginger is considered a "canoe plant", that is, a plant introduced throughout the Pacific by the ancient Polynesian settlers.
  • 🍭 Costus vargasii - Spiral Ginger Raspberry Yogurt - The name refers to the colorful raspberry colored stem, but that's not the only colorful thing about it: the leaves are dark green, long and glossy with velvety deep purple undersides. The inflorescence is a vivid red with tight bracts and bold yellow flowers. The butterflies love to drink the nectar from the flowers. Large vigorous ginger, growing up to 5-6 ft tall.
  • 🍭 Costus fissiligulatus - African Princess, Cameroon Costus - from Gabon in West Africa. It has a dazzling pink trumpet flower with a yellow throat. It is very floriferous with an inflorescence of numerous flower buds on a shortish plant of 3-4 ft that stands very erect. It is an easy grower


📚 More gingers in previous posts:
Alpinia formosana x zerumbet Variegata - Variegated Ginger
Costus spicatus x woodsonii - Red Button Ginger, French Kiss
Hedychium coronarium - Butterfly Ginger
Kaempferia angustifolia - Laos Silver Stripe

❔ What is your favorite Ginger? Share in comments👇

🛒 Shop Gingers

#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Food_Forest

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Date:

What rare showy plant can I wish for that will thrive indoors?

Philodendron x Paraiso Verde

🧞 What rare showy plant can I wish for that will thrive indoors?
  • 💚 Philodendron x Paraiso Verde is a unique and visually striking, large-leaf plant that perfect for growing indoors, virtually care-free!
  • 💚 Stunning leaves: long, variegated leaves with a mix of green, cream, and sometimes pinkish hues.
  • 💚 Rare and exotic: it is highly sought after by plant enthusiasts and collectors due to its rarity and exotic appearance, and may be pretty expensive in trade.
  • 💚 Fast climber: capable of climbing up to 10 feet in a single season, with stems growing over an inch thick. Just provide a support and you will have a lush tropical paradise in no time.
  • 💚 Low maintenance: easy to care for, thriving in indirect light and requiring minimal watering. In captivity, indoors on a totem, Paraiso Verde is easy to grow and may only need to be trimmed once a year or so.
  • 💚 Air-purifying: helps purify the air by removing toxins, making it great for indoor environments - home or office.
  • 💚 Unique patterns: each leaf has a unique pattern, just like fingerprints! 💅

    • It is making every plant distinct and adding a touch of individuality to your plant collection.
  • 💚 Tropical aesthetic: brings a lush, tropical feel to any space, perfect for creating an indoor jungle vibe. Truly beautiful!


🛒 Get your own Philodendron x Paraiso Verde

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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Date:

Why is it called Rabbits Foot Fern

Humata (Davallia) tyermannii - White Rabbits Foot Fern

Humata (Davallia) tyermannii - White Rabbits Foot Fern

Humata (Davallia) tyermannii - White Rabbits Foot Fern

Humata (Davallia) tyermannii - White Rabbits Foot Fern

Humata (Davallia) tyermannii - White Rabbits Foot Fern

Humata (Davallia) tyermannii - White Rabbits Foot Fern

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: Why is it called Rabbits Foot Fern

🐰 Humata (Davallia) tyermannii, or White Rabbits Foot Fern has fuzzy rhizomes resembling soft rabbit's feet, adding a whimsical touch to its appearance.

🛒 Order

#Container_Garden

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Date:

Top Tropicals Telegram Channel

Sunshine Orchidasm Fertilizer

Sunshine Orchidasm Fertilizer

Orchids in bloom

🌸❓How to grow everblooming orchids like these?
  • 💋Orchids culture is different from garden ornamental plants. They are epiphytes, so you cannot use regular garden fertilizer on orchids, because they are very sensitive to salts.
  • 💋Orchids need a special, acidic type of fertilizer, very mild in action.
  • 💋Sunshine Boosters formula is exactly what orchids need. It is amino-acid based, very mild, and doesn't create nutrient lock up (building up salts is one of the biggest enemies of tender orchids). Sunshine Boosters Orchidasm Complete Feed is scientifically balanced orchid food that contains all necessary nutrients, including micro-elements, for healthy, happy, vigorous orchids.
  • 💋 Sunshine Orchidasm can be used as often as daily with every foliage spray.
  • 💋From our testing experience, after using Orchidasm Booster, orchids not only get happy and thriving - they also bloom more often - up to several times a year, shooting new flower spikes one after another (while normal blooming cycle for most orchids is once a year). It gets even better - the flower display lasts twice longer!


😊To enjoy beautiful Orchid flowers year around - treat them with Love, give them some Orchidasm!

📚 Learn more: Sunshine Orchidasm

🛒 Order Sunshine Orchidasm

#Fertilizers #How_to #Container_garden

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Date:

What is a Snake Plant

Sansevieria cylindrica - Snake Plant

Sansevieria cylindrica - Snake Plant

Sansevieria cylindrica - Snake Plant

Sansevieria cylindrica - Snake Plant

Sansevieria cylindrica - Snake Plant flowers

Sansevieria cylindrica - Snake Plant flowers

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: What is a Snake Plant

🐍 Sansevieria cylindrica (Snake Plant) is known for its cylindrical, upright leaves that add a tough and architectural element to modern interior design. Not everyone knows that it also has sweetly perfumed flowers, which open only at night, emitting a delightful fragrance. This drought-tolerant plant is perfect for indoor growing and xeriscaping.

🛒 Order Snake Plant

#Container_Garden

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Date:

How does Zig-Zag Cactus grow

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus flower

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus flower

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

Cryptocereus anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus

⚡️ #Fun_Facts: Zig-Zag Cactus

🥨 Cryptocereus anthonyanus (Zig-Zag Cactus) has zigzag-shaped stems and beautiful night-blooming flowers that make it a fascinating addition to cactus collections.

🛒 Order Zig Zag Cactus

#Container_Garden

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Date:

Where does Blackberry Jam come from? It comes from Gardenia!

Randia formosa - Blackberry Jam Fruit, flower

Randia formosa - Blackberry Jam Fruit, fruit

Randia formosa - Blackberry Jam Fruit, fruit

🥢 Where does Blackberry Jam come from? It comes from Gardenia!

Randia formosa - Blackberry Jam Fruit, Jasmin de Rosa is a curious small evergreen tree from South America that combines features of a fragrant flower and delicious dessert fruit which tastes like fresh Blackberry jam. Fragrant white flowers are similar to Gardenia.

This relatively hardy tropical can be grown in a container as well as in the ground. It's very сompact (4-5 ft), perfect for container culture, will fruit in a container.

Kids love the fruit! Many claim that it is even better than Blackberry preserves.

Large tubular white flowers attract nocturnal moths. Since the plant is closely related to the gardenia (Rubiaceae plant family), its flowers are sweetly fragrant.

Produces as many as 25-30 fruits at a time. Since it blooms for a few months from Summer through Winter, fruiting and flowering can be enjoyed even when other plants are dormant.

Article about Blackberry Jam Fruit formosa

Order Blackberry Jam tree

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden

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Date:

How to grow Orchid Trees in pots

Orchid Trees in pots

🌸 How to grow Orchid Trees in pots

🦋 Everyone loves beautiful Orchid trees with butterfly-like leaves and colorful orchid-like flowers. They are widely used in Southern landscapes. But what if you don't have a room in your garden for another tree? Or what if it gets too cold in winter for a tropical Orchid tree? You can grow it in a pot!

📝 This is how to n enjoy the stunning flowers and foliage of Bauhinia right on your patio or balcony:
  • 💠 Choose the right variety. Some species suitable for containers:

    • B. galpinii, B. madagascariensis, B. monandra, B. alba (candida), B. acuminata, B. bidentata, B. blakeana, B. grandidieri and many others.
  • 💠 Choose the right pot: Select a large, sturdy pot with good drainage holes. Bauhinia trees have a vigorous root system
  • 💠 Use a well-draining potting mix. We recommend a professional soilless mix: Sunshine Abundance.
  • 💠 Sunny location: Position the pot in a location that receives full sun to partial shade. Bauhinia plants thrive in warm, sunny conditions.
  • 💠 Watering: Keep the soil slightly moist but not waterlogged. Water the plant when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch.
  • 💠 Fertilizing: For the most profuse flowering like in the video, feed the Bauhinia with liquid Sunshine Boosters Megaflor year around, it's safe with every watering.
  • 💠 Pruning: Prune the plant to maintain its shape and encourage bushier growth.
  • 💠 Winter Care: If you live in a region with cold winters, bring the pot indoors or to a sheltered location to protect the plant from frost.


📸 Bauhinia monandra - Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree, starts flowering when only 2 ft tall and grows well in containers.

📚 Earlier posts on Bauhinias: 1 2 3
Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings

🛒 Shop Orchid Trees

#Container_Garden #How_to

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