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ow this Raspberry ginger became spiral

Costus vargasii - Spiral Ginger Raspberry Yogurt

😵 How this Raspberry ginger became spiral
  • 🍓Spectacular! Costus vargasii - Spiral Ginger Raspberry Yogurt
  • 🍓This interesting name refers to the colorful raspberry colored stem, but that's not the only colorful thing about this Spiraling Ginger.
  • 🍓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.
  • 🍓This is a large vigorous ginger, the spirals are growing up to 5-6 ft tall!


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🥢 "Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel." – Eleanor Brown

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Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: whats the taste of that Mango variety?

Mango Rainbow tasting table

🌈 Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: what's the taste of that Mango variety?

🥭 We've had another mango tasting table and asked participants to describe the taste in a few words. And this is what we got:
  • 🟠 Haden - mild, melting, classic heavenly mango flavor,dark yellow flesh, almost fiberless.
  • 🟠 Ugly Betty - opposite to the name, the taste is excellent , juicy, melting, sweet.
  • 🟠 Cotton Candy - true candy, fiberless, sweet, melting.
  • 🟠 Madame Fransis - dark orange pulp, slightly fibrous, robust, meaty like a steak, good with cognac. A little pulpy but unique flavor.
  • 🟠 Diamond - bright yellow, fiberless, sugary, juicy, no pulp at all, classic mango taste, good with ice cream, "wow" taste!
  • 🟠 Pickering - zesty, waterfall: all the flavors come at once, eat with White wine and/or a cake. Oval fruit somewhat flat, very large for a dwarf tree!
  • 🟠 Baptiste - hint of citrus, melts in your mouth, dark orange flesh, crisp, eat with Red wine and cheese.
  • 🟠 Florigon - creamy, buttery, spicy. Eat with Ice cream!
  • 🟠 Tommy Atkins - has a bit zing to it, perfect consistency, perfect taste. Super colorful, crimson red to purple skin!
  • 🟠 Nam Doc Mai - gold standard! Perfect every day.
  • 🟠 Carry - tastes even better than all others, smooth buttery, lite!


What Mango varieties have you tried this year?
Share in comments
👇

📝 Previous post: Mango Rainbow Tasting Table

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Can a cactus be fragrant?

Echinopsis sp. - Easter Lily Cactus

🌵Can a cactus be fragrant?

The fragrant Easter Lily Cactus we introduced earlier is in bloom again! The flower only lasts a day or two, but what a delight!

What other cactus species with fragrant flowers do you know? Share in comments👇

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🍷 "Those who come first to the spring drink the purest water." – Ancient Proverb

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Colorful Mexican Clay Pottery:
Now available at our Garden Center!

Colorful Mexican Clay Pottery

Pick up only, no shipping

We've listened to your requests for beautiful planters and pots, and now we're excited to introduce these new items for our local customers!

Discover the charm of Mexican pottery with this handcrafted Talavera clay planter! Each pot is hand-painted with colorful flowers and geometric patterns, making every piece a unique work of art. Plus, it comes with a handy drainage hole to keep your plants happy and healthy!

Handcrafted in Mexico. Each pot has a unique, author's design. Exact details of pattern and color saturation vary.

Colorful Mexican Clay Pottery

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Florida native plants for Florida and beyond

Florida Native Plants

If you live in Florida community with HOA, you may need these plants!

Did you know that we carry Native Florida plants?

At Top Tropicals, we have the biggest selection of tropical plants from around the World, with a special selection of Florida Natives. If you are looking for a particular Florida Native plant, just let us know - we can get them for you, because... we are here in Florida and we know them all!

If your Florida yard is regulated by a Homeowners Association, you may be required to plant native plants or those species on approved list. Why? These policies aim to promote sustainable landscaping practices and protect Florida's unique ecosystems. Although this may seem to limit your choices, there are plenty of Florida-friendly plants to choose from!

In general, native plants are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, making them more resilient and requiring less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. This makes them easy to grow and great for beginners.

Native plants provide essential habitat and food sources for local wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. And Florida flora has a lot to offer for the wildlife!

If you live outside of Florida, our native plants may appear to you as much exotic and rare as those from Asia, S. America or Africa! Let's take a peak at some Natives...

Erythrina herbacea - Coral Bean

In the photo above: Erythrina herbacea - Coral Bean. Coral trees - Erythrinas are very showy, red-flowering small trees that are perfect for locations with poor soil and limited irrigation, very easy to grow, great butterfly and hummingbird attractors..

Acacia farnesiana - Sweet Mimosa

In the photo above: Acacia farnesiana - Sweet Mimosa. One of the most useful tropical plants that is very cold tolerant, blooms all winter through spring with honey-fragrant flowers - canary yellow powder puffs, attracting bees and butterflies. Fast growing bushy tree, tolerates poor soils and drought.

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What is hotter that hot pepper?

Capsicum annuum x chinense - Biquinho Pepper

Capsicum annuum x chinense - Biquinho Pepper

Capsicum annuum x chinense - Biquinho Pepper

Capsicum frutescens - Wiri Wiri Papper

Capsicum frutescens - Wiri Wiri Papper

🔥 What is hotter that hot pepper? Wiri Wiri Pepper! - it's about how to live long and have a great skin.

🌶 These two peppers are a must for spice lovers - intense fruity habanero flavor packs quite a bang! 💥
Extremely showy, these ornamental peppers have culinary benefits and are great for container garden.
  • ❤️ Capsicum annuum x chinense - ❤️-shaped Biquinho Pepper that you saw in earlier post. An exceptionally distinct pepper, an ancient hybrid of Capsicum annuum (bird pepper) and Capsicum chinense (habanero group). While of small size (1"), these heart-shaped red fruits are prolifically produced along the branches of compact plants.

  • 🔴 Capsicum frutescens - Wiri Wiri Pepper from Guyana is the illustrious gem; hard sought and rarely found. This plant produces good yields of small 1/2" berry shaped hot peppers. Peppers grow upright, are very hot, and turn from green, to orange, to red when mature. Guyanese dinners will only take one of those meals for you to never forget! The secret of their food is the flavor, and one of the cornerstone ingredients in many of their dishes is the Wiri pepper. The Guyanese population claim that it is not just a key ingredient to their diet, but also to why they are so good looking, live so long, and have such great skin.


❗️ What makes these peppers so much different than any other hot peppers?
Hot? Yes, it is important that hot peppers are, but the people who really know, know that it is not just about heat, it is about flavor! And that is exactly what makes these little red gems so special.

🧪 For abundant crops, fertilize with Sunshine C-Cibus plant booster.

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Does Red Passion flower produce edible fruit?

Passiflora coccinea - Red Passion Flower

💃 Does Red Passion flower produce edible fruit?
  • ♥️ Passiflora coccinea, or Red Passion Flower, is a spectacular, passion-red variety!
  • ♥️ It is tropical, evergreen vine from South America known for its stunning scarlet-red flowers and edible passion fruit. Yes, the fruit are edible, but they are very rarely seen.
  • ♥️ It thrives in full sun or part shade with fertile, well-drained soils and can grow up to 10-12 feet long.
  • ♥️ This easy-to-grow plant is perfect for trellises, walls, and containers. Minimal pruning is needed, and it blooms primarily in summer and fall.
  • ♥️ Attracting butterflies and hummingbirds 🦋🐝


💻 Do you grow Passion vines? Share yours in comments👇

📚 From previous post: The truth about Passion flower and Passion fruit.

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🐈 "Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Stop running like crazy trying to catch up; enjoy the journey instead."

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