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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...

Shop Florida Native Plants

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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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.

🛒 Shop Passiflora plants

#Food_Forest #Butterfly_Plants

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How to get an easy and showy butterfly attracting bush

Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder

Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder, flower

Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder, flower

Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder flowering

Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder flowering

💛 How to get an easy and showy butterfly attracting bush 🦋
  • 🐝 Tecoma stans - Yellow Elder is a great everblooming bush or a small tree for your butterfly garden.
  • 🐝 Golden Blooms: Bright yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that light up your garden with vibrant color.
  • 🐝 Pollinator's Delight: Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, adding lively visitors to your garden.
  • 🐝 Drought-Tolerant: Tough and resilient, perfect for sunny spots and low-water gardens.
  • 🐝 Long Blooming: Flowers almost all year round, providing continuous bursts of sunshine.
  • 🐝 Compact Size: Ideal for small spaces or containers, fitting nicely into any garden layout.
  • 🐝 Easy Care: Low-maintenance and hardy to light freeze, great for gardeners of all experience levels.
  • 🐝 Lush Greenery: Rich green foliage that stays beautiful all year, even when not in bloom.
  • 🐝 Tropical Charm: Adds a bright, tropical feel, making every day feel like a sunny getaway.


🛒 Order online

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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Date:

How to always have your own Root Beer

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, Acuyo, False Kava-Kava

🥤 How to always have your own Root Beer
  • 🥙 Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, Acuyo, False Kava-Kava - is a close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava), and Piper nigrum (Black Pepper). It is very often confused with Kava-Kava, and probably has some similar medicinal effects.
  • 🥙 This herb originated from Tropical America and grows also in the South Pacific.
  • 🥙 Large-leaved perennial, known for its leaves, which are used for their spicy aromatic scent and flavor, some liken to root beer, others to anise-clove. It can be used for making a root beer-flavoted drink.
  • 🥙 This species is easily identified by its huge leaves which can grow over a foot long in older specimens.
  • 🥙 The leaves are chopped and used for flavoring, as well as used whole, as wrappings for meats, tamales, etc.


📚 Learn more about Piper plants

🛒 Grow your own Root Beer Plant

#Food_Forest #Remedies

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Date:

What is a good exotic looking flowering plant for a shade garden?

Chrysothemis pulchella - Copper Leaf, Black Flamingo

🔥 What is a good exotic looking flowering plant for a shade garden?
  • 🏀 One of the most unusual looking plants in or shade garden collection is Chrysothemis pulchella - Copper Leaf, Black Flamingo.
  • 🏀 It is a spectacular tropical perennial that can be grown as a houseplant or in a greenhouse.
  • 🏀 From summer to late fall it is covered with showy orange-red flowers, may bloom sporadically several times a year.
  • 🏀 Forms a dense mountain of flowers and foliage.
  • 🏀 The plant forms tubers at the base of the stem. By the end of fall the leaves may die back, the plant goes dormant till spring. Then it re-sprouts in Spring again.
  • 🏀 Reduce water to minimum during dormancy period.


🛒 Order online

#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden


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Date:

Why we want to plant a tree today

Tulip Tree

Code red: Study reveals human degradation of tropical forests
is greater than previously estimated

This summer has been scorching hot across the globe, with every summer month breaking temperature records in recorded history.

Have you ever wondered what kind of natural world your children or grandchildren will inherit? Will they grow up surrounded by lush forests and greenery, or will they only know cities made of metal and concrete?

Tropical forests are super important for biodiversity and fighting climate change, but humans are messing them up more than we thought. Using fancy tech from the International Space Station, scientists found that human activities like logging and road-building are degrading these forests a lot. Even edges of forests are suffering, reducing canopy height and biomass significantly. This degradation is often overlooked, even though it has a huge impact on carbon emissions and biodiversity loss.

Planting trees in your yard, or even better, several trees, helps combat this problem by restoring some of the lost biodiversity and absorbing carbon dioxide. Plus, it's a fun way to make your space greener and contribute to a healthier planet!

Together, we've planted over 15,000 trees this year!

This year at TopTropicals, we have planted quite a few trees. Let's see...
- 44 mango trees planted at our BFarm...
- 49 tropical fruit trees
- 127 flowering trees and shrubs... (special thanks to Mick and Aurelio)
- 15,282 plants were ordered and, hopefully, planted by our customers this year so far...

Join us. Plant a tree today to make the difference!

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffett

Get some plants!

Morning in the forest

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Why Poinciana is super popular tropical flowering tree

Peltophorum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana

Peltophorum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana

Peltophorum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana

Peltophorum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana

Peltophorum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana

🌼 Why Poinciana is super popular tropical flowering tree
  • 🟡 Peltophorum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana, in one of the most popular flowering trees of Tropics, along with Delonix and Jacaranda.
  • 🟡 Golden Showers: It has bright yellow flowers bloom in clusters, creating a stunning, sunshiny display.
  • 🟡 Butterfly Magnet: Attracts butterflies and bees, bringing life and movement to your garden.
  • 🟡 Shade Provider: Its wide, spreading canopy offers a cool, shady spot to relax under.
  • 🟡 Easy Maintenance: Low-maintenance and hardy, making it perfect for those who want beauty without the hassle.
  • 🟡 Tropical Vibe: Adds a lush, tropical feel to any garden, making you feel like you're on a permanent vacation.
  • 🟡 Fast Grower: Quick to grow, so you don’t have to wait long to enjoy its full beauty.
  • 🟡 Elegant Foliage: Delicate, fern-like leaves add an elegant touch and sway gracefully in the breeze.
  • 🟡 Long Blooming Season: Enjoy its gorgeous flowers for an extended period, adding color and joy to your garden.


📚 Three top tropical trees - from the legends of Caribbean

🛒 Order online

#Trees #Butterfly_Plants

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Five most exotic avocado varieties

Avocado Bacon

Avocado Bacon

Avocado Black Prince

Avocado Black Prince

Avocado Mexicola

Avocado Mexicola

Avocado Reed

Avocado Reed

Avocado Russel (red)

Avocado Russel (red)

🥑 Five most exotic avocado varieties

👀 We introduced 10 most popular varieties in our earlier posts. Here are 5 more - interesting and unusual cultivars.
  1. Bacon - A large Mexican variety with dark-skinned medium sized fruits, and a rich creamy flavor. It is very cold hardy, late-producing variety of Avocado tree with exceptional fruit. It is a highly productive tree with a lovely upright and spreading habit. Its dark green, glossy leaves lend an attractive, tropical appeal to the 15-20 feet of heigh. The oval fruits ripen in late fall and into spring. The fruits are easy to peel and have a light, subtle flavor. The tree has angelic sweeping branches which helps keep the tree shorter and easier to pick its fruit.
  2. Black Prince - The fruit was large, oval, 16-36 oz, green and slightly pebbly. The fruit turns black couple days after it is picked, ripens and softens. Black Prince deserves its title! The fruit pulp is thick, and has a rich, nutty flavor. The trees grow vigorously. Superior variety for a backyard grower. Harvesting mid-August to mid-September.
  3. Mexicola - black fruit, rich butter content, one of the most cold hardy varieties. Mature trees may withstand temperatures in the low-mid 20s.
  4. Reed - The fruit is large, weighing over a pound and round in shape. It has a large seed, but plenty of edible flesh. The skin remains green even when ripe. It is described by some as the best tasting avocado, buttery, bold, rich and nutty with an oil content of about 20%. It is a type A avocado, but fruits consistently year after year without other avocado trees around. It can be kept to around 15 feet with pruning. The branches do tend to droop horizontally.
  5. Russel (green and red) - easily recognized by its gourd-like shape, large, 24-36 oz and up to 13 inches long! Flesh is yellow, sweet, excellent quality, the seed is small.


    6. 📚 Learn more: Avocado Variety Guide - check this out for interactive chart of Avocado varieties and sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

    ❔ What is your favorite Avocado variety?
    Share in comments    👇

    🛒 Shop Avocado Trees

    #Food_Forest #Avocado


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Date:

How to grow Lobster Claw

Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw, Parrot's beak

Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw, Parrot's beak

Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw, Parrot's beak

Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw, Parrot's beak

How to grow Lobster Claw
💅 How to grow Lobster Claw
  • 🦞 Heliconia rostrata - Lobster Claw, Parrot's beak is one of the most recognized and widely grown tropical plants, and one of the most beautiful!
  • 🦞 The inflorescence is one of the most colorful you will ever encounter.
  • 🦞 The flowers last a long time and make an excellent cut flower.
  • 🦞 It is an easy grower in tropical areas but some room is required because the stalks can reach 7 feet in height.
  • 🦞 Pretty cold hardy, it can withstand temperatures in the high 20s F.
  • 🦞 Can be grown in large pots in colder areas.


🛒 Grow your own Lobster Claw

#Hedges_with_benefits #Nature_Wonders

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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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