⚠️ 10 common mistakes to avoid with mail order plants

⁉️ Q: How to get happy and healthy plants from mail order? Will they survive the trip and grow well after transportation? What mistakes should I avoid?

✅ A: At Top Tropicals, we have over 20 years of experience shipping plants. We know how to pack them properly and ensure the safest journey possible. We ship the biggest and healthiest plants, and our customers are often amazed at how great they look after a few days in a dark box. But receiving a healthy plant is only half the adventure. Now that the plant is in your hands, it's up to you to keep it thriving. The first couple of weeks after shipping are critical. With the right care, your new plant can reward you with beautiful flowers and fruit for years to come. Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid when buying plants by mail order.

• 
  ⏺1. Not unpacking plants immediately

Leaving plants in the box too long can cause stress or damage. Unpack them as soon as they arrive to let them breathe and adjust.
• 
  ⏺2. Ignoring acclimation

Plants need time to adjust to their new environment. Don't place them in full sun or extreme conditions (heat, wind) right away.
• 
  ⏺3. Overwatering right after arrival

Many people water their new plants too much. Plants often need time to recover from transit, and too much water can cause root rot.
• 
  ⏺4. Stepping up too soon

Repotting immediately in a large pot can cause root rot. Plant in a pot just the size of a root ball, step up only after the plant is showing new growth.
• 
  ⏺5. Ignoring the plant's needs

Research the specific needs of your plant before it arrives. Light, water, and soil requirements vary greatly, and misunderstanding them can lead to issues.

⬇️ Continued in next post 👇

#How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🔍 How to add flowering vines to the landscape

• 🍀 Vines, by their nature, are almost always climbers. There are also some that make good hanging flower vines for your baskets hanging under trees or on the front porch.
• 🍀 Some vines are also in the fruit category. The Passiflora is a beautiful perennial climbing vine that has very showy flowers and then a fruit that can be eaten off the vine or made into a wonderful juice. It would make a nice fast growing vine for a fence or trellis. The Barbados Gooseberry also falls into this category.
• 🍀 One of the most popular fast growing flowering vines is the trumpet vine - Allamanda. It is an evergreen vine and will take some cold without damage, although it is still considered a tropical flowering vine. It can be grown as a large shrub or small tree and makes a beautiful focal point in the landscape.
• 🍀 If you have some large trees in your yard, a great climbing vine for shade that also produces a usable product is the Pepper family. Yes, they flower and yes some of them produce pepper that you can use in your kitchen. If you like to know what is in your food, grow your own!
• 🍀 Another perennial, fast growing and evergreen climbing vine is the Monstera. Monsteras will climb the side of a large tree and can produce an edible fruit after a few years. It is very tropical looking, but will take some cool nights as it is protected under the canopy of the tree.

🎥 Urechites lutea (Pentalinon luteum) - Yellow Mandevilla

🛒 Shop flowering vines

#Hedges_with_benefits #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🔍 How to choose the right flowering trees for your landscape

• 🌷 There are so many flowering and blooming trees to choose from, where should you start? Well there are plenty of questions to ask and several answers for each.
• 🌷 Are you looking for trees that bloom in winter or are you looking for summer flowering trees? Maybe you are looking for the fastest growing shade tree. The choices are endless. Depending on your answer, there may be several trees that meet your needs.
• 🌷 One good place for beginners and even seasoned growers is to use the search features in our Top Tropicals Plant Encyclopedia. Here you can search by name, size, growth habit, light requirements, watering needs, color of bloom and cold hardiness.
• 🌷 You will be able to search for trees that attract butterflies and even those that are salt tolerant if you live near the ocean.
• 🌷 If you choose the small tree category, you will find small flowering trees and even dwarf flowering trees or bonsai starters.

🎥 Phymosia umbellata - Cranberry Malva Aparasolada

🛒 Shop flowering trees

#Trees #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🌺 Unlock the Beauty of Nature at Home!  

🥭 Transform your living space into a tropical paradise with our stunning selection of tropical plants and fruit trees (#Food_Forest) at TopTropicals. Each plant is a gateway to vibrant colors and fresh scents, bringing life and joy to your home.

🌻 But that’s not all! Join our channel for exclusive tips on #How_to nurture your new green companions.

From watering schedules to sunlight needs, we provide everything you need to become a tropical plant whisperer!

🔴 Subscribe now for expert advice: 👉 TopTropicals

⬆️ What is the Secret of Longevity?

"...Time spent in the garden doesn't count against your lifespan..."

• 
  ❣️ Gardening not only helps you stay active and healthy but can also be a fun and rewarding way to extend your life. Let nature nurture you!
• 
  ❣️ Living Longer with Green Spaces: A study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that a 10% increase in vegetation within 1,600 feet of your home can lower your death risk by 4%.
• 
  ❣️ Nature Exposure: Being outside boosts your mood
• 
  ❣️ Exercise: Gardening is a great workout.
• 
  ❣️ Healthy Eating: Grow and eat your own fresh produce. Gardening promotes daily exercise and a plant-based diet.
• 
  ❣️Mind Exercise: Gardening can reduce stress and keep your mind sharp.
• ❣️Many centenarians (people living to 100) gardened and continue gardening! In "blue zones," where people live longer, gardening is common.

#Remedies #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🔥 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


🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

🌸❓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

🏵 TopTropicals

🐰🐁🐿🦫 How to protect fruit in your garden from greedy competitors

• 🥭 Mango season is here, and so are squirrels, bunnies, birds, rats, and raccoons... They also love the delicious fruit but don't like to share. So you may end up getting their leftovers if anything!


Here is how we protect our mango and avocado fruit - so far it works great:

• 💰💰💰 Fruit Protection Bags

These mesh netting bags/covers are made of strong nylon and have an easy drawstring, helping to protect developing fruit on a tree from insects, birds, and rodents. With drawstring closures on both ends, you can easily tighten bag around the fruit. Available from Amazon for only 15 cents a piece.

🥭 🥑🍒 Enjoy your fruit!

🛒 Dont's have your own mango tree? Plant one now to enjoy fruit tomorrow.

📚 Fun reading: Penelope, the Squirrel Cat

#How_to #Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

🌸 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

🏵 TopTropicals

🍧 How to get big shade tree in one season with an ice cream on it? It's real!

• 🍦 Ice Cream Bean Inga is the ultimate fast-growing, shade-providing fruit tree with an irresistible twist! It not only transforms your yard into a cool, inviting oasis in record time but also produces fruit that kids (and adults!) can't get enough of!
• 🍦 Picture this: pods up to a foot long, bursting with sweet, creamy pulp that tastes exactly like ice cream!
• 🍦 Craving instant shade? Perfect for those sunny spots where you need shade, the Ice Cream Bean Inga rapidly unfurls its lush, umbrella-like canopy, creating a natural, leafy retreat in just one season!
• 🍦 With its delectable treats and speedy growth, this extraordinary tree is sure to be the highlight of your garden - where shade and sweetness meet!

🛒 Get shade with ice cream benefit

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts #Nature_Wonders #How_to

🏵 TopTropicals