🟢 What dos Sugar Apple look like and how does it taste?

😋 Annona squamosa - Sugar apple, is considered by many to be the most delicious tropical fruit. The fruit is a true treat, with pulp that resembles creamy custard, offering a flavor experience that’s hard to beat.

🕺 This very small, compact tree is perfect for containers or small yards, making it an excellent choice for home gardeners. It starts fruiting within just three years from seed and is remarkably easy to grow and undemanding.

📚 More about Anonnas in previous posts:
Guanabana - the most delicious Annona fruit
Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
The best tropical fruit tree for container growing, and the fastest to fruit: Annona
Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?

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🍿 Getting popcorn ready: let's wait and see! 🍿

🍿 "Sometimes the best way to predict the future is to let it unfold." - Abraham Lincoln

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🐵 Monkey Orange or Monkey Ear? 🙉

• 🍊 Besides bizarre Monkey Ear Tree that we mentioned earlier, there is another interesting Monkey Tree -
• 🍊 The Monkey Orange (Strychnos spinosa) is a captivating fruit tree from tropical Africa and Madagascar, known for its vibrant yellow fruits and wide range of uses.
• 🍊This small to medium-sized tree, has glossy leaves and thorny branches that make it visually striking.
• 🍊What does the Monkey Orange taste like?

The fruits, size of an orange, have a hard shell that protects their sweet-tart pulp with interesting pleasant taste somewhat similar to mangosteen. Some people say it tastes like a mix of citrus and pineapple with a hint of fermentation.
• 🍊Rich in vitamin C and B vitamins, the fruit can be enjoyed fresh or transformed into jams, juices, and even wine.
• 🍊Its durable wood is prized for carvings, and its leaves and roots are used in traditional medicine and as natural insecticides.
• 🍊Slow-growing yet resilient, this hardy tree thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, offering beauty, nourishment, and practicality - an excellent choice for tropical or subtropical landscapes.

🐒 Why is it called Monkey Orange?
The "monkey orange" likely gets its name from its appeal to monkeys that eat the fruit and distribute the seeds in their habitat in Africa.

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⭐️ What plant can bloom profusely in full shade in Winter

• 🍬 Philippine violet (Barleria cristata) - is a blooming star for a shade garden! It is a cheerful, fuss-free shrub that can brighten up shady spots with its trumpet-shaped flowers.
• 🍬 Standing about 3-4 feet tall, it fits perfectly as a hedge or can be trimmed into neat shapes for a tidy look.
• 🍬 Its flowers, in lovely shades of lilac purple, mauve, white, or even striped, burst into clusters from November to mid-December, adding a pop of color when many plants take a rest.
• 🍬 Each flower lasts a couple of days, only to be replaced by fresh blooms from its many buds. The fallen petals create a gorgeous purple blanket around the plant, making it a visual treat even on the ground.
• 🍬 This plant thrives in both sun and full shade! It doesn't ask for much - just a little pruning now and then to keep it bushy and happy.
• 🍬 Add this eye candy to your shade garden, and let these Winter flowers steal the show!
• 🍬 Philippine violet is also a perfect exotic plant for container culture or even an indoor collection.

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🌹 Smell the roses!

😏 "Stop and smell the roses." - Walter Hagen

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🍉 What tropical fruit is better than a watermelon? Wax Jamboo!

• 🍐 Syzygium samarangense, commonly known as Wax Jamboo, Java Apple, or Macopa, is an attractive tree native to tropical regions, with striking, glossy leaves and beautiful, fragrant flowers.
• 🍐 It produces pear-shaped fruits with smooth, waxy skin in varying colors, including white, green, pink, and crimson.
• 🍐 In tropical climates, it can yield abundant crops with up to 700 fruits per tree, harvested in two fruiting seasons annually!
• 🍐 Wax Jamboo is known for its crisp, crunchy texture and refreshing, mildly sweet flavor, making it a popular choice for both eating fresh and using in various culinary dishes. They're widely used in Indian-Ocean-Island cuisine for fresh salads or lightly sautéed dishes.
• 🍐 This tree is not just decorative; it's also quite low-maintenance. It thrives in fertile, well-drained soil with adequate rainfall and some humidity, and it is hardy down to just above freezing temperatures. It's also perfect for container gardening, requiring minimal care apart from regular watering and occasional feeding
• 🍐 Wax Jamboo fruits are often compared to watermelons because of their juicy, thirst-quenching properties, making them a fantastic treat on hot days.

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🥥 Fragrant Butter Cup of Gold with Coconut fragrance

🏆 Butter Cup is again in full bloom and aroma!

🎥 Cup-of-Gold, Butter Cup or Chalice Vine (Solandra) - is a large, stunning, vigorous vine with huge fragrant flowers shaped like chalices.

📚 Learn more from previous post:
How to cover a fence quickly with a large impressive vine?

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🤎 Catching a gecko: who will win?

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

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🌸 How this breath-taking flowering tree stays so compact

• 🌸 Ceiba hybrid - Dwarf Pink Princess - is one of the #Nature_Wonders that takes your breath away!
• 🌸 A compact marvel of nature that redefines beauty in small spaces, this exquisite hybrid of the Pink Silk Floss Tree (Ceiba speciosa) grows to a manageable height of just 8-12 feet, making it perfect for small yards or container gardening.


In bloom, the tree is a spectacle: nearly leafless, with its crown exploding into tens of thousands of pink flowers, creating a vibrant, colorful mass.
• 🌸 Its spreading crown and profusion of blossoms make it a showstopper, proving that you don’t need a giant tree to make a big impact.

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🍾 How to start your own vineyard

🍷 Can grapes grow in the tropics?

• 🍇 Yes! With the right varieties, like muscadines and low-chill, heat-tolerant hybrids, grapes can thrive in tropical climates. For example:
• 🍇 Vitis labrusca x vinifera - Blanc du Bois Grape: A hybrid prized for winemaking, combining European and native Florida grapes. It's heat-tolerant, disease-resistant, and thrives in the southern U.S., even in alkaline or salty soils.
• 🍇 Vitis x rotundifolia - Southern Home Seedless Grape: A gorgeous vine with delicate leaves and clusters of deep purple, sweet-tart grapes. It was developed at the University of Florida to handle heat and humidity. Self-pollinating and perfect for fresh eating.

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