Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Garlic vine (Mansoa alliacea)

Lychee (Litchi sinensis) - fruit on a tree

Lychee (Litchi sinensis) - fruit

Lychee (Litchi sinensis) - tree

Musa coccinea - Scarlet Red Flowering Banana

💄 Does Red flowering banana produce fruit?

🌷 Musa coccinea - Scarlet Red Flowering Banana - is a rare, small size tropical banana tree native to China and Vietnam, known for its vibrant red flower bracts that surround delicate yellow blooms.
🌷 With glossy, dark green leaves resembling classic banana foliage, this plant makes a striking addition to a rare plant collection.
🌷 Although it doesn't produce edible bananas, it grows small orange fruits that enhance its ornamental appeal.
🌷 The plant's pseudostems die back after flowering, but new shoots (banana pups) emerge from the roots, ensuring its continued growth.
🌷 Compact and easy to grow, it's perfect for small gardens, pots, or as a colorful indoor arrangement.

Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus, flower

Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus, tree

Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus, flower

Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus, flower close-up

Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus, fruit

💐 This is why it's called Heaven Lotus Tree - fragrant and edible!

Gustavia augusta - Heaven Lotus - is a stunning, small tropical tree from Brazil that looks like it stepped right out of a tropical paradise. The spectacular, perfumed flowers resembling Lotus are as beautiful as they are unique.
These large, striking blooms with white-and pink petals and a magic sweet fragrance are so eye-catching that the central crown almost looks good enough to eat!
Straight, often unbranched trunk, with a single cluster of leaves at the top, gives it a palm-like vibe. As it grows older, it may sprout a few large branches, each with its own leafy crown. The leaves are huge - no other tree around has leaves quite as big, except maybe a palm. They're long, narrow at the base, and broad at the top, making them a real showstopper.
The rounded, pear-shaped fruit grow directly on the trunk (a trait called cauliflory, see earlier post) and contains delicious yellowish-orange pulp that can be boiled and resemble meat in taste. The leaves, when boiled into a decoction, are said to cure intoxication.
Truly an exciting, one-of-a-kind tree, a gem for collectors! Can be grown in containers.

Dichorisandra thyrsiflora - Blue Ginger, Sapphire Gem

💎 Is Sapphire Gem really a ginger?

💎 Despite its name, Blue Ginger is not a true ginger but a member of the Commelinaceae family, closely related to the well-known Tradescantia houseplants.
💎 Dichorisandra thyrsiflora - Blue Ginger, Sapphire Gem is a clump-forming perennial enchants with its deep sapphire-blue blooms - a rare and striking color for the tropics.
💎 Growing 2-5 feet tall, it features dark green stems with leopard-like spots at the leaf axils and shiny, horizontally held foliage.
💎 Native to Brazil and Peru, Blue Ginger thrives in semi-shade or partial shade with moist, well-draining soil, making it an ideal addition to shade gardens, patios, or indoor collections.
💎 Its vibrant blue, lavender, or purple flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators, creating a lively display.
💎 In warm climates it remains evergreen and can tolerate brief dips into the low 30s. In cooler regions, it grows beautifully in pots and can be overwintered indoors in a cool, bright location. For best results, keep the soil moist but not waterlogged, maintain good air circulation, and fertilize moderately during the growing season.
💎 In warm environment, the plant is evergreen and doesn't go dormant (unlike true gingers). Close relative - Dichorisandra pendula - Weeping Blue Ginger