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How to grow your own vanilla orchid at home

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia)

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia)

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia), flower

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia), flower

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia), seed pods beans

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia), seed pods beans

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia)

Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia)

🪩 How to grow your own vanilla orchid at home
  • 🍨 The Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is a tropical climbing beauty and the source of the world’s favorite spice - vanilla. This luxurious plant adds elegance to any space, indoors or out.
  • 🍨 A piece of history: Once revered by the Aztecs for flavoring the decadent cacao drink Xoco-latl, vanilla remains a symbol of comfort, luxury, and flavor.
  • 🍨 Why it's special: Vanilla pods are scentless at first and develop their rich aroma after careful curing - a reason it’s the second most expensive spice after saffron.
  • 🍨 How to grow Vanilla Orchid:

  • · Support: Use a trellis, log, or burlap-covered board for climbing.
  • · Light: Bright, indirect light works best.
  • · Environment: Keep it warm and humid, like its natural tropical habitat.
  • · For pots: Add a mini-trellis or small log to mimic its natural climbing needs.

  • 🍨 Why you'll love it:

  • Growing your own vanilla means adding a slice of the tropics to your home, with the chance to harvest your own vanilla beans for homemade extracts. It's beautiful, exotic, and endlessly rewarding.
  • 🍨 Ready to start your vanilla journey? Add a Vanilla Bean Orchiв to your cart and bring this fragrant, elegant treasure home today!


📚 Learn more from previous post:
The Secret of how to Make Vanilla Orchid bloom

🛒 Shop Vanilla Bean Orchids

#Shade_Garden #How_to

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Date:

Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers

Barleria cristata Lavender Lace (Striped Philippine Violet)

⭐️ Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers
  • 🔮 Looking for an easy, compact, beautiful shrub that takes both sun and shade? Barleria cristata Lavender Lace (Striped Philippine Violet) is a rare and stunning variety perfect for fall and winter blooms.
  • 🔮 Striking lavender-and-white-striped trumpet-shaped blooms appear in clusters from Fall through Winter. They are truly striped! 👀
  • 🔮 Grows to about 3 feet tall, perfect as a garden hedge or shaped into neat geometrical forms with minimal pruning.
  • 🔮 Needs some sun for profuse flowering and occasional pruning to encourage bushy growth.
  • 🔮 Can handle cooler temperatures, making it a reliable fall and winter bloomer.


🛒 Plant Lavender Lace

#Container_Garden #Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden

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Date:

People or PeopleCats?

People or PeopleCats?
🥰 People or PeopleCats?

👍 "Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year." – Victor Borge

Share your cats in comments!
📸 🐈🐈🐈👇

🔠 More #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden 

#Quotes

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Date:

What is the secret of Mameys popularity

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

😎 What is the secret of Mamey's popularity
  • 🍊 Pouteria sapota, or Mamey Sapote - is a large tropical fruit with a thick, rough skin and sweet, creamy orange flesh with sweet and pumpkin-like flavor.
  • 🍊 It's eaten fresh, blended into smoothies, or used in desserts like ice cream and shakes.
  • 🍊 National fruit of Cuba, native to the Caribbean and Central America, Mamey has been cultivated for centuries and is valued for its rich flavor and high nutritional content.


Flowers emerge in clusters in the axils of fallen leaves along the branches, followed by the showy fruit. This is called cauliflory - when plants flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks. Other examples of cauliflory are Cucumber tree and Jaboticaba.

📚 More from previous post:
Why exotic Mamey is so much wanted

🛒 Order Mamey Tree

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts

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Date:

Why Red Cactus is better than Christmas Cactus

Red Rhipsalis (Rhipsalis ramulosa)

😡 Why Red Cactus is better than Christmas Cactus
  • ⛔️ Everybody wants this plant when they see it! Red Rhipsalis (Rhipsalis ramulosa) is a show-stopper with its arched, flat stems that cascade into a pendant display. When exposed to bright light, the stems turn a stunning violet-red, adding a vibrant pop of color to your space.
  • ⛔️ Flat, ribbon-like stems deepen to violet-red in high light. Tiny flowers and ornamental shell-like berries line the edges for an extra decorative touch.
  • ⛔️ Can be grown as a creeper or in hanging baskets for a dramatic display. In bright light, the leaves are bright red year around - this is why it is even better than popular Christmas Cactus that blooms only once a year!
  • ⛔️ Thrives in full sun to semi-shade with moderate watering. Use well-drained soil to prevent root rot and pinch the tips to encourage fuller growth.
  • ⛔️ Looking for a unique and low-maintenance plant? Whether indoors in a pot or outdoors as a garden accent, Red Rhipsalis brings a touch of the exotic with minimal effort. Its vibrant stems and easy care make it a must-have for any plant lover!


🛒Get your own Red Rhipsalis Cactus

#Container_Garden

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Date:

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah
🎄 Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah 🕎

Since 1900, the first night of Hanukkah has fallen on December 25 five times: 1910, 1921, 1959, 2005, and now 2024.

❤️ Wishing everybody Peace and Love!

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Date:

Merry Christmas, everybody!

👋 Merry Christmas, everybody! ❄️

  • 🎄 Today, let's set aside our differences and unite in joy, smiles, and cherished family moments. No matter your beliefs or religion, we come together in our shared love for gardening. The spirit of tropical beauty is something we all hold dear, connecting us across all divides.

  • 🎄 Wishing you happiness, health, and a vibrant green life during this festive season and beyond. Stay happy, stay healthy, and stay green!


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Date:

Cat Christmas Fairy Tale: how to collapse a Christmas Tree

🧝 Cat Christmas Fairy Tale: how to collapse a Christmas Tree 🥰

🎄 Merry Christmas, everyone!

🦌 May your pets be as helpful and productive this season as our #PeopleCats at TopTropicals!

  • 🔴 Whether it's "redecorating" the tree, "reorganizing" the ornaments, or "stress testing" the branches, they're always full of holiday cheer... and a little chaos! 🐾


📱 Watch in high quality on YouTube and next post👇

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Date:

Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog?

Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog? Nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans)

Nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans)


Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum cassia).

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum cassia).

☕️ Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog?

☕️ Eggnog is made from milk, cream, sugar, beaten eggs, and two spices: Nutmeg and Cinnamon. Both nutmeg and cinnamon come from spice trees:

🥧 Nutmeg is made from the seed of the Nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans).

🔥Cinnamon comes from the bark of the Cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum cassia).

🥂 These spices add the classic, warming flavors that make eggnog so popular during the holiday season.

🛒 Shop Spice Trees

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Fun_facts

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Date:

What is the most popular Christmas plant?

Christmas Orchid Cactus - Schlumbergera

😂 What is the most popular Christmas plant?
  • 🥳 Every one knows Christmas Orchid Cactus - Schlumbergera. But this rare variety is exceptional - it is called New Deal.

  • This remarkable Christmas cactus hybrid has spectacular, large-flowers and blooms twice a season.
  • 🥳 New Deal is completely lost to the trade today, but we have it at Top Tropicals for the first time after it was originally offered for purchase at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden over 90 years ago while having a special rare plant sale on the day of the famous presidential election on November 8, 1932 when F.D.R. was historically voted in as the next American president.
  • 🥳 The plants we are offering are all 3rd generation vegetative propagation from an original specimen (still alive btw). Its name New Deal - is identical to President Franklin D. Roosevel main campaign slogan 🇺🇸
  • 🥳 Not only is New Deal an exceptionally obscure, heirloom cultivar especially easy to grow under average house plant conditions,
  • 🥳 It reliably produces almost an overabundance of brilliant violet-pink and white flowers which are easily an inch larger than any other variety.


💕 Do you have Christmas cactus at home? What colors? Share your pictures!

📚 Learn more:
"New Deal" - a remarkable Christmas cactus

🛒 Order Schlumbergera New Deal

#Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

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