Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

✍️ From seed to fruit. How to grow Loquat from seeds, step-by-step guide. Part 1: planting seeds

• 🍑 1. Harvesting and Preparing Seeds

• ▫️Harvest: Select ripe Loquat fruits (when they are bright yellow color) and remove 1-3 seeds from each.
• ▫️Clean: Rinse seeds thoroughly in cool water to remove all fruit residue. Like with every fruit seeds, any pulp leftover may prevent germination and/or cause rot of the seeds.
• ▫️Storage: If not planting immediately, wrap seeds in a damp paper towel and store in a vented container with moist sawdust or moss (to avoid drying out) at room temperature (if stored a few days) or at 40F if stored for over a week. Seeds can remain viable for up to 3-6 months. Refrigerating the fruit doesn't harm the seeds, although may take seeds longer to germinate. If the seeds are slightly dry, soak them in water overnight.

• 🍑 2. Planting Seeds

▫️Container: Use a pot with a good drainage.

• ▫️Soil: Fill with well-draining, soilless potting mix (no compost or top soil). Perfect seed germination mix is Abundance Mix: peat moss (or coconut fiber) - 80%, perlite - 10%, small pieces of pine bark - 10%.
• ▫️Depth: Plant seeds 1" deep. Place them horizontally.
• ▫️Spacing: Multiple seeds can be planted in one pot or tray (with drainage holes); space them adequately. You can use so called “community pots”, then separate the seedlings once they reach 2-4" in height.

🍑 3. Germination Conditions

• ▫️Light: Place the pot in a bright, warm area with temperatures at least (and above) 70F . The warmer, the faster the germination. We germinate seeds in a "hot house" where temperatures can reach 100F.
• ▫️Moisture: Keep the soil consistently moist but not wet.
• ▫️Germination Time: Loquat seeds germinate within 2-4 weeks.

Continued in next post ⤵️

🛒 Shop Loquat Trees and enjoy fresh fruit benefits

#Food_Forest #Loquat

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The Marble Queen that thrives on neglect

• Epipremnum aureum Marble Queen - is a regal stunner with cascading vines of creamy white, yellow, and green variegated leaves that demand attention without demanding much care.
• This low-maintenance beauty flourishes indoors with bright, indirect light and just enough moisture.
• Often called Devil's Ivy or Money Plant, it's nearly impossible to kill - and brings a luck and prosperity while it's at it. A true queen that rules with ease!

🛒 Bring home the Marble Queen

📚More exciting philodendrons:

• 🔘Philodendron hederaceum mediopictum Brazil
• 🔘What is the most colorful houseplant: Chartreuse Vine of Gold
• 🔘 What rare showy Paraiso thrives indoors
• 🔘 How big does Paraiso Verde grow
• 🔘 The best plants for a bathroom oasis
• 🔘 Swiss Cheese Plant is so holy!

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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💜 This is what we plant for a compact colorful hedge solution

• 💜 Thunbergia erecta - Kings Mantle - is currently in full bloom in our garden, showcasing its vibrant flowers that last almost year-round.
• 💜 One of our favorite flowering shrubs, it's compact, easy-going, and perfect for adding a splash of color.
• 💜 Available in blue, white, and even variegated lavender flowers, King's Mantle thrives in both sun and filtered light, with its dense, manageable habit making it ideal for low-growing hedges or garden specimens.
• 💜 It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, and with simple pruning, it stays under 4 feet while producing a profusion of blooms.
• 💜 Hardy to 30°F and suitable for USDA Zones 9-11, it's also great for container gardening in colder regions.

🛒 Shop Thunbergias - colorful flowers for sun and shade

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️ Variegated flowers of Lavender Ice
• ▫️ Why is it called King's Mantle
• ▫️ Perfect everblooming hedge for shade

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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❤️ Most valuable things cannot be purchased...

"With money, you can buy a bed, but not sleep; food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; servants, but not friends; women, but not love; a house, but not a home; entertainment, but not joy; teachers, but not wisdom." - Socrates (Scooby the Cat agrees!)

🐈 PeopleCats.Garden 
#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🐉 How to grow Dragon Fruit

• 
  🌵 Selenicereus megalanthus - Yellow Pitaya, Dragon Fruit Palora, is the best tasting Dragon Fruit in the world that is not only sweet, it has a great flavor (unlike most pitayas that are pretty watery).
• 
  🌵This particular species of Dragon fruit doesn't mind regular water and rains but is also drought-tolerant. Watch a short video how to grow it:

📱

📚 Learn more:

• · Planting your own Dragon Fruit plantation
• · Do-It-Yourself Support Structure for Dragon Fruit
• · Grow Your Own Exotic Dragon Fruit Garden
• · Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: Dragon fruit
• · What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like?
• · Why you need to grow your own dragon fruit
• · Do red, white and yellow Dragon fruit taste differently?
• · What to do with a lot of Dragon Fruit

🛒Grow your own Tasty Dragon Fruits

#Food_Forest #How_to #Dragon_Fruit

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❤️ Mandevilla or Dipladenia?

❓Q: What is the correct name – Mandevilla or Dipladenia? I see both names in garden centers, and they come in many colors. What color is Dipladenia and what is Mandevilla?

‼️ A: Both names are correct, and you’ll often see them used interchangeably - but they aren’t exactly the same. Mandevilla and Dipladenia are closely related, and with so many hybrids, the lines between them can blur.

🌺 Difference Between Mandevilla and Dipladenia

• 💋Mandevilla is a vigorous woody vine with large, stiff leaves. It’s ideal for vertical spaces like trellises and fences.
• 💋Dipladenia is a bushier, more compact plant with smaller, smoother leaves. While it can be trained on a trellis, it’s better suited for hanging baskets, pots, or as a specimen plant.
• 💋Both Mandevilla and Dipladenia come in a variety of colors - white, pink, red, and even yellow so color is not what distinguishes them. It's the growth habit and leaf type that set them apart.

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️How to grow Mandevilla: Practical Guide
• ▫️How to overwinter Mandevilla indoors

🛒 Explore Mandevilla-Dipladenia colors: collect them all!

#How_to #Container_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits

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☀️ Flower of Happiness and Sunshine

📸 Photos of Adenium Sunshine for the previous post 👆

🛒 Shop adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Adenium

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☀️ Bring Sunshine to your garden - no forecast needed!

• ☀️ Adenium Sunshine is a radiant beauty that lives up to its name!
• ☀️ With mauve and yellow swirls across its multi-layered blooms, this flower glows like a warm summer day. The soft blending of colors creates a dynamic, cheerful display that feels like Happiness and Sunshine rolled into one.
• ☀️ A joyful, uplifting addition to your garden that brightens every glance.

See photos of the actual Adenium Sunshine in next post 👇

🛒 Shop the Sunshine Bloom

📚 More adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts #Adenium

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😆 Tomorrow is ours

"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose." - Lyndon B. Johnson.

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#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🌈 Why Mallika Mango is stealing the spotlight in small gardens

Mallika mango is a top-tier Indian dessert mango with rich flavor, zero fiber, and condo-friendly size. It is a semi-dwarf mango from India known for its deep orange, fiberless flesh and intense sweetness with citrus and melon notes. The fruit is harvested mature-green and ripens off the tree at room temperature, reaching peak flavor after 2 to 3 weeks. Small but highly productive, Mallika is ideal for containers and prized for its flavor, disease resistance, and reliability. Best eaten fresh, but also excellent for juice and dried mango slices.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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🐈‍⬛ The purrrfect hypoallergenic Cat Tail

• 🔥 Acalypha hispida, also known as the Chenille Plant or Red Hot Cattail, is a bold tropical bloomer with long, fuzzy red tassels that look just like fluffy cat tails!
• 🔥 This fast-growing shrub can reach 5-10 feet tall, or be kept trimmed as a showy hedge or container plant.
• 🔥 In warm climates, it blooms year-round with dramatic, pendulous flowers in shades of red, pink, white, and crimson. Its vibrant tassels dangle like living ornaments, making it a favorite for tropical gardens, patios, and sunrooms.
• 🔥 Tough and salt-tolerant, it even thrives near the coast. Give it bright light, occasional trims, and enjoy a non-stop floral display -with no sneezing required!

🛒 Bring home the allergy-free cat tail

#Trees #Container_Garden

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How to drink without wetting your mustache 🐱

"Get a straw!" - James Coconuts the Cat

Sound on 🎤

🐈 PeopleCats.Garden 
#PeopleCats #Quotes

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💖 How long until I get fruit from my Lychee tree?

• 🍓 Is your Lychee tree ever going to fruit? Yes!
• 🍓 A Lychee tree grown from an air-layered plant (Litchi chinensis) can start flowering and setting fruit right away, with good crops to be expected within 3 to 5 years, but don’t expect fruit every season. Lychees are often alternate bearers, meaning they may produce a heavy crop one year and little to none the next. Factors like variety, weather, and the tree's health affect this cycle.
• 🍓 Lychees cannot be reliably grown from seed or grafted, as seedlings lack the necessary mycorrhizal environment found under mature trees. For best results, always start with a quality air-layered tree from a trusted source.

🛒 Shop Lychee varieties

📚 Learn more:

• 🔘 Why my Lychee tree is not producing fruit and why I can't grow a Lychee tree from a seed?
• 🔘 How to grow a Lychee tree and have a reliable crop. Practical Guide to Growing Lychee.
• 🔘 What are the best varieties of Lychee Tree?
• 🔘 The best fruit in the world: how to grow your own Lychee tree.

🎥 In the video: This Lychee Mauritus tree (very productive variety) was planted last year, and already has fruited; this is the second year crop.

#Food_Forest #Discover

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What plant is bold, bright, and born to stand out indoors?

• Bold, bright, and full of contrast! Philodendron Mediopictum hederaceum Brazil (Heart Leaf Philodendron) turns heads with its striking heart-shaped leaves splashed with vivid yellow down the center, set against deep green edges.
• Add in the pink-orange stems, and you've got a living work of art that's both elegant and electric.
• A must-have for variegation lovers!

🛒 Add Philodendron Brazil to your collection

📚More exciting philodendrons:

• 🔘What is the most colorful houseplant: Chartreuse Vine of Gold
• 🔘 What rare showy Paraiso thrives indoors
• 🔘 How big does Paraiso Verde grow
• 🔘 The best plants for a bathroom oasis
• 🔘 Swiss Cheese Plant is so holy!

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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🐰 More Bunnies!

📸 Adenium White Rabbit for the previous post 👆

🛒 Shop adeniums

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Adenium

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