Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 4 Oct 2024

How big is the Little Gem?

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia, flower

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia, flower

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia, tree

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia, tree

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia, flower

Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia, flower

💎 How big is the Little Gem?

  • 🕊 Looking for a cold-hardy tree with majestic flowers and a scent that could make angels swoon? Meet the Little Gem Magnolia! This delightful dwarf variety of the Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia - packs all the charm without the towering height.
  • 🕊 With large, perfect white flowers that emit a divine fragrance, this beautiful columnar tree is like nature's perfume dispenser.
  • 🕊 The leaves? They’re fluffy and brown underneath, like a teddy bear wearing a velvet jacket!
  • 🕊 Though it’s called a "dwarf," don’t be fooled - Little Gem can still reach up to 8-10 feet wide if planted in the ground, offering plenty of blooms even when young.
  • 🕊 While it's slow-growing, this compact beauty is perfect for small gardens where space is precious. Ideal perfume tree for container garden.
  • 🕊 Whether it's in a container or part of your landscape, this magnolia is a total showstopper. If you're ready for a tree that blends elegance, fragrance, and manageable size, Little Gem is your new best friend!


📚 Learn more:



🛒 Order Little Gem Magnolia

#Perfume_Plants #Trees

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 15 May 2024

How can Banana be a flower? Meet the Banana Magnolia, a Fragrant Marvel

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

Magnolia figo - Banana Magnolia

🍌 How can Banana be a flower? Meet the Banana Magnolia, a Fragrant Marvel.
  • Magnolia figo, or Banana Magnolia, boasts creamy yellow, banana-shaped flowers with a sweet, fruity aroma with a hint of banana.
  • Glossy, deep green foliage enhances its visual charm.
  • Compact and evergreen, reaching only 7-10 feet, this small tree or shrub adds sophistication to any landscape.
  • Cold tolerant and heat tolerant. Takes sun and shade.
  • Great choice for both gardens and containers.


🛒 Buy Banana Magnolia

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 27 Jun 2024

Is Magnolia edible? Vanilla Magnolia: its for cooking!

Florida Sweet Bay - Vanilla Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Florida Sweet Bay - Vanilla Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Florida Sweet Bay - Vanilla Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Florida Sweet Bay - Vanilla Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Florida Sweet Bay - Vanilla Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

❔ Is Magnolia edible? Vanilla Magnolia: it's for cooking!



💮 Florida Sweet Bay, or Vanilla Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) has beautiful flowers with strong vanilla fragrance, while the leaves offer unique culinary uses.
  • 🔹 Strong vanilla scent: fragrance can be noticed hundreds of yards away.
  • 🔹 White, delicate blooms.
  • 🔹 Unique leaf flavor: fresh leaves have a distinct taste, fun for cooking. Sweet Bay offers unique cooking flavors.
  • 🔹 Prefers moist, acidic soil conditions, tolerates flooding, ideal for wet spots in your yard.
  • 🔹 Pest-free: no bugs or other pests.


🛒 Shop Magnolia trees

#Trees #Perfume_Plants

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 25 Apr 2026

🎁 Mothers Day plant gift guide: something for every kind of mom

Skip the bouquet, give her something that grows

Four  potted  tropical  plants  in  bloom  -  Magnolia  Little  Gem,  Champaka, 
 Jasmine  Sambac,  and  Plumeria  -  arranged  on  gravel  in  a  garden  setting 
 against  a  light 
 fence.

Magnolia Little Gem, Champaka, Jasmine Sambac, and Plumeria

Some gifts last a few days. These don't. Right now, these plants are at their best in our nursery - full, established, and ready to impress the moment she sees them. This year, give her something that doesn’t fade. Pick a plant that will keep growing, blooming, and reminding her of you long after Mother's Day is over. Here are a few easy ways to choose the right one.

All of these grow well in containers and are beginner-friendly.

1. For moms who love fragrance - give her living perfume ✨

These are the plants people remember. Soft, rich scent that fills the garden, patio, or even a warm evening indoors.

- Champaka Joy Perfume Tree - the legendary Joy perfume flower - rich, sweet, and unmistakably bubble gum-like.
- Magnolia Little Gem - the classic Southern magnolia in a smaller form - big, creamy, fragrant blooms that never go out of style.
- Wrightia religiosa - a sacred Buddhist tree - delicate white flowers with a soft jasmine fragrance that feels calm and refined.
- Jasmine Sambac - intensely fragrant and impossible to ignore - once you have it, you won’t want a garden without it
- Plumeria - the iconic Aloha flower - bold color, rich perfume, and pure tropical feeling in bloom.
- Parijat Tree Jasmine (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) - blooms at night and fills the air with a gentle, unforgettable fragrance.

  • 🛒 Shop Perfume plants

    2. For easy care and everyday enjoyment - beautiful, low maintenance choices 🌸

    No fuss. No overthinking. Just strong, reliable plants that look good and keep going

    - Jatropha podagrica - Buddha Belly - a quirky caudex plant with a swollen trunk and bright red flowers that shows character without needing much care.

- Dorstenia bahiensis - Mattress Button Plant - a strange, sculptural plant with flat, button-like blooms that always gets people curious.
- Columnea - Flying Goldfish Plant - trailing stems covered in bright orange flowers that look just like little goldfish in motion.
- Adeniums - collectible forms in many colors - bold caudex shapes and striking blooms, easy to grow and hard to stop collecting.

🛒 Shop Indoor Garden

3. For the plant collector - rare, unusual, unforgettable 🔮

For moms who already have a garden... and still want something different.

- Rainbow Eucalyptus - a one-of-a-kind tree with peeling bark that reveals streaks of green, orange, red, and purple like living artwork.
- Tacca Bat Head Lily - an unforgettable plant with dark, bat-shaped flowers and long whiskers that look almost unreal.
- Dwarf Ceiba Princess - a rare, compact silk floss tree with a sculptural trunk and soft, showy blooms that feel truly special.

🛒 Shop Rare Plants

4. For the fruit lover - grow something she can enjoy and taste 🍒

A gift that turns into harvest. Fresh fruit, right from her own garden.

- Jaboticaba - a truly unique fruit tree that produces sweet, grape-like fruit right on the trunk, turning it into a conversation piece.
- Rose Apple - crisp, refreshing fruit with a light floral taste and a beautiful ornamental tree to match.
- Java Plum (Jambolan) - deep purple fruit with a sweet-tart flavor, loved for both its taste and its shade tree presence.
- Mango - the king of tropical fruit - rich, sweet, and incredibly rewarding to grow in your own garden.
- Avocado - creamy, nutrient-rich fruit from a tree that becomes a long-term staple in the garden.
- Eugenia cherries - Surinam Cherry, Rio Grande and Grumichama - compact trees with glossy foliage and delicious, dark cherries that are easy to grow and quick to fruit.

🛒 Shop Fruit trees and edibles

Potted  tropical  fruit  trees  including  jaboticaba,  Wax  jambu,  Java  plum,
    mango,  avocado,  and  Eugenia  cherries  arranged  in  a  nursery  setting  on 
 gravel.

Tropical fruit trees selection - from Jaboticaba fruiting on the trunk to Mango, Avocado, and rare Eugenia cherries - a great mix for building a productive food forest.

Mothers Day Gift Card 💌

Mother’s  Day  themed  Top  Tropicals  gift  certificate  with  a  pink 
 decorative  frame  filled  with  jasmine,  plumeria,  magnolia,  and  champaka 
 flowers,  tropical  fruits  across  the  center,  and  a  Happy  Mothers  Day  banner 
 at  the  top,  with  space  for  certificate  details  and 
 message.

Mother’s Day Top Tropicals gift certificate

Still not sure what to choose? A gift card keeps it simple. She can pick exactly what she wants, when she is ready for it. No guessing, no pressure - just something she will actually enjoy.

Get 15% extra value on gift certificates. Just mention Mother’s Day in the message field. For example, a $100 certificate becomes $115. A $50 certificate becomes $57.50.
Offer valid through 05/12/2026.
Bonus value applies to gift certificates only. Must include “Mother's Day” in the message field at checkout. Not valid on previous purchases and cannot be combined with other promotions or discounts. Offer subject to change without notice.

Date: 8 Nov 2025

It smells like bananas but its a magnolia!

Magnolia figo, Banana Magnolia

🍌 It smells like bananas… but it’s a magnolia!
  • 🌸 Magnolia figo, or Banana Magnolia - is in bloom! It is now filling the air with its unbelievably sweet fragrance! Its creamy, cup-shaped flowers smell like fresh bananas mixed with fine perfume - you have to smell it to believe it.
  • 🌸 This compact evergreen shrub grows only about 5-6 ft in a container, making it perfect for small gardens, patios, or even near an entryway where you can enjoy the scent up close. Glossy green leaves, elegant shape, and that irresistible aroma - it’s pure charm in a pot.
  • 🌸 Cold tolerant, heat tolerant, sun or shade - this little magnolia doesn’t ask for much but gives so much back.


🛒 Plant Banana Magnolia

📚 Learn more:


#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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