Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Why every garden has this one Purple Spray Tree. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why every garden has this one Purple Spray Tree

Tibouchina granulosa - Glory Tree or Purple Spray Tree

💜 Why every garden has this one Purple Spray Tree
  • 🟪 Tibouchina granulosa - Glory Tree or Purple Spray Tree - is the one you'll see in every Florida garden!
  • 🟪 If you love purple flowers, this one's a no-brainer. From late summer through winter, it's covered in velvety purple blooms that form giant flower sprays. The whole tree lights up with color, and it's impossible to ignore!
  • 🟪 In Highlands County, Florida (where Top Tropicals farm is), you'll see this tree in garden after garden - and everyone says the same thing: You've gotta have one!
  • 🟪 It's tropical, eye-catching, and makes any landscape feel lush and vibrant. A true gem for southern gardens.


📚 Learn more:
💋How this addictive purple took over yards in Central Florida

🛒 Everyone has one - get yours today!

#Hedges_with_benefits #Trees

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We are what we do. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

We are what we do

We are what we do
❤️ We are what we do

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

🐈📸 Our cat Lily, even when she was a kitten, always had excellent habits at Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden. 

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Why every garden needs a banana tree (or three!) A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why every garden needs a banana tree (or three!)

Bananas

🍌 Why every garden needs a banana tree (or three!)
  • 🍌 Peel this: Banana secrets revealed.

    • The truth about bananas is - Bananas are everyone's favorite snack. Sweet, nutritious, and loaded with potassium. They're great for muscle cramps, post-workout recovery, and quick energy. But did you know you can grow your own bananas, even in a small backyard or container?
  • 🍌Banana Trees (Musa x acuminata) are:

  • 🟡Super easy to grow
  • 🟡Fast-growing and low maintenance
  • 🟡Clumping and self-reproducing
  • 🟡Beautiful and tropical-looking with their big, tropical leaves and showy, exotic flowers

  • 🍌Dwarf varieties fit in tight spaces, and rare types like Red Bananas or the creamy Banana Ice Cream bring flavors you’ll never find at the grocery store. Plus, your own bananas are organic, fresh, and way tastier.
  • 🍌 Start your banana patch today - and enjoy your own homegrown fruit all year long!


🛒 Explore Banana Varieties

📚 Learn more about Banana varieties:

📱Red Leaves, Red Fruit, Real Wow Banana

#Food_Forest #Bananas

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"> Two people in blue shirts cutting open a large 37-pound Jackedak Jackfruit on an outdoor table, revealing bright yellow fruit inside.

🍈 We Cut Open a 37 lb Jackfruit - You Won't Believe What's Inside!

🍈 Cutting into a 37-pound Jackedak Jackfruit with Chiane and Ashley!

🍈 Join us at Top Tropicals as we explore one of the largest fruits on Earth - the mighty Jackfruit. From golden, juicy bulbs bursting with tropical sweetness to edible seeds and the soft “rag” with hints of bubblegum, pineapple, and custard, this giant fruit has more surprises than expected.

  • ✔️Learn how to cut and clean a jackfruit
  • ✔️See which parts are edible (you might be surprised!)
  • ✔️Why it's a favorite for exotic fruit lovers
  • ✔️Hear our taste-test reactions: bubblegum, custard, pineapple?

🍈 Whether you're into exotic fruits, cooking, or growing your own tropical trees, this is one tasty experience you don't want to miss.

🍈 Want to grow your own Jackfruit? We've got you covered!

Read Garden Blog about Jackfruit

Buy Jackfruit Trees - Delivered to Your Door

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Tuxedo cat planting tropical tree with Sunshine Boosters bag, orange cat waving to kitten with backpack by school bus in sunny garden scene.

🌺 Back to School and Back to Planting – Cats in the Garden

Back to School, Back to Planting – Why August Works for Tropicals

Planting Season Isn't Over Yet

August is still a good month for planting tropicals in warm climates. The soil stays warm enough to push root growth, and late-summer weather gives plants time to settle in before winter. In drier areas, regular watering will keep them moving along just fine.

Tropicals in warm climates aren't usually harmed by cooler Winter weather, but as days get shorter, growth may slow down. This is why planting in late Summer-Fall lets roots grow during this last warm stretch, so the plant enters winter already established.

By spring, those roots are ready to drive new shoots, flowers, and fruit. There's no lost time to transplant shock - plants can get straight to blooming and fruiting earlier in the season.

August Planting FAQ

How can heat be prevented from harming new tropicals?

Water in the morning so plants start the day hydrated. Warm soil is good for root growth, but don't let it dry out.

How should new plants be protected from strong sun?

For the first couple of weeks, use a shade cloth or even a white bed sheet to soften midday sun and prevent leaf scorch.

What fertilizer works best for planting in summer heat?

Controlled-release types are best. We use professional grade Green Magic. You may pair it with Sunshine Boosters for steady, gentle feeding through the warm months.

Which tropicals grow best when planted in August?

Most tropical plants do well when planted in warm end-of-summer conditions, including Mango, Avocado, Guava, Jackfruit, Annona, Bananas, Orchid Trees, Jasmines, Allamanda and most of flowering trees, shrubs and vines.

Can tropical trees planted in August produce fruit next year?

Many can, especially fast growers, since they have established roots by the time spring growth begins.

How can tropicals be kept healthy when planting in August?

Mulch around the base to help prevent soil from drying out too quickly. Water deeply in the morning to help plants handle the heat.

Shop Flowering trees

Shop Fruit trees and edibles

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Lilys fresh start: from bullied to beloved! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Lilys fresh start: from bullied to beloved!

Cat Lily (Lilimon)

➕ Lily’s fresh start: from bullied to beloved!

Remember Josephine's adorable kittens? You've met her famous son - dashing Philemon, now say hello to his sister, Lily - Lilimon!

Lily spent three happy years at our Ft Myers Garden Center, living the good life... until one day her siblings, brother Loki (aka Charlie Jr) and sister Sushi, decided to form a "no Lily allowed" club and started picking on her. Can you believe it? Sweet, gentle Lily - bullied!

But Lily’s no pushover. She packed her paws, waved her tail goodbye, and set off for our TopTropicals Bfarm in Sebring. And guess what? She's already mingling with the other #PeopleCats and making new friends. Now she’s settling in, and proving that fresh starts can come with purrs and sunshine.

Stay tuned - this story is just getting interesting!

🐈📸 Cat Lilimon at her new home at Top Tropicals Bfarm. 

#PeopleCats

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Anthurium with leaves longer than you! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Anthurium with leaves longer than you!

Anthurium vittarifolium - Long Leaf Anthurium

🍃 Anthurium with leaves longer than you!
  • 🌿 Ever seen an Anthurium with leaves longer than you are tall? Anthurium vittarifolium - Long Leaf Anthurium - is a true rainforest treasure from South America. Its strap-like leaves can reach an incredible 6 feet in length but stay only about 2 inches wide, creating elegant green ribbons that drape down like a waterfall.
  • 🌿 Grow it in a hanging basket and you’ll get a cascading curtain of foliage that instantly turns any space into a jungle hideaway.
  • 🌿 As if the leaves weren’t enough, this rare beauty produces clusters of bright pink berries that pop against the deep green leaves, adding an unexpected splash of color!
  • 🌿 It's rare, it's dramatic, and it's the kind of plant that makes people stop and ask, “What on earth is THAT?”


🛒 Grow the 6-foot leaf Anthurium

📚 Learn more:

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden
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Bohemian Catsody (Rescue Edition) A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Bohemian Catsody (Rescue Edition)

James Coconuts, Cash, Scooby and Timo - rescued cats

🎭 Bohemian Catsody (Rescue Edition)

🎶 Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
😵‍� Caught in a catnipslide - no escape from herbal reality.
👀 Open your eyes, look up to the skies… and see James, Cash, Scooby and Timo floating through shroomy bliss... 🌿

🎉 Happy International Cat Day!

🐈📸 James Coconuts, Cash, Scooby and Timo - all are rescued cats, now living their best lives at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden

#PeopleCats

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Why your gut is begging for papaya. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why your gut is begging for papaya

Papaya fruit and trees (Carica papaya)

🍊Why your gut is begging for papaya
  • 🌴Papaya (Carica papaya) is more than just a tasty tropical fruit - it's a natural remedy for your gut. Thanks to an enzyme called papain, it helps with digestion, bloating, and even supports immune health with high levels of vitamin C and A.
  • 🌴But here's what makes papaya a must-have in every garden: it's fast, space-saving, and super productive. Many trees start fruiting within a year!
  • 🌴Dwarf varieties only reach 6-8 feet but still give you full-sized fruit that's easy to harvest.
  • 🌴Grow it in the ground or in a container - it thrives in sun, handles light freezes, and even stands strong in high winds.
  • 🌴Low effort, high reward. Sweet fruit, strong plant. What more do you need?


📚 Learn more from previous posts:

🛒 Your gut will thank you - plant Papaya

#Food_Forest #Papaya
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August 8 - International Cat Day: cats taking over? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

August 8 - International Cat Day: cats taking over?

August 8 - International Cat Day: cats taking over?
🐈 August 8 - International Cat Day: cats taking over?

Let's be honest - cats kind of rule the world right now. There are nearly 700 million of them, and they're not just lounging on your couch anymore. They've taken over the internet, inspired museum exhibits, popped up in luxury ads, and even have their own global holidays (yes, more than one). They are so much more than just pets - they're pop culture royalty 👑
  • 🐾 There are about 700 million cats in the world. That's one for every ten people... and some of us are definitely over our quota.

  • 🐾 People literally buy movie tickets to watch cat videos. Last summer in New York, a full hour of nothing but cat clips played in theaters - 73 minutes straight of cat clips at the cinema - and people loved it!

  • 🐾 Cats are ad superstars. They show up in everything from luxury fashion to car commercials. They star in memes, viral videos, and major luxury brand and car campaigns. Apparently, if you want people to care, just add a cat.

  • 🐾 Cats have three international holidays. Not one, not two - three! February 20, August 8, and October 29. Meanwhile, world peace only gets one. Priorities.

  • 🐾 A cat exhibit in Poland broke records. A cat-themed show in Krakow's Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology drew the highest visitor numbers in 30 years - 57,186 attendees.

  • 🐾One chubby cat in Athens is a Google Maps tourist attraction. Titan, an orange-and-white street cat near the Acropolis, is so famous he's on Google Maps. Yes, right next to the Parthenon.

  • 🐾Cats have been hanging around humans for over 10,000 years. It started when our trash attracted mice - and the cats came for the buffet.

  • 🐾Ancient Egyptians elevated cats. They didn't just keep them around - they gave them fancy burials, turned them into art, and even made them into gods.


🐈📸 TopTropicals cats Google and Shortstuff ruling at Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden. 

#PeopleCats

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