Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Variegated Chaya - beauty meets nutrition. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Variegated Chaya - beauty meets nutrition

Cnidoscolus aconitifolius variegatus - Variegated Chaya, Maya Spinach Tree

🌱 Variegated Chaya - beauty meets nutrition
  • 🌿 Variegated Chaya - Variegated Maya Spinach Tree or Cnidoscolus aconitifolius variegatus - is a showstopper in the edible garden. Its heavily cut, creamy-white variegated leaves look like they belong in a tropical ornamental bed, but this beauty is also a powerhouse leafy green.
  • 🌿 Native to the Yucatan Peninsula, Chaya has been a traditional food for centuries. Younger leaves (and a little stem) are cooked like spinach, simmered for at least 5-15 minutes to neutralize toxins, then served with butter, oil, or in soups. Once cooked, they’re loaded with protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C - a true garden superfood.
  • 🌿 Fast-growing and low-maintenance, Chaya can reach 6-8 feet and thrives in full sun or partial shade. It's drought-tolerant, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds with its white flowers, and grows easily from cuttings. Perfect for food forests, permaculture gardens, or anyone wanting beauty and function in one plant.


🛒 Plant it, cook it, love it

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Remedies

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If you can potty together, you're in for the long haul! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

If you can potty together, youre in for the long haul!

Cats Lily and Timo

🐱 If you can potty together, you're in for the long haul!

"Those who pee together stay together! If it's number 2 - it may be a rough relationship..." - Jamie McKinnon

🐈📸 Cats Lily and Timo are best friends at Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden. 

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Climbing 10 feet for Vanilla Beans! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Climbing 10 feet for Vanilla Beans!

Vanilla Bean Orchid - Vanilla planifolia

⭐️ Climbing 10 feet… for Vanilla Beans!
  • ⚡️ One of our Vanilla Bean Orchids at TopTropicals has big ambitions - it's already climbed 10 feet up a pine tree! We’re waiting (impatiently!) for those elegant yellow-green flowers, which will hopefully turn into vanilla beans.
  • ⚡️ Vanilla Bean Orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is the plant behind that sweet, comforting vanilla flavor we all love. It starts off like any potted orchid, but soon sends out aerial roots and becomes a climber, wrapping itself around trees or trellises. In its natural habitat, it grows high into forest canopies, but in the garden it will happily scale any sturdy support you give it.
  • ⚡️ Once established, it flowers and sets the long green pods we call vanilla beans. Growing your own is a lesson in patience - from flower to dried bean can take month - but nothing beats harvesting your own vanilla for the kitchen.


📚 Learn more:

📱How to produce your own vanilla: secrets of hand-pollination.

🛒 Climb toward your own beans

#Shade_Garden #Container_garden #Food_Forest

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The sun will rise. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The sun will rise

Mr B the cat

Mr B the cat

🔥 The sun will rise

"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." - Victor Hugo

🐈📸 Mr B the cat at sunset at Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden. 

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Homegrown coffee - the journey begins. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Homegrown coffee - the journey begins

Coffee tree - Coffea arabica

☕️ Homegrown coffee - the journey begins!

Coffee trees (Coffea arabica) that you saw blooming at Top Tropicals in May with fragrant, gardenia-like flowers, now in August - they are loaded with fruit! We will update on them once they turn red and ripe...

🛒 Start your own coffee harvest

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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🌸 Bauhinias – Orchid Trees for Every Garden

🌳 Large Yard – Shade Trees

B. alba – White Orchid Tree

  • Pure white blooms, most cold-tolerant orchid tree
  • Bloom: Late fall to spring
  • Size: 20–30 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9a–11

Bauhinia alba (candida), White orchid tree
2035 Bauhinia alba (candida), White orchid tree
Grown in
10"/3 gal pot

$49.95


Buy Bauhinia alba (candida), White orchid tree  from Top Tropicals

B. blakeana – Hong Kong Orchid Tree

  • Purple-magenta flowers, long bloom season
  • Bloom: Late fall to early spring
  • Size: 20–35 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9b–11

Bauhinia blakeana, Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Grafted
1310 Bauhinia blakeana, Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Grafted
Grown in
10"/3 gal pot, grafted

$49.95


Buy Bauhinia blakeana, Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Grafted  from Top Tropicals

B. purpurea – Purple Orchid Tree

  • Compact canopy, vivid purple flowers
  • Bloom: Summer to fall
  • Size: 15–25 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9b–11

Bauhinia purpurea, Purple Orchid Tree
1024 Bauhinia purpurea, Purple Orchid Tree
Grown in
6"/1 gal pot

$29.95


Buy Bauhinia purpurea, Purple Orchid Tree  from Top Tropicals

B. variegata – Pink Butterfly Orchid Tree

  • Pink petals with darker butterfly-like markings
  • Bloom: Winter to early spring
  • Size: 20–30 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9b–11

Bauhinia variegata, Pink Butterfly Orchid Tree
2728 Bauhinia variegata, Pink Butterfly Orchid Tree
Grown in
6"/1 gal or larger pot

$49.95
  
Sale $29.95


Buy Bauhinia variegata, Pink Butterfly Orchid Tree  from Top Tropicals

Small Garden or Container

B. madagascariensis – Red Butterfly Orchid Tree

  • Bright red flowers, great for container
  • Bloom: Summer into fall
  • Size: 6-12 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9b–11

Bauhinia madagascariensis, Red Butterfly Orchid Tree
6061 Bauhinia madagascariensis, Red Butterfly Orchid Tree
Grown in
10"/3 gal pot

$49.95


Buy Bauhinia madagascariensis, Red Butterfly Orchid Tree  from Top Tropicals

B. tomentosa – Yellow Orchid Tree

  • Sunny yellow bells, soft foliage
  • Bloom: Warm months
  • Size: 6-10 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9b–11

Bauhinia tomentosa, Yellow Orchid Tree
1025 Bauhinia tomentosa, Yellow Orchid Tree
Grown in
6"/1 gal or larger pot

$49.95


Buy Bauhinia tomentosa, Yellow Orchid Tree  from Top Tropicals

B. monandra – Napoleon's Plume Orchid Tree

  • Pink with speckled petals
  • Bloom: Summer to fall
  • Size: 6-12 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 10–11

Bauhinia monandra, Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree
1368 Bauhinia monandra, Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree
Grown in
10'/3 GAL POT

$49.95


Buy Bauhinia monandra, Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree  from Top Tropicals

B. acuminata – Dwarf White Orchid Tree

  • Crisp white blooms, small plant
  • Bloom: Summer to fall
  • Size: 6–8 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 10–11

Bauhinia acuminata, Dwarf White Orchid Tree
2032 Bauhinia acuminata, Dwarf White Orchid Tree
Grown in
6"/1 gal or larger pot

$39.95


Buy Bauhinia acuminata, Dwarf White Orchid Tree  from Top Tropicals

🌿 Vining Beauty

B. galpinii – Pride of De Kaap

  • Pink with speckled petals
  • Bloom: Summer to fall
  • Size: 8-12 ft
  • Hardiness: USDA 9b–11

Bauhinia galpinii, Pride of De Kaap, Nasturtium Bauhinia
2034 Bauhinia galpinii, Pride of De Kaap, Nasturtium Bauhinia
Grown in
10"/3 gal pot

$39.95
  
Sale $29.95


Buy Bauhinia galpinii, Pride of De Kaap, Nasturtium Bauhinia  from Top Tropicals

Read Garden Blog about Bauhinia

Buy Bauhinia Trees - Delivered to Your Door

Date:

🌸 Orchid Tree - Bauhinia: Winter Blooms & Year-Round Beauty

Collage showing Bauhinia blakeana with magenta flowers, Bauhinia variegata var. candida with white blooms, and Bauhinia monandra with pink speckled flowers; all suitable for gardens, with some varieties adapted to container growing if trimmed.
Bauhinia blakeana, Bauhinia variegata var. candida, and Bauhinia monandra – Orchid Trees in Bloom

Sometimes a plant stops you midwalk. Flowers so bright they almost glow, leaves shaped like butterflies — that’s a Bauhinia, the Orchid Tree. These fast growers bring color when many gardens are quiet, with some blooming in the heart of winter.

🌟 Why Grow Bauhinia?

  • Exotic blooms in colors from white to deep magenta
  • Distinctive leaves — nature’s own butterfly design
  • Many varieties flower in the cooler season
  • Fast growth, easy shaping, more blooms after pruning
  • Varieties for large yards, small gardens, and sunny patios
  • Tolerant of heat, drought, and poor soils

Bauhinia Care Tips

🌞 Outdoor

Full sun for best flowering, well-draining soil, deep watering once established. Light pruning after bloom keeps shape and encourages more flowers. Protect young plants from frost. During the growing season (Spring - Fall), apply a balanced fertilizer - like top-dress slow release fertilizer or controlled-release Green Magic. Liquid fertilizer Sunshine Boosters Megaflor can be used year around - to promote vigorous growth and abundant blooms.

🏡 Indoor / Patio

Bright sun (south window or outdoors in warm months), large pot with drainage, even moisture during growth, and a bloom-booster feed in season. Feed regularly with a balanced fertilizer controlled-release Green Magic. Liquid fertilizer Sunshine Boosters Megaflor can be used year around - to promote vigorous growth and abundant blooms. Bring indoors before frost.

🍂 Seasonal Note – Bauhinias are Deciduous

Bauhinias drop their leaves in winter — even in warm climates. This is normal and part of their rest cycle. Bare branches in the cool season will leaf out again in spring, often just as flowers begin.

📝 Quick choice guide

Shop Bauhinas

Date:

Lilys guide to the good life. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Lilys guide to the good life

Cat Lily (Lilimon)

🌳 Lily’s guide to the good life

Lily (aka Lilimon) has officially settled into Bfarm life - and she's living it up!

She's claimed a fluffy blanket as her spot, where she purrs away while kneading it like she's making bread.

When she's not in her cozy corner, she's off exploring the indoor jungle, getting into shenanigans with the other #PeopleCats, or joining in on Catnip Parties and rolling around like the happiest cat in the world!

Life is definitely treating Lily well.

🐈📸 Cat Lily has a happy life at Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden. 

#PeopleCats

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The bizarre bloom you cant stop staring at. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The bizarre bloom you cant stop staring at

Stapelia gigantea - Zulu Giant, Carrion Plant

⭐️ The bizarre bloom you cant stop staring at
  • ⭐️If there were an award for the strangest flower, the Starfish Flower - Stapelia gigantea - would be a top contender. Also known as the Zulu Giant or Carrion Plant, it produces massive blooms, sometimes 12 inches across, that look exactly like starfish. The pale ochre-yellow petals are lined with fine maroon stripes, giving the flowers a texture and color you can't ignore.
  • ⭐️ And then there's the smell!🐱

    • Its nickname Carrion Plant comes from its uncanny scent of rotting meat. While that might not sound appealing, it's a brilliant strategy for attracting its pollinators - flies - who can't resist investigating! Just like Amorphophallus - Corpse flower! 🐱
  • ⭐️The plant itself is a stunner even without flowers, with chunky, 4-angled succulent stems that sprawl sideways. In the ground, it can spread up to 24 inches wide, and in a pot, it makes a fantastic conversation piece. Despite its cactus-like appearance, it's actually a member of the Milkweed family. When it sets seed, each pod bursts to release silky parachutes that float away just like milkweed.
  • ⭐️It's bizarre, beautiful, and guaranteed to get people talking!


🛒 Add the Zulu giant to your garden

📚 Learn more:
The most bizarre flower

🎥 More video:

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden
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