Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Avocado leaf tea: island secret for a calm heart and blood pressure

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  🍃 You see that Avocado tree in your yard? Don't just love it for the fruit - the leaves carry magic too! Old folks in the tropics will tell you - never throw away the avocado leaves. They’ve been used for generations to brew a tea that helps steady the heart and ease high blood pressure.
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  🍃 When life gets busy and your heart starts beating too fast, this tea helps it find its rhythm again. The leaf holds flavonoids and quercetin - fancy words for what nature been doing all along: keeping the blood flowing smooth and the body at peace. Folks say it also helps with digestion and keeps the liver happy.
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  🍃 Here’s how you make it:

Pick three or four clean leaves, drop them in a pot with two cups of water, and let it simmer for about ten minutes. You can add a bit of honey, lemon, or Cinnamon if you like. Strain it, and sip it like the island breeze - slow and easy...
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  🍃 They say it helps the belly, calms the mind, and keeps the liver strong. Maybe that’s science, maybe it’s just island truth - but it surely does the body good! Some call it bush medicine, others just call it good sense. Either way, it’s a simple garden remedy that’s been soothing hearts long before pills and prescriptions came around.

🛒 Plant an Avocado tree and help your body stay healthy

📚 Learn more:
Tropical fruit and plants that help keep blood pressure in balance, Part 1, and Part 2.

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover #How_to

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🌳Who took the hot dog?

"Who took the hot dog from the table?"
"The dog. The hot one. Obviously. Her breath’s still hot."

🐈📸 Cat Cash always tells the truth at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats

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🌹 The tree that smells like roses and candy

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  🌹 Radermachera Kunming - Dwarf Tree Jasmine. This rare Thai beauty is small but mighty. Its creamy-pinkish blooms release a powerful scent that mixes roses, candy, and fine perfume - you can smell it from yards away!
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  🌹 The leaves have a graceful, fountain-like shape, and the plant stays compact and full, perfect for pots or small gardens. Relatively cold hardy, everbloomer.
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  🌹 In Thailand, it’s a symbol of peace and progress, and locals even use the flowers in traditional remedies as a natural relaxant and aphrodisiac. A true gem for anyone who loves fragrance and charm in one small tree.

🛒 Get your own Sacred Tree Jasmine for Peace and Love

📚 Learn more:
Smells like roses, but not a rose

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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👽 Big alien?

Pelmen growing in progress.

🐈📸 Cat Pelmen is a friend of TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats

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💦Stop watering your Monstera on a schedule - here is what it really wants!

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  ☘️ Monstera might look like a big diva, but it's actually one of the easiest houseplants to keep happy, according to the gardening experts from Southern Living.
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  ☘️ The trick is not sticking to a strict watering schedule, but checking the soil. Water only when the top couple inches feel dry - usually every week or two in warm months and less in winter. Give it a good soak until water drains out the bottom, then let it dry again.
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  ☘️ Too much water is worse than too little – soggy soil means root rot. Signs of overwatering include yellow or droopy leaves, dark spots, or gnats buzzing around. Underwatering looks similar, but the soil will be bone dry. When in doubt, check the dirt!
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  ☘️ You can water from the top or let the pot sit in a shallow tray to soak from the bottom – just don’t let it sit in water. Bright, indirect light and a well-draining pot are your best friends. Keep that balance, and your Monstera will thrive for decades.

📸 In the photo: Rhaphidophora tetrasperma - Mini Monstera, Dwarf Monstera Ginny, a rare collectible for plant enthusiasts.

🛒 Shop Monstera plants

📚 Learn more:

• • Fruit growing on a house plant!
• • How to harvest and eat Monstera Ice Cream
• • How mini is Mini Monstera?
• • Holy Swiss Cheese Plant
• • Monstera x adansonii - Baby Swiss Cheese Plant

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #How_to

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🍴 Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

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  🔴Cook Grumichama cherries with sugar and lime juice.
• 🔴A deep red jam with a cherry-meets-blackberry flavor.

🛒 Plant Grumichama tree (Eugenia brasiliensis)

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️The best tasting and most beautiful tropical cherry
• ▫️Why grow Grumichama? Benefits of Brazilian Eugenia Tree - Cherry of the Tropics

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🌳There is always the garden

"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden"... [and cats!] - Minnie Aumonier

🐈📸 Cats Timo and Matilda at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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☄️ You won’t believe this red orchid tree exists!

• 💥 Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Orchid tree - has the most unusual color for Bauhinias. It went bold with bright scarlet flowers that look like little flames!
• 💥 Native to South Africa, it’s a woody shrub you can shape into a small tree about 6-10 feet tall.
• 💥 It blooms almost year-round, covering itself with clusters of fiery red blooms that butterflies can't resist. The flowers resembling those of nasturtiums, coming in clusters.
• 💥 As all orchid trees, it has deep green, bilobed leaves are resembling butterfly wings. Tough, sun-loving, and low-maintenance - this beauty brings a touch of Africa right into your garden.

🛒 Plant beautiful Pride of De Kaap

📚 Learn more:
• Why red flowers are so attractive?

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_plants

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😏 He who has a why to live

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." - Friedrich Nietzsche

🐈📸 Philemon the Cat at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot!

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  🍒 If you dream of picking fresh tropical fruit - Mango, Avocado, exotiс Annona and more - but only have a patio, balcony, or small yard, you’re not out of luck. Many tropical fruit trees grow perfectly well in large containers. The key is choosing the right variety, pot, and care routine.
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  🍒 Pick a compact tree type

Start with a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety. Regular tropical trees can grow huge, but container-sized cultivars stay under 8–10 feet and are much easier to manage. For example, Condo varieties of Mango like Pickering or Ice Cream stay small and still produce full-sized fruit. The same goes for Dwarf Avocados like Wurtz (also called Little Cado) and Sugar apples. Blackberry Jam fruit tree (Randia formosa) and Peanut Butter Fruit tree (Bunchosia argentea) are also excellent choices.
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  🍒 Choose the right pot

Begin with a 5-gallon container and move up as the tree grows. A mature plant will be happy in a 20–25-gallon pot. Drainage is critical - roots will rot if the pot stays soggy. Use a sturdy plastic, ceramic, or wooden container with multiple holes in the bottom.
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  🍒 Soil and watering

These trees all like loose, well-draining soil. Mix potting soil with perlite or pine bark for better aeration. Water deeply but not too often - let the top few inches dry before watering again. Overwatering is the quickest way to kill a potted tropical.
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  🍒 Light and feeding

Full sun is a must - aim for at least 6 hours daily. Fertilize during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree or slow-release fertilizer like Green Magic or liquid Sunshine Boosters. Many tropicals appreciate an extra boost of micronutrients like iron and magnesium to keep their leaves green.
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  🍒 Cold protection and pruning

If you live where winters get chilly, move the pot indoors or into a greenhouse before frost. Prune lightly in spring to keep shape and airflow. Container trees can fruit heavily if given light, warmth, and consistent care.

At the end of the day, container culture lets you grow the tropics anywhere - from a city balcony to a backyard deck.

➡ Next: The best tropical fruit trees for containers...

📸 Growing and fruiting Soursop in apartment (PDF download)

🛒 Explore tropical fruit trees

#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover

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