Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

The fastest vine to cover a fence - everyone asks about it. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine

💙 The fastest vine to cover a fence - everyone asks about it
  • 🔵 If you need a beautiful vine to cover your fence quickly - plant Thunbergia laurifolia, Thunbergia grandiflora - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower.
  • 🔵 This vigorous tropical climber explodes with 3-inch trumpet-shaped blossoms in a shade of blue so vivid, it looks unreal. In just one season, it can cover a fence, trellis, or arbor with lush green foliage and long cascading chains of flowers.
  • 🔵 Once established, it blooms heavily from fall through spring, creating a waterfall of sky blue that feels cool and soothing even in the heat. It's not just a pretty face either - its fast growth makes it ideal for quickly creating privacy, shade, or a living screen.
  • 🔵 Thrives in heat and humidity, low-maintenance once established
  • 🔵 Dramatic focal point, pollinator magnet, and conversation piece! And if blue isn't your color, the rare white version, Thunbergia grandiflora Alba, offers the same performance in pure ivory tones.


🛒 Get the vine everyone asks about

📚 Learn more:
▫️How to have the Blue Sky in just one season and forever

#Hedges_with_benefits
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This is what we plant for a compact colorful hedge solution. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Thunbergia erecta - Kings Mantle

💜 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:

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants
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What to plant in a shady spot? Unusual variegated flowers of Lavender Ice! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Thunbergia erecta Lavender Ice - Lavender Lace

☂️ What to plant in a shady spot? Unusual variegated flowers of Lavender Ice!
  • 💜 Thunbergia erecta Lavender Ice, or Lavender Lace, is a unique, rare variety of King's Mantle with stunning lavender-off-white variegated flowers.
  • 💜 Unlike many variegated plants, this one is vigorous and easy to grow. It can be used as a showy garden specimen or a low-growing hedge, and it responds well to pruning, which encourages more blooms.
  • 💜 This plant thrives in filtered light and will grow larger, darker leaves in shade. It reaches a height of 5-7 feet and has a dense habit, making it perfect for creating a hedge.
  • 💜 Lavender Ice attracts butterflies and hummingbirds with its profusion of flowers
  • 💜 For healthy growth, keep the soil consistently moist, but not soggy, and mulch around the base to retain moisture. If growing in a pot, frequent watering is key.
  • 💜 It's hardy enough to withstand temperatures as low as 30F for short periods. Ideal for USDA Zones 9-11, this plant can also be grown in pots in colder climates.


🛒Bring home rare Lavender Ice!

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

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Top irresistible vines for a hummingbird haven. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Thunbergia mysorensis - Clock Vine

Thunbergia mysorensis - Clock Vine

Bignonia capreolata - Crossvine

Bignonia capreolata - Crossvine

Tecomaria capensis - Cape Honeysuckle

Tecomaria capensis - Cape Honeysuckle

Passiflora coccinea - Passion Flower

Passiflora coccinea - Passion Flower

Ipomoea - Prince Kuhio Vine

Ipomoea - Prince Kuhio Vine

Lonicera japonica - Japanese Honeysuckle

Lonicera japonica - Japanese Honeysuckle

Antigonon leptopus - Mexican Coral Vine

Antigonon leptopus - Mexican Coral Vine

Pyrostegia venusta - Flame Vine

Pyrostegia venusta - Flame Vine

🕊 Top irresistible vines for a hummingbird haven. Part 2.

Full list of Hummingbird favorite vines for the previous post ⤴️

Antigonon leptopus - Mexican Coral Vine 📸
Aristolochia - Dutchman's Pipe
Bignonia capreolata - Crossvine 📸
Camptosema - Dwarf Red Jade Vine
Chonemorpha fragrans - Frangipani Vine
Clerodendrums - Bleeding Heart and others
Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea
Combretum aubletii - Monkey Brush Vine
Dipladenia (Mandevilla)
Faradaya splendida - Glory Vine
Gmelina philippensis - Parrot's Beak
Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower
Ipomoea - Prince Kuhio Vine 📸
Lonicera - Honeysuckle 📸
Mansoa alliacea - Garlic Vine
Pandorea jasminoides - Pandora Vine
Passiflora - Passion Flower 📸
Petrea volubilis - Queen's Wreath
Pyrostegia venusta - Flame Vine 📸
Quisqualis indica - Rangoon Creeper
Senecio confusus - Mexican Flame Vine
Solandra - Butter Cup
Stephanotis floribunda - Bridal Bouquet
Tecomanthe dendrophylla - New Guinea Creeper vine
Tecomaria capensis - Cape Honeysuckle 📸
Thunbergia - Sky Vine, Clock Vine 📸
Turn Your Garden Into a Hummingbird Paradise!

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #How_to

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Top Eight irresistible vines for a hummingbird haven. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

vines for a hummingbird haven

vines for a hummingbird haven

🕊 Top Eight irresistible vines for a hummingbird haven. Part 1.

Below is the Hummingbird Haven Plan designed for continuous blooms, vertical interest, and year-round hummingbird attraction.

Centerpiece (Tall Structure / Arbor)
  • Thunbergia, especially Thunbergia mysorensis (Clock Vine). Provide strong overhead support for its hanging blooms. Let this showstopper trail over a sturdy pergola or arbor. Its long, red-and-yellow flowers will be your garden’s main hummingbird magnet.


    • Side Support (Trellis or Fence)
  • Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine) - A hardy, fast-growing native that clings to supports. Train it on a trellis for early-spring blooms that attract the season’s first hummingbirds.
  • Tecomaria (Cape Honeysuckle) - A vigorous, evergreen bloomer that loves full sun. Its bright red-orange tubular flowers draw hummingbirds throughout the year and are perfect for training along fences or trellises.


    • Mid-layer (Fence, Arch, or Large Pot Trellis)
  • Passiflora (especially vitifolia or coccinea). Needs full sun, rich soil, and regular water; prune to manage size and boost flowering. Let it twine near seating areas for bold red blooms and close-up hummingbird visits.


    • Ground-Level Accents
  • Ipomoea (including Prince Kuhio Vine) - Thrives in warm, frost-free zones with sun and moisture. Plant at the base of structures or in containers to sprawl or climb with vivid purple-pink blooms.
  • Lonicera (including L. sempervirens - Coral Honeysuckle) - Plant at the base of a trellis or fence, near the arbor. This cold-hardy native has red-orange or yellow tubular blooms from spring to fall and adds a delicate contrast to tropical textures.


    • Wild Touch / Quick Filler
  • Antigonon leptopus - Mexican Coral Vine - Loves sun and drains well; drought-tolerant but frost-sensitive. Great for fences and open trellises as a fast-growing, summer-to-fall bloomer buzzing with activity.
  • Pyrostegia venusta (Flame Vine) - Bursting in fiery orange, perfect for fences or pergolas. Plant along a back fence or side trellis where it can sprawl wide and fill empty space. Thrives in full sun, blooms in winter-spring, and complements vertical stars like Thunbergia and Passionflower.


📝 These vines feature tubular, nectar-rich blooms that hummingbirds adore.
Add a shallow birdbath or feeder nearby, and you'll have a full-service nectar station!

See full list of Hummingbird favorite vines in next post ⤵️

🛒Turn Your Garden Into a Hummingbird Paradise!

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #How_to

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Everyone wants this vine: Blue Sky is in full bloom now! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower

Everyone wants this vine: Blue Sky is in full bloom now!

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower - is a super-fast growing climber that will cover your fence in just one season!

📚 Learn more about Thunbergias from previous posts:
Perfect everblooming hedge for shade
Blue Sky in just one season and forever
Clock Vine

🛒 Shop Thunbergia vines

#Hedges_with_benefits

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Why is it called King's Mantle. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

King's Mantle - Thunbergia erecta

Why is it called King's Mantle
  • ✨ Looking for a hedge that blooms non-stop, even in the shade? King's Mantle - Thunbergia erecta - is ever-blooming superstar is the perfect flowering bush or hedge for those tricky shady spots in your garden.
  • ✨ Unlike its climbing cousins, this Thunbergia prefers to sprawl as a shrub, making it easier to manage.
  • ✨ With its fast-growing, bushy habit, it's ideal for mixed beds or creating a medium-to-low hedge that stays dense and beautiful year-round.
  • ✨ The flowers? Think of morning glories, with stunning purple or white petals and sunny yellow throats. And if you're feeling adventurous, try the 'Lavender Ice' variety with royal, lavender-variegated flowers for a unique twist. The name King's Mantle is well-deserved!
  • ✨Not just a pretty face, King’s Mantle also boasts small, dark green leaves that make the flowers pop even more.
  • ✨ It's a pruning enthusiast's dream - cut it back, and it'll reward you with even more blooms!
  • ✨ Whether you plant it in sun or partial shade, King's Mantle will thrive in well-drained soil, delivering a burst of color all year long.


📚 Learn more from previous post:
Perfect everblooming hedge for shade

🛒 Shop King's Mantle

#Hedges_with_benefits

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

How to have the Blue Sky in just one season and forever. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower

💙 How to have the Blue Sky in just one season and forever
  • 🔵 Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower - is a super-fast growing climber that will cover your fence in just one season.
  • 🔵 Scrambling sky flower is the most striking blue flowered vine in the world, with a robust and twining habit producing long hanging clusters of 3" sky blue funnel shaped flowers from fall through spring, displayed throughout it's dense deep green foliage.
  • 🔵 White flowering variety is Thunbergia grandiflora Alba.


🛒 Shop Thunbergia vines

#Hedges_with_benefits

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade! Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade! Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade!
⚡️ Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade!

  • 💜 Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta - is a perfect flowering bush or hedge for the shady garden.

  • 💜 Ever-blooming: Perfect for a continuously blooming hedge.

  • 💜 Dense shrub: Bushy, fast-growing, and ideal for mixed beds or medium-to-low hedges.

  • 💜 Beautiful flowers: flowers resemble morning glories, with common varieties having rich purple petals and yellow throats.

  • 💜 Attractive foliage: Small, dark green leaves.

  • 💜 Climber relatives: Unlike many Thunbergia species, this one is a sprawling shrub.

  • 💜 Pruning responsive: Can be shaped into a dense hedge, pruning promotes flowering.

  • 💜 Sun or shade: Prefers bright light and well-drained soil, but will also bloom in partial shade.

  • 💜 Colors: comes in dark blue, white, and the unique, vigorous variegated variety - 'Lavender Ice'.


🛒 Shop King's Mantle

#Hedges_with_benefits

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta purple

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta purple

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta Lavender Lace Variegated

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta Lavender Lace Variegated

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta White

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta White

⚡️ Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade!
  • 💜 Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta - is a perfect flowering bush or hedge for the shady garden.
  • 💜 Ever-blooming: Perfect for a continuously blooming hedge.
  • 💜 Dense shrub: Bushy, fast-growing, and ideal for mixed beds or medium-to-low hedges.
  • 💜 Beautiful flowers: flowers resemble morning glories, with common varieties having rich purple petals and yellow throats.
  • 💜 Attractive foliage: Small, dark green leaves.
  • 💜 Climber relatives: Unlike many Thunbergia species, this one is a sprawling shrub.
  • 💜 Pruning responsive: Can be shaped into a dense hedge, pruning promotes flowering.
  • 💜 Sun or shade: Prefers bright light and well-drained soil, but will also bloom in partial shade.
  • 💜 Colors: comes in dark blue, white, and the unique, vigorous variegated variety - 'Lavender Ice'.


🛒 Shop King's Mantle

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

🏵 TopTropicals
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