Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

How long does it take for a mango tree to bear fruit?

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  A Mango tree (Mangifera indica) grown from seed can take anywhere from 7 to 10 years to start fruiting, depending on conditions. Doesn’t sound too exciting, ah? Besides such a long wait, you never know how good the fruit will be – most likely it'll taste fibrous and not very sweet. Unless your cross-pollination was perfectly set between some top-notch parent cultivars, it's a gamble. Seedling results are always hit or miss.
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  That's why you need a grafted tree – it fruits soon (in the ground or in a large container) and guarantees the quality of the fruit. There are hundreds of cultivated varieties to choose from: juicy, sweet, and flavorful. Some taste like pina colada, pineapple, or lemon meringue pie, others like peach sherbet or even guava! The mango flavor spectrum is broader than that of apples!
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  So, you’ve got yourself a nice mango tree in a container and can’t wait for your first harvest. How soon?

Mango trees start flowering from early winter (early cultivars like Nam Doc Mai) to early spring (late cultivars like Keitt). One little tree can produce hundreds, even thousands of tiny flowers, but not all will set fruit. The younger the tree, the fewer fruits it can hold. Expect just a few the first year. Even if your mango sets a lot, don’t keep them all - let the young tree focus on establishing roots and strong growth. Leave 1-2 fruits and remove the rest. Your tree will thank you and grow fast and sturdy.
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  By the second year, you can let your tree keep a bit more fruit. Young trees usually know their limits and will naturally drop any extra fruit they can’t support. Within 2–3 years, you’ll be harvesting good crops – enough to enjoy yourself and share with friends!
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  Remember, a strong, healthy tree produces sooner and more. Feed it with Sunshine Mango Tango liquid booster or Green Magic controlled-release fertilizer, and protect it from frost, especially while young. Once established, your mango will reward you with reliable, abundant harvests year after year.

📸 In the photos: the trees in 7 gal pots are 2 years from grafting, and the trees in the ground are 1 year from the time of planting and 3 years from grafting.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Learn more about #Mango and different varieties: #Mango_Rainbow

#Food_Forest #Mango

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🌹 Sweet and crunchy fruit with a rose fragrance

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  🌹Syzygium jambos - Rose Apple - is a fragrant delight fruit! Also known as Malabar Plum or Pomme Rosa, the Rose Apple produces crisp, juicy fruits with a distinct rose scent, highly prized for jellies and confections.
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  🌹This easy-to-grow plant is moderately cold-hardy and can tolerate poor soils.
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  🌹 Rose Apple trees are versatile – they make attractive, wide-spreading shade trees and can also thrive as compact, bushy fruiting plants in containers. Watch the video:

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🛒 Enjoy rose-smelling fruit in your garden

📚 Learn more:
What fruit smells like roses?

🎤 Do what you feel in your heart

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you’ll be criticized anyway." - Eleanor Roosevelt

🐈📸 Cash the Cat has his ways at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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💎You won't believe what glows in the shade: the rare blue ginger

• 💎 If you ever spot a flash of electric blue in the tropical shade, you might think your eyes are playing tricks on you, but that vivid color belongs to a rare Dichorisandra thyrsiflora - Blue Ginger.
• 💎 Despite its name, this isn’t a true ginger at all. It’s actually related to Tradescantia, the same family as familiar houseplants like the Wandering Jew and Spiderwort. Native to Brazil, Blue Ginger thrives in warm, humid shade, making it a perfect choice for patios, screened porches, garden corners, or indoor collections.
• 💎 Its glossy leaves and tall stems topped with clusters of sapphire-blue blooms create a tropical jewel effect. The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies, adding life and motion to shady areas where few other plants bloom so brightly.
• 💎 Give it rich, well-drained soil, steady moisture, and partial shade - and enjoy one of the rarest colors in the tropical plant world.

🛒 Get your own exotic Blue Ginger

📚 Learn more:
Is Sapphire Gem really a ginger?

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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🍴 Sweetleaf tea: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🟢Delicious Sweetleaf tea can be made with Mexican Aztec sweet herb (Lippia dulcis).
• 🟢Steep Aztec sweet herb leaves in hot water with lime peel.
• 🟢Naturally sweet, no sugar needed!

🛒 Add sugar-free Mexican Sweetleaf (Lippia dulcis) to your herb garden

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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👏 Joyful eyes

"A flower is a weed seen through joyful eyes." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

🐈📸 James Coconuts the Cat loves flowers at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🍊What fruit contains an enzyme that is used as a meet tenderizer?

• ✔️ Papaya (Carica papaya) is more than just a tropical treat - it's a natural digestive aid packed with powerful enzymes. The most famous one, papain, is so effective at breaking down proteins that it's actually used as a meat tenderizer! That same enzyme helps your body digest food more efficiently, easing bloating and supporting gut health.
• ✔️ Beyond its digestive superpowers, papaya is rich in vitamins A and C, making it a strong ally for your immune system and skin. It’s a fast-growing, space-saving tree that starts producing fruit within a year, and dwarf varieties can fit even in small gardens or containers.
• ✔️ For home gardeners, dwarf papayas are quickly becoming favorites. These compact varieties grow beautifully in containers, making them perfect for patios, greenhouses, or small yards. Even in cooler climates, they can thrive with a bit of protection. This season’s top picks are TR Hovey, Lady Red, and Wang Deng.
• ✔️ Papayas are endlessly versatile in the kitchen - enjoy them fresh as a dessert, blended into smoothies, tossed into salads, or even used in cooking.
• ✔️ Fun fact: the fruit and even the leaves can be used to tenderize meat naturally. Sweet fruit, strong plant, easy to grow - papaya really does it all!

📚 Learn more:

• 🟡more about #Papaya
• 🟡 Why your gut is begging for papaya
• 🟡 How to grow tons of fruit in limited space - it's incredible!
• 🟡 Carefree Garden: practical Guide to Growing Papaya.

🛒 Grow your own meat tenderizer - Papaya

#Food_Forest #Papaya

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Why this Elephant Ear is breaking the internet: the hottest houseplant of the year

• 🍀 This is Alocasia macrorrhiza Variegata - Variegated Elephant Ears - the tropical showstopper that collectors can’t stop talking about.
• 🍀 One look at those giant leaves splashed with creamy white and deep green, and you'll see why it's always sold out. Every leaf is different - some half white, some marbled like abstract art. Some leaves can be completely white!
• 🍀 Unlike most elephant ears, this one stays a bit more compact, which makes it perfect for a big decorative pot on a patio or shady corner. It still has that bold, jungle look but behaves better in containers.
• 🍀 Give it bright, filtered light, warmth, and humidity. Keep the soil moist but never soggy. The white parts of the leaves can burn easily, so skip harsh direct sun.
• 🍀 Here's a tip: if you see a solid green shoot, cut it off - it can take over and make the plant lose its variegation. That’s because this plant’s variegation is a chimera, meaning it can shift from leaf to leaf.
• 🍀 Feed it lightly during the growing season. The white parts can’t make food for the plant, so it relies on the green sections to do all the work. A little boost with Sunshine Robusta or Green Magic controlled release fertilizer help it stay balanced without overloading the roots.
• 🍀 This plant’s got everything: beauty, rarity, and a bit of mystery. No wonder it’s the one everyone wants to show off!

🛒 Get yours before it’s gone or add to wishlist

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️How can you use Elephant Ears?
• ▫️Charming Elephant Ears: Alocasia vs. Colocasia - which one is better?
• ▫️A Beautiful and Edible Delight: Colocasia antiquorum Illustris
• ▫️What to plant by the pond?
• ▫️Pharaoh Mask with stunning 3D effect
• ▫️Mojito Elephant Ears
• ▫️Colocasia vs Alocasia - what is the difference?

#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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🍴 Surinam cherry salsa: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🔴Dice Surinam cherries (Eugenia uniflora) with red onion, cilantro, and lime 🍒
• 🔴Sweet, tart, and perfect for grilled fish 🐟

🛒Plant Surinam Cherry: Red and Black (Lolita)

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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👽 Is it a tree dog or a flying alien?

Pelmen - a hairless Sphynx cat, with his famous "alien" look - is playing fetch.
Did you know that some cats actually play fetch too? Though usually on their own terms!

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

#PeopleCats

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💮 Surprising Miniature Gardenia

• Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia - can surprise even longtime gardenia fans. It has all the charm of the classic shrub - glossy green leaves, pure white flowers, and that unforgettable fragrance - but in a smaller, easier form.
• Natural bonsai. This little plant grows low and wide, staying under 1-2 feet tall and spreading up to 3-4 feet. It forms a dense mound or creeping groundcover that looks great along walkways or spilling from a pot. The leaves are tiny and shiny, giving it a neat, polished look all year.
• The flowers are about an inch across, double or semi-double, and smell just like the full-size gardenia. They bloom in spring and often return through summer, filling the air with perfume.
• Easier than other gardenias. Gardenia radicans isn’t as fussy as most gardenias. It can handle clay, sandy, or loamy soil as long as it drains well. Once established, it’s fairly drought-tolerant and can even handle some cold, down to around 15F in protected spots.
• Where to plant. It's perfect for small gardens, patios, or as a bonsai. You get the luxury fragrance of a gardenia without needing a big space. Use it as a groundcover, edging plant, or container specimen. It's one of those plants that stays tidy, looks refined, and keeps blooming. For anyone who loves gardenias but wants something compact and low-maintenance, Gardenia radicans is a great find.

🛒 Add unique Mini-Gardenia to your collection

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden

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🍍King of Fruits that makes you healthy and happy

🍍 Everybody loves the Pineapple, but not everyone knows that this exotic fruit actually grows on a plant, Ananas comosus, a member of the Bromeliad family. Growing pineapple is easier than you may think, and sure to grab attention.
Pineapple can make you healthier.... and happy! Watch the video:

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🛒 Explore Pineapple varieties

#Food_Forest

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🔍 The eyes shout

"The eyes shout what the lips fear to say." - William Henry

🐈📸 Cat Georgie has impressive sea-green eyes. TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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How we turned an eyesore into a wall of flowers

• Quisqualis vine - Rangoon Creeper - Flamingo pink and fruity fragrance in one!
• Who said utility areas have to be ugly? Our Quisqualis indica - Rangoon Creeper - turned the roof of our water system into a wall of flowers! This shrubby vine covers itself in clusters of pink, crimson, and white blooms that change color as they age.
• The fragrance is sweet, fruity, and absolutely unforgettable. Every time we walk by, we can’t help but stop and smell the... creeper!
• Got a fence, trellis, or an eyesore to hide? This is your plant!

🛒 Plant Quisqualis today for a beautiful spot with perfume tomorrow

📚 Learn more:

• 💋Flamingo pink with fruity fragrance
• 💋Single flower variety
• 💋How to cover an ugly spot with a fragrance and and beauty, stop and smell the roses
• 💋You never have enough of this flower fruity fragrance

#Butterfly_Plants #Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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🍴 Blue butterfly pea lemonade: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🔵Blue butterfly pea flowers (Clitoria ternatea) make an excellent lemonade!
• 🔵Brew the flowers into a blue tea, add a bit of lemon juice.
• 🔵Watch the color turn purple like magic!

Blue butterfly pea lemonade

Ingredients

• 🔵 A handful of blue butterfly pea flowers (Clitoria ternatea)
• 🔵 Hot water for brewing
• 🔵 Fresh lemon juice
• 🔵 Ice cubes and lemon slices for serving

Instructions

• 🔵 Steep blue butterfly pea flowers in hot water to make deep blue tea.
• 🔵 Cool and add a splash of lemon juice — watch the color turn purple like magic!
• 🔵 Pour over ice and garnish with lemon slices.

🛒Plant Clitoria vine for blue and purple exotic drinks

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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