Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

St. Patrick's Day Discounts

STPATRICK15: 15% off coupon (orders over $150 not including S&H. Plus, our usual 5% discount on top of that).

STPATRICK20: 20% off coupon (orders over $250 not including S&H. Plus, our usual 5% discount on top of that).

Enter discount code in shopping cart and click "recalculate".
Valid through end of the day Thursday, March 17, 2016.
Not valid for previously ordered items.

Plants of Love. TopTropicals Webinars

Plants of Love - Valentines Day Sale. For Valentines day, look beyond roses for a plant that will last a lifetime! It is not a surprise that the most popular plants that has been ordered from TopTropicals for Valentines day for the past 3 years, are: Vanilla, Chocolate, Grape, Strawberry tree, Rose apple - all things you get for your Valentines!

This year we are celebrating Valentines day with our special local event - "Aphrodisiacs, or Plants of Love".

When: Saturday, February 11, 2017, from 10 am to 2 pm
Where: Toptropicals Garden Center, 13890 Orange River Blvd, Ft Myers, FL 33905
Agenda:
10:00 am - Explore the grounds: Customers can come in to look through the nursery and guided tours through gardens.
12:00 pm - Aphrodisiac plants. Class on plants used for aphrodisiacs throughout history.
1:00 pm - Plant giveaway. Must be present to win one of the aphrodisiac plants in lecture.
2:00 pm - sale ends.
Special Love Discounts for local visitors! Snacks and drinks.

Just a few examples of the most famous plants of love that we will be talking about -
Coffea arabica - in East Africa and Arabia it was a sacred beverage to African sufis. For aphrodisiac results mix in cardamom and honey.
Banisteriopsis caapi, Ayahuasca - giant liana from tropical Amazon forests psychedelic, ritual inebriant that promotes potency. Drink is made from the bark and is taken in love rituals to revive the mythical past of the tribe.
Areca catechu, Betel Nut - seeds have stimulating effect on the entire body and eros. It's a traditional aphrodosiac in Ayurvedic medicine and is counted among the eight types of pleasure in the Brahmanic tradition. It has magical and religious properties and used as an offering to the Gods.
Theobroma cacao, Chocolate - mild stimulant, beans contain aphrodisiac. Antient Indian "recipe of chocolati" will be shared at the event! Cocoa was considered the "food of gods".
Cinnamon - in Southern Asia used as stimulant, in food or massage oil for erotic stimulation.
Cola nitida, Cola nut - used in love magic, was used as currency in W Africa.
Cananga odorata, Ylang-Ylang - increases eroticism with oil inhaled. Prescribed to treat impotency and frigidity.
Butea monosperma, Flame of The Forest - is traditionally used to manage male sexual disorders.
Mimosa pudica, Sensitive Plant - significantly increases the libido and hormonal levels of testosterone.
Satureja Viminea, Kama Sutra Mint Tree - used for love gel...
- and much more!

TopTropicals Webinars. Welcome to Top Tropicals Webinar! Discover the world of Rare Plants and surround yourself with a Tropical Paradise! Our plant experts will be answering your garden questions. Our next LIVE air time is just before Valentines Day - Saturday February 11, at 2 pm ET, with a topic of... of course, Aphrodisiac Plants! Get your questions ready!

December Fest on Dec 10, mark your calendars!

Topic: Edible landscape. 10:00am - 2:00pm. Agenda:

Class @ 11:00am by Robert Riefer. How to keep pests off of maturing fruit.
Class @12:00pm Super foods by Zoe Merring. Benefits of Soursop, barbados cherry, goji, moringa. Benefits and recipes.

Discounts on all edibles
Prize giveaways at 12:00pm and 2:00pm (must be present to win)

20% off After-Cyber-Monday sale! Now that everybody is done with shopping for monitors and speakers, it is time to get some happy stuff! 20% off on all fruit trees, 1 day only! Enjoy your shopping and get the plants you always wanted at a low price!

6 easiest fruit trees and 5 spices to grow in containers indoors

Q: This is why I want to move so that I can grow absolutely anything I want from your catalogue. Prefered Puerto Rico. Right now I live in New York and there is absolutely nothing I can grow there.

A: Of course living in Puerto Rico brings more opportunities to grow tropical species. However, you can create your unique tropical paradise even living in New York. We have many customers from up North who successfully grow tropical species (and get them to flower and fruit) in greenhouses, and even indoors.
Here are a few suggestions of tropical fruit trees that adapt well for container/indoor culture - for both beginners and advanced gardeners.

Top 6 fruit trees great for indoors / container culture / beginners
1. Mango (Mangifera indica). Select from one of smaller mango varieties
2. Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa)
3. Guanabana, Soursop (Annona muricata)
4. Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum)
5. June Plum (Spondias cytherea)
6. Guava (Psidium guajava)

5 top spice plants (the spice will be with you right away, you don't have to wait for it to grow)
1. Allspice (Pimenta dioica)
2. Cinnamomon or Campor tree
3. Bay Leaf (Laurus nobilis)
4. Mint Tree (Satureja vimenea)
5. Vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia)

See a brief article of growing tropicals outside of tropics.

Don't forget to get some SUNSHINE boosters for your plant collection - for both successful indoor culture and cold protection!

See also our magazine Tropical Treasures) - Pushing the Limits of Tropical Gardening, with list of issues.

Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection

A note from our customer: Last winter was very cold here in Arizona, lower 30's. I used white synthetic sheets (called frost cloth, it is very light and yet effective) to cover my fruit trees, and kept simple light garlands on for the whole night. Sending you couple photos so you can share with others. It worked pretty well for my plants and no cold damage!

With winter approaching, it is time to take some actions to protect your rare plants from cold stress and damage.
If you live in a mild climate, you still need to get ready for the cold nights. When expecting a cold night, individual plants and trees can be wrapped with sheets, or blankets, to protect them from the wind chill. Christmas lights is a good idea for an additional warm up.

For large collections of tropical plants, temporary winter greenhouse doesn't have to be expensive. An easy-assembly mobile carport from a hardware store covered with a plastic or fabric will cost you $100-200. It can fit a hundred plants or more!

If you live in area with a hard freeze, Southern exposure windowsill will work for most of the compact tropicals providing proper care. Larger collections may also move into your garage for a few cold nights, or for longer periods if the garage has a bright light source.

Factors affecting tropical plant winter survival:

1. Duration of cold period. Tropical plants can't stand long periods of cold. A few days of even upper 30's may kill a tropical plant. A few hours of frost may cause leaf drop but the plant will recover.
2. Minimum temperature - of course, the warmer the better. But see 1) - if cold is not for too long, it may be OK.
3. Wind-chill can be more dangerous than low temperatures.
4. Exposure. Southern slopes get warm during daytime and stay warm longer.
5. Protection with a house, fence, larger trees - where a "pocket" of warm air forms and stays - is beneficial.
6. Humidity. A lake or a river nearby (especially ocean) will mild the micro-climate.
7. Individual species hardiness. Don't try to grow Orchid Tree outdoors in New York.
8. Plant maturity and health. A well-established plant with developed root system has more chances to survive cold. If a plant had a good change to develop during warm season (bright light, enough water, fertilizer), it will be more cold hardy. Healthy plant can withstand lower temperature, so proper nutrition is important, including micro-element applications. Large specimens, even ultra-tropical, may survive cooler winter than they normally do in their natural habitat. The Nature provided plants with better hardiness level than it is normally used. To boost plant immune system and improve cold tolerance even more, use SUNSHINE plant boosters. SUNSHINE-T - thermo-protection booster, is specially formulated for winter protection of tropical plants. To improve cold hardiness, spray 1-2 days prior to cold with 5 ml/1 gal solution and continue applications with 2.5 ml/1 gal solution every 10-15 days throughout winter period.
9. Gradual temperature decrease is less dangerous than a sudden drop since it gives a plant a chance to adjust. One sudden freeze in December with prior warm fall may create more damage than a gradual temperature adjustment. If it starts to get cold early in the Fall, plants slow down their metabolism, and the new tender growth won't get hurt later in winter, since the plants are "expecting" the cold.
10. Do not fertilize plants during cool months. Not only because they don't need much food beyond growing season, but also because fertilizer (especially Nitrogen) encourages rapid tender growth that will be damaged by cold and this will stress the whole plant.

Stay warm!

About Cold Protection...

Q: I have a question, if I'm in Okeechobee Florida zone 9b are there any plants that you sell that would have to be protected at all? I have a lot that I've purchased from you and don't want to lose any of them winter.

A: Sometimes it is hard to guarantee if certain plants are hardy enough in certain area. From our experience, tropical plant performance in non-tropical areas depend on many factors; a lot of times plants appear to be hardier than they are believed to be. Other times, an obviously hardy plant doesn't survive winter. So there always will be a chance of risk involved, while nice surprises are not an exception. We have been testing many tropical species throughout many years of our nursery experience. Wind protection in many cases is more important than temperature. Enclosed sections of your garden provide better chances to survive cold snaps. Generally speaking, here is the list of some plants (not complete list, just examples) that in our experience have been surviving light freezes without significant damage.

Q: I live in San Jose,CA. Got Mango Alphonso 2 yrs back and protected it for a year in a pot during winter. Last spring I planted it and during winter I put a freeze cloth to protect it but it died. How can I make sure it wont die if I buy this time plz?

A: Mango trees are tolerant only to light frost, once established. If it gets below freezing in your area for more than a few hours, and especially if you have numerous nights with frost throughout winter, we recommend to keep mango tree in a pot. This way it can be moved to protected area during cold night. The more established the tree, the more chances to survive colder temperatures.
We also use plant booster Sunshine to increase plants cold tolerance
Cold protection is a lengthy subject. You may also use propane heaters during cold nights.
Here is some more information on cold protection.
Also, we recommend to check out our magazine Tropical Treasures (about pushing the limits of tropical gardening) for a detailed article on cold protection.
These are specific articles on Zone-Pushing in different issue #s regarding dealing with cold. See downloadable issues:
(#1) Growing Tropicals in Nontropical Climate, Three Freezing Nights in Southwest Florida
(#2) Temperature drops - an alert or a rehearsal?
(#5) Dealing with cold snaps, Cold hardy beauties
(#7) When winter is around the corner, Growing exotic Cordyline in colder climate
(#8) When the weather outside is frightful
(#9) Winter champions
(#11) Ready-for-winter checklist for in-ground plants
(#13) Winter checklist
(#18) Dealing with cold damaged plants
You may also order hard copies.

If temperatures drop below freezing in your area, remember to add Heat Pack to your order!

10 plants that can make you happy.
3D garden ideas.

3D garden ideas.
Q: Can you make my yard bigger and prevent it from freezing?

A: Yes, we can make your backyard bigger by adding a 3rd dimension - trees as a upper level, shrubs as a second level, vines in between, low growing perennials below them. Add ground covers and potted plants as separate specimens in between in-ground planted trees and shrubs. One more separate dimension is orchids and other epiphytes that happily grow on the trees. This multi-level structure will allow you not only collect so many plants, but also maintain them in a natural environment, similar to how they grow in a wild.

As far as preventing from freezing - it depends. You can use greenhouse, cover plants, create microclimate under large canopies, etc. Some tropical plants are tolerant to light frost, once established. If it gets below freezing in your area for more than a few hours, and especially if you have numerous nights with frost throughout winter, we recommend to keep plants in pots (BTW, this way you save space and can collect even more!). Pots can be moved to protected area during cold nights. The more established the tree, the more chances to survive colder temperatures. You may also use propane heaters during cold nights.
We also use plant booster SUNSHINE boosters to increase plants cold tolerance.
Cold protection is a lengthy subject. Here is some more information on cold protection. Also, we recommend to check out our magazine Tropical Treasures (about pushing the limits of tropical gardening) for a detailed article on cold protection.
These are specific articles on Zone-Pushing in different issue #s regarding dealing with cold. See downloadable issues:
(#1) Growing Tropicals in Nontropical Climate, Three Freezing Nights in Southwest Florida
(#2) Temperature drops - an alert or a rehearsal?
(#5) Dealing with cold snaps, Cold hardy beauties
(#7) When winter is around the corner, Growing exotic Cordyline in colder climate
(#8) When the weather outside is frightful
(#9) Winter champions
(#11) Ready-for-winter checklist for in-ground plants
(#13) Winter checklist
(#18) Dealing with cold damaged plants
You may also order hard copies.
If temperatures drop below freezing in your area, remember to add Heat Pack to your order!

10 plants that will make you happy.

Everyone wants to be happy. Did you know that growing plants is not only fun but can also make you happy? In our new series we will introduce to you 10 plants for your tropical collection that will make you happy.
Visit our Facebook, YouTube Channel and stay happy!

Check out this video: 10 plants that will make you happy. Plant # 1 - Rose Apple.

Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what's fruiting and blooming!

Overwintering Adeniums outside of tropics

Q: We bought several adenium plants from you. We are moving to the Denver area of Colorado. How can we make sure the plants survive? Should we use a green house?

A: Adeniums are perfect container plants, and house plants. They can be easily grown outside of tropical climate. During winter, Adeniums drop leaves and go into dormancy which makes it easy to keep these plants in a dormant stage in a warm location of your house, or possibly even in well-lit spot of garage (with a window), with temperatures above 50-60F.
Here in South Florida, during time of cold, when chances of freeze are high, we move our own Adenium collection into lanai, with plastic sheet protection around lanai.

In colder climates, Adeniums can be kept indoors as house plants during winter. There are some requirements/tips for you:

• Temperature. Move Adeniums indoors when temperature starts dropping below 45F.
• SUNSHINE. Use SUNSHINE boosters to improve cold resistance of Adeniums, and essure healthy plant throughout winter. SUNSHINE-BC formula is specifically designed for plants with caudex, and bonsai.
• Water. Reduce watering to minimum, especially when plants drop leaves - this means they went into dormancy. Once a week light watering is enough. Water very carefully during cooler months. When it is hot (85-100F), excessive water usually won't harm adeniums: it will be partially used by a plant, and partially will evaporate. Especially be careful with water when temperatures drop below 65F - then tropical plants simply stop growing process and go dormant. Once adeniums start losing leaves, this is a sign to reduce watering to once a week to once a month, and in very small quantity (couple tablespoons per pot).
• Light. Bright light is not necessary, but do not keep them in dark either, even if all leaves dropped. Good light is necessary to maintain healthy stems and caudex. Keep in mind, the less light, the less watering too. Ideal spot is a windowsill, however if your space is limited and all windows occupied by other "leafy" plants, location close to window will be enough as long as watering is reduced, to avoid rot. We keep our big collection specimens on a roofed porch during winter, where level of light is very low. Last winter we haven't lost a single plant due to low light. They take shade pretty well considering minimum or no water. However bright light is always better - it creates healthier environment for a plant. We all know about space limitations for our large collections, especially in winter. So if you can afford a bright spot for adenium during winter - the plant will be lucky!
• Soil. Use only well drained mix with much higher content of perlite than you would use for most tropical plants. For adeniums, we use mix with 30-40% of perlite in it, while regular mix has 10-15%. Adeniums like alkaline soil, unlike most of tropical plants (hard to say what else likes alkaline... Ficus for sure!). This means, regular mix with high content of peat moss may cause root rot. To increase alkalinity, you may add dolomite. Here in Florida where we have natural supply of shell rock handy, it is easy to add some shell to a potting mix (shell sand, rather than quartz sand). We always add a few large shells on top of a pots with a big specimen. Besides increasing soil pH (making it more alkaline), shells look very decorative.
• Fertilizer. No fertilizer until Spring when plants start showing new growth and new leaves.
• Move your Adeniums outside in Spring, when chances of freeze are zero. More sunlight and air circulation is beneficial for breaking the dormancy and providing plants with a quick growth start.

Growing by the sea

Q: Please recommend me some interesting plants that can grow on my waterfront property and can withstand some salt wind. All my neighbors have Sea Grape trees and bougainvilleas, and I want something different and special. I would love to have some colorful or fragrant flowers, or fruit around my paradise home.

Q: Considering your neighbors successfully grow Sea Grape (Coccoloba), and Bougainvilleas, you have a mild, frost free climate. There is a number of spectacular and useful tropical plants that are salt tolerant. Orchid Trees - Bauhinias, Poincettia - Delonix, and Geiger trees - Cordias, are very showy flowering trees. For large size bushes, try Dwarf Poincianas - Caesalpinias, and Scarlet-Coral Erythrinas. Frangipani - Plumeria, come in different colors and bring you perfume fragrance from Hawaii. And of course, Desert Roses - Adeniums, can be grown and showy specimens anywhere in your yard, both in the ground or as potted bonsai.

Most palms, especially popular Coconut Palm, source of tasty fruit and drink, are highly tolerant to salt breeze. If you are looking for something that nobody has, Lipstick palm, or Sealing wax palm - Cyrtostachys lakka, is definitely the most spectacular palm you can find. It is a stunning feather palm that develops a brilliantly red trunk. Palm is originally from Malaysia, but has been introduced to Costa Rica and other tropical areas of the world. Sealing Wax Palm seeds are very slow to germinate, up to a year, and large specimens are very rare and hard to find even in rare tropical plant nurseries. This palm will require a good overhead light, and constant warmth (above temperature 55F). It is definitely worth an effort to grow this beauty.

You may add more tropical accents to your landscape by the sea with many varieties of showy heliconias.

See full list of salt tolerant trees.