Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

The Magic of 3 top tropical trees
from the legends of Caribbean

Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana:
Three happy colors of the Tropics

paintings of 3 top tropical trees - Royal Poinciana, Yellow Poinciana, and 
Jacaranda

While traveling through the vibrant and diverse Caribbean, we acquired three exquisite local paintings. Two of these are masterfully rendered on jacaranda wood plates, and the third is beautifully crafted on a calabash. These stunning pieces of art celebrate the three most spectacular and revered flowering trees of the Tropics: Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana.

These trees are not only visually stunning but also deeply embedded in Caribbean culture, legends, and folk remedies.

The Yellow Poinciana, with its bright golden blossoms, is often associated with joy and sunlight, symbolizing the warmth of the Caribbean spirit.
The Jacaranda, known for its striking lavender-blue flowers, is a symbol of wisdom and rebirth, often blooming in a breathtaking display that signals the change of seasons.
The Royal Poinciana, with its fiery red and orange flowers, is a symbol of passion and energy, often referred to as the "Flamboyant" tree due to its bold and dramatic appearance.

These trees hold a special place in the hearts of the Caribbean people. They are featured in numerous local stories and songs, and their flowers and leaves are used in traditional remedies and rituals. Owning these paintings feels like possessing a piece of the Caribbean's soul and its natural beauty.

Now, we are fortunate to have not only the paintings but also the actual trees. Watching them grow and bloom in our garden brings a piece of the Caribbean to our home, a constant reminder of our travels and the vibrant culture we experienced. These trees and their representations in art are a testament to the region's rich heritage and its enduring connection to nature.

Get them now while we have them. No need to go too far into Caribbean!

Peltophorum africanum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana

Peltophorum africanum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana. An excellent garden shade tree, beautiful in flower. This variety starts flowering at young age, in 3 gal pot.

Jacaranda mimosifolia (acutifolia)

Jacaranda mimosifolia - Hypnotizing bluish-purple, trumpet-like flowers create the magical image of the tree. Incredible, long-lasting purple blooms. When the trumpet-shaped blooms finally fall, they form a lilac carpet beneath the awe-inspiring Jacaranda for luxuriant curb appeal...

Royal poinciana, Flamboyant tree, Delonix regia

Royal poinciana, Flamboyant tree, Delonix regia - "One of the most spectacular flowering trees in the USA, and probably among the top 10 on this planet. In full bloom, it is like a regal elephant caparisoned in red and yellow brilliance." (Larry M. Schokman, The Kampong, National Tropical Botanic Garden)

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Shocking content: flowers with lady's parts used for making tea. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Shocking content: flowers with ladys parts used for making tea

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Lavender

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Lavender

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea White double flower

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea White double flower

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue Double flower

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue Double flower

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea White

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea White

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue Tea

Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea Blue Tea

Shocking content: flowers with lady's parts used for making tea...

Now that you've met the Sausage Tree, it's time to introduce you to Clitoria...
  • 💙 Clitoria ternatea - also called Butterfly Pea, has distinctive, delicate blooms resembling certain anatomical features... These curious flowers have the shape of clitoris - hence the name of the plant.
  • 💙 Nature's Wink: the Clitoria vine boasts these beautiful sexy flowers in vibrant shades of blue, white, or purple. They’re an absolute showstopper!
  • 💙 Herbal Benefits: beyond its looks, the clitoria flower is known for its traditional uses as a herbal tea, including stress relief and cognitive support. The flowers also used in salads. The plant is both pretty and practical!
  • 💙 Blue Tea is a caffeine-free herbal tea, or Tisane - a beverage made from a decoction or infusion of the Clitoria flower. This stunning blue tea changes color with a squeeze of lemon 🍋 - science and beauty in your cup!⛾
  • 💙 In Thailand and Vietnam the Blue Tea is mixed with honey and lemon for a drink served after dinner, or as a refreshment at hotels and spas; a preparation called Nam Dok Anchan in Thai.
  • 💙 Pollinator's Paradise: Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators can't resist Clitoria's allure 🐝
  • 💙 Easy to grow: Clitoria vine is a gardener’s dream. It is very delicate, fine vine that is both fast growing and easy to control. It can cover a small fence, trellis in a few months. It is also great for containers - this vine will grow just the way you want it.


📚 Learn more about Clitoria and its Tea Infusion

🛒 Get your own Clitoria Vine for fun and Blue Tea

#Nature_Wonders #Recipes #Fun_Facts
#Remedies #Butterfly_Plants #Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

Why cucumbers grow on a tree? Because they are "candles"! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why cucumbers grow on a tree? Because they are candles!

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote fruit

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote fruit

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote flower

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote flower

Why cucumbers grow on a tree? Because they are "candles"! 🕯
  • 🕯 This bizarre tree is a conversation piece and every plant collector should have one!
  • 🕯 Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, or Guahalote - is a highly ornamental tree with interesting leaves, pretty cream flowers and...ready?
  • 🕯One foot long fruits resembling a greenish-yellow cucumbers or candles that hang off the tree!
  • 🕯Juicy fruit is edible and has a sweet flavor similar to sugar cane. Eaten raw or cooked; used to make pickles or preserves
  • 🕯The fruit is a remedy for colds; roots used as a diuretic.
  • 🕯Easy to grow and not fussy about conditions. Cold tolerant to light frost.


🎥 10 Plants That Will Make You Happy. Plant #2: Candle Tree.

🛒Get your own Candle Tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Nature_Wonders #Remedies

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

Index of TopTropicals Telegram Channel. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Index of TopTropicals Telegram Channel

Index of TopTropicals Telegram Channel
🗂 Index of TopTropicals Telegram Channel

Follow these tags to find your interests:

#Butterfly_Plants - Butterfly attracting plants.

#Container_Garden - Plants suitable for container garden and indoor culture.

#Fertilizers - All the truth about fertilizers, plant food supplements, and our recommendations for different types of plants.

#Food_Forest - Fruit trees, Spice plants, and Edibles.
Including: #Avocado, #Mango, #Papaya, #Guava, #Jackfruit, #Loquat

📖 #Fun_Facts - interesting plant facts and legends.

🌳 #Hedges_with_benefits - Practical approach to your landscape and how to properly select showy and useful plants for your yard.

♍️ #Horoscope - Plant Horoscopes and Cat Horoscopes. Did you know that cats also have their Zodiac signs?

🛠 #How_to - Q&A about growing plants, tropical garden lifehacks.

👀 #Nature_Wonders - Unusual, amusing, outrageous, bizarre plants...

🐈
#PeopleCats - our Favorite PeopleCats (and some PeopleDogs, too).

🌸 #Perfume_Plants - Fragrant plants and perfume trees.

✍️ #Quotes - Interesting quotes.

#Recipes - Exotic recipes for tropical fruit and edibles.

💊
#Remedies - Medicinal plants.

☁️ #Shade_Garden - Plants suitable for low light conditions.

🌼 #Tree
s - Spectacular flowering tropical trees.

🏆 #Win - Contests, Sweepstakes, and other specials.

Join and share with friends👇🏵
TopTropicals

Date:

Horny plant hanging in the air. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Horny plant hanging in the air

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Staghorn fern (Platycerium)

Horny plant hanging in the air...
  • 👀 Staghorn fern (Platycerium) is one of those #Nature_Wonders... Everyone who sees it, wants to have one!
  • 👀 Showy, tropical looking epiphyte that can be grown on a tree or in a large hanging basket.
  • 👀 It is able to grow high in the trees of the rainforest, often grows in large masses.
  • 👀 Long, pendulous, much bifurcated fertile fronds produce spores on special cup-shaped appendages. Basal fronds form a crown-shaped basket.


🛒 Order online - we have a few X-large plants

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

What is the easiest, prettiest, and most practical plant?
A plastic one?
Believe it or not, there is a different answer:

Plant of the month: Callisia Variegated Golden Tendril

Callisia fragrans x soconuscensis Melnikoff - Variegated Golden Tendril

Callisia fragrans x soconuscensis Melnikoff - Variegated Golden Tendril

An ultimate plant:
- perfect low maintenance house plant
- easy to grow
- has multiple holistic medicinal properties
- can grow fast as grownd cover
- needs almost no water
- sun or shade
- no fuss, no kidding!

This is an extremely rare variety of the European Holistic Medicinal Plant - Golden Tendril. It has showy variegated leaves and makes a beautiful houseplant on top of its medicinal value. It tolerates wide range of conditions and requires very little water; takes both bright sun or shade and is very fast growing and easy. The plant has wide medicinal use in Europe, literally every household uses this plant as a home remedies... just like Aloe Vera! According to scientific research, active biological substances from steroid group contained in this plant can struggle with any types of infections, stimulates metabolic processes, strengthens immunity and circulatory system, has a positive influence on growths and much more... some people consider it a virtual panacea. Whether it works for everybody or not, it is definitely fun to own such a legendary plant!

These are pictures of actual plants for sale!

Callisia fragrans x soconuscensis Melnikoff - Variegated Golden Tendril

Date:

Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

How to get Canistel tree to produce
without dropping flowers and fruit

Q: My Canistel tree is 3 1/2 years old and is growing very well, see the picture below. It gets hundreds of pea sized "berries" but then they fall off. No canistel fruit. What's wrong?

A: You have such a nice looking tree, it is a shame you can't get any fruit to ripen.
In our experience, Pouteria trees dropping fruit prematurely is a very common problem. There may be one of the following reasons, or a combination of them:
- Cold winters may affect production, and while Canistel is generally pretty hardy tropical plant that can easily withstand short periods of chill, the fruit may never form properly if it had a cold winter.
- Lack of water. Canistel tree is pretty drought tolerant, but for the proper production cycle it needs regular irrigation. Especially during hot summer.
- The tree may be not strong enough; young trees drop fruit very often when they don't have enough "fruiting energy" built up in their system.
Your tree looks well established and vigorous, however, flower/fruit drop is often a sign of insufficient nutrients of particular kind, usually Boron (B) and/or Molybdenum (Mo): either when a tree is too young and not strong enough, or because of poor soils and lack of necessary elements.

Here is what can be done, considering you live in a warm, frost-free climate.

1. Provide regular fertilizing program. We recommend liquid fertilizers Sunshine Boosters that are safe to use with every watering and year around. It is beneficial to switch plants from traditional "slow-release" fertilizer to the liquid one because it makes a huge difference in plant growth and flower/fruit quality and quantity. See also:
- Why liquid fertilizers are better than dry
- Article about benefits of liquid fertilizers.

Use this plant food for your Canistel tree:
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster

2. Apply micro-element remedies that are very effective for improving fruit production, especially when flower or fruit drop occurs:

SUNSHINE Honey - promotes more efficient blossoming and pollination, makes flowers bigger and reduces bud drop.
SUNSHINE SuperFood - improves plant vigor and quality and size of flowers These are all natural, eco-friendly supplements that work great for fruit trees and other edibles.

Date:

Cat of the Day - Mr B. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Cat of the Day - Mr B

🐈 Cat of the Day - Mr B.

Did you know that Lemon Grass freshens your pet's breath? Mr B knows. He is the fan. He doesn't brush his teeth before going to bed, but claims he has a lemon-fresh breath. Good night!🌜

📸 😺 👇 Share your cats in comments!

🛒 And get some Lemon Grass - a versatile performer in the kitchen where it can be used in teas, beverages, herbal medicines, Eastern inspired soups and other dishes.

🐾 More #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden

#Remedies #Food_Forest

JOIN 👉 @TopTropicals

Date:

What are the health benefits of Gardening? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What are the health benefits of Gardening?

What are the health benefits of Gardening?
What are the health benefits of Gardening?

Therapeutic effect of gardening is not just a modern discovery. Throughout history, various cultures have recognized the mental and physical benefits of gardening...

🏺 In ancient Egypt, physicians prescribed walks through gardens for patients struggling with mental health issues.

🕯 During the Middle Ages in Europe, monastery gardens were designed not only for sustenance but also for meditation and relaxation.

🔮 Gardening has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression while promoting relaxation and a sense of well-being.

😅 The physical activity involved in gardening also provides exercise, contributing to overall health.

🌳 So, whether you're tending to a small indoor herb garden or cultivating a vast outdoor plot, the act of gardening can be a powerful tool for both mental and physical wellness.

🛒 Shop tropical spice plants and herbs

#Edible_Forest #Remedies

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

Cat of the Day - Snitch. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Cat of the Day - Snitch

Cat of the Day - Snitch
🐈 Cat of the Day - Snitch.

Snitch is our office helper and herbs expert.

"Make sure to tell your cats all the truth about Catnip"

Get some herb tea and have a good sleep!🌜

🛒 Shop Tropical Herbs and Spices for #Remedies

📸 😺 👇 Share your cats in comments!

🐾 More #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden

🏵 TopTropicals