Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date:
Go Bananas!
10 good reasons to plant bananas in your garden
Adding banana plants to your subtropical garden or plant collection can enhance the aesthetics of your outdoor and indoor space, provide fresh and nutritious fruits, and offer a fun gardening experience with relatively low maintenance requirements. It's a delightful way to connect with nature and enjoy the benefits of homegrown produce.
1. Tropical Ambiance: Banana plants bring a touch of the tropics to your subtropical garden. Their large, lush leaves create a lush and exotic atmosphere that can transform your garden into a tropical paradise.
2. Homegrown Flavor: Growing your own banana trees allows you to enjoy the freshest, most flavorful bananas right from your garden. Homegrown bananas often have a superior taste compared to store-bought varieties.
3. Nutritional Benefits: Bananas are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. By cultivating your own banana trees, you gain access to a nutritious and healthy snack option right in your backyard.
4. Quick Results: Banana plants are known for their fast growth. In subtropical climates, they can produce fruit in as little as one to two years. This means you don't have to wait long to savor the fruits of your labor!
5. Low Maintenance: Banana trees are relatively low-maintenance once established. They require regular watering, but their hardy nature makes them a relatively easy addition to your garden. They are not messy in a landscape.
6. Versatility: Bananas offer versatility in your garden. You can choose from dessert bananas for snacking, cooking bananas like plantains for culinary experiments, or even ornamental banana varieties to enhance your garden's aesthetics. There are so many varieties to enjoy! You can't find this big selection in a grocery store.
7. Sustainable Living: Growing your own bananas reduces your reliance on store-bought produce, contributing to a more sustainable lifestyle. It also minimizes the carbon footprint associated with transporting fruits to market.
8. Educational Value: Cultivating banana plants can be an educational experience for both adults and children. It offers insights into tropical horticulture and can foster an appreciation for gardening and botany.
9. Landscaping Appeal: Beyond their fruit-bearing potential, banana plants add visual interest to your garden. Their unique form and striking leaves make them an excellent choice for landscaping and providing shade in your outdoor space.
10. Resilience: While bananas thrive in tropical conditions, many banana varieties are hardy enough to withstand cooler climates, making them a durable addition to your garden.
Date:
New Exotic Adeniums
Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...
It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals Garden with savings of
up to 50% and MORE!
The Flower of Prosperity and Good Fortune...
The Adenium obesum, Desert Rose, is a highly prized ornamental plant, perceived in some cultures as a sacred symbol of prosperity, abundance and good fortune. Since the Desert Rose is strong and adaptable to climatic conditions, it represents strength, persistence and resilience. We could all use a little more of these qualities in our lives...
Adeniums (Desert Roses) are the easiest plants in cultivation yet they bring you so much joy with their colorful flowers and showy caudex. There are hundreds, if not thousands of amazing colors and new hybrids are created every year. Many gardeners want to collect them all! And we can help you to grow your collection. We have many new varieties in stock and are offering two special Collection Deals!
Special Deals for Desert Rose Collectors
The plants are well developed, with large caudex, grown
in 1 gal pots, normally $42.95 each,
with Collection savings of $30 and $65!
3 Adeniums Collection
Regularly $128.95,
Collection price $98.95 - savings of $30 per set!
Varieties included in this collection:
RED Adenium Red Wine
WHITE Adenium Jasmine
BLACK Adenium Black Widow
5 Adeniums Collection
Regularly $214.95,
Collection price $149.95 - savings of $65 per set!
Varieties included in this collection:
PURPLE Adenium Mee Stang
LIGHT YELLOW Adenium Yellow Gold (Vanilla Gold)
STRIPED PINK Adenium Bua Champoo
ORANGE Adenium Yellow Gift (Sai Thong)
RED-BLACK Adenium Red Dragon
Now wait... Save even more with Easy Sunday:
Combine both collections and save ANOTHER $15! Use this limited time offer coupon:
ADENIUM15
Remember, this Easy Sunday Deal expires on Tuesday 3-1-22!
Why Bananas? They are good for you and are fun to grow!
Red Banana
Praying Hands Banana
Banana fruit
Rojo Banana
Variegated Banana
- 💛 Bananas are berries, not fruits!
- 💛 They float in water like apples and watermelons.
- 💛 Bananas are high in potassium, which helps muscles work properly.
- 💛 They can improve your mood because they contain tryptophan, which your body turns into serotonin.
- 💛 Bananas are great for your heart because they have lots of fiber and potassium.
- 💛 Eating bananas can help with digestion since they are rich in fiber.
- 💛 They are a natural energy booster, perfect for a quick snack.
- 💛 Bananas can help keep your blood pressure in check due to their low sodium and high potassium content.
- 💛 They contain vitamins like B6 and C, which are good for your immune system.
- 💛 Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on mosquito bites can reduce itching and swelling.
❔ What is your favorite Banana or Plantain variety?
Share in comments👇
🛒 Shop Banana varieties
#Food_Forest #Bananas
🏵 TopTropicals
Top 10 fruit youll ever need for your health benefits:
Bananas
#5 Banana 🍌
- 🟡Bananas are rich in potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure and supports heart health.
- 🟡They provide a quick source of energy and are great for post-workout recovery.
- 🟡The fiber in bananas aids digestion and promotes gut health.
- 🟡East them fresh, add to smoothies, bake into breads and desserts, or use in various savory dishes.
📚 More about Banana from previous posts:
- 💋How to make tasty Carambola Banana Whip
- 💋Why Bananas? They are good for you and are fun to grow!
- 💋Bananas help you feel fuller and enhance your mood
🛒 Plant a Banana Tree
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Bananas
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date:
NEW
VIDEO:
How to get variegated vanilla bananas.
Discovering natural banana with seeds
with Fermin Garcia
We got a variegated banana from Thailand, planted it at our farm and started fertilizing with our famous Sunshine Rubusta (featured in our earlier blog: Sunshine Boosters Winter Use - The magic fertilizer in action.
In just a few months, it grew into a massive banana tree - one of the largest we've ever seen! Soon, a flower spike appeared, followed by variegated bananas. As they ripened, they turned yellow and developed a sweet vanilla flavor, with seeds! These are natural bananas, not modified. In today's video, we're showing how we harvested the fruit, tasted it, and discovered the seeds...
We've named this banana Fermin's Vanilla Delight Banana (Musa x paradisiaca). Fermin planted the seeds and we hope to have these plants soon. Add item 6379 to your wishlist and be the first to know when they're ready!
Use Sunshine Robusta magic fertilizer to have your bananas (and everything else) grow like crazy! It is safe to use all Sunshine Boosters year around with every watering.
Check out different banana varieties we have at TopTropicals - delivered to your door!
Subscribe to our Channel:
Subscribe to Top Tropicals YouTube Channel and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!
Date:
Growing Adeniums: A Beginners Guide
Q: How to you keep Adenium happy and blooming like on the pictures?
A: Adeniums, also known as Desert Roses, are exotic and striking plants that can bring beauty to any indoor or outdoor garden. Despite their desert origins, they require a bit of care to thrive. Here's a simple guide to help you grow healthy and vibrant adeniums:
Light and Location: Adeniums prefer filtered light, although they can tolerate full sun. In hot climates, they thrive in bright, indirect light. Position your plant accordingly to ensure optimal growth.
Potting and Soil: Use a small pot with excellent drainage to prevent waterlogging. Opt for a well-draining soil mix specifically designed for adeniums or create your own mix using cactus mix with added limestone for slightly alkaline conditions.
Watering: Water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings. Avoid overwatering, which can lead to caudex rot. Water in the early morning and ensure the plant drinks up throughout the day.
Fertilization: Use a liquid fertilizer with high phosphate content to encourage both caudex growth and flowering. Apply according to label instructions, avoiding direct contact with the caudex. We recommend Sunshine Megaflor.
Caring for the Caudex: To promote a large swollen caudex, gradually raise the plant each time you repot it, exposing the upper roots. This encourages the formation of additional roots.
Maintenance and Blooming: Adeniums typically bloom from spring through fall. Ensure they receive ample light for heavy flowering. Avoid wetting the leaves and apply fertilizer to support overall plant health.
By following these simple steps, you can enjoy the beauty of adeniums in your own garden or home. With proper care and attention, your Desert Roses will flourish and delight you with their stunning blooms.
Date:
News arrivals: Adenium Rainbow
Collect them all!
Exciting news: Fresh Adenium arrivals straight from Thailand! Behold an array of breathtaking varieties in an explosion of colors.
Adeniums are a must-have for gardeners, with enthusiasts avidly collecting diverse strains. These resilient plants flourish in pots, whether adorning outdoor gardens or brightening indoor spaces. With their charming compactness and eye-catching caudex, Adeniums effortlessly spark conversation and make memorable gifts.
Every year, new hybrids emerge, boasting double and triple blooms in an array of captivating hues - think vibrant reds, pinks, yellows, regal purples, and even dramatic blacks. Each variety is a masterpiece, showcasing unique patterns from dots to stripes to variegations.
Act fast - quantities are limited! Seize the opportunity to expand your collection now!
Photo above: selected varieties that just have arrived.
Date:
Care of Desert Roses
Q: I am looking forward to my three desert roses I just ordered from you and I am wondering how to take care of them, especially during winter time. Should I put the pots in full sun or shade? What kind of soil do they like? How often should I water them? When it gets cooler, should I bring them inside? We do have occasional frost here during winter.
A: Here are a few tips for your desert roses:
1. When received Adenium from mail-order, unpack carefully; branches are fragile. Plant in well-drained potting mix. Cactus mix will do, but we recommend special Adenium mix. If using regular acidic peat-based potting mix, you may add sea-shells on top of soil to neutralize acidity: adeniums prefer alkaline soils. Using clay pots is beneficial. Water once and do not water again until soil gets dry. Place in bright shade until new leaves sprout, then the plant can be moved to full sun.
2. Adenium is a succulent, but not a cactus. It needs watering, however let soil dry before waterings. Reduce watering during cool season and discontinue when plant gets dormant (drops all leaves in winter).
3. Bright light is the best for profuse flowering. However, adeniums look much healthier in slightly filtered light rather than in all-day full sun.
4. Fertilize and spray leaves with liquid fertilizer SUNSHINE Megaflor - Nutrition Bloom Booster. Phosphorous is responsible both for flowering and caudex development. Avoid caudex, spray over foliage only. Dry fertilizer can be used only during hot months.
5. Watch for spider mites during hot and dry season.
6. Give plants a break during winter dormant season. Keep in bright shade and reduce watering to 1-2 per month or stop watering if temperature is below 65F.
More info on growing Desert Roses:
What you need for successful growing Adeniums
Overwintering Adeniums outside of tropics
Growing Exotic Adeniums - Growing Exotic Adeniums
Date:
Growing desert roses
Q: I purchased a Desert Rose and planted it in Adenium mix. I keep it in full sun with once a week watering assuming this is a desert plant that likes lots of sun. Some leaves turned yellow and now I am not sure should I move it into shade or need to water more? Or maybe fertilize with something?
A: Desert Rose - Adenium, unlike cacti and other succulents, prefers filtered light. It can grow in full sun but leaves look healthier in light shade. Watering must be very moderate, however don't let soil harden like a rock: water again right after the soil gets dry. We suggest to use special Adenium Mix. Cactus mix may work well, as well as regular potting mix, in which case it is recommended to add a bit of limestone (we simply put sea shells on top of the pot - it looks very pretty!) - because adeniums prefer slightly alkaline soil (while most of tropical plants like acidic soils). If leaves turn yellow, this may be a sign of underwatering. Use water soluable fertilizer with high phosphate as foliage spray, and only on healthy plants, according to label dosage. It helps both caudex growth and flowering. Make sure to avoid fertilizer contact with a caudex.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES:
Adenium Plant Food - Flower and Caudex Booster
SUNSHINE-BC - Caudex booster
Adenium Soilless Mix
Read more about growing Adeniums:
What you need for successful growing Adeniums
Growing Exotic Adeniums
Date:
Easy,
stress-free plants
for Summer planting
Q: With the rising temperatures, I'm concerned about shipping my plants safely. Can they withstand the heat during transit? Also, is it okay to plant them in the ground now, or should I wait for cooler Fall weather?
A: Your concern about shipping plants in hot weather is valid. For sensitive plants, we'll delay shipping until conditions are more favorable in your area. However, there are plenty of heat-tolerant tropical plants that handle shipping well with minimal stress. These plants adapt easily when planted during the hot summer months. Simply follow the included planting instructions, gradually acclimate them to full sun, and they should thrive.
Certain flowering tropical plants, such as Allamandas, Calliandras, Caesalpinias, Adeniums, and Clerodendrums, are excellent options for shipping and establishing during the summer. Flowering vines like Jasmines also adapt well. Consider using Sunshine Booster fertilizers to promote robust growth, they are safe to use right after planting.
Additionally, many fruit trees flourish in heat. Mangoes, Avocados, Pomegranates, Pineapples, Loquats, Eugenias - Tropical cherries, Bananas, Jackfruits, Dragon Fruit, and Olive trees are great choices for summer planting. Noni trees are hardy survivors and usually ship and grow well during the summer, in spite of their lush tropical leaves.
Feel free to check with us about the specific plant you plan to order for its suitability in summer shipping. We're here to take care of your green babies and address your year-round planting needs!
Pitaya, Yellow Dragon Fruit, Selenicereus megalanthus
Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans thrives and blooms in hot sun
Kalanchoe synsepala Magnificent - Walking Cup Kalanchoe, spectacular plant, loves dry and hot conditions