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.
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!
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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
Date:
We've SLASHED shipping costs!
In this world of ever rising prices, we've managed to slash our shipping costs to you by up to 50% in certain locations!
As prices have continued to skyrocket over the last 3-4 years, we are all feeling the pinch. At Top Tropicals we've done our very best to keep our plant prices steady and have even reduced some prices! But we don't control shipping costs and fuel surcharges and we have felt your frustration in trying to get our plants to you at reasonable shipping rates.
We've spent the last months working with our packaging and shipping suppliers and partners and have managed to slash your shipping costs by up to 50% depending on your location, on top of existing discounts and shipping specials.
You will see this shipping discount in your cart!
And remember these shipping discounts can be combined with all our plant discounts to add up to incredible savings for you!
If you haven't shopped with us for a while, we encourage you to check out our store and see for yourself the savings we now offer! Welcome back!
What to do when you have too many bananas: make Grilled Banana Boats recipe
😘 Ingredients:
· 2 ripe bananas- · 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
- · 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
- · 2 tablespoons chopped nuts (e.g., pecans or almonds)
- · Aluminum foil
🏄♂️ Instructions:
· Slice each banana lengthwise down the middle, but don’t cut all the way through - leave the peel intact to form a "boat."- · Gently open the banana and stuff with chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and nuts.
- · Wrap each banana in aluminum foil.
- · Grill over medium heat (or bake in the oven at 375°F) for 10–12 minutes, until the banana is soft and the chocolate is melted.
- · Carefully unwrap and serve warm, optionally with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
👌 This fun dessert is easy to make and highlights banana's natural sweetness!
🛒 Shop Banana Trees
#Food_Forest #Recipes
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date:
Mark your calendars: March 1, 2025
Spring into Green at Our Spring Plant Market!
Saturday, March 1, 9 am - 4 pm
Save the date for March 1, 2025, and join us for a vibrant celebration of nature! Bring your friends and family to explore a tropical oasis where our friendly PeopleCats are ready to help you find the perfect plants to brighten your space.
Celebrate the season of renewal and let your garden flourish with new life. We can't wait to see you there and share in the joy of spring!
Highlights of the event:
30% OFF online prices, one day only!
(excluding 15 gallon material and rare plants)
Exciting raffle prizes
Special discounts on selected plants
Complimentary gift bags for the first 25 ccustomers with an order $50+
Free plant with any purchase as a token of our appreciation
Life Music: the Famous
Event discounts valid at both locations:
Ft Myers Garden Center: 13890 Orange River, Ft Myers, FL
Sebring B-Farm: 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL
March 1, 2025 - SATURDAY - Spring Plant Market
🟢 Spring into Green at Our Spring Plant Market! Join us today, March 1, for a vibrant celebration of nature!
Bring your friends and family to explore a tropical oasis where our friendly #PeopleCats are ready to help you find the perfect plants to brighten your space.
🗓 Highlights of the event include:
- 30% OFF online prices (*excluding 15 gallon material and rare plants)
- Exciting raffle prizes
- Special discounts on selected plants
- Complimentary gift bags for the first 25 ccustomers with an order $50+
- Life Music: the Famous Hand Pan Lady! (see her previous performance at Top Tropicals)
🆓 Free plant with any purchase as a token of our appreciation
📍Event discounts and specials valid at both locations:
Ft Myers Garden Center: 13890 Orange River, Ft Myers, FL
Sebring Farm: 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date:
HEALING POWER OF HERBS
The most effective herbs to help you sleep. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Nothing is worse than the feeling of lying awake, unable to sleep as the numbers on the clock edge closer and closer to morning. Perhaps like many others, you toss and turn with your mind racing, playing the events of the day over and over again. Maybe you fall asleep easily, but wake up shortly after and can't get back to sleep for the rest of the night. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Fortunately, there are natural alternatives to prescription sleeping pills that are just as effective but are far gentler on the body. The following article by Marilyn Reid takes a closer look at some of the best herbs to help you sleep. Reed more...
Mother's day discounts. Fruit tree is the best gift for your Mother. Take advantage of these generous discounts to make a good present!
15% for orders over $100 (excluding S&H): MOTHERS15
20% for orders over $200 (excluding S&H): MOTHERS20
Can't be combined with any other offers. Not valid for past purchases. Codes are valid through Mother's Day - Sunday, May 8, 2014