Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

👾 How to get rid of a bad luck with the Garlic Vine?

• 🟣 Garlic vine (Mansoa alliacea) is one of the most wanted flowering tropical vines.
• 🟣 When in full bloom, it looks like a cascade of blue-purple over a fence or trellis.
• 🟣 The fun part is, crushed leaves smell like garlic, which will keep away the vampires and bad luck!
• 🟣 Deep lavender flowers with white throat fading to a paler lavender within a few days, and you can see all three colors on the plant at the same time.
• 🟣 Garlic vine has moderate growth rate and can stay compact in a pot as a specimen, and even can be grown as a house plant.

📚 Garlic vine: how to get rid of bad luck

🎥 Video: Garlic vine keeps away the vampires.

🛒 Get rid of bad luck by getting the Garlic Vine

#Butterfly_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Fun_Facts #How_to #Nature_Wonders

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🗂 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.

🌼 #Trees - Spectacular flowering tropical trees.

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

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TopTropicals

🌺 How to grow Mandevilla: Practical Guide to Growing Mandevilla Vine

• 🌺 Mandevilla is a tropical vine known for its vibrant, trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom throughout the warm months. This fast-growing climber thrives in warm climates and adds a stunning display of color to gardens and patios.
• 🌺 Difference Between Mandevilla and Dipladenia

The names Mandevilla and Dipladenia are often used interchangeably, creating confusion. While they are closely related, there are key differences. Mandevilla is a vigorous woody vine with large, stiff leaves, ideal for trellises and fences. Dipladenia, on the other hand, has a more compact growth habit with smaller, smooth leaves. Dipladenia can be also trained on a trellis but also thrives in hanging baskets or as a compact specimen plant. As a bushier type of Mandevilla, its smaller, more compact varieties are excellent for mixed containers.
• 🌺 Growing in the Ground

💋Soil. Mandevilla prefers well-draining soil enriched with organic matter. A mix of garden soil, compost, and sand ensures good drainage and fertility. Both Mandevilla and Dipladenia require acidic soil. If your native soil contains limestone, consider growing them in containers with a peat-based potting mix to maintain a lower pH.

• 💋Light. Plant in a location with full sun to partial shade; at least 6 hours of direct sunlight promotes the best blooms.

Water Mandevilla regularly, keeping the soil moist but not soggy. During hot months, water deeply a few times a week. Reduce watering in cooler seasons.
• 💋Feeding and Encouraging More Blooms: Feed Mandevilla with Sunshine Boosters Megaflor with every watering to encourage more blooms. Prune lightly after flowering to promote new growth and continuous flowering.

• 🌺 Most Interesting Varieties

Mandevilla flowers come in a wide range of colors, including shades of red, mauve, pink, white, and even yellow. For vibrant color and impact, consider these varieties:

💋Mandevilla ‘Alice du Pont’– A classic pink variety with large flowers and vigorous growth.

• 💋Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol’ Series – Offers compact plants in deep red, pink, or white, great for containers or small spaces.
• 💋Mandevilla ‘Crimson Red’– Deep red blooms stand out against glossy green foliage.
• 💋Dipladenia ‘Stars and Stripes’ - features striking red-and-white striped blooms.

In Florida, Sun Parasol and Alice du Pont perform exceptionally well, thriving in the heat and humidity while providing season-long blooms.

• 🌺 Pests and Problems

Mandevilla is relatively pest-resistant but can attract aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies. To manage pests:

💋Spray with a neem oil solution weekly if pests are present.

• 💋Encourage beneficial insects like ladybugs to control aphids naturally.
• 💋Remove affected leaves and rinse plants with a strong stream of water.
• 💋Watch for fungal diseases in humid climates; ensure good air circulation and avoid overhead watering.

🌺 Growing Mandevilla in Pots and Winter Care
Mandevilla grows beautifully in containers, making it a great option for cooler climates where it can be brought indoors for winter.

• 💋Pot Growing Tips:

· Use a well-draining potting mix with added perlite for aeration.

• · Choose a pot at least 12-16 inches in diameter, with several drainage holes, for vigorous growth.
• · Water when the top inch of soil feels dry, avoiding waterlogged conditions.

💋Winter Care:

• · In regions with frost, move potted Mandevilla indoors to a bright, cool location (50-60°F).
• · Reduce watering and stop fertilizing during cooler season.
• · Prune lightly before bringing indoors to maintain shape and size.
• · Repotting: Repot every 2-3 years in early spring before active growth begins, refreshing the soil and upgrading to a slightly larger container if needed.

With the right care, Mandevilla provides stunning, long-lasting blooms and thrives in gardens or pots, making it a versatile and rewarding addition to any space.

📚 Learn more from previous post:
How to overwinter Mandevilla indoors

🛒 Shop flowering vines

#How_to #Container_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits

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⏳ How to tell the difference between Jasmine Sambac Varieties

• 💮 Jasminum Sambac is hands down the most fragrant jasmine in existence - and the most popular among tropical gardeners and plant collectors.
• 💮 Native to India, it's the source of jasmine perfume oil and the signature ingredient in jasmine tea.
• 💮 This plant comes in several varieties, each with unique flower size, shape, and growth habit - ranging from compact shrubs to vigorous bushes and climbing vines. It takes both sun and shade and makes a perfect container plant and indoor plant favorite.
• 💮 All varieties of Sambac are equally fragrant. To get more flowers, just use Sunshine Pikake plant booster and enjoy the perfume all day long!
• 💮 At Top Tropicals, we grow every known variety of Jasminum sambac in cultivation:

Arabian Nights - compact slow growing shrub with small delicate flowers

Belle of India - compact vine with long elegant petals, shade lover

Grand Duke of Tuscany - the most popular, vigorous bush with carnation-like flowers

Grand Duke Supreme - bigger, more vigorous version of Grand Duke with larger flowers

Gundu Malli - new hybrid between Arabian Nights and Grand Duke

Little Duke - more compact version of the Grand Duke

Maid of Orleans - vigorous full sun climber, great for hedges and fences

Mali Chat - very delicate, rare variety, with miniature 3-tier flowers, not easy to establish, shade lover

Mysore Mulli - vigorous vining shrub for sunny or semi-shade locations

🛒 Smell the Difference – Shop Sambac varieties

Learn more:
📚 Jasminum Sambac Absolute Flower - book download

• 📱 Sambac varieties
• 📱 Jasminum Sambac Page

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #How_to #Discover

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🏡 How to get a big flowering bush quickly? Calliandra - Powderpuff - is your answer for blocking the unwanted view!

💗 With so many varieties to choose from, Calliandras are the winners when you need to create a screen quickly. Just in one season you can have a nice dense shrub with benefits - the Powderpuff flowers are so pretty! Everbloomer.

🛒 Shop Calliandras - Powderpuffs

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #How_to

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🌪 Pre-hurricane season tips: how to protect your trees from winds

Some trees like mango have deep roots and handle wind well. Others - like our favorites Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree or Tabebuia caraiba - Yellow trumpet tree (in the photos) - need extra care. You've likely seen crooked Tabebuias in South Florida or lost a bushy Tulip Tree to strong winds. Their wide crowns act like sails in a storm.

💨 To help your trees withstand wind damage:

• ✅ Stake young trees with strong support - use a tripod-style setup (three bamboo sticks or boards secured around the tree for balance from all sides)
• ✅ Check and adjust supports every 6 months
• ✅ Trim long or rubbing branches - they break first
• ✅ Add extra support if a storm is coming (larger trees benefit from sturdy tripod-style bracing with boards)
• ✅ Lighten bushy growth, less sail = more survival

💡 Some remove all leaves from plumeria before a hurricane - it works!
💡 We pruned our Tulip Tree and Ceiba - and they withstood Hurricane Milton while others fell

• ✅ If a tree falls, stand it up ASAP and support it. Trim broken branches - they’ll remind you what needed pruning before, not after!
• ✅ Trees protected young, grow strong for life.

🛒 Grab your beautiful Tulip Tree and Tabebuia Tree today - support them early for strength and beauty later!

📚Learn more:
Everyone loves these tulips growing on a tree

#How_to #Trees #Discover

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🌳 How to Plant a Tree - A Fun Guide

1️⃣ Dig a Big Hole
Start by digging a hole 2-3 times the size of the pot. Make sure it's deep enough to give your tree's roots room to grow. Remove any sandy dirt or rocks—replace them with rich, nutrient-packed soil to help your tree establish.

2️⃣ Place the Tree Just Right
Gently remove your tree from the pot and place it in the hole. The base of the tree (where the roots meet the trunk) should sit slightly above ground level (2-3"). Avoid covering the trunk with soil to allow for proper air circulation and to promote a healthy tree.

3️⃣ Mound the Soil
Add nutrient-rich soil around the roots, then toss in a handful of granulated fertilizer. With the leftover soil, build a little mound around the tree to form a "bagel" shape. This will help water stay around the roots and give your tree a strong start.

4️⃣ Add Mulch and Water
Spread mulch around the tree, but leave a small gap around the trunk. Water generously to settle the soil and give your tree a refreshing drink. Water by hand daily for the first couple of weeks or until you see new growth. After that, you can rely on sprinklers.

⭐️ With these simple steps, your tree will be off to a great start!

🛒 Go plant shopping to excersize your green thumb and make our planet better

📚Learn more:
How to plant a tree: care of mail-order plants and detailed planting instructions (PDF)

#How_to #Trees #Discover

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How to make a Mango tree fruit?

We use SUNSHINE Mango Tango - Mango Tree Booster, for healthy mango trees and profuse fruit production.

📚 Learn how to make a Mango tree fruit

#Food_Forest #How_to #Fertilizers

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness

How to water a newly planted Mango tree?

Never rely solely on your sprinkler system when planting a new tree, especially during the first week or even several weeks if you have no rain. By rain, we mean a nice downpour. Here in Florida, we usually have a hot and dry spring, and while springtime is great for starting new trees, additional hose-watering becomes essential for establishing them during the first months.

📚 Learn how to water your mango tree

#How_to #Food_Forest

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness