Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 26 Jan 2022

Don't miss this one:
PodCast Premiere!

Episode 1
How to Protect Tropical plants in Winter: Q & A

Featuring Horticulturist Mark Hooten

...We are introducing our new Series: Top Tropicals Podcast. Growing tropicals and pushing the limits. Watch the first episode:

How to Protect Tropical plants in Winter

...Who doesn't like tropical beauty? Everyone wants tropical plants. But not everyone lives in a warm climate. Is it possible to grow tropicals outside of Tropics?
Top Tropicals horticulturist Mark Hooten, who is well known to many gardeners as the Garden Doc with his Saturday Plant Clinic, is answering gardeners' questions about how to prepare and protect tropical plants during winter...

Premiere scheduled:
Thursday, January 27, 8:00 AM

More about cold hardiness and cold protection:

Cold hardy tropical fruit trees
Growing Stephanotis and cold protection
Cold protection of tropical container plants
Plumeria cold protection
Ghost Cold Protection
Seven rules of cold protection for tropicals
Improving cold hardiness before winter: fertilizer and micro-elements
3D garden ideas and winter cold protection
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
About Cold Protection

Date: 27 Apr 2020

PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cats of the day: Biggy's Cat Hospital

Biggy checking on patient Abu when he couldn't walk

During these challenging times for the whole planet, we receive kind letters from our customers checking on how our PeopleCats are doing, especially those that previously were ill. And since we promised to follow up on everyone, including heart-breaking story of Raja and Abu, today's report is about everybody's progress!

As we mentioned in our previous newsletter, several cats in TopTropicals Cat Sanctuary had a coronavirus (we call it COVID-Cat-20), or simply a cat respiratory infection. Chiefy, Snitch, Marco and Biggy had it really bad, but some other PeopleCats surprisingly didn't get it! Just like with humans. Lucky King didn't have a single sneeze!
Finally, everybody has recovered by now, but it has been a very stressful couple of weeks for us, considering limited vet availability at this stay-home time. On top of that, Lil S had an abscess and was also contained in a home hospital, away from flu-quarantined PeopleCats. Our homes become real cat hospitals!
We are thankful to our customers support, especially Silvia who made several donations for our PeopleCats, and also recommended antiseptic pads - those worked great for Lil S!
Abu and Raja's adventures were not over... After 2 weeks of seeing a vet treating their infections and injuries, they got worse... Then after a couple of weeks in another hospital (and a couple thousand more in bills) we were suggested to put them down as hopeless since they would never walk again... But Kristi did not want to believe it, she did not give up! The kittens heard her. They won. Today, they are all better, walking, jumping and playing!

Thank you Kristi!
Never give up hope!

Stay safe and healthy with your PeoplePets!

TopTropicals PeopleCat Club

Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community!
Make your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us. Every little bit helps! Thank you and God bless you and your pets!

Date: 5 May 2025

🎀 Five plant gifts she'll love this Mother's Day

Q: My mother loves gardening and I am thinking to buy her a live plant to make her happy. What plant do you recommend?

A: At Top Tropicals, we have a big selection of wonderful gift plants . Below are a few suggestions for you, these plants are large, developed and ready to bloom or fruit!

1. Joy Perfume Tree

Magnolia (Michelia) champaca, Joy Perfume Tree, Champaka

The Champaka or Joy Perfume Tree (Magnolia champaca) - is a top choice for Southern landscapes, prized for its striking columnar shape and fragrant, fruity bubble gum-scented blooms - you won't be able to stop sticking your nose in this flower! A signature plant at Top Tropicals, it's known for producing the world's most expensive perfume, Joy. The Joy Perfume Tree blooms on and off year-round and is currently in full bloom at our farm in Sebring, FL, filling the air around with fantastic sweet scent. This tree thrives in both pots and the ground, growing bushy and full as it matures. At Top Tropicals, we have beautiful Champaka trees in all sizes, from 3-4 ft tall (ready to bloom in a year) to 6-10 ft tall (already bloomed) for local pick up or delivery.
Learn more, with a short video.

2. Tropical Raspberry Mysore

Raspberry Mysore Tropical, Rubus albescens (niveus)

Tropical Raspberry Mysore (Rubus albescens) - is the perfect solution for those missing Northern fruit in hot climates. Unlike traditional raspberries that can't handle the heat, this fast-growing Raspberry from India thrives in humid, hot conditions and produces juicy, sweet fruit almost year-round! The clusters of purple-black fruit are packed with flavor, and the plant is perfect for large containers, producing plenty of fruit in no time. Cold-hardy to the upper 20s F, it's an easy-to-grow, fast producer. We have beautiful, fruit-ready 3 gal Raspberry bushes, ready to add a burst of sweetness to your garden!
Learn more, with a short video.

3. Fragrant Jasmine Sambac

Jasminum 
sambac

Jasminum Sambac is widely regarded as the most fragrant jasmine, cherished by tropical gardeners and plant collectors alike. Native to India, this jasmine is the source of jasmine perfume oil and the signature ingredient in jasmine tea. With various varieties offering unique flower sizes, shapes, and growth habits, it’' perfect for both sun and shade, thriving as a container plant or indoor favorite. Its delightful fragrance fills the air, and with the help of Sunshine Pikake plant booster, you can enjoy even more blooms. Jasmine Sambac, along with Champaka, is another signature plant of Top Tropicals. Through the decades, we've collected all the available varieties in cultivation - check them out!
Learn more about Jasmine Sambac varieties, with a short video.

4. Everbearing mulberry

Mulberry tree Dwarf Everbearing (Morus 
sp.)

The Dwarf Everbearing Mulberry (Morus sp.) - is the perfect way to enjoy fruit year-round! This beautiful, cold hardy bush produces sweet, juicy mulberries starting from the very first year - often the same season you plant it. With its dwarf habit (easily maintained at 4-6 ft), it's perfect for containers and small spaces. Cold-hardy and drought-resistant, this productive plant thrives in various climates, from USDA zones 5 to 10! The fast-growing Mulberry will provide fruit year-round, and with minimal care, it will flourish in almost any soil. Our Everbearing Mulberry bushes produce enough fruit for both birds and breakfast - we pick a handful every day!
Learn more, with a short video.

5. Medinilla Coral Spike

Medinilla scortechinii - Orange Coral Spike

Rare Medinilla scortechinii - Orange Coral Spike - is a rare gem that brings a touch of the ocean to your garden! With bright orange stems bursting into star-shaped blooms, it looks like something straight from a coral reef. Compact and easy to grow, this plant stays under 2-3 ft tall, making it perfect for pots, hanging baskets, or as an epiphytic accent. The glossy dark leaves contrast beautifully with the vibrant orange panicles, and it thrives in bright shade. A must-have for collectors of unusual tropical plants, this coral spike adds a bold pop of orange wherever it grows - but hurry, it doesn't stay in stock for long!
Learn more, with a short video.

Date: 16 Nov 2019

Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Charlie, the Indoor Hunter

Carlie was a kitty drop off with LadyBug, Rickie, and Purry.
Charlie is Jamie's baby. She has an attitude of a teenager, one minute she loves you and the next - wants nothing to do with you. Carlie stays with the inside PeopleCats, she says it's too big in the outside world for her and she gets scared. Carlie has a fun game (fun to her): she plays around 2:00 am in the morning, she loves to drag random items down the hall (socks, toys, shirts, even blankets) in her mouth MEOOOWWWING as loud as she can. She then sets the items down on her human's bedroom rug and waits for her human to say thank you. We're pretty sure her hunting instinct is off...

Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.

2019, from Top to Bottom: Moe, Charlie, Bagheera, and Snitch. 2016: Charlie

From left to right: Purry, LadyBug, Charlie, and Ricki - 2016

Date: 29 Nov 2020

Cold protection of tropical container plants

Q: I am long time customer of yours, I live in San Diego California and while the summer and Fall temperatures are warm to mild, the winter temperatures dip to a point where some tropicals die off. We are experimenting with different variations of way to heat and insulate the pots we have the tropicals planted in as a way to keep them alive during the colder winter months. I was wondering if you knew of the ideal soil temperature for these tropical in order to look their best year round. All of the heaters we have installed have thermostats and temperature adjustments so we can now keep the soil anywhere between a range of between 65-75 degrees. Any advise you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

A: This is a very interesting concept you are working with. Indeed, keeping pots/roots warm, may help a lot! We've been experimenting with cold protection for a long time - for the above-ground plant parts. For sure keeping roots protected (even with a thick layer of mulch) will benefit tropical plants during winter. In case with container plants, this may help dramatically.
The guideline is, tropical plants slow down or stop their metabolism at 65F. As long as you can keep soil above that temperature - this should work great. Of course, the higher the better.
Optimum temperature for growing tropical plants in general - 70-85F. Above 90F, metabolism stops too, unless it's a heat tolerant, desert plant.

More information on winter cold protection of tropical plants and zone pushing:

Greenhouse in Virginia
Plumeria cold protection
Ghost Cold Protection
Seven rules of cold protection for tropicals
About Cold Protection
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
Tropical Treasures articles on zone pushing.