Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 16 Jan 2026

What is blooming in January: Purple Orchid Tree

Purple Orchid tree - Bauhinia purpurea

Purple Orchid tree - Bauhinia purpurea

🌺 What is blooming in January: Purple Orchid Tree



📸 Purple Orchid tree - Bauhinia purpurea

🛒
Discover Bauhinias - Orchid trees

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Plant Facts

Bauhinia purpurea, Phanera purpurea
Orchid Tree, Butterfly Tree
USDA Zone: 9-11
Large tree taller than 20 ftFull sunDry conditionsRed, crimson, vinous flowersPink flowersPlant attracts butterflies, hummingbirdsDeciduous plantSubtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short timeSeaside, salt tolerant plant
  • Bauhinias - Orchid trees in Plant Encyclopedia
  • The most asked-about tree in the Sunshine State: Bauhinia

  • #Trees

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    Date: 16 Jan 2026

    The most asked-about tree in the Sunshine State: Bauhinia

    Purple Orchid tree - Bauhinia purpurea

    🌸 The most asked-about tree in the Sunshine State: Bauhinia

    • 🌸 If you visit Florida in winter, chances are you will notice a tree covered in orchid-like flowers and wonder what it is. That tree is often an orchid tree, most commonly Bauhinia purpurea. It is fast growing, wide spreading, and blooms from late winter through spring, sometimes with a second round in summer. The flowers range from magenta to lavender, are lightly fragrant, and stand out even from a distance. The leaves are just as distinctive - split into two halves like butterfly wings, which is why these trees are also called butterfly trees.
    • 🌸 Orchid trees are easygoing and practical. They thrive in full sun, tolerate many soil types as long as drainage is good, and need little water once established. Growth is quick, often 2–3 feet per year, making them excellent shade trees for hot climates. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and in some cultures the buds and blossoms are used in cooking, while the bark has a long history in folk remedies. Beautiful, useful, and low maintenance, orchid trees are a perfect fit for Southern landscapes.


    🛒 Discover Bauhinias - Orchid trees

    📚 Learn more:

    Plant Facts

    Bauhinia acuminata
    Dwarf White Orchid Tree, White Bauhinia, Kaa-long, Snowy Orchid
    USDA Zone: 9-11
    Large shrub 5-10 ft tallSmall tree 10-20 ftFull sunModerate waterWhite, off-white flowersDeciduous plant
  • Bauhinias - Orchid trees in Plant Encyclopedia
  • Compact Bauhinias - everblooming container trees
  • Cassia vs Bauhinia: which is better as an everblooming container tree?
  • You won’t believe this red orchid tree exists!
  • Rare Orchid Tree you may never find again and everyone wants
  • Why gardeners love the Pink Butterfly Tree: blooms, shade, and zero fuss
  • Napoleons Plume - Orchid Tree that blooms in a pot
  • How to grow Orchid Trees in pots
  • Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings
  • Why Bauhinias are called Orchid Trees: orchid flowers with butterfly wings...
  • Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree
  • Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia

  • #Trees

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    Date: 16 Jan 2026

    So many shades of Kiwi

    Kiwi the Cat

    Kiwi the Cat

    Orange Kiwi fruit - Actinidia Kiwi fruit

    Orange Kiwi fruit - Actinidia Kiwi fruit

    Green Kiwi fruit - Actinidia Kiwi fruit

    Green Kiwi fruit - Actinidia Kiwi fruit

    👍 So many shades of Kiwi



    🐈📸 Kiwi the Cat - TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

    #PeopleCats

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    Date: 15 Jan 2026

    Why collectors go crazy for this ginger

    Burbidgea schizocheila - Voodoo Flame Ginger

    🔥 Why collectors go crazy for this ginger

    • 🔥 Burbidgea schizocheila - Voodoo Flame Ginger is one of those gingers that quietly surprises you. This ginger looks fake - but it blooms like this in real life! Compact, upright, and rarely seen in cultivation, it sends up glowing golden-orange flower cones that look almost unreal against its dark green leaves and deep maroon stems. Blooms appear on and off throughout the year, and each cone slowly opens individual flowers that can last up to two weeks, giving you a long-lasting show instead of a one-day flash.
    • 🔥 What makes this plant especially intriguing is how different it is from typical gingers. It grows more like a sculptural accent than a spreading clump, staying neat and vertical. Even more unusual - it behaves partly like an epiphyte. The rhizome prefers to sit above the soil surface, with only the roots buried, much like orchids or staghorn ferns. Bury the rhizome and the plant will sulk.
    • 🔥 Voodoo Flame Ginger thrives in bright shade, warm temperatures, and high humidity, making it a natural choice for indoor growing or protected patios. Direct sun will scorch the leaves, and cold temperatures are not tolerated, so it is best kept in containers and brought inside when nights cool down. Slow-growing, tidy, and dramatic without being flashy, this is a true collector ginger - strange, elegant, and quietly mesmerizing.



    📚 Learn more about gingers:

    🛒 Get collectible Coral Ginger Borneo Pink

    #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

    Plant Facts

    Burbidgea schizocheila
    Golden Brush, Dwarf Orange Ginger, Voodoo Flame Ginger
    USDA Zone: 9-11
    Small plant 2-5 ftSemi-shadeModerate waterRegular waterEpiphyte plantYellow, orange flowersSubtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short time
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    Date: 15 Jan 2026

    Bob n Cash - partners in crime

    Cats Bob and Cash

    Cats Bob and Cash

    🌀 Bob'n'Cash - partners in crime



    Bob is the classic orange cat, which immediately raises the question: what's wrong with you orange cats anyway? Zero brakes, maximum chaos.
    Cash is his younger accomplice, still in training, carefully learning the fine art of hooliganism from Bob.
    Together they race through the house like a hurricane, knocking things over and rewriting the rules of peace and quiet. Other cats take one look and disappear.

    Do you see the shenanigans in their eyes too?

    🐈📸 Cats Bob and Cash - partners in crime at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden

    #PeopleCats

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