Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

🌷Tulips growing on a tree!

🌷 Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree - is in bloom at Top Tropicals Garden several times a year. We have both red and yellow varieties. Yellow is very rare! See more photos of Yellow Tulip Tree on our website and in the next post.

📚 Learn more:
Why everyone loves these tulips growing on a tree

🛒 Grow your tulips on a tree

Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree, yellow flower #Nature_Wonders #Trees

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🕊This sacred perfume tree is perfect for small spaces: Parijat blooms with heartbreak and heaven

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  Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, known as Parijat, Night Jasmine, or the Sad Tree, is more than a fragrant flowering shrub - it's a story wrapped in petals. This small tree from India with highly perfumed flowers is one of the most desired fragrant plants.
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  Parijat blooms at night and drops its white-and-orange flowers by dawn, like scattered tears on the ground. In Hindu mythology, it was brought to Earth by Krishna, sparking divine jealousy. Another legend says it rose from the ashes of a heartbroken princess, blooming in sorrow each night.
• 
  Parijat grows 5-10 feet tall and thrives in sun or partial shade with moderate water. Its heavenly scent draws butterflies and hearts alike, and its ghostly, glowing flowers are used in Buddhist temples and traditional medicine - stems for headaches, leaves for liver ailments, and blossoms for fevers and faintness.
• 
  Parijat is a tree of romance, ritual, and resilience. Cold-tolerant to the 30s F, it can be container-grown in cooler zones. Just give it well-draining soil and a bit of fertilizer each month, and let the magic unfold!

🛒 Add a piece of mythology to your garden with Parijat

#Perfume_Plants #Trees #Discover

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One look and you're hooked: Macaranga! 🐸

• 🐘 These leaves are bigger than your head!

Macaranga grandifolia – the Elephant Ear Tree - came from Hawaii. It has leaves so huge, they look like elephant ears or jungle umbrellas! Each one can grow over a foot wide, with a glossy, rounded shape that's pure eye candy.
• 🐘 Macaranga is easy to grow - perfect for a frost-free garden or in a big pot.
• 🐘 Macaranga is a real conversation starter. It looks like something straight out of a rainforest dream. Big, bold, and totally tropical! Fast-growing, it brings that lush, exotic vibe instantly to your garden.
• 🐘 Hard to find, super cool, and ridiculously showy - you’ll want this beauty front and center. Once you see it, you have to have it!

🛒 Get your giant leaves - Elephant Ear from Hawaii

#Nature_Wonders #Trees

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🐊 The most unique Florida Native

• 🐸 Baccharis halimifolia - Aster Tree, Snow Bush, or White Cloud Tree, is a one-of-a-kind member of the daisy family - actually, it's the only tree in the Asteraceae family!
• 🐸 In winter, it puts on a magical show, covered in persistent fluffy white seedheads that look like fresh snow or a floating cloud.
• 🐸 Its quirky leaves and adaptable shape let you grow it as a shrub, small tree, or potted plant. Hardy and tough, it thrives in poor soils, handles drought, and even tolerates some frost.
• 🐸 A perfect choice if you are looking for beauty with zero fuss.

🛒 Bring home the magical Aster Tree - tough, unique, and blooms with beauty!

#Trees

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How to make bonsai with Shaving Brush Tree

Creating a bonsai from a Shaving Brush Tree Pseudobombax ellipticum is a fun and rewarding project. This unusual plant, with its fat trunk and wild, pom-pom-like flowers, makes one of the most eye-catching bonsai you can grow. It's not your typical bonsai tree - it's a conversation piece that looks like something from a fantasy world! With a little patience, it becomes a living sculpture that blooms with flair.

• Start with young plant with a fat trunk (caudex) and interesting shape.
• Use shallow pot with fast-draining cactus mix.
• Prune branches to create structure and shape.
• Trim roots gently when repotting every 2-3 years.
• Water well during growing season, keep almost dry in winter.
• Give full sun to keep compact and encourage blooms.
• Fertilize lightly: with slow release plant food in spring-summer or year around with liquid fertilizer like Sunshine Boosters.
• Be patient - bonsai is a slow grower but worth it for the amazing flowers.

🛒 Start your own Shaving Brush Bonsai

📚 Learn more:
Why is it called Shaving Brush?

#How_to #Container_Garden #Trees

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👏 Big color in a small tree: Maroon jacaranda and why Jacaranda trees are so popular

• 💜 Jacaranda jasminoides (Maroon Jacaranda) is a charming, compact tree that brings a touch of drama to small gardens and patios. It grows 10-12 feet tall, with a bushy habit that makes it perfect for tight spaces or even containers.
• 💜 What really steals the show are its deep maroon to dark purple trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in clusters from late spring through summer. In warm climates, it may surprise you with blooms at other times too!
• 💜 The fine, fern-like leaves add a delicate, lacy texture to the overall look.
• 💜 This jacaranda loves full sun but will tolerate a bit of shade, and it is happiest in fertile, well-drained soil. Water it regularly when it is young or during dry spells, but once established, it is fairly easygoing. It s best suited for USDA zones 9 to 11, and while mature plants can handle brief cold snaps down to 20F, younger ones appreciate a little extra protection when the temps dip.
• 💜 Whether in the ground or in a pot, the Maroon Jacaranda is a low-maintenance beauty. A little pruning here and there keeps it tidy, and its elegant blooms make it a standout wherever it s planted. In warm places it may keep its foliage year-round, giving you a long-lasting touch of tropical color. A great pick for anyone who wants big color in a small footprint!

📚 Learn more:

• · Hypnotizing Purple Tango of Jacaranda
• · Three top tropical trees - from the legends of Caribbean
• · Awe-inspiring Jacaranda and its legends

🛒 Shop Jacaranda trees

#Trees #Container_Garden

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🐈‍⬛ The purrrfect hypoallergenic Cat Tail

• 🔥 Acalypha hispida, also known as the Chenille Plant or Red Hot Cattail, is a bold tropical bloomer with long, fuzzy red tassels that look just like fluffy cat tails!
• 🔥 This fast-growing shrub can reach 5-10 feet tall, or be kept trimmed as a showy hedge or container plant.
• 🔥 In warm climates, it blooms year-round with dramatic, pendulous flowers in shades of red, pink, white, and crimson. Its vibrant tassels dangle like living ornaments, making it a favorite for tropical gardens, patios, and sunrooms.
• 🔥 Tough and salt-tolerant, it even thrives near the coast. Give it bright light, occasional trims, and enjoy a non-stop floral display -with no sneezing required!

🛒 Bring home the allergy-free cat tail

#Trees #Container_Garden

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💻 Golden and White Champaka side-by-side

Comparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees for the previous post 👆

⚪️ White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the center) has darker leaves

🟡 Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca (left and right) has lighter-colored leaves: salad-green, chartreuse or lemon-lime.

🎥 The tree on the left is 3 years old, and the other two are 4 years old.

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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✍️ Which Champaka tree is better - White or Golden?

🏆 Golden or White Champaka - Which Tree Should You Choose?
Both the White and Golden Champaka trees are prized for their intoxicating, fruity fragrance - often described as smelling like sweet bubble gum. Their blooms are famously used in the creation of Joy, one of the world's most expensive perfumes. While they share many similarities in scent and beauty, there are key differences between the two.

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  ⚪️ White Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) x alba (in the video) is a sterile hybrid between Magnolia champaca and Magnolia montana. Because it does not produce seeds, this variety is always propagated through grafting or air layering. One major benefit of this is that grafted White Champaka trees begin blooming right away, even when they are still small. This makes Magnolia alba a more reliable and consistent bloomer from a young age.
• 
  ⚪️ White Champaka is also more compact and slower-growing than the Golden variety, making it especially suitable for container growing and smaller garden spaces.

• 🟡 Golden Champaka - Magnolia (Michelia) champaca is the original species and grows from seed, which means it typically takes a few years to start blooming. However, it has an edge in cold hardiness and is more tolerant of cooler temperatures compared to the White Champaka.
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  🟡 Golden Champaka tends to be more vigorous and taller, making it a better fit for larger landscape plantings where space and height are not limiting factors.

✍️ In Summary:

• 
  ✔️ Fragrance: Both smell similar - like fruity bubble gum - and are used for perfume.
• ✔️ White Champaka: Grafted, blooms sooner, compact growth, ideal for pots.
• ✔️ Golden Champaka: Grown from seed, blooms later, more cold tolerant, vigorous growth.
• ✔️ Both trees are exceptional choices for Southern gardens. Whether you choose the early-blooming, compact White Champaka or the hardy, golden-flowered original, you'll be adding one of the most enchanting perfume trees to your landscape. Plant both!

See side-by-side comparison of the 2 varieties of Champaka trees in the next post👇

🛒 Plant Champaka trees and always have your own Joy Perfume

🎥 Magnolia (Michelia) x alba, White Champaka
Golden Champaka: video 1 and video 2

📚 Learn more about White and Golden Champakas:

• ▫️ What tree to plant for wonderful fragrance?
• ▫️ What does Joy Perfume flower smell like?

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees

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👑 What is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang

This video is about Cananga odorata - legendary Chanel No5 or Ylang-Ylang tree, history of the plant and its role in the famous perfume, and guess what - how you can grow your own!
📱

Everyone can grow their own Chanel No5, and it's easy as 1-2-3 - we have them for you at TopTropicals!

#Perfume_Plants #Trees #Container_Garden

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