Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

What bougainvillea doesn't need pruning and grows into a tree? Kristi's Garden Secrets - sound on! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What bougainvillea doesnt need pruning and grows into a tree? Kristis Garden Secrets - sound on!

Bougainvillea arborea - Thornless Bougainvillea Tree

🌸 What bougainvillea doesn't need pruning and grows into a tree? Kristi's Garden Secrets - sound on! 🎤
  • 🌸 Tired of pruning your thorny bougainvillea that takes over your yard? Here’s one that breaks all the rules.

    • No thorns, no pruning - and it grows into a bushy little tree!
  • 🌸 It's called Bougainvillea arborea, or Thornless Bougainvillea Tree.
  • 🌸 It stays tidy, blooms lavender flowers with a light scent, and it won’t overgrow your space. A total gem if you want beauty without the chaos!


🛒 Plant the Bougainvillea That Behaves!

📱 '>Watch in high quality on YouTube

#Trees #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Join our Sunday Garden Party Today!

Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...

It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals Garden with savings of

up to 50% and MORE!

Spring into Spring Garden Party
Local or Virtual

Spring has arrived! Spring signals new beginnings and nature's renewal and offers a ray of hope in a world that could really use some right now.
Today is our Spring into Spring Garden Party at our TopTropicals Garden Center in Fort Myers, Florida. Cool vendors, Live Music, Plant Clinic and 15% off all plants. If you can't join us live, come to this virtual party and you can Save 15% too! And more...

Check our event page for the latest pictures and take advantage of our savings available to you! 15% off all orders of $100 or more. Simply use the code GARDENPARTY at checkout and save!

For 15% off use code:
GARDENPARTY

Min order $100 excluding S/H, exp. 3-21-22.

Exclusive offer for online guests only:
50% OFF 4 rare Kalanchoe species

As a special offer for online shoppers, we offer a flash deal of easy to grow, yet rare Kalanchoe varieties, with at instant 50% OFF for one day only! On top of that, use your GARDENPARTY 15% off coupon at checkout and make it a STEAL!

Kalanchoe synsepala Magnificent - Walking Cup Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe thyrsiflora (tetraphylla ) - Flapjacks
Kalanchoe pinnata - Hawaiian Air Plant, Bahamas Breath Plant
Kalanchoe daigremontiana - Mother of Thousands

Remember, this Easy Sunday Deal expires on Monday, 3-21-22.

Date:

Iguana attacking! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Iguana attacking!

Iguana attacking! Iguana attacking! Iguana attacking! Iguana attacking!
Iguana attacking! your plants...

Q: I am having a hard time keeping iguanas eating everything! Any solution to keep them out?

Iguanas may become quite a problem in the garden. Our first suggestion would be - get a Duck as we have (Duck Dobi), she is so dominant and keeps any wild animals away from the property, including gators... and cats! They are scared of her! Dobi thinks she owns the place.

Here are a few other ways to control iguana problem in your backyard:

  • ✅ Rid your lawn of dropped fruits. Iguanas love fruit. And they love low-hanging fruit or fruit that's easy to get to. If you have fruit trees, take the time to pick up your yard and dispose of any dropped fruit.

  • ✅ Keep a lid on a garbage can. Put your garbage cans in a place they can't get to, or put a cinder block on your can lid.

  • ✅ Do not leave pet food out. If you're putting a bowl of dog food or a plate of cat food out for your pets, you're inviting iguanas into your yard.

  • ✅ Fill iguana holes. Iguanas like to dig. Wherever you see a hole, fill it. Stuff rocks into the hole first, then fill it with dirt and top it with sod. The iguana may return to dig again, but he won't dig through large rocks.

  • ✅ Do NOT feed the iguanas. Don't be friendly with them, so they won't come back.

  • ✅ Wire netting around plants. You can use wire netting or screens to prevent iguanas from entering plants and shrubs.

  • ✅ Spray them with a hose. When you see an iguana in the yard, spray them with the hose. They also hate loud noises. Constant "harassment" can keep them from returning.

  • ✅ Keep your yard clean. Excessive overgrowth or yard storage are great places for iguanas to hide.

  • ✅ Do not leave food out, unattended. Iguanas are mainly herbivores but that doesn't mean they won't smell something good and want to eat it. They will TRY anything.


Hopefully these tips help keep your iguana problems to a minimum!

#How_to

🏵 TopTropicals

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How to add flowering vines to the landscape. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to add flowering vines to the landscape

Urechites lutea (Pentalinon luteum) - Yellow Mandevilla

🔍 How to add flowering vines to the landscape
  • 🍀 Vines, by their nature, are almost always climbers. There are also some that make good hanging flower vines for your baskets hanging under trees or on the front porch.
  • 🍀 Some vines are also in the fruit category. The Passiflora is a beautiful perennial climbing vine that has very showy flowers and then a fruit that can be eaten off the vine or made into a wonderful juice. It would make a nice fast growing vine for a fence or trellis. The Barbados Gooseberry also falls into this category.
  • 🍀 One of the most popular fast growing flowering vines is the trumpet vine - Allamanda. It is an evergreen vine and will take some cold without damage, although it is still considered a tropical flowering vine. It can be grown as a large shrub or small tree and makes a beautiful focal point in the landscape.
  • 🍀 If you have some large trees in your yard, a great climbing vine for shade that also produces a usable product is the Pepper family. Yes, they flower and yes some of them produce pepper that you can use in your kitchen. If you like to know what is in your food, grow your own!
  • 🍀 Another perennial, fast growing and evergreen climbing vine is the Monstera. Monsteras will climb the side of a large tree and can produce an edible fruit after a few years. It is very tropical looking, but will take some cool nights as it is protected under the canopy of the tree.


🎥 Urechites lutea (Pentalinon luteum) - Yellow Mandevilla

🛒 Shop flowering vines

#Hedges_with_benefits #How_to

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Date:

How to Make Fresh Noni Juice. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to Make Fresh Noni Juice

Moringa citrifolia - Noni

Moringa citrifolia - Noni

Moringa citrifolia - Noni fruit

Moringa citrifolia - Noni fruit

Moringa citrifolia - Noni fruit

Moringa citrifolia - Noni fruit

Noni Juice

Noni Juice

🍾 How to Make Fresh Noni Juice. Step-by-Step Guide.
  • Prepare the Noni: Wash the noni fruits thoroughly.
  • Cut the Noni: Slice the fruits into small pieces for easier blending.
  • Blend: Place the pieces in a blender or food processor. Blend until a smooth pulp forms.
  • Strain (Optional): For smoother juice, strain the pulp through a cheesecloth or fine mesh to separate solids.
  • Add flavor: you can add some Blueberry or Apple juice for improved flavor.
  • Store: Pour the juice into clean, airtight glass jars or containers. Refrigerate for freshness.


💊 Benefits of Fresh Noni Juice:
  • Supports joint health.
  • Boosts physical endurance.
  • Enhances immune activity and metabolism.
  • Helps with weight management.
  • Maintains bone health, especially in women.
  • May support normal blood pressure.
  • Promotes gum health and reduces protein glycation.


📚 Learn more from previous posts:

🛒 Plant your own Noni Tree

#Food_Forest #Remedies #How_to

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Date:

How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence

Fragrant plants - plumerias and jasmines

🏡 How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence

🍖 Your fence could smell better than your neighbor’s grill!
  • 📌Got a plain or ugly fence? Just cover it up! We did just that and created a Perfume Fence.
  • 📌First, we planted Hawaiian Plumeria trees along the fence line. Then we added vining jasmines to climb the wire fence and smother it in flowers. Each jasmine has its own fragrance - some sweet, some rich, some spicy - and together they make the whole fence smell incredible!
  • 📌Soon the wire won’t even show - just a living wall of blossoms and perfume drifting through the garden.


Here are some of the best plants you can use to make your own fragrant fence:

🛒 Explore fragrant plants

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #How_to

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Event mementos: everybody had a happy time!

Plant Festival March into Spring at Top Tropicals

Our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for visiting our Plant Festival March into Spring - on Saturday. It was delightful to see so many of you exploring the array of plants, finding ones that spoke to you, and ultimately making purchases that brought joy and life into your homes and gardens. The early birds received amazing Artistic Gift Bags by Onika Amell.
Your support means the world to us! It's moments like these that remind us of the beauty and wonder that nature brings into our lives...

Check out Event Mementos

Plant Festival March into Spring at Top Tropicals

A man with a plant

Chiane with gift bags

Date:

From Anna Banana: Shipping and planting during hot weather

TopTropicals

Q: I received email notification that my order was delayed due to hot weather. Why? And do I need to do anything special if I plant when it is hot?

A: When plants are shipped via FedEx Ground, it is hot in the truck! According to our FedEx area manager information, if outside temperature is 100 degrees, inside the truck it can be 130! We don't want to put your plants through that much stress. We monitor the weather at destination, and as soon as it cools down a little bit, your order will be shipped.

Planting during hot weather:
1. For a mail-ordered plant follow planting instructions and never plant it from the box directly into the ground. Keep it in a pot the size of a root ball until the plant recovers from shipping stress, re-grows root system and adjusts from several days of darkness to a bright light. Move the pot gradually into brighter light, eventually into a spot of its permanent home. Do not over water the pot. Once you see new growth - the plant is ready to be transplanted into the ground.
2. Use only quality soil, containing lots of organic matter (compost, peat moss); soil conditioner is beneficial (pine bark). Plant it on a little hill, so growing point is elevated 1-1.5" above the rest of the surface.
3. Put a good layer of mulch around the plant, at least 1-2" thick, and not too close to the trunk as it may cause stem rot on contact.
4. Water daily with a garden hose until the plant shows active growth - then watering may be reduced every other day or less, or you may rely on sprinklers and/or rains.
5. If the sun is too hot, use shade cloth (or simply a white bed sheet) to cover the plant for the first few days (use bamboo sticks for support). It will help the plant to establish without heat stress. If leaves start dropping - this may be a sign of excessive light and heat. Shading is the way to reduce it.
6. Use SUNSHINE booster to help plants overcome heat stress, and shipping stress. It really works!

Remember that a plant has a very slow nature, unlike creatures from animal world. Give it some time and never rush it into new conditions. Go slowly and patiently - this is the only way to get a reward of a fruit crop or a beautiful flower.

Date:

How to get big shade tree in one season with an ice cream on it? It's real! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to get big shade tree in one season with an ice cream on it? Its real!

Ice Cream Bean Inga

Ice Cream Bean Inga

Ice Cream Bean Inga

Ice Cream Bean Inga

Ice Cream Bean Inga fruit

Ice Cream Bean Inga fruit

Ice Cream Bean Inga tree

Ice Cream Bean Inga tree

🍧 How to get big shade tree in one season with an ice cream on it? It's real!
  • 🍦 Ice Cream Bean Inga is the ultimate fast-growing, shade-providing fruit tree with an irresistible twist! It not only transforms your yard into a cool, inviting oasis in record time but also produces fruit that kids (and adults!) can't get enough of!
  • 🍦 Picture this: pods up to a foot long, bursting with sweet, creamy pulp that tastes exactly like ice cream!
  • 🍦 Craving instant shade? Perfect for those sunny spots where you need shade, the Ice Cream Bean Inga rapidly unfurls its lush, umbrella-like canopy, creating a natural, leafy retreat in just one season!
  • 🍦 With its delectable treats and speedy growth, this extraordinary tree is sure to be the highlight of your garden - where shade and sweetness meet!


🛒 Get shade with ice cream benefit

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts #Nature_Wonders #How_to

🏵 TopTropicals

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Unlock the Beauty of Nature at Home! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Unlock the Beauty of Nature at Home!

🌺 Unlock the Beauty of Nature at Home!  

Transform your living space into a tropical paradise with our stunning selection of tropical plants and fruit trees (#Food_Forest) at TopTropicals. Each plant is a gateway to vibrant colors and fresh scents, bringing life and joy to your home.

🌻 But that’s not all! Join our channel for exclusive tips on #How_to nurture your new green companions.

From watering schedules to sunlight needs, we provide everything you need to become a tropical plant whisperer!

🔴 Subscribe now for expert advice: 👉 TopTropicals
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