Valentines plants from around the world that symbolize love, connection, and appreciation
💕 Valentine’s plants from around the world that symbolize love, connection, and appreciation
💘 When we think of Valentine’s plants, roses usually steal the spotlight. But in many parts of the world, love has long been expressed through tropical plants - not only through flowers, but also through scent, ritual, shared food, and sensory experience.
💘 Across cultures, tropical plants have symbolized romance, friendship, devotion, fertility, desire, and emotional connection. Some speak through heart-shaped leaves and fragrant blooms. Others through taste, warmth, and the way they bring people together.
💘 Love beyond flowers? Together, these tropical plants show that love is expressed in many ways - through beauty, scent, taste, ritual, warmth, and shared moments. Valentine’s traditions around the world remind us that love is not only something we see, but something we experience with all our senses.
💘 In our upcoming collection we will explore Valentine’s plants from the tropics, grouped by how they express love:
Valentines plants from around the world that symbolize love, connection, and appreciation
💕 Valentine’s plants from around the world that symbolize love, connection, and appreciation
💘 When we think of Valentine’s plants, roses usually steal the spotlight. But in many parts of the world, love has long been expressed through tropical plants - not only through flowers, but also through scent, ritual, shared food, and sensory experience.
💘 Across cultures, tropical plants have symbolized romance, friendship, devotion, fertility, desire, and emotional connection. Some speak through heart-shaped leaves and fragrant blooms. Others through taste, warmth, and the way they bring people together.
💘 Love beyond flowers? Together, these tropical plants show that love is expressed in many ways - through beauty, scent, taste, ritual, warmth, and shared moments. Valentine’s traditions around the world remind us that love is not only something we see, but something we experience with all our senses.
💘 In our upcoming collection we will explore Valentine’s plants from the tropics, grouped by how they express love:
🟡Scoop pitomba pulp into a bowl and mix with a drop of honey.
🟡Freeze until icy-soft for a tart tropical snack.
🌿 About the plant: Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana) is a tropical fruit native to Brazil, prized for its bright, citrusy pulp with a sweet-sour kick. The flavor is often compared to a mix of apricot, citrus, and mild resin, making it refreshing and snack-worthy straight from the fruit.
🌱 In the garden: Pitomba grows as a small to medium-sized slow growing tree with glossy evergreen leaves. It thrives in warm climates, prefers full sun to light shade, suitable for USDA zones 10-11, it can also be grown in large containers and responds well to pruning, making it manageable for home gardens.
Sapodilla - Manilkara or Achras zapota, the Brown Sugar Fruit
🍊How to make Sapodilla fruit profusely?
Sapodilla - Manilkara or Achras zapota), the Brown Sugar Fruit is a warm-climate evergreen fruit tree that can produce a lot of fruit once conditions are right. So why do so many sapodilla trees grow beautifully, flower heavily, and still refuse to set fruit?
Sapodilla Fruit Production - What Really Matters
1. 🌳 Choose the Right Tree
Grafted or air-layered trees fruit much sooner - typically in 1-2 years - and more reliably than seedlings, which may take 6–8+ years.
Some varieties are more profuse producers than others. For example, Silas Woods is virtually everbearing, Hasya is commercial prolific producer, Oxkutzcab (or Ox) -is also heavily productive (learn more about varieties).
2. ☀️ Environment: Heat, Sun & Water Balance
Temperature and Humidity
Excessive heat above 90F and low humidity can cause flowers to dry up and fall before setting fruit.
Solution: Provide filtered light or shade during the hottest part of the day to reduce heat stress on blossoms.
Water
Sapodillas are drought tolerant, but consistent moisture during flowering and fruit set improves fruit retention.
Avoid waterlogged conditions - soggy soil can stress roots and reduce yield.
Sun Exposure
Full sun is best for growth and flowering - but for hot climates, protection during peak afternoon heat helps reduce flower drop.
Young trees can also suffer sunburn.
3. Fertilization: Feed for Fruit, Not Just Foliage
Good nutrition is critical for flowers to turn into fruit. Apply a routine feed through the growing/flowering season - contolled-release (Green Magic) or liquid (Sunshine C-Cibus) both work.
Balanced fertilizer with trace elements like Boron (B), Molybdenum (Mo), Iron (Fe), and Copper (Cu) is essential for fruit set and development. Boron & Molybdenum deficiency as a frequent cause of flower/fruit drop in container-grown trees (nutrients get depleted quickly in pots).
Micro-nutrient sprays 2-3 times per year help improve fruit retention and quality. Some growers use sugar boosters (Sunshine Honey) or micronutrient blends that include Mo & B to help fruit set (Sunshine Superfood).
4. 🐝 Pollination - Often Overlooked
Sapodilla flowers are small and often require pollinators for best fruit set.
In some regions, small insects like thrips are key pollinators.
In places with low insect activity, hand pollination dramatically increases fruit set - brushing pollen from one flower to another with a small paintbrush during peak bloom times can help.
Placing fruit scraps (apple peels/banana peels) under the tree to attract beetles is an inexpensive way to boost insect activity.
5. ✂️ Pruning and Tree Structure
Moderate pruning can help open the canopy for better light penetration and air circulation, which supports flowering and reduces stress. Training young trees promotes a strong branch structure that can carry more fruit later. Sapodilla flowers on young growth (tips of the branches).
6. Pot vs Ground: Size Matters
If your sapodilla is in a container, root bound trees struggle with fruit set because roots run out of space and nutrients - stepping up to a larger container or planting in the ground can help.
Root-bound trees often bloom but fail to develop fruit.
7. 📅 Patience & Timing
Even healthy trees can take years to start fruiting well.
Trees often flower repeatedly but only set fruit when environmental conditions and pollination align - especially important for young or newly planted trees.
📌 Summary Checklist for Better Sapodilla Fruiting
✔️ Choose a grafted variety (faster, more reliable fruit).
✔️ Manage heat & humidity - shade during hot hours.
✔️ Water consistently but avoid waterlogging.
✔️ Fertilize balanced NPK + micronutrients (include B & Mo).
