Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 26 Jan 2025

Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes

Cherry of the Rio Grande (Eugenia aggregata)

Cherry of the Rio Grande (Eugenia aggregata)

Grumichama (Eugenia brazilensis)

Grumichama (Eugenia brazilensis)

Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana)

Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana)

Black Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora var. Lolita)

Black Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora var. Lolita)

🏆 Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes.
# 3: Tropical Cherries: Eugenias.
  • 🍒 The most popular and easy-to-grow tropical cherries include Cherry of the Rio Grande (Eugenia aggregata), Grumichama (Eugenia brazilensis), Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana), and Black Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora var. Lolita). They are all-time favorites!
  • 🍒 Growth and Versatility: Eugenias are fast-growing, compact, and versatile, thriving both in the ground and in containers.
  • 🍒 Early Fruit Production: These bushy shrubs or small trees begin producing fruit right away.
  • 🍒 Low Maintenance: They're not particular about soil, need minimal water, are pest-free, and thrive in both full sun and partial shade. Eugenias are highly heat-tolerant and can withstand cool winters, even surviving a light freeze.
  • 🍒 Fruit for All: Birds love the fruit, but don't worry - there will be plenty to go around.


📚 Learn more from previous posts:

🛒 Shop Eugenias - Tropical Cherries

#Food_Forest

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Date: 7 May 2025

Why you should grow a Pitanga tree

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit var. Lolita

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit var. Lolita

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit var. Lolita

Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit var. Lolita

🍒 Why you should grow a Eugenia uniflora), also known as Surinam cherry or Brazilian cherry



Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora), also known as Surinam cherry or Brazilian cherry, is a tropical fruit that's as tasty as it is healthy. This small tree or bush brings beauty to your yard and benefits to your body. With shiny leaves, fragrant white flowers, and bright red or dark maroon fruit, it's an easy-to-grow plant that also happens to be a nutritional powerhouse.

❓ So, why plant Pitanga?

  • 🍒 Pitanga is packed with vitamins. Pitanga is loaded with vitamin C for glowing skin and a strong immune system, and vitamin A for healthy eyes.
  • 🍒 Pitanga is full of antioxidants. Especially the dark fruits, which are rich in plant compounds like lycopene and beta-carotene that may protect your cells and reduce inflammation.
  • 🍒 Pitanga has healing power. Traditional medicine has used it for heartburn, stomach issues, and even respiratory conditions. Lab studies show it may help fight bacteria and fungi too.
  • 🍒 Pitanga might fight cancer. Early research suggests pitanga extracts may slow cancer cell growth.
  • 🍒 Pitanga tastes like summer. When fully ripe, the juicy fruit has a sweet-tart flavor - great in salads, desserts, jams, and even cocktails. Pitanga var. Black Star, or Lolita has exceptional flavor, larger sweeter fruit than regular red-fruit variety.


⚠️ Bonus: It grows fast, stays evergreen, and makes a great natural privacy screen or edible hedge.

If you're looking for a tropical fruit tree that’s both beautiful and beneficial, Pitanga is a smart choice. Just make sure to pick the fruit when fully ripe - and prepare to fall in love with this cherry that's not quite a cherry!

🛒 Start growing Health today - add Pitanga to your Food Forest

📚 More about Lolita Cherry from previous posts:


#Food_Forest #Remedies #Hedges_with_benefits #Discover

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Date: 25 Apr 2026

🎁 Mothers Day plant gift guide: something for every kind of mom

Skip the bouquet, give her something that grows

Four  potted  tropical  plants  in  bloom  -  Magnolia  Little  Gem,  Champaka, 
 Jasmine  Sambac,  and  Plumeria  -  arranged  on  gravel  in  a  garden  setting 
 against  a  light 
 fence.

Magnolia Little Gem, Champaka, Jasmine Sambac, and Plumeria

Some gifts last a few days. These don't. Right now, these plants are at their best in our nursery - full, established, and ready to impress the moment she sees them. This year, give her something that doesn’t fade. Pick a plant that will keep growing, blooming, and reminding her of you long after Mother's Day is over. Here are a few easy ways to choose the right one.

All of these grow well in containers and are beginner-friendly.

1. For moms who love fragrance - give her living perfume ✨

These are the plants people remember. Soft, rich scent that fills the garden, patio, or even a warm evening indoors.

  • Champaka Joy Perfume Tree - the legendary Joy perfume flower - rich, sweet, and unmistakably bubble gum-like.
  • Magnolia Little Gem - the classic Southern magnolia in a smaller form - big, creamy, fragrant blooms that never go out of style.
  • Wrightia religiosa - a sacred Buddhist tree - delicate white flowers with a soft jasmine fragrance that feels calm and refined.
  • href="https://toptropicals.com/store/findname/Jasminum-Sambac.htm?utm_source=mlist" >Jasmine Sambac - intensely fragrant and impossible to ignore - once you have it, you won’t want a garden without it
  • Plumeria - the iconic Aloha flower - bold color, rich perfume, and pure tropical feeling in bloom.
  • Parijat Tree Jasmine (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) - blooms at night and fills the air with a gentle, unforgettable fragrance.

🛒 Shop Perfume plants

2. For easy care and everyday enjoyment - beautiful, low maintenance choices 🌸

  • Jatropha podagrica - Buddha Belly - a quirky caudex plant with a swollen trunk and bright red flowers that shows character without needing much care.
  • Dorstenia bahiensis - Mattress Button Plant - a strange, sculptural plant with flat, button-like blooms that always gets people curious.
  • Columnea - Flying Goldfish Plant - trailing stems covered in bright orange flowers that look just like little goldfish in motion.
  • Adeniums - collectible forms in many colors - bold caudex shapes and striking blooms, easy to grow and hard to stop collecting.

🛒 Shop Indoor Garden

3. For the plant collector - rare, unusual, unforgettable 🔮

For moms who already have a garden... and still want something different.

  • Rainbow Eucalyptus - a one-of-a-kind tree with peeling bark that reveals streaks of green, orange, red, and purple like living artwork.
  • Tacca Bat Head Lily - an unforgettable plant with dark, bat-shaped flowers and long whiskers that look almost unreal.
  • Dwarf Ceiba Princess - a rare, compact silk floss tree with a sculptural trunk and soft, showy blooms that feel truly special.

🛒 Shop Rare Plants

4. For the fruit lover - grow something she can enjoy and taste 🍒

A gift that turns into harvest. Fresh fruit, right from her own garden.

  • Jaboticaba - a truly unique fruit tree that produces sweet, grape-like fruit right on the trunk, turning it into a conversation piece.
  • Rose Apple - crisp, refreshing fruit with a light floral taste and a beautiful ornamental tree to match.
  • Java Plum (Jambolan) - deep purple fruit with a sweet-tart flavor, loved for both its taste and its shade tree presence.
  • Mango - the king of tropical fruit - rich, sweet, and incredibly rewarding to grow in your own garden.
  • Avocado - creamy, nutrient-rich fruit from a tree that becomes a long-term staple in the garden.
  • Eugenia cherries - Surinam Cherry, Rio Grande and Grumichama - compact trees with glossy foliage and delicious, dark cherries that are easy to grow and quick to fruit.

🛒 Shop Fruit trees and edibles

Potted  tropical  fruit  trees  including  jaboticaba,  Wax  jambu,  Java  plum,
   mango,  avocado,  and  Eugenia  cherries  arranged  in  a  nursery  setting  on 
 gravel.

Tropical fruit trees selection - from Jaboticaba fruiting on the trunk to Mango, Avocado, and rare Eugenia cherries - a great mix for building a productive food forest.

Mothers Day Gift Card 💌

Mother’s  Day  themed  Top  Tropicals  gift  certificate  with  a  pink 
 decorative  frame  filled  with  jasmine,  plumeria,  magnolia,  and  champaka 
 flowers,  tropical  fruits  across  the  center,  and  a  Happy  Mothers  Day  banner 
 at  the  top,  with  space  for  certificate  details  and 
 message.

Mother’s Day Top Tropicals gift certificate

Still not sure what to choose? A gift card keeps it simple. She can pick exactly what she wants, when she is ready for it. No guessing, no pressure - just something she will actually enjoy.

Get 15% extra value on gift certificates. Just mention Mother’s Day in the message field. For example, a $100 certificate becomes $115. A $50 certificate becomes $57.50.
Offer valid through 05/12/2026.
Bonus value applies to gift certificates only. Must include “Mother's Day” in the message field at checkout. Not valid on previous purchases and cannot be combined with other promotions or discounts. Offer subject to change without notice.

Date: 26 Aug 2024

Top ten fast-fruiting trees

Cat  fruit  in  a  box

Q: I would like to plant several fruit trees... I am 85 years old and hope to see them fruiting soon. What fruit trees can you recommend that will fruit quickly?

A: Most grafted fruit trees, such as Mango, Avocado, and Peaches, will fruit quickly - often within the same year or the next. There are also many wonderful tropical fruits that will produce for you within a year or two, even without the need for grafting. Below are the top 10 of most popular, most rewarding and easy to grow fast fruiting tropical trees:

1. Annona - Sugar Apple, Custard Apple.

Annona  -  Sugar  Apple,  Custard  Apple

Annonas are the fastest fruiting trees: 2-3-4 years from seed to fruit, depending on species. They are the best tropical fruit trees suited for container growing, due to their small height and can be maintained within 6-8 ft tall.

2. Guava (Psidium sp.): Cattley and Tropical guava

Guava  fruit  -  Psidium

Guava is a reliable producer, starts fruiting in a pot at small size. Some varieties, especially Cattley guavas - Psidium littorale - are relatively cold hardy and can take some frost without damage. Guavas are fast growing small trees or large bushes.

3. Eugenia - Tropical Cherries

Eugenias  -  Tropical  Cherries

Eugenias are favorites of Southern gardens. They are relatively cold hardy and start producing right away. Black Surinam Cherry Lolita and Grumichama are our favorites!

4. Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra)

Barbados  Cherry  -  Malpighia  glabra

Another exceptional tropical cherry is Barbados Cherry. It is super popular as a heavy producer. The plant can start fruiting when it's only a few inches tall! If you are looking for a compact, but fast growing tree with colorful fruit that starts fruiting right away - plant Barbados Cherry. It will also happily fruit in containers.

5. Eriobotrya (Eriobotrya japonica)

Loquat  -  Eriobotrya  japonica

Loquat tree is fast-growing, drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, compact tropical fruit tree. It is a heavy producer. Fruits are juicy, aromatic, and resemble apricots. Ripen from early Spring to early Summer. Ideal for small gardens, beginner fruit tree growers.

6. Papaya (Carica papaya)

Papaya

Papaya is probably the fastest fruiting tree that can start production the same year from planting a seed. Many dwarf varieties available in selection, reaching only 6-8 ft tall, but producing large crops of full size fruit - they are easy to harvest. Plant 2-3 Papaya trees of different cultivars that fruit at different times of the year and enjoy heavy crops of healthy fruit year around! Another benefit - this tree doesn't take much space in the garden, you can plant as many as you want.

7. Mulberry (Morus hybrids)

Mulberry

Mulberry is very cold hardy and can grow in wide range of climate zones, from USDA 5 to 10. Everyone knows this sweet, tasty, juicy fruit. The tree will produce right away, you will see fruit the next season after planting, and the tree grows fast.

8. Carambola - Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola)

Carambola  -  Starfruit,  Averrhoa  carambola

Growing Carambola tree is a fun and rewarding way to enjoy this unique star-shaped delicious fruit right at home. It fruits on the 3d year from seed. The tree is easy to grow and reliable producer, providing wind protection.

9. Blackberry Jam Fruit (Randia formosa)

Blackberry  Jam  Fruit  -  Randia  formosa

Blackberry Jam Fruit, Jasmin de Rosa is a curious small evergreen tree or bush that combines features of a fragrant flower and delicious dessert fruit which tastes like fresh Blackberry jam. Fragrant white flowers are similar to Gardenia.

10. Peanut Butter Tree (Bunchosia argentea)

Peanut  Butter  Tree  -  Bunchosia  argentea

Peanut Butter Tree, earns its name from its fleshy fruits that boast a delightful peanut butter flavor. Compact in size, small tree reaching only 10-15 ft or kept as a bush, it's a perfect choice for limited spaces. Can thrive indoors, starting to fruit within just 2-3 years from seed.

Date: 6 Apr 2025

Why grow Grumichama? Benefits of Brazilian Eugenia Tree - Cherry of the Tropics

Grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis), Brazilian Cherry, fruit

Grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis), Brazilian Cherry, fruit

Grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis), Brazilian Cherry, flowers

Grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis), Brazilian Cherry, flowers

🍒 Why grow Grumichama? Benefits of Brazilian Eugenia Tree - Cherry of the Tropics

  • 🍒 Did you know you can grow a tropical cherry right in your backyard? Grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis), also known as the Brazilian Cherry, is a compact, evergreen fruit tree that's as beautiful as it is delicious.
  • 🍒 With glossy green leaves and reddish new growth, it’s an ornamental gem. In spring, it produces white flowers that quickly turn into dark purple, cherry-like fruits - ready to harvest just four weeks after flowering!
  • 🍒 The fruits have soft, melting flesh with a flavor similar to northern cherries. Enjoy them fresh, dried, made into jams, or even in baked goods and herbal teas. This is our favorite fresh cherry @TopTropicals!
  • 🍒 Grumichama plant grows into a small tree or bush in tropical and subtropical climates. It tolerates light frost.
  • 🍒 Fruits in small spaces or containers (5–10 gallon pots)
  • 🍒 Perfect for edible landscaping and home orchards. Loaded with fiber and antioxidants.
  • 🍒 Whether in the ground or in a pot, Grumichama is easy to grow, stunning year-round, and gives you a sweet, juicy reward.


📚 Learn more about Eugenia cherries:


Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes. # 3: Tropical Cherries: Eugenias.

🛒 Plant Grumichama and bring a little bit of Brazil to your garden

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts #Discover

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