Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 11 May 2016

Top Tropicals Video Presents: Doctor Noni

Top Tropicals Video Channel. We are happy to introduce to our customers our new project - Top Tropicals Video. Gardeners have been enjoying our Tropical Treasures Magazine with its unique stories on fascinating plants, their history, plant clinic and Do-It-Yourself projects. Now you can have more fun to visit actual tropical paradise by watching our short movies in your convenience - from your computer, or simply on your smart phone. In our future video tours, we will be showing both popular and rare exciting plants and how to grow them. We will be sharing little secrets of how to make these plants happy, so they will make your own life brighter and happier. Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel at YouTube/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what's fruiting and blooming! Our today's video story -

Doctor Noni - life sustaining plant. Many people have heard about the mysterious and miraculous Noni fruit, yet few know exactly what it is. This odd-looking fruit grows on a beautiful tropical tree from Polynesia - Morinda citrifolia, that actually belongs to a Coffee family! The Noni fruit, also called Cheese Fruit for its special odor, has unique health benefits. It is said that this plant food is to be used when we are feeling really ill or really old... Do you want to know how to have your own FREE fresh Noni juice year round? Check out this Movie: Doctor Noni - life sustaining plant...

Date: 15 Jan 2024

Florida Starter Garden in Winter

Odontonema  Firespike

Photo above: Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree

Q: We just moved to Florida and our yard is currently just plain grass. I want to add some beautiful tropical plants, but I'm not sure where to start. Can you suggest easy-to-care-for plants that look nice in winter, preferably with flowers? Considering it's Winter time and some trees look dormant... But I can't wait to start my tropical garden!

A: Florida residents are blessed to have mild winters, and many tropical and subtropical plants enjoy this climate year around. Just be mindful of your location's specific conditions (sun-shade, wet-dry, cold sensitive or hardy). Here are some recommendations for easy-to-grow, evergreen plants that love Florida and look great even in winter. They'll establish well during cooler months, add a splash of color to your garden with their flowers, and even treat you with fruit!

Winter flowers - will bloom now!

Clerodendrum Winter Starburst
Clerodendrum Blue Butterfly
Eranthemum Blue Sage
Odontonema Firespike
Pavonia - Brazilian Candles

Odontonema  Firespike

Photo above: Odontonema cuspidatum - Firespike

Fragrant Garden

Banana Magnolia
Jasminum sambac Little Duke Supreme
Vietnamese Gardenia
Nyctanthes - Parijat
Ylang Ylang vine

Gardenia  (Kailarsenia)  vietnamensis  -  Vietnamese  Gardenia

Photo above: Gardenia vietnamensis - Vietnamese Gardenia

Curious unusual trees

Hong Kong Orchid Tree
Candle Tree

Parmentiera  edulis  -  Candle  Tree,  Guahalote

Photo above: Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Easy fruit

Noni Tree
Yellow Dragon Fruit Palora
Coffee Tree

Morinda  citrifolia  -  Noni  Tree

Photo above: Morinda citrifolia - Noni Tree

Great looking now:
for Shade and Indoor Garden

Calathea zebrina - Zebra Plant
Black Bat Head Lily
White Bat Head Lily
Medinilla
Vanilla Orchid
Reed Ground Orchid
Calathea Fuzzy Pheasant
Colocasia Mojito
Syngonium

Tacca  nivea  -  White  Bat  Head  Lily

Photo above: Tacca nivea - White Bat Head Lily

Date: 24 Nov 2021

Carambola - the Star of the orchard

from seed to flower... in less than 2 years?

by Ed Jones, the Booster guy

...My story starts on Dec. 2, 2019 when a co-worker brought a bag of carambola. Well, being a crazy plant person, and being still fairly new to Florida, you know I had to save a seed and plant it, right? Why not, it just might grow. If it does, I may get my own star fruit someday. But when? Google tells me that it takes 3 - 8 years to get fruit from a carambola that is planted from seed. OK, I am good with 3 years....8, not so much, but I was willing to give it a shot... Not really knowing what to expect, I planted just one salvaged seed in some potting soil in a coffee cup and placed in on a shelf on our lanai...
...Here is a picture of that plant FLOWERING and ready to fruit, taken at the end of October 2021... Now, read the whole story...

CONTINUE READING >>

Grafted Carambola Trees available from our store are ready to flower and fruit right away. Some of them start fruiting right in a pot!

Date: 3 Feb 2019

Aquarius Plant Horoscope

TopTropicals.com

Aquarius - 1/22 - 2/18. Aquarius is an AIR sign ruled by odd-ball Uranus.
The water-bearer's plants will often grow in unusual places and may vary in appearance. They often have purple or blue flowers, or may have unusual colors.
The most healing and beneficial plants for Aquarius are the ones that help circulation, relax the nervous system, or promote inspiration. When Uranus was discovered, it replaced Mercury as ruler of Aquarius. Physiologically, Uranus rules the bioelectrical impulses that power the body's nervous system (nervous tension and nervous exhaustion brought on by powerful changes in the environment are related to both Mercury and Uranus). Physically, Aquarius rules the lower legs, the calves, and the ankles, and the electrical impulses that travel through the body's nervous system. The nervous system itself is ruled by Mercury, and Uranus is said to be a "higher octave" of Mercury. Since Uranus was discovered after the correspondences with plants had been established, the herbs used in Aquarius are Mercury herbs. Always difficult to pinpoint, quirky Aquarius appreciates the unusual and complex flavor of star anise. Use this star-shaped spice when you wish to bring happy surprises into your life.

Aquarius Zodiac lucky plants:

Anise, Orchid, Golden rain - Koelreuteria paniculata, Bird of Paradise, Heliconia, Petrea, Mandevilla, Jasminum, Kiwi, Persimmon, Loquat, Olive, Alocasia, Colocasia, Citrus, Apple, Peppers, Gingers, Carambola, herbs spicy with an unusual flavor, White Pothos, Ivy, Shami - Prosopis cineraria, Neem, Medinilla, Sheesham Tree, Catnip, Passion fruit, Valerian, Aloe, Myrrh, Kava-kava, Cinnamon, Clove, Eucalyptus, Coffee, Cola nut, Nepenthes, Vanilla Orchid, Strongylodon - Jade vine, Tacca - Bat Lily, Eranthemums, Agapanthus, Orchid trees, Bolusanthus, Chamaedorea metallica, Clerodendrum ugandense, Clitoria, Duranta, Guaiacum, Jacaranda, Lavanda.

For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.

Date: 27 Oct 2025

Large Grafted Mango Trees - Plant Now Before Winter!

Smokey  the  tuxedo  cat  prepares  to  plant  a  huge  mango  while  Sunshine  the
 
 
  ginger  tabby  relaxes  in  a  reclining  chair  sipping  coffee  as  a  truck  with  a 
 


boom  crane  unloads  the  mango  beside  an  excavator  and  a  pile  of  mulch  in  a 
 


sunny  tropical 
 


garden.

"Next Time We'll Specify - A TREE!" - Smokey and Sunshine Plant a Giant Mango

🌡️ Why plant now?

Fall is the perfect time to plant tropical fruit trees. The soil is still warm, the air is mild, and your trees can quietly build strong roots. By spring, they’ll already be settled and ready to grow fast.

Imagine walking outside next summer and picking your own mangoes from a tree you planted this fall!

🎥 Check out Mango Tree Videos

Large  Pim  Seng  Mun  Mango  tree  full  of  heavy  green  fruit.

💲 Special Offer – 20% off Large Mango Trees: 7-15 gal

Get 20% OFF large grafted Mango trees (7-25 gal) with code

MANGO2025

Min order 150 (excluding S/H), valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.

Hurry, offer expires November 03, 2025!

👉 Explore Mango Varieties:

7 gal pots - shipped to you

15 gal pots: pick up or delivery

25 gal pots: pick up or delivery

All Mango sizes