Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 14 Jul 2019

Dwarf and Condo mangoes - easy mangoes

Q: We leave in zone 6a, could you tell us what is the list of different types of mango plants that could be planted indoor and that they can bear fruits?

A:There is a large group of mangoes called "Condo Mango" - they literally can be grown in your apartment! Those are dwarf varieties that can remain compact in containers with minimal pruning and successfully bear fruit providing bright light and proper care, including plant food.

The best dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are: Carrie, Cogshall, Cushman, Fairchild, Graham, Ice Cream, Julie, Mallika, Nam Doc Mai, Pickering, Irwin, Jahangir, Juliette, Lancetilla, Little Gem, Manilita, Sia Tong, Torbert, Pim Seng Mun, Super Julie.

They produce juicy, fiberless sweet fruit. Julie is also a very popular dwarf variety, however, it is very cold sensitive and not the easiest to grow. If you get a 3 gal size mango, step it up to 7 gal when the plant reaches 4 ft; you may use a bigger container as the root system grows, up to 15 gal or even 25 gal, space permitting. Trim the tree under 6-8 ft after production season is over (summer-fall).

See more information on growing condo mangoes

RECOMMENDED FERTILIZERS:

Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
For sweeter fruit, use SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster

Date: 24 Jun 2018

TopTropicals

Cleanest fruit?

"Dirty" fruit: According to the Environmental Working Group research, Strawberries are top the list of the 12 "dirtiest" fruits and vegetables grown commercially. Spinach is the second, followed by (in order of contamination) nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell peppers. Each of these foods tested positive for pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce. This causes of course chronic health implications. Children are of special concern as younger bodies have greater susceptibility to pesticides than adult bodies, the report emphasizes. Pesticides may induce chronic health complications in children, including neuro- and behavioral problems, birth defects, allergies, asthma, and even cancer...

"Clean 15": Avocados lead 2018's clean fruits and veggies list, that also includes: mangoes, papayas, pineapples, kiwi, sweet corn, cabbage, onions, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, eggplant, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli.
Obviously, home grown fruit and vegetables are even better. Such fruit as Custard Apples, Sapodilla, Sapote, Jackfruit, Dragon Fruit, Passion Fruit and other rare varieties of tropical fruit, are even better for you because they are not grown commercially, and the choice from your own organic garden is the healthiest for yourself and your family!
Plant them today and get your cleanest fruit tomorrow!

Check out all tropical fruit trees and all tropical spice plants.

Date: 2 Feb 2022

5 most rewarding tropical fruit trees

Top Tropicals @ Garden America Radio Show

...The most popular garden radio show Garden America is featuring Top Tropicals topic "5 most practical and rewarding fruit trees for subtropical areas".

1) Jackfruit Orange Crush (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
...We recently obtained this variety and it is hands down the best Jackfruit we ever tasted. It is crunchy, sweet, aromatic, with bright orange pulp...

2) Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow (Psidium nana)
- A very small version of the favorite aromatic Guava.
- Grows only up to 5-6 ft tall with a short trunk and branching, bushy habit.

3) Yellow Pitaya, Dragon Fruit (Selenicereus megalanthus)
- This particular species of Dragon fruit is the sweetest and has great flavor unlike most pitayas
- doesn't mind regular water and rains but is also drought-tolerant

4) Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
- Can be kept as a very compact tree, and fruits in a pot.
- Flowers and fruits right away. The plants are covered with flowers now and setting fruit.
- Very cold hardy to upper 20's, drought tolerant, fast growing

5) Macadamia Nut (Macadamia integrifolia x tetraphylla)
- The most delicious and popular sweet nuts that are usually so expensive, can be produced in your garden!
- Cold hardy, fast growing, and very productive.

Listen to Facebook-Live Show (recording):

Date: 29 Aug 2021

Tropical Fruit Collections

September is a great month to plant. The soil is warm and the air is beginning to get cooler which helps to encourage new roots to grow. For much of the Country, September typically brings more opportunity for additional rain and moisture, allowing you to water less. Take advantage of this time of year to establish new plants in your gardens!

Tropical Fruit Starter Collection

Tropical Fruit Starter Collection - 4 plants for price of 2.
Tropical Fruit Starter set for half price! Rare tropical fruit trees that are easy to grow even for beginners. Start today to get fruit of your labor tomorrow! The Collection includes 1 of each: Fig, Banana, Mulberry, and Pomegranate.
Ficus carica - Fig Brown Turkey
Musa - Banana Double Mahoi
Morus sp. - Mulberry, Dwarf Everbearing
Punica granatum - Pomegranate var. Eversweet

Super Foods Bundle

Super Foods Bundle Collection - 4 plants for price of 2
Super Foods Bundle for half price! Get health foods right from your backyard. Start today to get healthy tomorrow! The Collection includes 1 of each: Goji Berry, Spice Ginger, Pomegranate, Tropical Asparagus (Katuk).
Lycium barbarum - Goji Berry
Zingiber officinale - Spice Ginger
Punica granatum - Pomegranate var. Eversweet
Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus

Rare Fruit Collection

Rare Fruit Collection - 4 rare plants for half price.
Rare Fruit Set for Real Collectors - for half price! Hard to find, much wanted species all at once at low cost! Limited time offer. The Collection includes 1 of each: Chocolate Tree, Vietnamese Pepper, Peanut Butter Tree, Jackfruit.
Theobroma cacao - Chocolate tree
Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot
Bunchosia argentea - Peanut Butter Tree
Artocarpus heterophyllus - Jackfruit Super Thai

Date: 16 Jan 2020

Jack-edak - Cheena

Artocarpus x integer (Jackfruit x Chempedak)

by Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc

...While pure Jackfruits develop bulbs which are somewhat larger by comparison, those of the Jackfruit/Chempedak hybrid Cheena (which I call "Jack-edak"), are more numerous and have a much smaller ratio of inedible "packing material" around them than the pure Jackfruits. They're also easier to cut open, having much less dripping latex than regular Jackfruits. The tightly packed bulbs are tender, juicy, and basically fiber-less, having a flavor we find very similar to really good Sugar Apples, yet even richer and more complex. My son has used it for making what several friends have described as the best chutney of all-time!..

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