Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 23 Jan 2025

What is the best fruit tree producing in winter

Loquat flowers

😇 What is the best fruit tree producing in winter

  • 🍑 If you answered the quiz What makes loquats different from other fruits - then you know that Loquat trees flower and produce fruit during the winter months, making them a rare source of fresh fruit when most other trees are dormant.
  • 🍑 Loquat flowers are very pretty! Loquats are relatives of Apples, Peaches, Plums and Pears - they belong to Rosaceae family.


🎥 Loquats are in full bloom in our garden now. The fruit will ripen by April



📚 More about Loquat from previous posts:



🛒 Plant a Loquat Tree

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts #Loquat

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Date: 18 Jun 2024

10 steps: how to grow a mango tree?

fruiting mango tree

🥭 10 steps: how to grow a mango tree?

Follow these steps and you'll be on your way to growing a healthy mango tree and enjoying delicious fruit:



1. ❗️ Choose the right variety that suits your needs and yard. See earlier posts:
5 most Favorite Mango Varieties
10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango
5 large and vigorous Mango varieties

2. 🌳 Buy a grafted tree from a reputable nursery to ensure better fruit quality and faster fruiting.

3. 🏡 Planting site: choose a sunny location with well-draining soil. Ensure there is enough space for the tree to grow, as some varieties can become quite large.

4. ⛏️ Planting: dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the root ball. Mix in organic compost to enrich the soil. Place the tree in the hole, making sure the growth point is 1-2"above the soil line. Fill the hole with soil, pressing gently to remove air pockets. Water the tree thoroughly.

5. 💦 Watering: Water the tree regularly, especially during the first few weeks. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings to prevent root rot.

6. Mulch: apply mulch around the base of the tree to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk to prevent rot.

7. Fertilize: use a balanced fertilizer formulated for fruit trees. We recommend Sunshine Boosters Mango Tango formulated specially for mango trees.

8. ✂️ Prune to shape the tree to encourage good airflow and sunlight penetration, and to improve the yield.
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9. 🕷 Pest and disease control: monitor for scale and mealybugs and treat them with systemic pesticides. Keep an eye out for fungal diseases and treat them promptly with copper spray.

10. 🥭 Harvesting: Mangoes are ready to harvest when they change color and soften slightly.

🛒 Shop Mango Trees

#Food_Forest #How_to #Mango

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 25 Jan 2025

How this addictive purple took over yards in Central Florida

Tibouchina granulosa - Glory tree

💝 How this addictive purple took over yards in Central Florida



🎏 One of the most spectacular Florida winter flowering trees, besides orchid trees, - Tibouchina granulosa - Glory tree. Almost every yard in Central Florida has this tree - this purple is addictive! When you ask the neighbors why they planted this tree, they always answer: "Everyone must have one!"

📚 More Tibouchinas in previous posts:



🛒 Shop Tibouchinas

#Hedges_with_ben
efits #Trees

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Date: 7 Feb 2025

When Peach trees are in full bloom

Flowering Peach Tree in Florida

When Peach trees are in full bloom

  • 🍑 Our Peach trees are in full bloom now. Early Spring started in January this year in Florida!
  • 🍑 You can grow peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums in Florida, provided you choose low-chill varieties. These have been developed specifically for subtropical regions like Central and South Florida, where traditional temperate varieties struggle due to insufficient chill hours.


📚 Learn more from previous post:


The most rewarding hardy fruit tree suitable for hot climate: peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums

🛒 Shop Low Chill Peaches

#Food_Forest

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Date: 26 Feb 2025

When does Sapodilla start fruiting and what is the best variety

Sapodilla or Brown Sugar fruit, fruiting trees

🔥 When does Sapodilla start fruiting and what is the best variety

  • Sapodilla or Brown Sugar fruit, is one of the most favorite tropical fruit trees. It produces juicy, brown-sugar-sweet fruit. The tree is compact, easy in cultivation and starts producing in small size.
  • Grafted and air-layered trees start fruiting right away.
  • Hasya - extra large, football-shaped fruit native to Mexico where it is the number one commercial cultivar grown. The fruit has a reddish hue throughout the pulp. The tree is a large upright grower, and it is a prolific producer.
  • Ripens from November to June.
  • Makok - the best producer, the fruit is long, pointed, and one of the best tasting in the world. It is native to Thailand. The tree is a small compact grower, perfect for limited spaces.
  • Ripens from May to November.
  • Molix is a football shaped large fruit native to Mexico. Similar to Hasya, darker brown, the tree has curly leaves. The pulp is exceptionally sweet with a fine pear texture.
  • Ripens from February to May.
  • Oxkutzcab (or Ox) - "gigantic sapodilla" - is originally from Oxkutzcab (Yucatan). Extremely large (up to 28 oz), roundish fruit with speckled, light-colored skin. Heavily productive tree.
  • Ripens from May to September.
  • Silas Woods is an outstanding variety with dwarf growth habit and adapts well to a container. Highly productive, producing year round, providing bright light and warmth. The branches often require support as they get very heavy loaded with fruits. The best variety for small yards and container culture.
  • Thai Browny that we mentioned in earlier post, was brought by TopTropicals from Thailand in 2005. Fruit is oval, medium size, and very sweet. The tree is a heavy producer.


🛍 Shop Sapodilla varieties

#Food_Forest

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