Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 14 Feb 2025

Jackfruit

Jackfruit & Avocado fruit

Jackfruit & Avocado fruit

🍈 Jackfruit & Avocado Toast recipe

✅ Ingredients (2 servi
ngs):

· 2 slices of bread,
toasted
· 1 ripe avocado, mashed
· 1 cup jackfruit, shredded
· Salt, pepper, and optional chili flakes

👍 Instructions:

· Saute shredded jackfruit in a little oil with salt and pepper until warmed.
· Mash avocado with a pinch of salt and pepper (add chili flakes if you like spice).
· Spread avocado on toasted bread.
· Top with warm jackfruit.
· Enjoy immediately!

🛒 Shop Jackfruit and Avocado trees

#Foo
d_Forest #Recipes #Avocado

🔴 J
oin 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 5 Mar 2025

Why Adeniums are the most popular container plants

Adeniums  in  pots

What is the easiest and most showy plant for your patio or poolside?

Q: Can you recommend a compact, showy plant for a container by the pool that will bloom with minimal care and survive if I forget to water it? I need 4-5 of them... Does such a plant even exist, or is that too much to ask?

A: Surprisingly, such a plant does exist! Meet the Desert Rose - Adenium - the perfect flowering plant for low-maintenance beauty. Just look at those colors!

Why choose Adenium for your container garden?

Desert roses - Adeniums - are among the most popular container plants for both indoor and outdoor settings. Here's why:
- Easy to grow - Thrives in sun or shade, indoors, and in low humidity.
- Drought-tolerant - Requires minimal water and can go long periods without it.
- Not picky about soil and pH.
- Spectacular blooms - Produces vibrant, showy flowers.
- Unique and eye-catching - Forms a curious, swollen caudex with unusual shapes.

How many varieties and colors are out there?

- At Top Tropicals, we offer over 200 varieties of Adeniums, with more than 100 in stock at any time.
- With so many stunning hybrid colors, you'll want to collect them all!
- Enjoy double flowers, red, purple, yellow, striped, dotted, rainbow, and even black flowers!

The secret to a large, swollen caudex:

- Raise the plant slightly each time you repot it, exposing the upper part of the roots - this encourages the plant to form more roots that grow downward.
- Unlike most tropical and houseplants, Adeniums prefer neutral to hard water, have very low water needs, and can thrive in full sun or shade.

Adeniums truly check all the boxes for a carefree, long-blooming, and striking poolside or patio plant!

Adeniums  caudexes

Date: 2 Mar 2025

What Fertilizer to Use Now and How?

Sunshine Boosters liquid fertilizers

Sunshine Boosters liquid fertilizers

🍲 What Fertilizer to Use Now and How?
Part 1. What are important keys to healthy plants



Q: It's early Spring this year. Should I start fertilizing my plants sooner than usual?

✔️ A: Most fertilizer instructions recommend fertilizing tropical plants from March to November. This is because plants don't need as much food during the cooler months when many go dormant, and excess nutrients can burn the roots if not absorbed. However, for the most effective fertilizer program and healthy plants, consider these points:

✔️ Sunshine Boosters Year-Round



Liquid amino-acid-based fertilizers like Sunshine Boosters are safe to use year-round. Since watering is reduced in cooler weather, the intake of water-soluble fertilizer is also lower, providing plants with just the essential nutrients for their minimal needs.

✔️ Dry Fertilizer Schedule



Be cautious with dry fertilizers. Apply them only during active growth in the hot season.

✔️ Temperature Is Key



If March is still cold, delay dry fertilizer use. However, if nighttime temperatures in February stay above 65F, you can start a dry fertilizer program using slow-release, granulated plant food.

✔️ What Fertilizers to Use and How



Check out our Sunshine Boosters selection for different types of plants and choose the right type for your needs. These can be applied as often as with every watering. We will explain in details about every type of fertilizer in our next post🔽

🛍 Shop Sunshine Boosters

#Fertilizers #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 8 Mar 2025

What is the most beautiful winter flowering tree for Florida snowbirds?

Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo

🌸 What is the most beautiful winter flowering tree for Florida snowbirds?



🌸 It's not a cherry blossom! It's one of the most beautiful Florida trees - Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo. It is in full bloom now, and it's a spectacular view!

🌸 This tree is a Florida favorite that's sure to make your garden stand out. This beauty is a winter-spring bloomer that'll have your landscape looking fabulous with bright pink flowers and a splash of yellow in the throats.

🌸 These gorgeous blooms pop up before the tree even puts out new leaves.

🌸 Perfect for smaller yards, this compact tree brings a burst of color without taking up too much space. Plus, it's the ideal choice for snowbirds visiting Florida in winter - when you're craving some color!

🌸 But this Tabebuia isn't just pretty - it's also practical! This tropical beauty is cold-hardy down to the upper 20’s, making it a great fit for Central Florida.

🌸 It's been a prized medicinal tree for centuries! Pau DArco (Taheebo) bark is brewed to make a smooth, earthy, and subtly sweet tea that contains compounds like lapachol and quercetin, used for centuries by indigenous South American tribes. A tree that's not only lovely to look at but also useful? That’s a win-win!

🌸 Starts flowering in very small size - see next post ⬇️

🛍 Shop Tabebuias

#Food_Forest #Trees

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals