Date: 23 Nov 2016
Growing tropical fruit trees in containers in winter
Q: Please give me your advice. The winter is here. I bought mango tree, jackfruit tree, sugar apple tree and planned them for spring. What can I do to keep them no frost bite? My home in Bonifay FL.
A: In
subtropical areas with occasional hard freeze in
winter, we recommend you to keep tropical plants in
pots. The plants you purchase are tender to frost. For
cold protection, container growing has several
advantages:
1) easy to move into wind-protected and sun-exposed
locations as needed: for example, on a different side
of the house. In many areas, seasonal prevailing winds
have opposite directions in Summer and Winter.
2) easy to cover with frost cloth, sheets, or blankets
in case of immediate cold spells. Container plants'
growth is easier to control and trim, and those plants
naturally stay more compact.
3) easy to move indoors, inside garage, or in covered
lanai/patio.
We also recommend to keep these trees in their
original pots until Spring, in containers size of the
rootball. Step them up in Spring, when plants start
active growth of root system. This will help you to
avoid root rot due to possible overwatering in Winter.
Reduce watering in any case, and keep your plants in
bright, wind-protected spot. Do not fertilize until
Spring. Protect from cold when night temperature drops
below 35-40F.
Use SUNSHINE plant boosters
to provide additional cold tolerance.
Cold protection is a lengthy subject. You may also use
propane heaters during cold nights.
Here is some more information on cold
protection
Date: 3 Aug 2025
What is the most popular and easiest tropical fruit tree to grow indoors?
No doubt about it - it's the Coffee Tree.
- Coffee is shade-loving and easy to grow with regular water
- It grows into a dark green shrub or small tree (about 3 to 5 feet tall in a pot)
- Its fragrant, star-shaped flowers resemble gardenias
- The whole fruit is edible and turns green to yellow to red
- The seeds are real "coffee beans" that can be dried, roasted, and ground at home.
Five Reasons to Grow a Coffee Plant
- Perfect Indoor Fruit Tree: Thrives in filtered light and stays compact
- Low Maintenance: Forgiving, adaptable, and ideal for new gardeners
- Aesthetic Appeal: Glossy green leaves and clusters of white blooms
- Homegrown Coffee: Yes, you can roast your own beans.
- Year-Round Beauty: Evergreen with seasonal fragrance
Coffee Plant Care Tips
- Light: Bright, indirect light is best. Avoid harsh afternoon sun.
- Water: Keep soil lightly moist but not soggy. Let the top inch dry out before watering again.
- Humidity: Loves higher humidity. Mist regularly or place on a pebble tray.
- Fertilizer: Use a balanced, gentle fertilizer like Sunshine Boosters C-Cibus every few weeks during growing season.
- Soil: Loose, rich, and well-drained. High in organic matter and slightly acidic. For potted plants, use a quality indoor tropical mix, such as Top Tropicals Abundance mix
- Repotting: Refresh soil and size up the pot every 1–2 years to keep roots healthy.
- Can I grow it outdoors?: Yes - bring it outside in warm months and back indoors before frost. It's best suited for USDA zones 10-11, but container growing gives you flexibility in cooler climates.
- How long until I get beans?: Expect flowers and fruit within 3 to 4 years from seedling stage - often sooner if you start with a young tree.
- What does the fruit taste like?: Mild and sweet-tart, like a mix between a cherry and a cranberry. You can eat it fresh.
How to Make Coffee from Your Own Tree
- Harvest: Pick the ripe red cherries
- Pop and Soak: Squeeze out the beans and ferment 1-2 days to remove pulp
- Dry: Spread out to dry for 1-2 weeks until hard and papery
- Husk: Remove the thin shell to reveal green beans
- Roast: Use a dry skillet or oven until fragrant
- Grind and Brew: Cool, grind, and enjoy the freshest coffee you've ever had.
Learn more: How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans
Coffee Health Benefits
- Rich in antioxidants - supports heart and brain health
- Boosts focus and mental alertness
- Supports metabolism and fat-burning
Why Coffee Makes the Perfect Gift Plant
- Long-living and beautiful
- Symbolic, useful, and personal
- Great for coffee lovers, gardeners, and the "person who has everything"
Date: 29 Sep 2020
Healthy Plant Food: Q&A from Mr Booster
Why my Sapodilla is not fruiting?
Q: I bought a Sapodilla tree from you several years ago, Silas Woods. I live in Houston area. The tree grows and produces blossoms for fruits, but then they just dry up and fall off. To-date, I have not gotten any fruits off the tree. Is there a reason for this? I really want a fruiting tree because Sapodilla is one of my favorite fruits. I have attached pictures of the tree. Please help.
A: Silas Woods is a free-flowering variety and in favorable conditions it should produce fruit almost year round, considering warm temperatures. The fact that the tree is producing flowers indicates that it is strong, overall healthy and ready for production, but for some reason these flowers don't set fruit. There may be several reasons for such behavior.
1) Too high temperature and too low humidity
In Houston area, humidity should be good in summer. However, if
temperatures stay above 90F for a long time, this may cause flower dry-n-drop.
Solution: try to move the potted tree into filtered light, or in a
spot where it does not get direct burning sun during the hottest hours of the
day (morning sun is the best)
2) Root bound.
Solution: check if the tree needs stepping up into a larger
container.
3) Lack of certain nutrients that are responsible for proper fruit
formation.
In particular, elements B (Boron), Mo (Molybdenum), and a few other
micro-elements (Fe - iron, Cu - Copper, etc.). This is most likely the cause of a
flower drop. This is very common reason for undeveloped fruit or lack of fruit
in container-grown fruit trees. When grown in the ground, plants can reach
out to all necessary elements in surrounding soil (considering soils are not
too poor on necessary elements). In a pot, a supply of nutrients can be
exhausted very quickly, so a quality fertilizer program is very important.
Fertilizer must include all necessary nutrients in easy accessible form, and a plant
must have their constant supply for proper development.
Solution: prescribe to your Sapodilla tree the following combination
of plant food:
- SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster. It will provide
well-balanced amounts of high absorption Nitrogen, as well as other macro-elements - to
provide enough energy to the tree, plus a combination of all necessary
micro-elements. It is safe to apply this fertilizer as frequent as with every
watering, including winter time.
- SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster. This supplement has a high content of
elements Mo and B - once the tree starts getting them on regular basis (a few
times a year, according to the label), it will change its habit dropping
flowers and/or premature fruit drop. As extra bonus, Sunshine Honey makes fruit
sweeter by bringing sugars from all over the plant and concentrating them into
fruit.
4) Lack of pollinating insects.
Solution: For most effective pollination, we always recommend to put
some pieces of fruit under the tree, apple peels, or even banana peel. Those
attract tiny beetles that are responsible for small flower pollination.
With winter time approaching, fruiting season is about to end, however, do not get discouraged and start the fertilizing program right away: this will bring up the plant into a healthy stage within a few months, and by next season it should be covered with fruit you like so much! Remember, Sunshine liquid fertilizers can be used year round, including winter, without a risk to burn roots or overdose, as long as you follow label instructions.
SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster from Garden Series, or Combo Total Feed Collection - all nutrients in just one bottle, for fruit trees and edibles.
Date: 16 Feb 2019
Featured plant. Randia formosa - Blackberry jam fruit
Randia formosa - Blackberry jam fruit
This unique compact plant, perfect for container culture, combines features of a fragrant flower and tasty desert fruit. Kids love it! Originally from Central and South America, this rare tropical small evergreen tree bears fruit which tastes like fresh Blackberry jam. Many claim that it's even better than preserves. Closely related to the gardenia, its flowers are sweetly fragrant. This relatively hardy tropical has attractive foliage and can be grown in a container as well as in the ground. The Randia formosa (or Rosenbergiodendron formosum) produces as many as 25 to 30 fruits at a time. Since it blooms for a few months in the fall and winter, fruiting and flowering can be enjoyed when many other plants are dormant. Large tubular white flowers that attract nocturnal moths... Read more about this plant...
Get it from our store... Limited quanity!
Date: 21 Jan 2019
Featured Plant. Achras (manilkara) zapota - Sapodilla Silas Woods
Achras (manilkara) zapota - Sapodilla Silas Woods
The Silas Woods is an outstanding variety of Sapodilla.
The tree has dwarf growth habit (under 20 ft in the ground) and adapts
well to a container.
This variety is highly productive.
Trees are producing year round, the branches often require support as they get very heavily loaded with fruits. Perfect fruit tree for small yards and container culture!
