Large Grafted Mango Trees - Plant Now Before
Winter!
"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!
🌴 Twilight in the garden. Smokey is holding a glowing
pumpkin. Sunshine is sipping cocoa.
Sunshine: "Smokey, why does that plant look like it wants to fly away?"
Smokey: "That’s the Bat Lily - Tacca. It’s rare, it’s
weird, and it’s in bloom just in time for Halloween."
Sunshine: "Figures. You always find the spooky ones."
Meet the Bat Lily (Tacca)
Tacca is also called the Bat Lily or Devil Flower. This
tropical wonder grows bat-shaped wings and foot-long whiskers. The black
form
(Tacca chantrieri) looks straight out of a gothic dream, while the
white
one (Tacca nivea) is ghost-like and elegant.
Some of our plants are blooming right now in the nursery — true
Halloween magic! Blooms are delicate and may not travel, but the plants are
strong
and will flower again soon in your care.
Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri) with dark maroon wings and long
whiskers
White Bat Lily (Tacca nivea) in bloom with wide ivory wings
"The White Bat Lily (Tacca nivea) is bold and sculptural, with oversized
ivory wings that command attention. Its pale bracts stretch wide above
clusters
of deep maroon flowers, and long, silvery whiskers spill gracefully through
the foliage. In filtered light, the plant seems to glow from within —
elegant, crisp, and perfectly balanced between the strange and the
beautiful.
If I could pick, I’d go with the White Tacca. It feels more
architectural, more balanced — those oversized wings catch light in a
way that
shows off every vein and curve. It looks engineered by nature, almost like
an
alien design prototype that actually works.
The Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri) feels alive with shadow. Its dark
maroon wings and wiry whiskers make it look like something that fluttered
out of
the jungle at dusk. The bloom’s layered structure and near-black sheen
give it a quiet power — mysterious, understated, but impossible to
ignore. But if I were designing mood lighting for a greenhouse at night, the
Black Tacca wins. It’s subtle, mysterious, like a secret only visible
up
close. Together, they’re perfect opposites — yin and yang of the
tropical underworld: white for daylight, black for moonlight." — says
Tatiana Anderson, Top Tropicals Plant Expert
Special Offer: Discounts on Rare Tacca Plants
Grow your own Bat Lilies — White or Black — at a special
Halloween price!
Get 25% OFF Tacca plants with code
TACCA2025
Min order $25 (excluding S/H), valid online only,
cannot be combined with other offers.
Hurry, offer expires
November 03, 2025!
🎃
Storewide Halloween Sale – For Everything Beyond Tacca
Not into spooky plants? Enjoy savings on all other tropical plants
across the store!
Get 15% OFF tropical plants with code
HALLOWEEN2025
Min order $100 (excluding S/H), valid online only,
cannot be combined with other offers.
Mom: You grew this… for me? You remembered my
favorite… Smokey: I did. Mom: You never forget what matters. It’s beautiful.
Smokey: Not as much as you. Happy Mother’s Day. Sunshine: You raised him right. It shows.
Some things stay with you from your mom.
A favorite fruit. A smell from the garden. The way she showed you how to
care for something and stick with it.
At the time, it felt small. Later, you realize it wasn’t. It turns
into something real - a tree, a habit, a way of doing things you still
follow.
Mother’s Day is simply a reason to tell your mom you remember. To
say thank you for what she taught you, and to show your love.
It does not have to be complicated. Just something that makes it clear
you were paying attention.
If you are thinking what to give, start simple.
A fruit she loves. A plant she will enjoy watching grow. Something
alive, not just something that sits on a shelf.
It does not have to be big. What matters is that it means something to
her.
And maybe, years from now, it becomes one of those things that stays.
We put together a few plants that make good Mother’s Day gifts.
Fragrant flowers. Fruit trees she can enjoy year after year. Easy
growers that do not require much effort.
If she has a favorite, start there. If not, pick something simple and
reliable.
Sunshine:Smokey, hold my coffee. Donuts are coming. Big day
today.
Smokey: Under control. Try not to drop half of them.
Both: Friends, come over today.
Everything is ready for today at our Spring Equinox Plant Festival. The
garden is full and we would love to see you. Come over today and enjoy it
with us.
🎩 How to grow Chinese Hat Flower - when winter colors most needed
The Holmskioldia sanguinea, better known as the Chinese Hat Flower, gets its name honestly. Each bloom looks like a tiny hat or parasol - a little tube backed by a flat, round disc. Once you notice it, you cannot unsee it!
Chinese hat Plant Facts
Botanical name: Holmskioldia sanguinea Also known as: Chinese hat, Cup and Saucer, Parasol Flower, Mandarins hat
USDA Zone: 9 - 11
Highligths
What really makes this plant special is when it blooms. While most gardens slow down, Chinese Hat Flower kicks into gear from winter through early spring. The branches fill with flowers first, and the leaves follow later. It is one of those plants that quietly steals the show when everything else is taking a break.
More than one color
Most people know the classic red form, but there are several color varieties worth mentioning: 🔴 Red - the most common and bold 🟡 Yellow - Holmskioldia citrina, bright and cheerful, harder to find 🟠 Bronze / orange-bronze - warm tones that glow in winter light
Having different colors makes it easy to mix them or use just one as a winter focal point.
How it grows and where it works best
Chinese Hat Flower is a fast-growing, scrambling shrub. It is not stiff or formal. Think loose, graceful branches that like support. It does great when trained on: · Trellises · Fences · Arbors · Large containers with a support · You can also let it grow as a free-form shrub and lightly prune to keep it tidy.
Care, the practical version
· Light: Full sun to light shade · Water: Regular watering, especially while establishing · Soil: Well-drained, not picky · Pruning: After flowering to shape and encourage new growth
Once established, it is easygoing and forgiving.
Bonus points
· Blooms when the garden needs color most · Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds · Works as a flowering screen or accent plant · Looks tropical without being high-maintenance
If you like plants that earn their space and do something interesting in winter, Chinese Hat Flower is one to keep in your garden.
