Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 5 Jan 2026

A tuxedo cat planting a small shrub in a tropical garden while a ginger
cat relaxes nearby with coffee and donuts, illustrating winter planting in
a warm
climate.

Sunshine: January might feel warm, but its still winter. Wool socks, scarf, hot coffee.
Smokey: You get warm when you work. Plant now so roots are established before spring growth starts.
Sunshine: Alright. Lets see who stays warmer - you digging or me with coffee.

🌴 Why winter planting works in a warm climate

By our plant expert Tatiana Anderson

We are lucky to live in a warm climate. This is how I think about the seasons here. Winter is for roots. Spring is for growth. Summer is for managing heat and water.

So if we want plants that handle summer better, we plant them in the season that gives them the best start. Winter here is comfortable. The soil stays workable. The days are mild. And plants are not being stressed by heat. That is exactly why winter is the best time to plant in Florida and other warm areas.

If we use this season well, plants go into spring already settled instead of trying to catch up. This is what I like to plant now, and why.

🟢 Trees first. Anything that will be in the ground for years. Fruit trees, shade trees, flowering trees. When we plant them in winter, they can focus on roots before the spring growth surge starts. By the time spring arrives, the tree is anchored and ready to grow on top.
Examples: mango, avocado, Eugenia cherries, jackfruit, sapodilla, longan, lychee, canistel.

🟢 Shrubs next. Shrubs establish faster than trees, but winter still gives them an advantage. They settle in quietly before the spring flush and bloom cycles begin. That usually means steadier growth and fewer problems once heat returns.
Examples: gardenia, jasmine, brunfelsia, hibiscus, clerodendrums.

🟢 Vines are often overlooked. Vines want to grow fast when spring starts. If the root system is not ready, you get weak growth and frustration. Planting vines in winter gives them time to build a foundation first, so spring growth has support.
Examples: Rangoon creeper, stephanotis, Petrea, Mexican Flame Vine.

🛒 Explore cold tolerant plants

Date: 8 Jan 2026

Is winter killing your mango flowers? 33 winter-proof mid-season mango varieties in 90-sec tour

33 winter-proof mid-season mango varieties

❄️ Is winter killing your mango flowers? 33 winter-proof mid-season mango varieties in 90-sec tour

🥭 Mid-season mango varieties make up the heart of the mango harvest. They are not as early as the first winter bloomers and not as late as the extended-season types, but they fill out most of the season.
🥭 Mango trees are winter bloomers, but freezing temperatures can damage them, especially when the trees are still young.
🥭 Right now it is January, and many mid-season mango trees are in bloom or just starting to bloom. While a winter cold snap can damage flowers, mango trees are resilient and often re-bloom once warmer weather returns.

🥭 A list of winter-proof mid-season mango varieties in Top Tropicals garden - Winter 2026

Blooming time: late December - January, may re-bloom February-March

🛒 Explore Mango varieties

📚 Learn more:

· #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try
· How to take care of a mango tree in winter
· Mango winter tips

#Food_Forest #Mango #How_to

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 7 Jan 2026

Do you know why its a Papaya time?

Cat James Coconuts with his papayas

Cat James Coconuts with his papayas

🍊 Do you know why it's a Papaya time?

Because Papaya Trees fruit year around! James Coconuts just harvested a big crop from his papaya trees. Varieties in fruit right now, in January: Wan Deng, Lady Red, Waimanalo, Sunrise, TR Hovey.

🛒 Explore Papaya varieties

📚 Learn more:

🟡about #Papaya

🐈📸 Cat James Coconuts with his papayas at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden

#PeopleCats #Papaya

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 20 Feb 2026

What tropical plants survived Floridas historic freeze without protection

Florida historic freeze

What tropical plants survived Florida's historic freeze without protection

In the first week of February 2026, arctic air pushed deep into Florida. For many areas, this was the coldest event in over a century.
We received one question over and over: How did your gardens do?
Top Tropicals Farm in Sebring, Florida is up and running - and this freeze became a real-world hardiness test for tropical and subtropical plants. Below is our initial field report after inspecting established plantings.

📊 Weather data - February 1-6, 2026

Sebring, Florida - 132 years of recorded observations
This was not a light frost. It was prolonged, windy, penetrating hard freeze.

🌡 Minimum temperature: 25F
❄️ Wind chill: 14F
⏳ Duration: 3 nights of 8-10 hour hard freeze
☀️ Daytime temperatures: around 50F for 7 days
🌀 Wind: sustained 20 mph, gusts 40-50 mph

Cold protection

In-ground trees:

Tender container plants:

Hardy container plants:

Nutrition support:

Sunshine Boosters

The plants below had NO PROTECTION, established trees 2-3 years old

✅ Survived with no damage:

🍑 Tropical Fruit Trees and Edibles:

🌸 Flowering Trees and Shrubs:

Beaucarnea recurvata - Pony Tail
Callistemon - Bottlebrush
Yucca
Tabebuias
Magnolia figo and Little Gem
Calliandra tweedii - Red Powderpuff
Sophora tomentosa
Galphimia gracillis - Thriallis
Acacia trees
Osmanthus fragrans
Abutilon trees
Erythrina - several species
Monkey Ear tree - Enterolobium cyclocarpum
Bauhinia Orchid Trees - several species
Pseudobombax ellipticum - Shaving Brush Tree
Bulnesia arborea- Vera Wood
Caesalpinia mexicana, Mexican Bird of Paradise
Sansevieria - Snake Plant
Foxtail fern - Asparagus densiflorus
Lonicera - several varieties
Jacaranda tree
Eucalyptus
Plumbago Imperial Blue
Philodendron bipinnatum
Gardenias
Gingers (dormant rhizomes)

✳️ Minimal leaf damage only:
(These plants showed light cosmetic damage but no structural injury)

🍑 Tropical Fruit Trees and Edibles:

Glycosmis pentaphylla - Gin Berry
Black sapote tree
Tamarind tree
Syzygiums: Rose Apple and Java Plum

🌸 Flowering Trees and Shrubs:

Pandora vine
Jasminum - several species
Stenocarpus sinuatus - Firewheel Tree
Xanthostemon
Quisqualis indica
Schotia tree
Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage
Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower

🏡 What this means for Florida gardeners

This freeze was a stress test few gardens are prepared for. Yet many species handled 25F, wind, and multi-night freeze conditions without protection.
Choosing proven survivors, planting in smart microclimates, and maintaining strong plant health during the growing season makes a measurable difference.
More updates will follow as full recovery continues - but these early results already help define a stronger plant palette for future winters.

🛒 Explore cold tolerant tropical plants and cold hardy Avocados

📚 Learn more:

🎥 These Avocados survived 3 nights of 25F hard freeze, Florida Record Freeze

#Discover #How_to

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 10 Feb 2026

Cold-hardy avocado survival groups - what the numbers really mean

Different varieties of Avocado fruit on a table

Different varieties of Avocado fruit on a table

Cold-hardy avocado survival groups - what the numbers really mean

Avocado cold hardiness is often misunderstood. Temperature numbers do not mean a tree stays untouched - they describe survival, not appearance. Leaf burn, twig dieback, and temporary setbacks are normal even on hardy varieties. The difference is whether the tree recovers.
Below are cold-hardy avocado varieties grouped by minimum reported survival temperatures, along with what growers typically observe after a freeze.

🌡 Hardy to 15F:

Brazos Belle (Wilma), Fantastic, Joey, Lila (Opal), Day.
Best freeze survivors. Minor leaf burn possible, but trees usually recover quickly with little structural damage. These are among the most cold-tolerant avocado varieties when fully established and exposed to short-duration freezes.
What to expect: Trees in this group often survive temperatures near 15F with little to moderate leaf damage. Some tip dieback is possible, but major limb loss is uncommon. Recovery is usually strong once warm weather returns, especially in dry winter conditions.

🌡 Hardy to 20F:

Bacon, Brogdon (Brogden), Fuerte (Dwarf), Mexicola, Miguel, Ulala (Super Hass)

What to expect:

🌡 Hardy to 25F:

Black Prince, Choquette, Hall, Hardee Red, Lula, Marcus Pumpkin, Mexicola Grande, Nishikawa, Oro Negro, Poncho (Pancho), Tonnage, Winter Mexican, Wurtz (Dwarf) and Yamagata

What to expect:

🌡 Hardy to 30F:

Bernecker, Catalina, and Florida Hass (Haas).
Frost-tolerant only. Damage occurs quickly, and repeated freezes can cause serious stress without protection.
Actual results depend on tree age, freeze duration, wind, moisture, and microclimate. Lower numbers do not mean damage-free - they mean the tree lived to grow again.
These avocados are best suited to areas with only occasional frost and minimal freeze exposure.
What to expect:
Leaf damage occurs quickly near 30F, and unprotected trees may suffer significant canopy loss. Survival is possible during brief cold events, but repeated freezes can cause lasting damage. These varieties benefit most from proactive protection.

❗️ Important reminder

All temperature figures are approximate and experience-based, not guarantees. Survival depends on tree age, duration of cold, wind, moisture, and microclimate. Cold tolerance improves significantly as trees mature, while young trees remain vulnerable across all groups.
Understanding the difference between survival and damage is the key to choosing the right avocado for colder climates.

🛒 Explore cold hardy Avocado varieties

📖 Our Book: Avocado Variety Guide, Snack or Guacamole?

· Hard copy · PDF File Download

📚 Learn more:

🎥 These Avocados survived 25F hard freeze 3 nights of Florida Record Freeze

#Food_Forest #Avocado #Discover #How_to

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

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