Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 16 May 2024

What tropical fruit tree is cold hardy and easy to grow? Its Golden Loquat the Symbol of Prosperity, and it tastes like

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) trees in pots

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) trees in pots

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) tree

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) tree

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) compot

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) compot

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

What tropical fruit tree is cold hardy and easy to grow? It's Golden Loquat – the Symbol of Prosperity, and it tastes like apricots!
  • 🍑 Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is fast-growing, drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, compact tropical fruit tree.
  • 🍑 Heavy producer. Fruits are juicy, aromatic, and resemble apricots. Ripen from early Spring to early Summer.
  • 🍑 Ideal for small gardens, beginner fruit tree growers.
  • 🍑 High in sugar, acids, vitamins B and C, minerals, and pectin.
  • 🍑 Eaten fresh, used in fruit salads, jams, jellies, chutneys, pies, tarts, and wine
  • Popular as a natural sweetener and for creating sauces.
  • 🍑 Grown in Japan for over 1,000 years. In China, represents gold and wealth, often included in auspicious displays or offerings for prosperity💰


📚 Learn more about Loquats
' target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛒Start your fruit garden with Loquats

#Food_Forest #Recipes

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 15 May 2024

What does a dragon taste like? Does Dragon Fruit come from a monster cactus? Learn why you need to grow your own

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya trees on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya trees on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya red fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya red fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya purple fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya purple fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya Yellow Parlora

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya Yellow Parlora

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya flower

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya flower

🐲 What does a dragon taste like? Does Dragon Fruit come from a monster cactus? Learn why you need to grow your own. 🌵
  • 🔴 You may have tried a Dragon fruit from the store l, but do you know how it grows? On a cactus tree!
  • 🔴 Names: varieties of Hylocereus and Selenicereus - these fruit bearing cactus plants are also called Dragon Fruit or Pitaya.
  • 🔴 Commercially grown fruit sold in a grocery store may be tasteless. You need to grow your own good variety to have tasty, sweet, flavorful fruit!
  • 🔴 Dragon fruit comes in many varieties. Colors of flesh differ: white, pink, dark red and even purple. The outside of the fruit can be red/pink or yellow.
  • 🔴 In commercial groves, Pitayas grow like cactus trees, over a strong support - big "umbrella frames" ☂️
  • 🔴 It is an easy plant, with low water needs, takes both sun and semi-shade.
  • 🔴 Our favorite variety is Yellow Dragon Fruit Palora, (Selenicereus megalanthus). It is the sweetest and has the most flavor of all. We shared some recipes earlier.
  • 🔴 Can be grown in container with a wooden trellis. And the flower is beautiful, too!


📚 Learn more about Dragon Fruit
🍹 Recipe: What to do with a Dragon fruit?

🛒Grow your own Tasty Dragon Fruits

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Nature_Wonders

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 1 Sep 2024

When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor

When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor
When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor. This is what you do with so many loquat fruit.

🍑 Loquat tree is an excellent choice for any garden, as it is quite cold hardy, drought-, poor soil- and salt tolerant. The delicious fruit look and taste similar to apricots, but there is only one problem: there are too many of them! Make Loquat the perfect fruit for an easy home winery...

🍹 Loquat Liquor recipe

Wash loquat fruit and slit in 4-5 places. You may leave seeds in for Apricot-nutty flavor similar to Amaretto. Combine fruit with vodka and sugar in a wide mouth jar and cover. Stir fruit once a day until sugar is dissolved. Then stir once a week for 4 weeks. Drain liquid and strain through fine cheesecloth. Enjoy!

You can dispose the used fruit but we usually give it a second life: add water, bring to boil, let sit, chill, and it will make another (almost non-alcoholic) drink!

  • ✔️ 3 quarts of loquat fruit
  • ✔️ 1 quart vodka
  • ✔️ 3 cups sugar
  • ✔️ vanilla to taste (optional)


📚 From previous posts:
🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛒 Shop Loquat varieties

#Recipes #Food_Forest #Loquat

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 5 Apr 2025

Secret Banana Daiquiri Recipe:
Healthy Never Tasted So Good!

Banana  Daiquiri  Recipe

Q: What can I do with a lot of Bananas? All three trees I got from you last year produced lots of bananas and I can eat only so much. Any exotic recipes?

A: When we get lots of bananas (which happens every year!), we make banana bread or banana pudding for the whole team. But those are pretty common recipes. Try Banana Daiquiri!

Banana Daiquiri Recipe Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
2 ounces light rum

  1. tablespoon sugar
    1 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce triple sec (optional for added depth)
Ice cubes
Slice of lime or banana for garnish>

Instructions:

Prepare the Banana: Peel the banana and cut it into chunks.
Blend the Ingredients: In a blender, combine the banana chunks, light rum, sugar, lime juice, and triple sec. Add a handful of ice cubes. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a small amount of water or more lime juice to adjust the consistency.

Garnish and Serve:

Pour the mixture into a chilled glass. Garnish with a slice of lime on the rim of the glass or a small wheel of banana. Serve immediately and enjoy the refreshing tropical flavors!

This Banana Daiquiri is not only refreshing but also offers a creamy texture and a perfect balance of sweetness and citrus. It's a fantastic choice for hot days or when you're in the mood for something a bit exotic. Cheers!

Date: 26 Aug 2025

Papaya lime smoothie: Quick-n-Fun exotic

Papaya lime smoothie: Quick-n-Fun exotic

🍴 Papaya lime smoothie: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes


  • 🟢Blend ripe papaya with fresh lime juice, a splash of coconut water, and ice.
  • 🟢Super refreshing and naturally creamy, no dairy needed.


🛒 Pick a perfect Papaya variety for your yard

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Papaya

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals