Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 25 Nov 2025

What Avocado is better - Type A or Type B?

Avocado tree flowers

Avocado tree flowers

What Avocado is better - Type A or Type B?



Avocados are divided into two types based on how their flowers open - Type A and Type B. This has nothing to do with how the fruit looks, only with how the flowers work.

TYPE A:
The flowers open as female in the morning of the first day, then close. On the afternoon of the second day, they reopen as male.

The most popular type A avocado varieties:
Bernecker, Black Prince, Catalina, Choquette, Day, Donnie (Doni), Fantastic, Florida Hass (Haas), Lila (Opal), Loretta, Lula, Mexicola, Mexicola Grande, Red Russell, Reed, Russell, Simmonds, Ulala (Oh La La, Super Hass) , Waldin, Wurtz (Dual Type, A&B).

TYPE B:
The flowers open as female in the afternoon of the first day, then close. The next morning, they reopen as male.

The most popular type B avocado varieties:
Anise, Bacon, Beta, Booth 8, Brazos Belle (Wilma), Brogdon (Brogden), Buck, Ettinger, Fuerte, Hall, Hardee Red, Hialeah Red, Joey, Kampong (Sushi), Marcus Pumpkin, Maria Black, Miguel, Monroe, Nishikawa, Oro Negro, Pollock, Poncho (Pancho), Thomson Red, Tonnage, Winter Mexican, Wurtz (Dual Type, A&B), Yamagata.
  • 🟢 Each tree can make its own fruit (it’s self-fertile), but if you plant both types together, they will help each other make more fruit. The flowers of A and B types open at opposite times, so bees can carry pollen between them more easily. This means better pollination and a bigger harvest.
  • 🟢 For home gardeners, one tree is enough to get fruit, but having both A and B types nearby will give you a larger crop. If you grow avocados in pots, it’s a good idea to have at least one of each type.


✍️ In short:
One tree = some fruit
Two trees (A + B) = lots more fruit!

✔ ️Check out Avocado Variety Guide interactive chart. Sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

🛒  Explore Avocado varieties

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


Hard copy
PDF File Download

📚 Learn more:


How Avocado trees flower and set fruit
Avocado Variety Guide
#Avocado #Food_Forest #How_to

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Date: 6 Dec 2025

See how Golden Rain turns pink overnight!

Golden Rain tree, Koelreuteria paniculata

🌸 See how Golden Rain turns pink overnight!

  • 🌸 Golden Rain tree, Koelreuteria paniculata, is one of those plants you can drive past a hundred times without realizing you’re looking at a seasonal firework show. In early summer it loads itself with long, bright yellow flower clusters that drip from every branch. Then, just when you think the show is over, the tree shifts into its second act: paper-thin pink seed lanterns that cover the canopy through fall.
  • 🌸 It’s surprisingly tough for such a delicate-looking tree. Cold hardy, drought tolerant, and fast growing, it fits easily into Florida and other warm climates where people want a shade tree that also puts on a real spectacle. The foliage stays elegant and airy, and the lantern pods look good long after the flowers fade.
  • 🌸 If you’re into trees that change looks through the seasons and don’t need pampering, Golden Rain tree is one of the most rewarding additions you can plant.


🛒 Plant impressive Golden Rain tree - hardy and beautiful

📚 Learn more:

Plant Facts

Koelreuteria paniculata
Golden Rain Tree, Varnish tree, Chinese Flame
USDA Zone: 9-11
Small tree 10-20 ftSemi-shadeFull sunModerate waterYellow, orange flowersPlant attracts butterflies, hummingbirdsEthnomedical plant.
Plants marked as ethnomedical and/or described as medicinal, are not offered as medicine but rather as ornamentals or plant collectibles.
Ethnomedical statements / products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We urge all customers to consult a physician before using any supplements, herbals or medicines advertised here or elsewhere.Subtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short timeSeaside, salt tolerant plant
  • More about Golden Rain tree - Koelreuteria paniculata - from Plant Encyclopedia
  • Time to plant the Golden Rain Tree
  • #Trees

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    Date: 4 Jan 2026

    Dont drink your coffee until you see this!

    Coffea arabica - Coffee tree, fruit

    ☕️ Don't drink your coffee until you see this!

    • Our coffee trees, Coffea arabica, are growing in 7-gallon pots, and after months of waiting, the cherries are fully ripe!
    • They bloomed in May, set fruit in August, and now in winter the fruit has turned red and ready to harvest.
    • Coffee is one of the easiest fruiting plants you can grow at home. It does well in containers, loves shade, and can be grown indoors or outdoors in warm climates. With regular watering and a little patience, you can grow, harvest, roast, and brew your own coffee right from your home garden.
    • We are harvesting now, and the next video will show the full roasting process step by step.

    • 👉 Coming up next: Roasting video coming soon - stay with us!


    🛒 Start your own coffee harvest

    📚 Learn more:

    Plant Facts

    Coffea arabica
    Coffee
    USDA Zone: 9-11
    Large shrub 5-10 ft tallSmall tree 10-20 ftSemi-shadeShadeKeep soil moistWhite, off-white flowersEdible plantEthnomedical plant.
Plants marked as ethnomedical and/or described as medicinal, are not offered as medicine but rather as ornamentals or plant collectibles.
Ethnomedical statements / products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We urge all customers to consult a physician before using any supplements, herbals or medicines advertised here or elsewhere.Fragrant plantSubtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short time
  • Coffea arabica in Plant Encyclopedia
  • Homegrown coffee - the journey begins!
  • How to make your own coffee from homegrown beans
  • Coffee trees in bloom
  • •  Brew Your Future: Grow Your Own Coffee
  • •  What is coffee made of?
  • •  Why Coffee tree is the best gift plant
  • •  Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: #2. Coffee Tree
  • •  What is the most popular and the easiest tropical fruit tree grown as a house plant?
    🎥

    #Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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  • Date: 5 Jan 2026

    ☘️ What plants are easy to ship in Winter?

    Lush  tropical  garden  with  a  bright  green  leafy  Magnolia  champaka  surrounded  by  flowering  shrubs,  such  as  Brunfelsia  grandiflora,  at  Top  Tropicals  nursery

    Ordering plants in winter is often easier than people expect - and for many plants, it is actually better. Lush foliage plants like philodendrons and medinilla, fine-leaved trees such as moringa, jacaranda, and poinciana, and even sensitive fruit trees like papaya, jackfruit or starfruit ship more safely in cool weather without overheating stress.

    Winter is also ideal for subtropical and cold-tolerant plants, dormant or deciduous plants like plumeria and adenium, orchids - including ground orchids and vanilla orchids, and winter bloomers that flower their best right now. Winter care is simple: water less, use gentle liquid amino-acid fertilizers like Sunshine Boosters, and monitor insects.

    In mild climates, many tropicals can be planted anytime, while extra-tender plants can stay potted until spring. Winter is a perfect time to bring tropical warmth indoors and enjoy greenery when you need it most.

    🌿Learn more: easy plants for Winter shipping

    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

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