Date: 23 Feb 2026
❄️ The Hardiness Report: February 2026 ❄️
🐾 Smokey & Sunshine’s real-world survival data from our Sebring, Florida Research Gardens. Smokey analyzed the data. Sunshine just stayed happy. Here is what they found.
Smokey: This is macadamia strength.
Sunshine: I should put a macadamia nut in my coffee and borrow some of that strength.
Smokey: Do not get too nutty yet. It still needs curing and cracking.
📊 Weather Data – February 1–6, 2026
Sebring, Florida – 132 years of recorded observations
This was not a light frost. It was a 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
While all our plants in pots were protected in greenhouses, our in-ground plantings faced the freeze outdoors. We covered what we could. Even so, some plants were damaged, some died, and some surprised us by surviving.
In the next few newsletters, we will share the real survivors - the plants that proved themselves in the ground, under real conditions. Smokey and Sunshine have been out in the fields assessing the damage from the February 1–6 freeze. While many plants struggled, the Macadamia proved to be a true standout. This is how we grow them to handle the tough years.
Why does this matter? Because we have gotten used to warm winters, and this freeze was a rude awakening. Not everyone lives in Miami. If you garden in places where a real cold event can happen, you have to be prepared - and you have to plant what can take it.
🌰 Macadamia: Freeze Tested and Standing
When temperatures dropped to 25F with wind chill near 14F, our established macadamia trees remained upright, green, and structurally intact. Leaves held. Branches stayed firm. No collapse, no panic.
That is not luck. That is macadamia hardiness.
Often considered a "tropical luxury nut," macadamia proved it can handle more than many gardeners expect. In USDA Zones 9b-11, with proper drainage and site selection, it is not just ornamental - it is a long-term food tree with real resilience.
In a winter that reminded us not to take warmth for granted, macadamia earned its place on the survivor list.
The nut itself is famous for its strength. The shell is among the hardest in the nut world, requiring serious pressure to crack. Inside, the kernel is creamy, buttery, rich, and deeply satisfying. High in monounsaturated fats and naturally low in sugar, macadamias have long been valued both for flavor and for nutrition.
The tree is equally impressive. An evergreen with tough leaves and elegant spring flowers, it matures into a productive, manageable canopy. Nuts develop slowly over six to seven months. Production begins in a few years and increases steadily as the tree matures. Plant it once, and it can reward you for decades.
Cold will come again. It always does. The question is not whether winter will test your garden. The question is whether your trees are ready. Macadamia proved it is. If you are building a garden that feeds you for decades, this is a tree worth planting.
🛒 Add Macadamia Tree to your garden
Date: 4 Mar 2026
The Magic Number 65: when tropicals finally wake and the 7-Day Rule you should know
Champaka tree new growth sprouts
A Champaka tree (Joy Perfume Tree) first fresh sprouts
Discover the "Magic 65" rule for waking up your garden and the exact time to start fertilizing for maximum growth. Learn the specific temperature threshold that signals your tropicals to wake up and how to handle spring cold snaps.
- 🌿 If you’ve been staring at your dormant trees and shrubs wondering if they survived the winter, you aren't alone. The most frequent question every spring is: "When will my tropical plants start sprouting?"
- 🌿 While the calendar might say spring, tropical plants don’t use a watch - they use a thermometer. If you want to see green shoots and active growth, there is one "Magic Number" you need to watch: 65F 🌡
🌿 The 7-Day Rule for Tropical Growth
The gold standard for the tropical world is simple: plants generally wake up when minimum nighttime temperatures remain at or above 65F for at least one full week.
🌿 Why 65°F?
Tropical species are biologically programmed to stay dormant to protect their cell structure from cold damage. A single warm day won't fool them, but seven consecutive nights of 65F+ signals that the "growing season" has officially arrived. Once you hit that 7-day mark, you’ll see buds pushing and fresh leaves finally sprouting.
🌿 Can You Force Them to Wake Up Faster?
Patience is a virtue, but if you’re looking to "push" your plants, focus on two things:
🌞 Sun Exposure: Ensure they are in the brightest spot possible to warm the soil.
♨️ Heat Retention: Use dark mulch or move potted plants onto concrete surfaces that retain daytime heat.
🌿 When to Start Fertilizing
❌ Don’t reach for the fertilizer until you see that active growth. Feeding a dormant plant can lead to root rot or wasted nutrients.
- 👉 The Signal: After that first week of 65F nights.
✅ The Action: Once you see green tips, start your fertilization routine. This is when the plant actually has the metabolic "engine" running to use those nutrients.
- 🌿 Ready for the Wake-Up Call? Fuel Your Tropical Growth!
🌿 Watch Out for the "False Spring"
Before you go all-in, ensure the risk of a hard freeze has passed. A minor cold snap - a few nights in the 50s - won't kill your progress, but it will act as a "pause" button. If cool weather persists, tropicals may "lock up" and return to dormancy. If that happens, simply reset your clock and wait for the next stretch of 65F nights.
Don’t get caught empty-handed when that 7th day of 65F hits. Stock up now so you can feed them the moment they wake up. Using the right nutrients during the active growth phase is key to lush blooms. Check out our curated selection of professional-grade fertilizers:
🛒 Get my growth boosters for every tropical type
📷 Recovery in Action: The Joy Perfume Tree - Champaka showing off its first fresh sprouts in March after a chilly Florida winter. This is exactly what happens once you hit that 7-day streak of 65F nights!
📚 Learn more:
✦ Why is my Champaka Tree dropping leaves?
#How_to #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 27 Feb 2026
Grilled star fruit slices: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
Grilled star fruit slices on grill pan
Averrhoa carambola - Star Fruit Carambola Tree
🍴 Grilled star fruit slices: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
Grilled Star Fruit Slices
Ingredients
- 1 ripe star fruit (carambola)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon butter or coconut oil
Instructions
- Slice the star fruit crosswise into star-shaped pieces.
- Heat a grill pan or skillet and lightly grease with butter or coconut oil.
- Place the slices on the hot surface and grill briefly on each side.
- Drizzle lightly with honey as the edges begin to caramelize.
- Serve warm as a tropical side dish or dessert topping.
🌿 About the plant:
Carambola, or Star Fruit, is a small tropical tree with glossy leaves and crisp, juicy fruit that slices into perfect stars.
🏡 In the garden:
Thrives in zones 9-11. Likes sun, regular water, and protection from strong winds. Dwarf varieties do well in large containers.
🛒 Plant Star Fruit Carambola Tree
📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #Recipes
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 24 Jun 2018
Fabulous Frangipani - Plumeria
New
article! By Jane Jordan, a horticulturist who
studied and worked at the RHS botanical gardens in
Cannington, England. She now lives in Sarasota, Florida.
Alongside her passion for horticulture, she is also a
novelist.
"...The name Frangipani is derived from a 16th century
Italian Marquess, who invented a plumeria scented perfume.
While in Hawaii they are known as Lei trees. Lei means
garland or wreath, and Lei flower garlands are famously
given as a symbol of affection. Hawaii has become
synonymous with this beautiful flower, although
Frangipani, is native to warm tropical areas of the
Mexico, Central America, India and the Caribbean,
accordingly, this plant is well suited to the Floridian
climate and hardy to USDA planting zones 9-11..."
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 trees 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 purple fruit
Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya Yellow Parlora
Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya flower
- 🔴 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