Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 7 Jul 2024

Why is it called Passion flower and Passion fruit?

Passion flower - Passiflora

Passion flower - Passiflora

Passion fruit - Passiflora

Passion fruit - Passiflora

Passion fruit - Passiflora

Passion fruit - Passiflora

☸️ The truth about Passion flower and Passion fruit.
  • Passion vines, passion flowers, and passion fruits - these are all Passiflora - fascinating plants with a rich history. These vines come from tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.
  • Medicinal: Various parts of the passion vine have been used in traditional medicine to treat ailments such as anxiety, insomnia, and hypertension.
  • Host for Butterflies: Passion vines serve as host plants for several butterfly species.
  • Passion of Christ: the passion flower's complex structure with five sepals, five petals often used to symbolize the Passion of Christ in Christian tradition. Spanish Christian missionaries in South America saw the flower's structure as a representation of Christ's crucifixion, which led to the name Passion Flower.
  • Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis) - Maracuya - is highly nutritious, rich in vitamins A and C, fiber, and antioxidants.
  • Delicious pulp: the fruit is popular in many cuisines around the world, used in beverages, desserts.
  • Two main types of passion fruit: the purple sweeter variety (Passiflora edulis) and the yellow variety larger and more acidic (Passiflora x flavicarpa).
  • Fast growing vine in no time: known for their rapid growth, Passifloras need strong support as they can quickly cover large areas.


📚 Learn more: The Passion Fruit – Juicy Maracuya

🛒 Shop Passiflora plants

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Date: 25 Jan 2026

Collecting clerodendrums: big color, little effort

Clerodendrum collage

Clerodendrum collage

🎨 Collecting clerodendrums: big color, little effort

  • 🎨 Collector hook


    If you love plants that look rare, unusual, and a little dramatic - but do not want high-maintenance divas - Clerodendrums belong in your collection.
    Clerodendrums are a surprisingly diverse group of plants, ranging from flowering vines to shrubs and even small trees. What they all share is bold, colorful blooms and an easygoing nature that makes them far less fussy than they appear. This combination of exotic looks and forgiving care is exactly why collectors gravitate toward them.
    Many clerodendrums bloom repeatedly through the year in warm climates, and several tolerate lower light better than most flowering plants. That makes them flexible - happy in the garden, in containers, on patios, or even indoors near a bright window. Their flowers come in striking combinations of red, white, blue, pink, and purple, often with unusual shapes that stop people mid-walk.
  • 🎨 Why clerodendrums earn collector status


  • ✦ Uncommon, eye-catching flowers
  • ✦ Long or repeat bloom cycles in many varieties
  • ✦ Vines, shrubs, and small trees in one genus
  • ✦ Excellent performance in containers
  • ✦ More tolerant of lower light than expected


🎨 Clerodendrum care made simple



Give clerodendrums bright filtered light to partial sun, regular watering with good drainage, and light feeding during active growth. A little pruning keeps them tidy and encourages fresh blooms. That is it. No complicated routines, no constant fixing.

For collectors who want maximum visual payoff without constant effort, clerodendrums deliver exactly what the title promises - big color, very little work.

🛒 Start your Clerodendrum collection

📚 Learn more:
#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #How_to #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden

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Date: 2 Jul 2023

Three colors of flowers
for 4th of July

Blue,  Red  and  White  flowers  for  4th  of  July

Q: Our anniversary is on the 4th of July. Do you have anything that might be a good gift? Maybe something flowering that has red, white and blue flowers... I know that is a lot to ask but maybe you have an idea?

A: We appreciate your intriguing question and extend our heartfelt congratulations on your approaching anniversary. Numerous tropical plants lend themselves beautifully to a captivating blend of red, blue, and white hues. Here are our top recommendations for the most delightful combination:

White: Jasmine sambac fragrant bush (var. Arabian Nights is our favorite, it's a free-bloomer and easy to grow)

Blue: Clitoria Vine, it is fast growing controllable vine, everbloomer. There is also a White variety of Clitoria, you can plant them together!

Red: Gloxinia, a smaller perennial that perfectly fits into this combination of three.

More flowers for white-blue-red colors:

White: Gardenias, Jasmines, Almond Bush, Brunfelsia, Clerodendrum Bridal Veil, fragrant Cashmere Bouquet, White Brazilian Plume Flower, Montanoa - Tree Chrysanthemum

Blue: Blue Sage Lead Flower, Blue Butterfly Clerodendrum, Weeping Blue Ginger, Duranta, Thunbergia erecta - Kings Mantle, and its white variety Alba, Blue Sky vine

Red: Cat Tail Acalypha, Dwarf Poinciana, Red Bottlebrush, Pavonia multiflora - Brazilian Candles (it's actually red-and-blue), Red Button Ginger - French Kiss, Brazilian plume, Firespike , Scarlet Flame Passion Flower, Quisqualis (has white and red flowers on the same plant).

Quisqualis  Indica  -  Rangoon  Creeper

Quisqualis Indica - Rangoon Creeper. Spectacular bloom, flowers change color from white to pink to red. Sweet fragrance. Very fast growing, perfect for covering a fence or pagoda.

Date: 19 Jul 2024

What is the best flowering shrub for a shady spot?

Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra

Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra

Aphelandra squarrosa - White Zebra Plant

Aphelandra squarrosa - White Zebra Plant

Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen

Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen

Aphelandra x panamensis - Scarlet Candle

Aphelandra x panamensis - Scarlet Candle

💐 What is the best flowering shrub for a shady spot?

  • 🚩 Aphelandra is hands down one of the best solutions for a shade garden where you want to see more colors. It is a great addition to a collectible tropical butterfly garden, can grow into 4-5" tall bushy specimen. Tolerates both sun and shade.
  • 🚩Aphelandras have beautiful lush foliage and showy, long terminal inflorescences throughout the warm season.
  • 🚩These flowers are loved by hummingbirds.
  • 🚩Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra. Yellow flowers emerge out of long orange stalks in the fall time. Pretty and unusual!
  • 🚩Aphelandra squarrosa Dania (Snow White) - White Zebra Plant. It is also one of the best house plants, not only pretty because of its white-veined "Zebra" foliage, but also for the apical inflorescence with its beautiful yellow bracts.
  • 🚩Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen, has extremely tropical look and fragrant flowers of unusual color combination: orange and pink.
  • 🚩Aphelandra x panamensis - Scarlet Candle - a rare hybrid with bright red flowers


📚 Learn more from previous posts:
Panama Queen
How to grow Zebra in container?

🛒 Shop Aphelandras

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🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 17 Mar 2025

What is the difference between Clerodendrum schmitii and Clerodendrum wallichii?

What is the difference between Clerodendrum schmitii and Clerodendrum wallichii?


  • ⭐️ The main difference between Clerodendrum schmitii and Clerodendrum wallichii lies in the color of their flower stalk and a slight variation in their growth habits, though both share similar overall characteristics.

  • ⭐️ Clerodendrum schmitii - also known as Chains of Glory or Light Bulb Flower, is a rare species that features elegant white, fragrant flowers held in loose, pendulous panicles. These blooms are showy against the plant's dark green foliage and typically hang down a foot and a half or more. This winter bloomer often has two flowering periods during the season and is distinguished by its striking red stems, adding a touch of drama to its graceful form.

  • ⭐️ Clerodendrum wallichiii, also known as Bridal Veil, has a similar cascading growth habit with fragrant white flowers in loose panicles, which appear around Thanksgiving. The flowers are beautiful, but the key difference is in its green stems. This plant grows up to 7 feet tall and has narrow, pointed leaves. It blooms from fall to spring, preferring to be protected from wind and hot afternoon sun.

  • ⭐️ While both plants feature fountain-like shapes and are covered in flowers during the winter to spring season, the red flower stalks of Clerodendrum schmitii and the green ones of Clerodendrum wallichii set them apart.


🎥 Clerodendrum schmitii - Chains of Glory, Light Bulb Flower.
More pictures in next post ⬇️

📚 More about Clerodendrums in previous posts:

🛍 Shop Clerodendrums

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