🍴 Lychee sorbet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🔴Blend Lychee pulp with lime juice, freeze until firm.
• 🔴A refreshing tropical ice treat.

Lychee Sorbet Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh lychee flesh, peeled and seeded (or canned lychees, drained)
• 1/3 cup sugar or honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup cold water, as needed for blending
• Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare the lychees by peeling them, removing the seeds, and collecting the white flesh. If using canned lychees, drain them well.
2. Place the lychee flesh, sugar or honey, lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of the cold water into a blender.
3. Blend until completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick to move easily, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer safe container. Cover tightly.
5. Freeze for 2 to 3 hours, stirring with a fork every 30 to 45 minutes, until the sorbet is firm but scoopable.
6. Scoop into bowls and garnish with fresh mint leaves and extra lychee fruit if desired. Serve immediately.

🛒 Plant your Lychee tree - Litchi chinensis

📚 Learn more:

• How long until I get fruit from my Lychee tree?
• Why I can't grow a Lychee tree from a seed?
• How to grow a Lychee tree and have a reliable crop. Practical Guide to Growing Lychee.
• What are the best varieties of Lychee Tree?
• What is the best fruit in the world? How to grow your own Lychee tree.

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🎄 Do not throw out your poinsettia - 4 simple tips how to keep it alive for next Christmas

Poinsettias - Euphorbia_pulcherrima - are tender perennials, not one-season plants. After the holidays they naturally fade, rest, and regroup. With a few simple care tweaks, a healthy plant can live all year and rebloom next winter.

🎄 1. Let it rest after the holidays

• ✦ Flowering ends naturally - faded bracts and some leaf drop are normal.
• ✦ Prune when bracts fall: cut stems back by 1/3 to 1/2, leaving 4-5 inches.
• ✦ Wear gloves - the sap can irritate skin.
• ✦ Move to a cooler, bright spot for 4-6 weeks.
• ✦ Ideal temp: 55-60°F
• ✦ Reduce watering.
• ✦ Water only when the top 2 inches of soil are dry.
• ✦ Avoid soggy soil.

🎄 2. Repot in late spring

• ✦ New growth usually starts in late spring.
• ✦ Repot at this stage to refresh nutrients and give roots space.
• ✦ Use a well-draining, slightly acidic potting mix.
• ✦ Choose a pot only slightly larger, with drainage holes.
• ✦ Loosen roots gently and remove old compacted soil.
• ✦ Water lightly, then place in a bright, warm spot.
• ✦ Resume regular watering and light feeding through spring and summer.

🎄 3. Adjust care during the growing season

• ✦ Increase temperature gradually to 64-68°F.
• ✦ Water more often once growth resumes.
• ✦ Wilted or curling leaves signal thirst.
• ✦ Water thoroughly and evenly.
• ✦ Bright light is key, but avoid harsh direct sun.
• ✦ Use sheer curtains or a grow light if needed.
• ✦ Fertilize periodically with a balanced houseplant fertilizer.
• ✦ Pinch back new shoots in late spring for a fuller, bushier plant.

🎄 4. Preparing for winter color

• ✦ In fall, poinsettias need long nights to bloom.
• ✦ Provide 12-14 hours of complete darkness nightly for 6-8 weeks.
• ✦ This triggers colorful bracts in time for the holidays.

❓ Quick FAQ

Can it go outside?
Yes, in warm months only. Bring it indoors before temps drop below 50°F.

Winter outdoors?
No - poinsettias are cold-sensitive and must stay inside.

🎄 Poinsettias don't die after Christmas - they just take a nap. Give them rest, light, and patience, and they will reward you next year.

✍️ Expert reference: Homes and Gardens

🛒 Explore plants for containers

📚 Learn more:

Poinsettia - Euphorbia_pulcherrima in Plant Encyclopedia

Can Poinsettia grow for years? 5 most common mistakes with new container plants

#How_to #Container_Garden

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🌸 The most asked-about tree in the Sunshine State: Bauhinia

• 🌸 If you visit Florida in winter, chances are you will notice a tree covered in orchid-like flowers and wonder what it is. That tree is often an orchid tree, most commonly Bauhinia purpurea. It is fast growing, wide spreading, and blooms from late winter through spring, sometimes with a second round in summer. The flowers range from magenta to lavender, are lightly fragrant, and stand out even from a distance. The leaves are just as distinctive - split into two halves like butterfly wings, which is why these trees are also called butterfly trees.
• 🌸 Orchid trees are easygoing and practical. They thrive in full sun, tolerate many soil types as long as drainage is good, and need little water once established. Growth is quick, often 2–3 feet per year, making them excellent shade trees for hot climates. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and in some cultures the buds and blossoms are used in cooking, while the bark has a long history in folk remedies. Beautiful, useful, and low maintenance, orchid trees are a perfect fit for Southern landscapes.

🛒 Discover Bauhinias - Orchid trees

📚 Learn more:

Bauhinias - Orchid trees in Plant Encyclopedia

Compact Bauhinias - everblooming container trees

Cassia vs Bauhinia: which is better as an everblooming container tree?

You won’t believe this red orchid tree exists!

Rare Orchid Tree you may never find again and everyone wants

Why gardeners love the Pink Butterfly Tree: blooms, shade, and zero fuss

Napoleons Plume - Orchid Tree that blooms in a pot

How to grow Orchid Trees in pots

Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings

Why Bauhinias are called Orchid Trees: orchid flowers with butterfly wings...

Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree

Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia

#Trees

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🆓 Free shipping on Exotic Adenium Desert Roses - limited time!

🛍 One week only, all adenium desert roses ship FREE!

• 🌸 Perfect time to grab the varieties you have been eyeing or add a few more to your collection.
• 🌸 Many selections are limited and selling quickly. Orders are filled first come, first served.
• 🌸 We will pack all your adeniums together and ship them safely in one big box for you (or many boxes if that's what it takes) - with free shipping on us!
• 🌸 Don’t wait on this one. When they’re gone, they’re gone. While supply lasts.

🛒 Explore collectible Adeniums

📚 Learn more:

• · About #Adenium Rainbow - fantastic varieties
• · Why Adeniums are the most popular container plants
• · How to grow a happy Adenium
• · What is the easiest container plant with beautiful flowers
• · Multi-grafted Adenium with different colors of flowers on the same plant
• · What you need for successful growing Adeniums
• · Adenium Rainbow Video, Part 1 and Part 2
• · The First Video of Exotic Adenium Hybrids
• · What are the most beautiful desert roses
• · Which adenium is ever-blooming? Discover Flamingo Glow
• · Arrival of 1000 Adeniums

#Container_Garden #Adeniums #Shade_Garden

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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: selected plants covered with frost cloth, especially mango and young avocado trees.
Tender container plants: moved into greenhouses with propane heat above 34F.
Hardy container plants: frost cloth and wind protection only - no plastic
Nutrition support: plants fertilized regularly during the growing season with Green Magic and Sunshine Boosters to maintain vigor and hardiness.

However, the plants listed below had no protection at all.
All were established trees 2-3 years in the ground.

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

✅ Survived with no damage:

🍑 Tropical Fruit Trees and Edibles:


Citrus
Loquats
Mulberries
Macadamia Nut
Jaboticabas
Pomegranates
Avocado - cold hardy varieties
Feijoa - Pineapple Guava
Psidium littorale - Cattley Guavas
Eugenias (Grumichama, Rio Grande, Surinam and more)
Olive trees
Bay Leaf (Laurus nobilis)
Fig trees (Ficus carica)
Prunus sp - Peaches, Plums, Nectarines
Persimmons
Rubus (Blackberries) including Tropical Mysore Raspberry
Elderberry (Sambucus)
Yerba Mate - Ilex paraguariensis
Opuntia - Nopal Cactus, Prickly Pear

🌸 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:

• · To trim or not to trim? When and how to trim damaged plants after winter
• · Cold-hardy avocado varieties - what freezing they really survive
• · Cold-hardy avocado survival groups - what the numbers really mean

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

#Discover #How_to

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