Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date: 6 Jun 2025
Adenium Sunshine
Adenium Sunshine
Adenium Sunshine
Date: 16 Nov 2019
In the photo: plants are tough survivors. Life can't be stopped even by a brick road!
Q: Just wanted to know best time of day to apply super boost as spray and watering? Only listed to make sure night temp doesn't drop below 65F...
A: As a rule of thumb, plant's needs in fertilizers are very low
in the cold season because they consume less nutrients during dormancy. For
tropical plants, when minimum temperatures drop below 65F - we stop
applications of dry (granulated) fertilizers until spring, to avoid root burn.
Liquid Sunshine Boosters are exceptions from this rule to a certain extent,
for 2 reasons:
- they are amino-acid based which means, salts do not build up in the soil,
and thus will not burn the roots even with slower plant metabolism.
- concentrations/formulas are mild and designed for as frequent as daily
watering
1) When a plant goes into full dormancy (drops leaves and does not show any new growth), you may stop fertilizing with any Macro NPK products (both dry and liquid)
2) If a plant is evergreen and continues growing during the cooler
period, and especially if it is a winter bloomer, mild liquid fertilizers can be
applied, depending on the stage of plant development.
Robusta and TotalFeed are used for vegetative growth and pre-flower.
Megaflor and C-Cibus are used for winter flowering/ fruiting plants during the bloom
stage.
See full list of liquid boosters
3) Micro-elements can be used all year round for all plants that are not dormant (do not drop leaves)
4) Always use Sunshine-Epi as a foliar spray to activate immune system and unlock protective mechanisms, BEFORE applying other boosters. It is especially important during Fall-Winter for improving cold tolerance and disease resistance.
5) Always apply foliar spray and/or drench the soil with solutions in morning hours so the plant has time to process the nutrients during daylight when metabolism is the most active.
6) Avoid any dry fertilizers during winter
Date: 5 Apr 2025
Bananas are a powerhouse of nutrition - rich in potassium for heart health, and packed with vitamins B6 and C to boost energy and immunity. They come from fast-growing, easy-care trees that thrive in warm climates or containers. Whether eaten fresh, blended, or baked, bananas are a naturally sweet and tasty treat you can grow yourself!
Ready to turn your garden into a tropical paradise and grow your own delicious bananas? Now's your chance - use our offer below!
At Top Tropicals, we've got over a dozen top banana varieties - from exotic ornamental beauties like Blood Leaf and Siam Ruby to edible showstoppers. Edible varieties range from popular, heavy-producing types like Double Mahoi to rare collector favorites like Ice Cream (Blue Java) - the kind you'll never find at the grocery store. We also carry dwarf varieties that grow just 4 feet tall but still produce full-sized fruit - perfect for containers, patios, and small spaces. Collect them all - edible, ornamental, dwarf, rare - and enjoy the fun, flavor, and beauty of growing your own banana grove.
"Growing bananas is like growing sunshine. They bring energy, beauty, and fruit to your doorstep." - said Dr. Richard Campbell, tropical fruit expert and co-creator of the condo mango concept.
Growing bananas is easy, low-maintenance, and budget-friendly. With Sunshine Boosters plant food, these tropical favorites grow fast and can start producing as soon as next season! Whether you live in the South or up North, in a house or an apartment - you can grow your own bananas in the garden, on a balcony, patio, or lanai and enjoy the taste of the tropics at home.
Get instant 10% off all bananas for 1 week only, plus extra 10% OFF sitewide with code below for qualified orders.
Additional 10% off your entire purchase (including any other plants), saving total of 20% on your Banana trees:
GOBANANAS
Min order $150, excluding S/H. Exp. 4-15-25
Hurry, offer ends April 15th!
- Top Ornamental Banana Varieties - Which One Belongs in Your Garden?
- Best Edible Bananas to Grow - Sweet, Unique, and Delicious!
- How Many Banana
Varieties Can You Grow? (More Than You Think!)
In the photo above: Sunshine Boosters are the best fertilizers for ornamental (Sunshine Robusta) and edible bananas (Sunshine C-Cibus
Date: 31 Oct 2025
🌴 Twilight in the garden. Smokey is holding a glowing pumpkin. Sunshine is sipping cocoa.
Sunshine: "Smokey, why does that plant look like it wants to fly away?"
Smokey: "That’s the Bat Lily - Tacca. It’s rare, it’s
weird, and it’s in bloom just in time for Halloween."
Sunshine: "Figures. You always find the spooky ones."
Tacca is also called the Bat Lily or Devil Flower. This tropical wonder grows bat-shaped wings and foot-long whiskers. The black form (Tacca chantrieri) looks straight out of a gothic dream, while the white one (Tacca nivea) is ghost-like and elegant.
Some of our plants are blooming right now in the nursery — true Halloween magic! Blooms are delicate and may not travel, but the plants are strong and will flower again soon in your care.
Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri) with dark maroon wings and long whiskers
White Bat Lily (Tacca nivea) in bloom with wide ivory wings
"The White Bat Lily (Tacca nivea) is bold and sculptural, with oversized
ivory wings that command attention. Its pale bracts stretch wide above
clusters
of deep maroon flowers, and long, silvery whiskers spill gracefully through
the foliage. In filtered light, the plant seems to glow from within —
elegant, crisp, and perfectly balanced between the strange and the
beautiful.
If I could pick, I’d go with the White Tacca. It feels more
architectural, more balanced — those oversized wings catch light in a
way that
shows off every vein and curve. It looks engineered by nature, almost like
an
alien design prototype that actually works.
The Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri) feels alive with shadow. Its dark
maroon wings and wiry whiskers make it look like something that fluttered
out of
the jungle at dusk. The bloom’s layered structure and near-black sheen
give it a quiet power — mysterious, understated, but impossible to
ignore. But if I were designing mood lighting for a greenhouse at night, the
Black Tacca wins. It’s subtle, mysterious, like a secret only visible
up
close. Together, they’re perfect opposites — yin and yang of the
tropical underworld: white for daylight, black for moonlight." — says
Tatiana Anderson, Top Tropicals Plant Expert
Grow your own Bat Lilies — White or Black — at a special Halloween price!
Get 25% OFF Tacca plants with code
TACCA2025
Min order $25 (excluding S/H), valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.
Hurry, offer expires November 03, 2025!
Not into spooky plants? Enjoy savings on all other tropical plants across the store!
Get 15% OFF tropical plants with code
HALLOWEEN2025
Min order $100 (excluding S/H), valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.
Hurry, offer expires November 03 2025!
Date: 10 Nov 2025
Smokey and Sunshine Wrap Up the Garden with Frost Cloth Before the Chill.
Smokey: "Thermometer says 45. Time to wrap the bananas!"
Sunshine: "You wrap the bananas. I’ll guard the mulch… from this
sunny spot."
Smokey: "Teamwork, Sunshine. Teamwork."
Even in sunny Florida and other warm zones, one cold snap can undo months of growth. Preparation is everything. Tropical plants can handle a lot, but they dislike surprises. Let’s make sure your garden stays safe, strong, and happy all winter long.
Tips from Tatiana Anderson, Top Tropicals Plant Expert
You already know which plants are in pots and which are in the ground. What matters now is prioritizing by cold sensitivity. Identify the tender tropicals – papaya, banana, plumeria, adenium, heliconia – and decide which ones get covered first when temperatures drop. Keep frost cloths or old sheets near those areas, ready to grab fast. If your garden is large, label protection zones or mark plants that always need extra care. The goal is to have a plan, not a panic, when the cold alert hits.
Once you know your priorities, you can plan the rest of your protection strategy.
Stop using high-nitrogen fertilizers by late fall. They push soft new growth that freezes easily. Add compost around the base of your plants and top with 3 to 4 inches of mulch. Mulch acts like a blanket: it keeps warmth in, protects the roots, and keeps soil moisture steady. Just make sure the soil drains well; cold and soggy soil leads to root rot. In raised beds, check that water flows away easily.
After you feed and mulch, it is time to look at how your local zone changes the game.
Moving Tropical Plants Indoors for Winter Protection
Now that the garden beds are set, let’s look at your pots and containers – your most mobile plants.
Potted plants are the easiest to protect but also the quickest to freeze. Start reducing watering now so roots do not stay too wet in cooler weather. Before moving them, check for insects hiding under leaves or in the soil. Group your pots close to a wall for reflected heat and wind protection. If you plan to bring them indoors, do it gradually. Move them closer to the house for a few days before bringing them all the way inside to help them adjust to lower light and humidity.
When the chill starts, many gardeners rush to move everything inside at once – but a smooth transition works much better.
When bringing plants inside, give them a good rinse to remove dust and bugs, and flush the soil to wash out salts from summer fertilizing. Keep them separate from your houseplants for a week to make sure no pests come along. Expect some leaf drop – it is normal as they adjust to lower light. Give them bright light near a window, and cut watering by about half until spring. Avoid misting too much; good airflow matters more than humidity during winter.
Many tropicals, like hibiscus, brugmansia, and crotons, may look tired for a while, but they will bounce back quickly once days get longer.
The key is to prepare before the first cold warning. Check your weather app regularly once nights start dropping into the 50s. Keep covers, mulch, and supplies ready so you are not running outside at midnight with a flashlight and a frozen hose. Have your frost cloths labeled by plant group and stored in an easy spot. A little organization now saves a lot of stress later.
Many tropicals, like hibiscus, brugmansia, and crotons, may look tired for a while, but they will bounce back quickly once days get longer.
Remember: the goal is to help your plants rest safely. Many gardeners prune or fertilize too late in the season – we will talk about why that can be risky next week."— says Tatiana Anderson, Top Tropicals Plant Expert
Coming next mail-list: The best gadgets for cold protection (lights, heaters, frost covers) and what NOT to do in winter.
Cold protection - winter action for your plant collection
What plants are good to order in Winter?
How to take care of house plants in Winter
How to protect tropical plants in Winter
How to take care of a mango tree in winter