Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 24 Jun 2018

TopTropicals

Avocado, Lychee and Mango setting fruit... give them some FOOD!

Q: Do I need to fertilize tropical fruit when they set fruit?

A: It is traditionally believed that mango and other tropical fruit shouldn't be fertilized during fruiting period. It is true to an extent: you don't want fruit to burst from fast excessive growing. Instead, try to feed fruit trees wisely, because they still need proper nutrition to produce flowers and fruit.
Our spring specials of Lychee, Avocado and Mango are full of buds and some already set tiny fruit (see examples on the photo). Here is the feeding plan for these plants once you receive your mail order:
1) Once received the plant, pot it into container size of the root ball and let establish for couple weeks. Use SUNSHINE-E to help the plant recover from shipping stress and establish root system.
2) Apply SUNSHINE-Honey right before flowering, and next time at setting fruit, to provide sweeter and bigger fruit, eliminate fruit cracks and help resist fungus and other fruit diseases.
3) Use balanced granulated fertilizer, 1 tsp per each gallon of soil. Apply once a month during Spring-Summer season. This gives the plant balanced macro-elements (NPK) necessary for overall plant health. Do not use on fruit trees fertilizers with high Nitrogen content.
4) Apply SUNSHINE SuperFood micro-element booster to keep fruit trees vigorous, develop strong root system and avoid deficiencies.
5) In case of signs of chlorosis (yellowing leaves with darker veins), give the tree SUNSHINE-GreenLeaf and watch the leaves turning green quickly.
After harvesting, don't forget to make another treatment of SUNSHINE-Honey as a preparation for the next year flowering and fruiting season.

Date: 23 Nov 2025

🏡 To Use Your Garden Or Be Used By It

Two  cats  in  a  garden  planting  a  young  tree.  Smokey,  a  black-and-white 
 tuxedo  cat,  holds  a  small  shovel  and  works  the  soil,  while  Sunshine,  a 
 fluffy  orange  tabby,  sits  smiling  beside  a  bag  of  garden 
 soil.

Smokey and Sunshine November Planting.

Smokey: Winter roots make spring easy. Keep that plant straight.
Sunshine: I am keeping it straight by not touching it at all.
Smokey: That is exactly what I was afraid of.

November is the month when the garden finally stops yelling at you. The heat backs off, the bugs calm down, and the weeds take a breath. This is when we get to take control again. And as gardeners, we know the truth: Either you use your garden, or your garden will use you in spring. Let me walk you through this, gardener to gardener.

"November is when the garden finally listens. Give it a little direction now, shape it, guide it, and prepare it for spring. It will reward you all year." - Tatiana Anderson, Top Tropicals Plant Expert

🌴 When The Garden Uses You

We have all lived this scene:

  • March weeds appear, and two days later it looks like a jungle.
  • One missed watering turns into five wilted plants and a full week of recovery.
  • A skipped feeding shows up as yellow leaves and panic searching online.
  • Bugs return fast, and suddenly you are washing leaves every other day.
  • Random plant purchases fill your yard with chaos and mismatched care needs.
  • When the garden takes control, spring feels like hard work, not joy.

An  overgrown  tropical  garden  with  dense  foliage  and  vines  spilling  over
    a  walkway,  showing  how  a  garden  can  take  over  when  not  maintained.

Overgrown Tropical Garden Showing How a Garden Can Use You

📊 When You Use Your Garden

November flips the script. Plants slow down. Soil stays warm. This is the safest month to experiment, move plants, fix mistakes, and redesign.

What you do now pays off huge in March.

  • You map out sun zones and shade zones.
  • You mulch now so weeds do not explode later.
  • You move plants to better positions without heat stress.
  • You remove the high-drama plants before they start another season of complaints.
  • You pick what you want for next year instead of letting impulse buys rule you.

Spring becomes smooth instead of overwhelming. And honestly? It feels good to walk outside in March and see order instead of chaos.

A  neat,  organized  tropical  garden  with  trimmed  plants,  open  pathways, 
 and  balanced  landscaping,  showing  how  a  gardener  can  use  and  direct  the 
 garden.

In the photo: Every garden starts in small steps. Biquinho Pepper (front) in the garden.

What Benefit Do You Get Personally?

  • Less watering.
  • Fewer bugs.
  • Bigger fruit.
  • Better flowering.
  • Less money wasted.
  • Less time fixing problems you could have prevented now.

This is why experienced tropical gardeners adore November.

Garden

In the photo: Organized Tropical Garden. Firebush (lemon gold variety) and Cordylines (Ti Leaf) make colorful spots in the garden.

🐭 Start With Something Small Today (5 Minutes)

Pick one:

  • Add mulch to the driest spot in your yard.
  • Cut one dead branch from any tree.
  • Move one pot to a better sun angle.
  • Pull three weeds from the worst area.
  • Water deeply once this week.

Small steps now save hours later.

⭐ One Short Story

Last year we planted a Star Fruit in November. By March, it was already covered in flowers, and have been harvesting fruit non-stop since then! That is what winter planning does: it gives plants a head start you can actually see.

Young  Carambola  Star  Fruit  tree  fruiting

🐍 Plants That Will Use You If You Let Them

These are great plants, but only if you plan before planting them:

  • Banana (thirsty)
  • Hibiscus (hungry)
  • Brugmansia (sensitive)
  • Passion vine (takes over anything it touches)

Place them wrong, and they become full-time jobs.

An  overgrown  passion  vine  covering  a  garden  swing,  showing  how  a 
 fast-growing  plant  can  take  over  when  not  maintained.

In the photo: Passion Vine taking over the swing.

🐰 Plants That Work For You

These feel like free upgrades to the yard:

Pick even one of these and your garden starts giving back.

A  landscaped  garden  path  with  a  Cattley  Guava  tree  featuring  a  twisted 
 multicolor  trunk,  surrounded  by  trimmed  tropical  plants  and  decorative 
 garden 
 elements.

In the photo: Cattley Guava brings not only tasty fruit but also a wonderful character with its amazing multi-color twisted trunk.

🌡️ November Advantage

You cannot ruin anything in November. This is the safest, calmest month to shape your garden the way you want. If you act now, spring becomes a victory lap. If you wait, spring becomes a rescue mission.

A  landscaped  tropical  garden  with  a  potted  Adenium  in  full  bloom,  red 
 Cordylines  behind  it,  and  neat  mulched  beds  with  decorative  garden 
 elements.

In the photo: Adenium is a colorful accent in the garden.

💐 Thanksgiving Tie-In

This is the season to reset, breathe, and be thankful for your outdoor space. A garden that works for you is one of the best gifts you can give yourself going into the new year.

Start your November plan today. Use your garden. Do not let it use you.

A  neatly  designed  tropical  garden  bed  featuring  Megaskepasma,  iris, 
 Colocasia,  colorful  Crotons,  Dracaena,  and  Ti  Leaf  plants  arranged  in 
 mulched 
 landscaping.

In the photo: Megaskepasma, Iris, Colocasia, Crotons, Dracaena and Ti Leaf bring instant tropical look to your garden.

Shop Fruit trees

Shop Flowering shrubs

Date: 1 Jan 2026

Customer appreciation moment

Cats Smokey and Sunshine reading customers letters

Cats Smokey and Sunshine reading customers letters

Customer appreciation moment



"Dear Smokey and Sunshine, thank you for your recent newsletter 2026 Gardening Resolution That Actually Works.
I laughed, smiled so right and funny with my coffee!"
- Sheryl

Smokey: Look, Sunshine. Customer comments. They like us.
Sunshine: Of course. Because of my coffee and donuts advice.
Smokey and Sunshine: Thank you for your kind words and support. Gardening together with you makes this all worth it.

🎉 Happy New Year!


Here’s to a fresh calendar, happy plants, curious cats, and lots of good garden moments ahead.
Let’s make it a fun, green, slightly muddy one 🌿😺

💌 Top Tropicals Newsletter cats Smokey and Sunshine reminding you:

  • ✦ Make sure to subscribe to our Newsletter to stay informed of our New Arrivals, Happy Gardening Tips, Events, and discount coupons
  • ✦ Check out our Blog for daily news, plants and cats

#PeopleCats

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Date: 29 Jan 2026

How to make Sapodilla fruit profusely?

Sapodilla - Manilkara or Achras zapota, the Brown Sugar Fruit

🍊 How to make Sapodilla fruit profusely?



Sapodilla - Manilkara or Achras zapota), the Brown Sugar Fruit is a warm-climate evergreen fruit tree that can produce a lot of fruit once conditions are right. So why do so many sapodilla trees grow beautifully, flower heavily, and still refuse to set fruit?

Sapodilla Fruit Production - What Really Matters

1. 🌳 Choose the Right Tree
Grafted or air-layered trees fruit much sooner - typically in 1-2 years - and more reliably than seedlings, which may take 6–8+ years.
Some varieties are more profuse producers than others. For example, Silas Woods is virtually everbearing, Hasya is commercial prolific producer, Oxkutzcab (or Ox) -is also heavily productive (learn more about varieties).

2. ☀️ Environment: Heat, Sun & Water Balance

Temperature and Humidity
Excessive heat above 90F and low humidity can cause flowers to dry up and fall before setting fruit.
Solution: Provide filtered light or shade during the hottest part of the day to reduce heat stress on blossoms.

Water
Sapodillas are drought tolerant, but consistent moisture during flowering and fruit set improves fruit retention.
Avoid waterlogged conditions - soggy soil can stress roots and reduce yield.

Sun Exposure
Full sun is best for growth and flowering - but for hot climates, protection during peak afternoon heat helps reduce flower drop.
Young trees can also suffer sunburn.

3. Fertilization: Feed for Fruit, Not Just Foliage
Good nutrition is critical for flowers to turn into fruit. Apply a routine feed through the growing/flowering season - contolled-release (Green Magic) or liquid (Sunshine C-Cibus) both work.
Balanced fertilizer with trace elements like Boron (B), Molybdenum (Mo), Iron (Fe), and Copper (Cu) is essential for fruit set and development. Boron & Molybdenum deficiency as a frequent cause of flower/fruit drop in container-grown trees (nutrients get depleted quickly in pots).
Micro-nutrient sprays 2-3 times per year help improve fruit retention and quality. Some growers use sugar boosters (Sunshine Honey) or micronutrient blends that include Mo & B to help fruit set (Sunshine Superfood).

4. 🐝 Pollination - Often Overlooked
Sapodilla flowers are small and often require pollinators for best fruit set.
In some regions, small insects like thrips are key pollinators.
In places with low insect activity, hand pollination dramatically increases fruit set - brushing pollen from one flower to another with a small paintbrush during peak bloom times can help.
Placing fruit scraps (apple peels/banana peels) under the tree to attract beetles is an inexpensive way to boost insect activity.

5. ✂️ Pruning and Tree Structure
Moderate pruning can help open the canopy for better light penetration and air circulation, which supports flowering and reduces stress. Training young trees promotes a strong branch structure that can carry more fruit later. Sapodilla flowers on young growth (tips of the branches).

6. Pot vs Ground: Size Matters
If your sapodilla is in a container, root bound trees struggle with fruit set because roots run out of space and nutrients - stepping up to a larger container or planting in the ground can help.
Root-bound trees often bloom but fail to develop fruit.

7.

📅 Patience & Timing


Even healthy trees can take years to start fruiting well.
Trees often flower repeatedly but only set fruit when environmental conditions and pollination align - especially important for young or newly planted trees.

📌 Summary Checklist for Better Sapodilla Fruiting

  • ✔️ Choose a grafted variety (faster, more reliable fruit).
  • ✔️ Manage heat & humidity - shade during hot hours.
  • ✔️ Water consistently but avoid waterlogging.
  • ✔️ Fertilize balanced NPK + micronutrients (include B & Mo).
  • ✔️ Encourage pollination


🛒 Grow your own Sugar Fruit

📚 Learn more:


#Food_Forest

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Date: 8 Mar 2026

Happy March 8 - flowers, coffee, and cats!

Happy March 8 from cats Smokey and Sunshine

Happy March 8 from cats Smokey and Sunshine

Happy March 8 - flowers, coffee, and cats! 💐🐈🐈
  • 🌹 Today, March 8, a big part of the world celebrates International Women's Day.
  • In many European countries it is also a celebration of spring, love, and new beginnings. The day when flowers appear everywhere, small gifts are exchanged, and warm wishes are shared.
  • 🌹 Smokey and Sunshine decided they should not miss such an important occasion. Smokey arrived properly prepared with a bright bouquet, while Sunshine handled the essentials - coffee and donuts. And of course, no celebration at our place would be complete without plants.
  • 🌹 So here is a cheerful March 8 greeting from our greenhouse crew!
Happy March 8 to all - both related and non-related.
Wishing love, happiness, and many beautiful days ahead to all women and to everyone lucky enough to have them in their lives.

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