Date: 17 Sep 2025
Mulberry Care and Growing Tips
Mulberries are tough, low-maintenance fruit trees that adapt to many conditions.
- Climate: Hardy from USDA zone 5 to 10.
- Soil: Grow well in almost any soil; prefer good drainage.
- Watering: Regular watering during dry spells; drought tolerant once etablished.
- Growth: 3–5 feet per year, producing fruit early.
- Pruning: Annual pruning controls size and improves branching.
- Pot culture: Dwarf types thrive in containers, staying 6–7 feet tall. Use a large pot, water consistently, and prune lightly. Use Abundance potting mix for best results.
- Fertilizer: For reliable production, fertilizer regularly. Apply Sunshine C-Cibus liquid booster with every watering, or Green Magic controlled release fertilizer every 5-6 months.
❓ Mulberry FAQ
How soon will a mulberry fruit?
One to two years, sometimes the very first season.
What climates are suitable?
USDA zones 5–10, from -20F winters to hot summers.
How tall do they get?
Standard trees 20–30 ft; dwarfs 6–10 ft in pots.
Do I need more than one tree?
No, they are self-pollinating.
What do they taste like?
Sweet and juicy, like a blend of blackberry and raspberry.
How long is the harvest?
Everbearing types ripen gradually from summer into fall.
Do birds eat them?
Yes, but trees are so productive there’s plenty to share.
Are they messy?
Dark-fruited varieties can stain; white mulberries do not.
Can I grow them in containers?
Yes, dwarf types (Dwarf Everbearing, Issai) fruit well in pots.
How long do they live?
Many live for decades; Illinois Everbearing can endure for generations.
What are the health benefits?
Mulberries are low-glycemic, support healthy blood sugar, improve heart health, and are rich in antioxidants.
Date: 24 Nov 2025
One fruit on this tray always stumps people
Tropical fruit on a tray
One fruit on this tray always stumps people
- 🍉 Another day, another fruit tray from the garden! Even at the end of November, something is always ripening here in Florida. This tray turned out especially fun - a mix of familiar fruits and a couple that always make people guess twice!
- 🍉 Today’s harvest includes: sweet Persimmons, Star fruit, a few different dragon fruits: yellow Palora and white with red skin - this is Seoul Kitchen. There's also Cocoplum, which makes great drinks. And - ta-da! - the little showstopper of the day: Curly Locks Orchid Cactus fruit (Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa). It looks wild, but it's edible and tastes like a tiny dragon fruit.
- 🍉 If you live in Florida or any warm climate, growing your own fruit is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Tropical fruit trees are generous plants - they don’t wait for a season, they give you something month after month. Some days it’s a handful, some days it’s a whole tray, but there’s always a fresh treat waiting. Once you start growing your own food, you realize how easy and rewarding it is to fill your garden with flavor.
- 🍉 Every tray has a new surprise. Come along and see what the garden gives us next!
🛒 Explore rare tropical fruit
📚 Learn more:
- Can you name all the fruits on this tray?
- Weird cactus looks like pasta with Dragon Fruit
- Cocoplum: secret fruit in your hedge
- Pitaya vs Dragon fruit - what is the difference and how to grow it?
- How soon will Persimmon tree fruit?
- 10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes
- Top 10 fast-fruiting trees
#Food_Forest #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 27 Nov 2025
🎃 Thanksgiving Weekend Deal
Photo above: A long-blooming holiday classic, Schlumbergera New Deal, an heirloom Thanksgiving-to-Christmas cactus with cascades of oversized pink flowers. Blooms from Thanksgiving through Easter!
As our way of saying thank you for growing with us all year long, here is your exclusive holiday code. Use it for 15% off any order over $100 (excluding shipping and handling):
THANKS2025
Ends November 30th, 2025 (Sunday) at midnight.
Min order $100 (exculuding S/H).
One use per customer.
Cannot be combined with other discounts.
Cannot be applied to previous orders.
Check out our specials below - hand-picked by our horticulturist for size, beauty, and vigor! These are the biggest, fullest plants you'll see all year! Take advantage of this Holiday discount code and get them now at their best and fullest point!
Gloxinia sylvatica - Bolivian Sunset. A perfect fall-winter standout: it bursts with glowing blooms and makes a great holiday gift as a flowering start.
Date: 29 Nov 2025
What will bloom for you in November: Gardenia nitida - Shooting Star
Gardenia nitida - Shooting Star
Gardenia nitida - Shooting Star
⭐️ What will bloom for you in November: Gardenia nitida - Shooting Star
- ⭐️ It's end of November and let's see what's in bloom today. Gardenia nitida - the Shooting Star Gardenia - is looking absolutely perfect right now. This is one of the most unusual gardenias you’ll ever run into. Native to tropical Africa, slow-growing, elegant, and honestly… it doesn’t even look like the regular gardenias people are used to.
- ⭐️ The leaves are the first giveaway. Instead of the thick, waxy look of common gardenias, this one has big, soft, diamond-shaped leaves that give the whole plant a delicate, almost tropical-orchid vibe. The shrubs grow into neat, rounded shapes, so they do great in containers or smaller garden spaces.
- ⭐️ And the blooms… they’re happening right now! Long, skinny white tubes that flare open into bright little starbursts. They show up in clusters, and when the sun hits them, they really do look like tiny shooting stars across the plant. The fragrance is sweet, rich, and drifting all over the walkway even before you get close.
- ⭐️ It blooms several times a year, but this moment - right now, heading into winter - is one of its best. If you like rare fragrant plants, this is one of those collector pieces you don’t see every day, especially looking this full and this fresh.
🛒 Get the Shooting Star to light up your garden in Winter
📚 Learn more:
More about Gardenia nitida from Plant Encyclopedia
📱 Watch YouTube short videos:
- ✦ You thought you knew Gardenias, until you saw this one
- ✦ Shooting Star Gardenia: a rare scent from Africa
#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 5 Jan 2026
☘️ What plants are easy to ship in Winter?
Ordering plants in winter is often easier than people expect - and for many plants, it is actually better. Lush foliage plants like philodendrons and medinilla, fine-leaved trees such as moringa, jacaranda, and poinciana, and even sensitive fruit trees like papaya, jackfruit or starfruit ship more safely in cool weather without overheating stress.
Winter is also ideal for subtropical and cold-tolerant plants, dormant or deciduous plants like plumeria and adenium, orchids - including ground orchids and vanilla orchids, and winter bloomers that flower their best right now. Winter care is simple: water less, use gentle liquid amino-acid fertilizers like Sunshine Boosters, and monitor insects.
In mild climates, many tropicals can be planted anytime, while extra-tender plants can stay potted until spring. Winter is a perfect time to bring tropical warmth indoors and enjoy greenery when you need it most.
🌿Learn more: easy plants for Winter shipping