Flowering plant for a front yard

Q: I need your expertise. I had a plant in the front of my house that when I moved in (two years ago) wasn't doing well. It was infested with grasshoppers and snails. I treated it with a pesticide and fertilizer and it flourished. Had beautiful flowerings and was almost the size of the mulch area. Then the property management company hired some terrible grass cutters that I believed destroyed it. I would come home and find the red mulch and leaves from the plant all over the front lawn. And since then it has gone down hill. I am attaching a picture. As of now the larger of the remaining two trunks (out of six that were there) is falling over and it doesn't seem to be doing well. So I was wondering if you can recommend a nice plant that I can replace this one with. Nothing extravagant but nice enough to fill in that area. Also since I only lease here don't want to get to pricey either. Thanks for any advice and plants you have.

A: The plant you have is called Spider Lily. It is one of the easiest landscape plants that doesn't require much care and is great for low maintenance yards. In your case, besides possible damage from the grass cutter, looks like the plant is very old judging by the thick woody stem. It is not a bad idea to replace it with something more pretty rather than trying to baby it. Other suggestions for this location would be something easy and low maintenance, especially if you don't have reliable sprinkler system in that area of your yard and don't want to spend time hand-watering with a house:
Sweet mimosa - grows into very large bush, Pony tail, Dwarf poinciana, Powderpuff, Clusia, Devils backbone (smaller bush 3 ft tall), Cordyline, Ti leaf - these are very colorful.
There are more low maintenance plants you can chose from.
And always remember that traditional "landscapers" that only mow grass, may not be experts on plants. You may always call TopTropicals Garden Doctor and get professional help with keeping your plants healthy. We are always here to help your garden!

After Super Bowl Sale

Chill out and relax by planting a tree! We just watched the most exciting Super Bowl ever... What a game! It was the greatest comeback in Super Bowl in history. Now it is time to let Top Tropicals help give your garden a great comeback too. Relax, have some peaceful happy time, and nothing can be better than planting a tree!

The best tree ever, by many features is a Mango tree. Here at least 5 reasons why:
1. Mango tree is good for beginners since it has low maintenance requirements, including low water needs.
2. Mango tree is easy to ship.
3. Mango tree is a great present.
4. Mango tree is a rewarding fruit tree that will produce fruit for you the same or next year - all our varieties are grafted and ready to bloom.
5. Mango tree produces the most delicious fruit in the world. The sweetest, flavorful, fiberless varieties can be only tasted from home gardens - they simply are not available from grocery stores due to transportation reasons (only fiborous low quality fruit can be safely shipped and stored).

Take advantage of this generous 25% off offer and get yourself a mango tree:
- Dwarf varieties, "Condo" mangoes, great for containers: Carrie, Cogshall, Ice Cream, Julie, Lancetilla, Lemon Meringue, Mallika, Nam Doc Mai, Pickering.
- Large, fast growing, vigorous trees that will quickly create shade and comfort in your garden: Bailey's Marvel, East Indian, Haden, Jakarta, Philippine, Southern Blush, Valencia Pride.
- Exotic collectibles that are hard to find and almost nobody has, be a proud owner of delicious exotic flavors: Alampur Baneshan, Alphonso, Choc Anon (Miracle), Heidi, Maha Chinook, Pim Seng Mun.

Happy planting, end enjoy your fruit soon! See all varieties (for backorder items, add to your wishlist and you will be notified when available, very soon!)

Hurry up, WHILE THE STOCK LASTS! Offer is valid 2 days only, and expires February 9. Offer not valid for previous purchases.

Plants of Love. TopTropicals Webinars

Plants of Love - Valentines Day Sale. For Valentines day, look beyond roses for a plant that will last a lifetime! It is not a surprise that the most popular plants that has been ordered from TopTropicals for Valentines day for the past 3 years, are: Vanilla, Chocolate, Grape, Strawberry tree, Rose apple - all things you get for your Valentines!

This year we are celebrating Valentines day with our special local event - "Aphrodisiacs, or Plants of Love".

When: Saturday, February 11, 2017, from 10 am to 2 pm
Where: Toptropicals Garden Center, 13890 Orange River Blvd, Ft Myers, FL 33905
Agenda:
10:00 am - Explore the grounds: Customers can come in to look through the nursery and guided tours through gardens.
12:00 pm - Aphrodisiac plants. Class on plants used for aphrodisiacs throughout history.
1:00 pm - Plant giveaway. Must be present to win one of the aphrodisiac plants in lecture.
2:00 pm - sale ends.
Special Love Discounts for local visitors! Snacks and drinks.

Just a few examples of the most famous plants of love that we will be talking about -
Coffea arabica - in East Africa and Arabia it was a sacred beverage to African sufis. For aphrodisiac results mix in cardamom and honey.
Banisteriopsis caapi, Ayahuasca - giant liana from tropical Amazon forests psychedelic, ritual inebriant that promotes potency. Drink is made from the bark and is taken in love rituals to revive the mythical past of the tribe.
Areca catechu, Betel Nut - seeds have stimulating effect on the entire body and eros. It's a traditional aphrodosiac in Ayurvedic medicine and is counted among the eight types of pleasure in the Brahmanic tradition. It has magical and religious properties and used as an offering to the Gods.
Theobroma cacao, Chocolate - mild stimulant, beans contain aphrodisiac. Antient Indian "recipe of chocolati" will be shared at the event! Cocoa was considered the "food of gods".
Cinnamon - in Southern Asia used as stimulant, in food or massage oil for erotic stimulation.
Cola nitida, Cola nut - used in love magic, was used as currency in W Africa.
Cananga odorata, Ylang-Ylang - increases eroticism with oil inhaled. Prescribed to treat impotency and frigidity.
Butea monosperma, Flame of The Forest - is traditionally used to manage male sexual disorders.
Mimosa pudica, Sensitive Plant - significantly increases the libido and hormonal levels of testosterone.
Satureja Viminea, Kama Sutra Mint Tree - used for love gel...
- and much more!

TopTropicals Webinars. Welcome to Top Tropicals Webinar! Discover the world of Rare Plants and surround yourself with a Tropical Paradise! Our plant experts will be answering your garden questions. Our next LIVE air time is just before Valentines Day - Saturday February 11, at 2 pm ET, with a topic of... of course, Aphrodisiac Plants! Get your questions ready!

Devil Flowers - Bat Lilies - for Halloween!

Tacca. Growing Tacca is a great way to have an unusual flower or novelty plant, both indoors and out. Tacca is an exotic plant with flowers that mimic a bat in flight, deep purple (or white), with ruffled wings and long, hanging filaments. Curious, bat-like inflorescence both in shape and color, with wide spreading, wing-like bracts of rich maroon-black (some varieties have white flowers), accompanied by long trailing filaments or "whiskers"; the small black flowers are succeeded by heavy berries; corrugated olive-green leaves with oblique base surround the bloom... Those in warm areas can learn how to grow the beautiful and unique bat flower outdoors. In more seasonal areas, bat flower info says the plant and frilly flower grows vigorously indoors when it is happy with the conditions.

How to Grow Bat Flower. Growing bat flowers requires a little extra care, but blossoms of this unusual specialty plant makes it worthwhile. Large plants usually have a greater rate of success than smaller ones. Keep your bat flower away from cold temps and away from direct sun. When growing this plant outside, plant it in the shade. Care of bat flower indoors will include a shady location as well, and yearly repotting for the rapidly growing plant. This plant does not like to be root bounded. Pot up until reaching a 10- or 12-inch pot; after that, trim the roots and return to the same size pot, if desired. Well-drained soil is a must when growing Tacca bat flowers and should remain slightly moist. Soil should be light and retain moisture but never allowed to get soggy. Our special potting mix will work best for this plant.
The plant should be allowed to dry out during dormancy. Keep this in mind during its time of rest, in fall and winter. In warmer areas, bat flowers reportedly do not experience a dormant period. Fertilize monthly or every six weeks with a slow-release plant food.
For improving cold hardiness in winter, and heat tolerance in summer, apply SUNSHINE-E booster once a month. Tacca, as well as most plants with large lush foliage, responds well to such treatments, the plant will look greener, healthier, and bloom more readily.

Black Tacca and White Tacca, as well as Tacca seeds are available from our store.

Plants for happiness and joy

Plants as homeopathic remedies and happiness boosters. Many people know about health benefits of vitamin C which improves and boosts our immune system similar to SUNSHINE plant booster stimulating growth of plants. But not everybody realizes that this vitamin is responsible for overall happiness of our body, it brings many systems in balance. A number of tropical plants used in salads, as well as fruit with high content of vitamin C can play dual role in your life. You can use them as food, as well as enjoy their beautiful tropical appearance. Such plants will help you feel interest and joy in life when you feel apathetic and resigned to the situation you are in. Just to name a few:

Lychee
Barbados Cherry
Eugenias
Hibiscus Karkade

Try them out. Stay healthy and happy!