Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 4 Sep 2025

📅 Do not miss: September 6 - Fall Plant Market!

September  6,  2025  -  Fall  Plant  Market  at  Top  Tropicals

Saturday, September 6, 2025: 9 am - 4 pm

Fall is just around the corner, but Florida is still full of sunshine and growing energy! It’s one of the best times to plant - cooler days are coming, but there are still months of warmth ahead for your garden to thrive. Our nursery is bursting with big, healthy plants that grew all summer long - loaded with blooms, fruit, and lush foliage, ready to shine in your yard.
Come stroll the gardens with our PeopleCats, enjoy the most beautiful season for planting, and let us help you find the perfect picks for your space. Bring your friends and family for a weekend of fun, color, and fresh ideas - this is your moment to plant, grow, and enjoy!

Explore the Event

Event Highlights:

30% OFF online prices
FREE plant with any purchase (including Guava)
Gift bags for first 25 customers with $50+ order
Special deals on select plants
Exciting raffle prizes
Green Magic fertilizer FREE samples
The LAST PERFORMANCE of the Famous Hand Pan Lady! (She is moving from Florida)
See her previous performance at Top Tropicals - here and here.

Event discounts valid at both locations:

Ft Myers Garden Center: 13890 Orange River, Ft Myers, FL
Sebring B-Farm: 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL

to confirm attendance
RSVP on Facebook!

Date: 12 Dec 2025

🎄 Holiday Plant Market:
Saturday, Dec 13, 2025, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM 🎉

Smokey  the  tuxedo  cat  and  Sunshine  the  ginger  cat  sitting  at  a  table, 
 studying  a  Holiday  Plant  Market  flyer  with  a  notepad,  coffee  cup,  and 
 donut.

Smokey: We invited people, so we need to be prepared for the crowd.
Sunshine: I am prepared. I saw yummy donuts on the flyer.
Smokey: Of course you did, genius. You are responsible for donuts and coffee.

It is almost here. Our big end-of-season Plant Day. All year we grow the rare and unusual plants that will be featured at this event, and Saturday is the day they finally meet their new homes. The garden turns into a small holiday escape: fresh air, bright colors, music, snacks, and the PeopleCats greeting everyone like they have known you for years.

Meet PeopleCats crew in charge

TopTropicals  CatPeople:  cat  King
King
TopTropicals  CatPeople:  cat  King
Sushi
TopTropicals  CatPeople:  cat  Snitch
Snitch
TopTropicals  CatPeople:  cat  Paisley
Paisley
TopTropicals  CatPeople:  cat  Persephone
Persephone
TopTropicals  CatPeople:  cat  Loki
Loki

Why you should come

It is December in Florida - warm breeze, sunshine, and perfect planting weather. While the rest of the country is scraping frost off windshields, you're choosing which banana tree to take home. Come enjoy a colorful Saturday surrounded by plants, music, snacks, and friendly PeopleCats. This is your holiday escape, your plant-hunting adventure, and your chance to bring home something amazing before the season ends.

Not Local?

Not everyone is lucky enough to live close by. For our online customers, here is 20% for online orders:

EVENT2025

Valid for online orders only. Minimum order $120 (excluding shipping and handling). Cannot be combined with any other discounts, coupon codes, automatic promotions, or special offers. Not valid on previous purchases. One use per customer. Code must be entered at checkout. Offer valid through the end of Sunday, 12/14/2025

Learn more about the event

🛒 Go Shopping

Date: 12 Mar 2026

❄️Cold-Hardy Avocados and Fruit Trees

Three  year  old  macadamia  tree  after  three  nights  of  25F  hard  freeze  in 
 February  2026,  showing  healthy  foliage.

3 year old macadamia tree after 3 nights of hard freeze in February 2026 - standing strong.

Earlier in early February we had a rough stretch at the B-Farm in Sebring. Three nights around 25°F with steady wind. Weather like that quickly shows which plants actually belong in Zone 9 and which ones only look good on paper.

Once things warmed up and we could see the real results, a few clear winners stood out. All of the macadamias handled the cold surprisingly well. The grumichamas stayed solid. And the cold-hardy avocado varieties again proved why gardeners rely on them in borderline climates.

Instead of listing every tropical plant that might survive a freeze, we decided to keep things practical and focus on the ones that actually went through this cold spell and that we currently have in stock.

If you garden in USDA Zone 8b-9, these are the kinds of trees that make winter a lot less stressful.

📖Read the full article: 2026 Freeze Guide: Cold-Hardy Avocados and Fruit Trees.



📚 Learn more:

Add Cold Hardy Avocado Tree to your garden

Date: 30 Apr 2026

Real Footage of a Turtle Laying Eggs

Turtle Laying Eggs

🐢 Real Footage of a Turtle Laying Eggs

She didn’t know she was being filmed!

***
Who was sitting on the bench,
Who was staring down the street -
It was evening time, you know,
Nothing much for us to do.

Then we noticed something strange:
There’s a turtle in our range!
In the dandelions she sits,
Looking serious, not a bit.

With her paws scraped the sand,
Spotted shell, so wide and grand,
In a secret little nook
Hid her treasure, no one looked!

That’s some news - the finest class!
That is one!
Laid her eggs at early dawn -
That is two!
And third thing, the mother dear
Covered them with sand right here.

Soon the babies will appear -
Watch, but don’t rush, keep it clear!
We then covered them with leaves,
So they’d rest in quiet peace.

There!

Well, we’ve got something cool at home!
What about you?
And we’ve got treasure in our yard!
What about you?

🐈📸 A Turtle friend is laying eggs at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden.

#PeopleCats

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 21 Apr 2026

13 tropical flowers to plant in spring to attract pollinators year around

13 tropical flowers to plant in spring to attract pollinators year around: Abutilon Fireball (Abutilon darwinii x striatum), Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata), Calico Flower (Aristolochia littoralis), Pride of De Kaap (Bauhinia galpinii), Mexican Bird of Par

13 tropical flowers to plant in spring to attract pollinators year around: Abutilon Fireball (Abutilon darwinii x striatum), Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata), Calico Flower (Aristolochia littoralis), Pride of De Kaap (Bauhinia galpinii), Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana), Red Tassel Flower (Calliandra tweedii With Love), Giant Milkweed (Calotropis gigantea), Blue Butterfly (Clerodendrum ugandense), Tropical Hydrangea (Dombeya wallichii), Fire Bush (Hamelia patens), Butterfly Orchid

13 tropical flowers to plant in spring to attract pollinators year around



Spring is when everything wakes up - and if you plant smart now, your garden can stay alive with butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds all year long. The key is mixing tropical bloomers that flower in waves, not all at once. These plants don’t just look good - they keep pollinators coming back season after season, turning your yard into a living, moving ecosystem.
  • 1. Abutilon Fireball (Abutilon darwinii x striatum)


    Bell-shaped flowers in warm red and orange tones hang like little lanterns. Very cold hardy, blooms on and off through the year, especially in mild climates. A steady nectar source for hummingbirds. More 👉
  • 2. Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata)


    Light, airy clusters of tiny white flowers with a strong almond scent. Bees absolutely cover this plant when it’s in bloom. Flowers repeatedly through warm months. More 👉
  • 3. Calico Flower (Aristolochia littoralis)


    One of the most unusual flowers you can grow - patterned like fabric. More importantly, it’s a host plant for butterflies, giving them a place to lay eggs. More 👉
  • 4. Pride of De Kaap (Bauhinia galpinii)


    Bright orange-red blooms cover this shrub for months. Tough, fast-growing, and constantly visited by butterflies and bees. More 👉
  • 5. Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana)


    Sunny yellow flowers with a light fragrance. Handles heat, freeze, and poor soil easily. A reliable nectar plant for bees and butterflies. More 👉
  • 6. Red Tassel Flower (Calliandra tweedii With Love)


    Very showy red-flowered powderpuff, fast-growing and spacey shrub. Cold tolerant to hard freeze, making it a strong choice for subtropical gardens. Forms a dense, many-stemmed plant with fine, feathery foliage that folds at night or by touch. Large scarlet tassel flowers bloom from spring to autumn and attract pollinators nonstop. More 👉
  • 7. Giant Milkweed (Calotropis gigantea)


    A bold plant with thick leaves and waxy flowers. Important host plant for butterflies, especially monarchs. Handles heat and drought well. More 👉
  • 8. Blue Butterfly (Clerodendrum ugandense)


    Flowers really do look like little blue butterflies. Blooms frequently and attracts actual butterflies along with bees. More 👉
  • 9. Tropical Hydrangea (Dombeya wallichii)


    Large clusters of soft pink flowers appear in cooler months when little else is blooming. A major nectar source in winter. More 👉
  • 10. Fire Bush (Hamelia patens)


    One of the best all-around pollinator plants and a tough bush - takes both cold and heat. Tubular orange-red flowers attract hummingbirds nonstop, plus butterflies and bees. More 👉
  • 11. Butterfly Orchid Vine (Mascagnia macroptera)


    A climbing, cold hardy vine covered in bright yellow flowers and butterfly-like seeds. Great for fences or trellises, adding vertical color and feeding pollinators. More 👉
  • 12. Mexican Flame Vine (Senecio confusus)


    Fast-growing, hardy vine with intense red blooms. Flowers heavily and brings in butterflies quickly. More 👉
  • 13. Yellow Elder (Tecoma stans)


    Bright yellow trumpet flowers that bloom over a long season. A dependable plant for both bees and hummingbirds. More 👉


✔️ Planting a mix of these gives you something in bloom almost every month.
That’s the real trick - not just planting for spring, but building a rotation of flowers that keeps pollinators fed all year long.

🛒 Transform your yard into a Butterfly Haven with exotic plants

📚 Learn more:


#Butterfly_Plants
Butterfly Haven or a Heaven on Earth?
Top 20 plants for a Butterfly Haven
Five best butterfly attractors for a Southern garden
Top Eight irresistible vines for a hummingbird haven: Part 1 - Part 2

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #How_to #Discover

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