Can you name all the fruits on this tray? One of them will stump you!
Papaya, Avocado, Egyptian guava and Cas guava, Barbados cherry, Peanut butter fruit
Can you name all the fruits on this tray? One of them will stump you!
🥭 This morning I walked the garden and came back with a tray of fruits! That’s the joy of living in Florida with your own tropical garden: something new is always in season.
Garlic Vine, Dombeya - Tropical Hydrangea, Brunfelsia Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Fountain Clerodendrum, Tibouchina grandifolia - Glory bush, Chinese hat, Barleria - Philippine violet, Thunbergia - Kings Mantle, Eranthemum - Blue Sage or Lead Flower, Petrea vine - Queens wreath
🌷 Ten shrubs you need to have for winter colors
Many snowbirds ask what to plant when they’re here just for the season. The answer is simple: go for trees and shrubs that bloom in winter. Fall is the perfect time to get them in the ground so your garden will be bursting with flowers once the cool season arrives. In our earlier video, we shared 8 best flowering trees that will bloom for you in Winter. Now, here are the shrubs that will complete your colorful winter garden.
🌷 1. Mansoa alliacea - Garlic Vine
Known for its garlicky scent, it also puts on clusters of lavender to purple flowers in cool weather. Reliable and eye-catching, often trained on fences or trellises. 👉plant it
🌷 2. Dombeya wallichii - Tropical Hydrangea
Large pink pompom clusters hang like lanterns from the branches. Sweetly fragrant and showy, it creates a hydrangea effect right in winter. 👉plant it
🌷 3. Brunfelsia pauciflora Compacta - Dwarf Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
Small and manageable, it opens purple flowers that fade to lavender and then white, giving the look of three colors at once. A cheerful winter bloomer for pots or borders. 👉plant it
🌷 4. Clerodendrum minahassae - Fountain Clerodendrum
This shrub lives up to its name with cascades of long white flower sprays, blooming heavily in the cooler months and brightening shaded corners. 👉plant it
🌷 5. Tibouchina multiflora (grandifolia) - Glory bush, Quaresmeira
Covered in clusters of soft, fuzzy purple blooms, this shrub adds tropical flair during the cooler months. Its velvety leaves are ornamental year-round. 👉plant it
🌷 6. Holmskioldia sanguinea - Red Chinese hat
Cup-shaped bracts form red “hats” around small flowers. This shrub stands out with unique form and long-lasting blooms. 👉plant it
🌷 7. Barleria cristata - Philippine violet
A hardy shrub with masses of purple-violet blooms in the cool season. It flowers when many plants are quiet, adding dependable winter color. 👉plant it
🌷 8. Thunbergia erecta - King’s Mantle
A compact shrub with velvety purple blooms and bright yellow throats. It’s neat, easy to manage, and flowers generously in winter. 👉plant it
🌷 9. Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage, Lead Flower
Few shrubs can match its electric-blue spikes of flowers in winter. Compact and low-care, it brings a rare color to the cool season garden. 👉plant it
🌷 10. Petrea volubilis (racemosa) - Queen’s wreath
A woody vine-shrub that bursts into cascading sprays of lavender stars. It flowers heavily in winter, resembling wisteria in the tropics. 👉plant it 🛒 Explore Winter bloomers
🥭 Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot!
🍒 If you dream of picking fresh tropical fruit - Mango, Avocado, exotiс Annona and more - but only have a patio, balcony, or small yard, you’re not out of luck. Many tropical fruit trees grow perfectly well in large containers. The key is choosing the right variety, pot, and care routine.
🍒 Pick a compact tree type Start with a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety. Regular tropical trees can grow huge, but container-sized cultivars stay under 8–10 feet and are much easier to manage. For example, Condo varieties of Mango like Pickering or Ice Cream stay small and still produce full-sized fruit. The same goes for Dwarf Avocados like Wurtz (also called Little Cado) and Sugar apples. Blackberry Jam fruit tree (Randia formosa) and Peanut Butter Fruit tree (Bunchosia argentea) are also excellent choices.
🍒 Choose the right pot Begin with a 5-gallon container and move up as the tree grows. A mature plant will be happy in a 20–25-gallon pot. Drainage is critical - roots will rot if the pot stays soggy. Use a sturdy plastic, ceramic, or wooden container with multiple holes in the bottom.
🍒 Soil and watering These trees all like loose, well-draining soil. Mix potting soil with perlite or pine bark for better aeration. Water deeply but not too often - let the top few inches dry before watering again. Overwatering is the quickest way to kill a potted tropical.
🍒 Light and feeding Full sun is a must - aim for at least 6 hours daily. Fertilize during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree or slow-release fertilizer like Green Magic or liquid Sunshine Boosters. Many tropicals appreciate an extra boost of micronutrients like iron and magnesium to keep their leaves green.
🍒 Cold protection and pruning If you live where winters get chilly, move the pot indoors or into a greenhouse before frost. Prune lightly in spring to keep shape and airflow. Container trees can fruit heavily if given light, warmth, and consistent care.
At the end of the day, container culture lets you grow the tropics anywhere - from a city balcony to a backyard deck.
Welcome to our new Telegram
Channel!
We finally did it, and excited to connect with all of you on this amazing
platform. After using Telegram for a few years for both business and personal
communications, we realized it is a winner of the modern Social Media!
In Top Tropicals Telegram Channel
you will find much more than on our website or Newsletter: Fun Plant Facts,
Nature Wonders, Amazing Plant Videos, Gardening How-to Tips, Exotic Recipes,
Contests, Sweepstakes, Give-aways and so much more. Plus, of course, your
favorite PeopleCats!
Telegram is a messaging app with
a focus on speed and security, it's super-fast, simple and free. You can
use Telegram on all your devices at the same time - your messages sync
seamlessly across any number of your phones, tablets or computers. It's perfect for
sharing your comments, photos, videos, even making calls.
You can watch news, browse your interest, message to friends and
colleagues, save your files, create groups, make phone calls, and the most amazing
thing - Telegram works where nothing else works, no WiFi or cell service! It
proved to be more reliable than any other apps and (surprise!) even works in
airplane without wifi connection - proved!
The platform has its own cloud and offers limitless storage. And the
last and not least - it's ad-free! Telegram is free and will stay free - no ads,
no subscription fees, forever. It's a clean, clear and easy to use for all
ages and applications. Try it yourself and discover how easy and pain-free it
is!
Telegram is for everyone who wants fast and reliable
messaging and calls.
See you in Telegram!
Discover the cool story of Scott Riddle, a well-known plant enthusiast with a
popular YouTube channel dedicated to his tropical plant collection. In this video, Scott shares his firsthand experience with our Sunshine micro-element kit, designed to enhance the cold hardiness of
plants.
Living in the unpredictable climate of the California mountains, where he
cultivates tropical plants in a zone higher than recommended, Scott faced the challenge of unexpected freezes. The boosters hopefully will
be a game-changer for him, reinforcing his plants for the winter season. This insightful and
detailed video is a valuable resource for anyone engaged in zone-pushing, aiming
to fortify their tropical plants against the rigors of challenging weather conditions.
Here at Top Tropicals, we have already applied two pre-winter treatments of Sunshine Power-Si formula, in combination with the bio-stimulant Sunshine Epi and micro-elements. One in November, the second one in
the beginning of December. So far, after a couple of cold nights, the plants still look happy. Stay warm and get prepared!"
