Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 7 Jun 2025

From seed to fruit. How to grow Loquat from seeds, step-by-step guide. Part 2: after germination

Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) - fruit

Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) - fruit

✍️ From seed to fruit. How to grow Loquat from seeds, step-by-step guide. Part 2: after germination

Continued from previous posts⤴️

🍑 4. Transplanting Seedlings

When to Transplant: Once seedlings reach about 2-4” (5-10 cm) in height.
Transplanting and fertilizing: Move each seedling to its own pot and add controlled release fertilizer (Green Magic is the best), or use liquid balanced fertilizer Sunshine Boosters after 1-2 weeks once the seedlings establish.
Watering. Keep soil in a pot slightly moist but not soggy
Temperature. Keep seedling warm - above 70F (21C), and protect from extreme heat over 90F (35C) . For small plants, avoid freezing temperatures during winter. As the seedlings get bigger, they get higher drought-, heat- and cold tolerance. Established Loquat trees (2-3 years and older) may take light freezing temperatures.
Planting in the ground. You can plant the seedling in the ground when it reaches 2-3 ft tall (50-100 cm) in frost-free areas. During chill winter nights, young seedlings can be cold protected until established.

🍑 5. Sunlight Requirements

Light Exposure: Loquat established seedlings thrive in full sun but can tolerate partial shade. Start seedlings in bright shade and protect from afternoon hot sun to avoid leaf burn. Once seedlings are established and new growth appears (2-4 weeks), gradually move them to full sun.
Why adequate sunlight (full sun) is important:
- promotes healthy growth
- helps to avoid fungus and insect problems
- is critical for future flowering and fruit production

🍑 6. Fruit production

Loquat seedlings start producing seed within 3-4 years from seed, providing adequate sunlight, warm temperatures and regular irrigation.
Grafted Loquats start producing right away or the next year
Fruit will develop over the winter and ripen from March through May depending on location

🛒 Shop Loquat Trees and enjoy fresh fruit benefits

📚 Learn more:

🟡about #Loquat
🟡A young Loquat tree is fruiting
🟡Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes. # 10: Loquat Tree
🟡Loquat – the Symbol of Prosperity
🟡Learn more about Loquats
🟡10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes
🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

#Food_Forest #Loquat

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 2 Jul 2025

How to grow tropical fruit outside the Tropics

Tropical fruit trees grown in containers

Tropical fruit trees grown in containers

🥭 How to grow tropical fruit outside the Tropics

👨‍ Can you grow tropical fruit in colder climates? Absolutely! The key is growing them in containers so you can move them indoors during cold weather. With the right plant selection, a bit of motivation, good plant food, and a little love, you can enjoy a delicious harvest of exotic fruit - enough to treat your family and even share with friends. Here's everything you need to start your own Tropical Fruit Garden in containers.

🏆 Top tropical fruits and expert tips for growing in containers

📌 Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango, great for container culture
📌 What are the Condo Mangos - a practical guide
📌 How to grow cold-hardy avocados
📌 Avocado everyone should have: dwarf Condo Avocado
📌 What is the best Avocado variety?
📌 The best tropical fruit tree for container: Annona.
📌 How to grow your own Carambola
📌 Tropical Cherries: Eugenias
📌 Peanut Butter Tree and Blackberry Jam Tree produce right away
📌 How to grow a Guava Tree: practical guide
📌 Coffee as the best Gift plant
📌 Top 10 fast-fruiting trees
📌 Three must-have fruit for every tropical garden
📌 What Fertilizer to Use Now and How?
📌 How to make plants green quickly: Green Magic - the fertilizer that truly works

🛒 Shop top picks for your container tropical garden:

🥭 Condo Mango
Cold hardy Avocado
🍒 Tropical Cherries - Eugenias
⭐️ Carambola (Start Fruit)
🍉 Guava
🍈 Annona
🍍 Pineapple
🌶 Herbs and spices - tropical edibles right away
🕙 Fast-fruiting trees
🍊 Shop all fruit trees
Supplies and Boosters

#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 16 Jul 2025

Who is stealing my fruit?! How to protect mango fruit from critters

How to protect mango fruit from critters

🐰 Who’s stealing my fruit?! How to protect mango fruit from critters.

🥭 It's Mango season! But somehow, the mangoes are disappearing. Looks familiar? Squirrels, bunnies, birds, rats, raccoons… They all love the fruit. But sharing? Not so much. You’re lucky to get their leftovers!

🥭 Here’s what we do to protect our mangoes and avocados - and it works! We use fruit protection bags. They are made of a strong mesh netting with easy drawstrings - keep out bugs, birds, and every other freeloading critter! Just slip it over the fruit and tighten both ends. They’re inexpensive, about 15 cents each, worth every penny! 💰

🐁🐿 Save your fruit - and maybe even have some left to share!

🛒 Don't own a mango tree yet? Plant one now to enjoy fruit tomorrow!

📚 Learn more:

How to protect fruit in your garden from greedy competitors
Penelope, the Squirrel Cat

#How_to #Food_Forest #Mango_Rainbow #Mango

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 26 Aug 2025

Its a miracle: Miracle Fruit messes with your tongue, makes lemon sweet!

Synsepalum dulcificum - Miracle Fruit

🍭 It's a miracle: Miracle Fruit messes with your tongue, makes lemon sweet!

🍋🍬Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) Miracle Fruit - is a tidy, productive pot plant with a magical surprise.

🍋🍬 Ever wish lemons tasted like candy? This little berry makes sour foods taste sweet - lemon turns into a lemon candy, vinegar into syrup, and the effect can last for hours. The secret is a natural compound that masks the sour taste buds on your tongue.

🍋🍬 Miracle fruit isn’t just a fun trick - it’s also a perfect plant for your garden. A compact, slow-growing shrub, it actually prefers pots since it likes acidic soil. Indoors or out, it can fruit almost year-round, staying a neat 3-5 ft tall in a container.

🍋🍬 Best part? You can surprise your friends with a slice of lemon before and after trying it - and just wait for their reaction!

🍋🍬 What foods did you try with Miracle fruit? How did it change the taste?

🛒 Plant your own Miracle Fruit

📚 Learn more:

Why does everyone want a Miracle fruit plant?
What is the miracle behind the Miracle fruit?
Everyday Miracle - Grow the Dream!

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Remedies

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 18 Jun 2023

Pomegranate:
healing drops of blood

The pomegranate, a treasured fruit with ornamental and medicinal value, has a rich history. Native to regions from Iran to the Himalayas, it spread across the Mediterranean in ancient times. Theophrastus described it over 300 years before Christ. Legends abound, including its association with the Garden of Eden's "tree of life," symbolizing hope and eternal life in Christian art. The fruit's many seeds became a symbol of fertility. Its erect calyx-lobes inspired Solomon's crown. Egyptians cultivated it, and dried fruits were found in Bronze Age tombs. Moses reassured the Israelites of finding pomegranates in the Promised Land. Its allure and medicinal properties inspired myths, epics, and artworks, transcending time and cultures. Some scholars even suggest it was the fruit in the Garden of Eden, not an apple...

The gemstone garnet, named after the fruit due to its resemblance to pomegranate "pits," carries significance in Slavic languages as "Granat." Believed to bring luck in love and friendship, this precious stone holds an association with the pomegranate's symbolic value.

Pomegranates have been consumed by man since before recorded history. From ancient times, the fruit was valued for its medicinal properties. Consuming the fruit will help to improve blood quality. The tiny beads of fruit, full of precious oil and juice, are brilliant as drops of blood or rubies. These "drops of blood" from the pomegranate when consumed will help to build healthy red blood cells, according to the ancients who wrote the "Law of Similars". According to Ayurveda obese persons should consume the pomegranate fruit as it will improve metabolism and assist in the weight loosening. There is a saying in Hindi - "Ek anaar sau bemaar" - meaning one pomegranate can serve one hundred sick people.

Pomegranate tree is easy to grow in your garden. Many varieties exist, and every one has its special features...

Learn more about Pomegranate

Shop Pomegranate Trees

◂ Previous page Next page ▸Most recent entry ▴Blog table of contents