Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 21 Feb 2026

The best time to plant a fruit tree was 20 years ago - here is why you need to plant it now

Litchi chinensis - Smiles under the Lychee tree

Litchi chinensis - Smiles under the Lychee tree

🍑 The best time to plant a fruit tree was 20 years ago - here is why you need to plant it now



They say the best time to plant a fruit tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is today.

A fruit tree is not a seasonal purchase. It is not a decoration. It is a decision that stretches far beyond you.

When you plant a mango, an avocado, a loquat, a lychee tree - you are not just planting for this summer. You are planting for children who will climb that tree. For neighbors who will ask for a basket of fruit. For someone who may live in your house long after you are gone.

Fruit trees are quiet investments in the future.
Unlike annual crops that come and go, a tree deepens its roots every year. Many fruit trees - especially mangoes - can live for decades, even a century. They outlive trends, owners, renovations, even mortgages. They stand there, steady, producing.

Even if you sell the house, the tree remains.
The next family will walk into the yard and discover fruit hanging overhead. Imagine buying a home and realizing someone before you planted abundance!

That is a gift.

In many parts of the world, mango trees are called generational crops. One farmer plants them. His children harvest them. His grandchildren sell the fruit. A single decision continues to feed and support a family long after the planter is gone.
There is something deeply grounding about that.

We live in a fast world. Quick returns. Quick moves. Quick upgrades.
A fruit tree moves at a different pace. It asks for patience. It rewards consistency. It teaches you to think long term.

Planting a fruit tree says:
I believe in tomorrow.
I believe this land will matter.
I believe someone will stand here after me.

And even if you never taste the fullest harvest, someone will.
Passing fruit trees through generations is more than horticulture - it is legacy. It is continuity. It is resilience. It is saying that this space, this soil, this home will keep giving.

So plant it now.
Plant it for your children.
Plant it for the next homeowner.
Plant it for shade you may never sit under.
Plant it for fruit you may never pick.
Because one day, someone will walk into that yard, look up, and thank the person who thought ahead.
Let that person be you.

🛒 Explore fruit trees for your orchard

👉 Tropical Fruit favorites:



🥭 Mango
Avocado
🍒 Cherry
🍊 Loquat
🍈 Jackfruit
🍑 Peach tree
🍉 Guava
🍏 Sugar apple
🍇 Mulberry
🍐 Sapodilla

#Food_Forest #Discover

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 22 Sep 2025

🐲 The taste you will never forget

Dragon  fruit  collage  -  yellow,  red,  purple,  white  varieties

If you only know dragon fruit from the grocery store, you probably think it looks pretty but tastes bland. That is because most commercial fruit is picked early, shipped far, and loses its sweetness. The truth? Homegrown dragon fruit is juicy, sweet, and full of flavor. The best of all is the yellow variety, Palora (Selenicereus megalanthus), a cactus fruit from Ecuador that bursts with tropical taste.

🌵 Pitaya or Dragon fruit – what is the difference?

Both names describe the same climbing cactus. In Latin America it is called Pitaya, while Asia and English speakers say Dragon fruit. There are three main kinds:

Some hybrids give purple or magenta flesh. All are beautiful, all are easy to grow at home.

⚡️ Do red, white, and yellow taste different?

Yes. White types are mild and refreshing. Reds are sweeter and juicier. Yellows are the sweetest of all.

⚡️ Flowers from a fairy tale

Close-up  of  a  blooming  dragon  fruit  pitaya  flower  with  white  petals  and
    yellow 
 center

Dragon fruit flowers are among the most spectacular in the plant world. They open at night, glowing under moonlight, with pale petals and a sweet fragrance. Each flower can be a foot wide. Seeing one bloom feels like stepping into another world.

⚡️ Top Dragon Fruit Health Benefits

  • High in fiber for digestion and gut health
  • Low in calories but full of vitamins
  • Great for weight management
  • Adds color and freshness to smoothies and salads

🍹 Dragon Fruit Smoothie recipe

Glass  of  dragon  fruit  pitaya  smoothie  with  fresh  dragon  fruit,  banana, 
 mango,  lime,  sugar,  and  ice 
 cubes

Blend together:

  • 2 dragon fruits, peeled
  • 1/2 cup mango pulp
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup milk of your choice
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • Ice cubes to taste

Top with mint for a refreshing tropical treat.

Watch Dragon Fruit short videos:

💲 Special Offer – 25% off Dragon Fruit Pitaya Plants!

Get 25% OFF Pitaya plants with code

DRAGON2025

Min order $100. Excluding S/H, valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.

Hurry, offer expires September 29, 2025!

Explore Dragon Fruit varieties

Date: 23 Nov 2025

📅 Mark Your Calendar - Holiday Plant Market

Holiday  Plant  Market  flyer  for  December  13  2025  showing  two  PeopleCats 
 in  a  festive  garden,  one  black  cat  in  an  apron  next  to  a  mango  tree  and  one 
 orange  cat  holding  a  basket  of  tropical  fruit,  with  event  details, 
 discounts,  and  Top  Tropicals 
 locations.

Holiday season in Florida means sunshine, green leaves, and cats on patrol. On Saturday 12/13/25, our PeopleCats are hosting a special Holiday Plant Market at TopTropicals, 9 am to 4 pm. This is not a regular nursery day. This is the one where you grab a donut in one hand, a mango tree in the other, and try not to trip over a cat giving you a tour.

We are bringing out the best plants we grew all year: big fruit trees with real branches, flowering and fragrant beauties, rare collectors plants, and vines that are ready to take off as soon as you get them home. December is perfect planting weather in Florida, so while the rest of the country is scraping frost from windshields, you can be choosing which banana, mango, or jasmine will perfume your yard next summer.

Holiday extras: 30% OFF online prices, free plant with purchase, 5 to 10 dollar specials, mini donuts and holiday treats, iced tea and citrus water, tropical Christmas music, and raffle prizes. If there is enough ripe fruit in the morning, we will set up a tasting table too. Our PeopleCats will be on duty all day, rearranging plants, checking on visitors, and occasionally allowing themselves to be petted between tours.

Event discounts and specials are valid at both locations:

Save the date, tell a friend, and plan your plant hunting route now. Come celebrate the holidays the Florida way: sunshine, rare fruit trees, happy cats, and a car full of tropical plants going home with you.

Facebook event page - Download invitation

to confirm attendance
RSVP on Facebook!

Learn More About The Holiday Plant Market

Date: 17 Jul 2025

Mango tasting table with Chiane and Ashley

🥭 Mango tasting table with Chiane and Ashley

📱

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 30 Dec 2022

Cold protection for tropical plants

greenhouse  and  cold  protection  covers  on  tropical  plants

Pushing the limits of tropical gardening

The year is almost over but the winter is not. This Christmas weekend at our Sebring B-farm we had it down to 30F. As a tropical gardener, winter can be challenging, especially if you grow plants outside of tropical zones.

greenhouse  with  tropical  plants

To protect your garden from the cold, consider the following:

1. Monitor freeze watches and be prepared to take action if necessary.
2. Create temporary structures like mini-greenhouses using PVC pipes, carport frames, or bamboo sticks to support covers.
3. Use covers such as frost cloth, cardboard boxes, blankets, and bed sheets.
4. Use Christmas lights and other heating elements, including propane heaters, to keep plants warm.
5. Add a layer of heavy mulch around plant trunks to protect them from the cold.
6. Apply plant boosters that improve cold hardiness, such as Sunshine Epi, Sunshine-Si, and Sunshine Superfood.

At TopTropicals B-Farm, we sprayed our plants with a special cold hardiness treatment Sunshine-Si and covered and wrapped everything we could. We also moved cold sensitive species inside greenhouses. All of our plants are looking great and happy!

Mulching  mango  trunks  and  using  Christmas  lights  for  cold  protection

Photo above: Mulching mango trunks and using Christmas lights for cold protection

Read more about this special treatment plan: Cold Hardiness Improvement Kit.

Covering  plants  during  cold  night

Plastic  warm  house  wrapping

Photo above: Temporary wrapping of a section of a greenhouse with a plastic or frost cloth protects from a windchill. It may also win you a few degrees even without a heater. In this particular case, according to our temp sensors, it was 30F outside, and 41F inside this "dome", no heaters used.


Sunshine Boosters:

Last chance to stock up
at a lower price!

Sunshine Boosters are natural, amino acid-based liquid fertilizers made with only the highest quality ingredients. Starting in 2023, the pricing for Sunshine Boosters will be adjusting to reflect the increasing cost of supplies. This is your last chance to stock up on Sunshine Boosters before the end of the year! Sunshine Boosters are safe to use year around, with every watering.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to get the best value for your money!

Use discount for even better deal:

22FOR22
for 22% off orders $220+

Min order $220. Offer expires 12-31-22

Sunshine  boosters  for  different  plant  types