Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 5 Apr 2025

Go Bananas - up to 20% OFF Banana Trees!

Now through 4/15 - Limited Time Only!

Banana  varieties  collage

Banana Health Benefits

Bananas are a powerhouse of nutrition - rich in potassium for heart health, and packed with vitamins B6 and C to boost energy and immunity. They come from fast-growing, easy-care trees that thrive in warm climates or containers. Whether eaten fresh, blended, or baked, bananas are a naturally sweet and tasty treat you can grow yourself!

Ready to turn your garden into a tropical paradise and grow your own delicious bananas? Now's your chance - use our offer below!

A Banana for Every Space and Taste

At Top Tropicals, we've got over a dozen top banana varieties - from exotic ornamental beauties like Blood Leaf and Siam Ruby to edible showstoppers. Edible varieties range from popular, heavy-producing types like Double Mahoi to rare collector favorites like Ice Cream (Blue Java) - the kind you'll never find at the grocery store. We also carry dwarf varieties that grow just 4 feet tall but still produce full-sized fruit - perfect for containers, patios, and small spaces. Collect them all - edible, ornamental, dwarf, rare - and enjoy the fun, flavor, and beauty of growing your own banana grove.

From Collectors to Beginners - We've Got Your Banana

"Growing bananas is like growing sunshine. They bring energy, beauty, and fruit to your doorstep." - said Dr. Richard Campbell, tropical fruit expert and co-creator of the condo mango concept.

Growing bananas is easy, low-maintenance, and budget-friendly. With Sunshine Boosters plant food, these tropical favorites grow fast and can start producing as soon as next season! Whether you live in the South or up North, in a house or an apartment - you can grow your own bananas in the garden, on a balcony, patio, or lanai and enjoy the taste of the tropics at home.

Special Offer

Get instant 10% off all bananas for 1 week only, plus extra 10% OFF sitewide with code below for qualified orders.

Additional 10% off your entire purchase (including any other plants), saving total of 20% on your Banana trees:

GOBANANAS

Min order $150, excluding S/H. Exp. 4-15-25

Hurry, offer ends April 15th!

Banana  Truly  Tiny

Learn More About Banana Varieties:

- Top Ornamental Banana Varieties - Which One Belongs in Your Garden?
- Best Edible Bananas to Grow - Sweet, Unique, and Delicious!
- How Many Banana Varieties Can You Grow? (More Than You Think!)

Sunshine  Boosters  fertilizers  for  Banana  trees

In the photo above: Sunshine Boosters are the best fertilizers for ornamental (Sunshine Robusta) and edible bananas (Sunshine C-Cibus).

Date: 30 Aug 2018

6 Things to Do on Labor Day Weekend

TopTropicals

1. Plant a tree... or a shrub, even just a small perennial will do. This plant will make you feel good and accomplished for the whole year, until next Labor Day (or even longer!). You will always see this fruit of your work and remember your motivation, so things are not that bad with you!

2. Pull 66 weeds. Needless to say, you have plenty of those in your yard at the moment. Why 66? Just do it and see what happens. If you don't see any happy results, pull another 66.

3. Fertilize all plants in your garden or potted collection with slow release fertilizer and microelements. Remember, this is the last chance to give them food and strength to survive, before winter. Starting October, all leftover fertilizer goes to storage, even in tropical gardens.

4. Apply SUNSHINE booster to protect your plants from cool temperature, help to go into dormancy and rest without stress.
Remember, there are products for all your pre-winter needs: Sunshine-T for improving cold tolerance, Sunshine-BC for caudex and bonsai plants, Sunshine-H for houseplants, and general booster Sunshine-E to cover all occasions... 50 and 100 ml bottles available for large plant collections.
Sunshine-Honey should be applied on all fruit trees to ensure their next year successful crop.

5. Add extra mulch in those areas where it was washed off with summer rains or broke down. One day of mulch work will provide 6 months of safe overwintering for your plants.

6. Have a BBQ or simply a nice meal with your friends or family. Enjoy your holiday relaxation after hard work weekend and recharge your Happiness for many days to come.

Date: 24 Feb 2026

5 Heart-Shaped Plants Every Gardener Needs This Spring

Aristolochia " The "alien" flower that hosts rare butterflies.

Aristolochia " The "alien" flower that hosts rare butterflies.

Dombeyaflowers on the bush

Dombeyaflowers on the bush

Hoya kerrii Sweetheart Hoya

Hoya kerrii Sweetheart Hoya

Philodendron leaves

Philodendron leaves

Piper - edible leaves

Piper - edible leaves

5 Heart-Shaped Plants Every Gardener Needs This Spring 💕

❣️ Why heart-shaped?



Heart-shaped leaves instantly soften a garden. They feel welcoming, romantic, and just a little bit playful. But if you choose wisely, you will get much more than a cute leaf shape.

Before adding a plant to your collection, look beyond the foliage. Does it flower? Does it attract pollinators? Does it offer edible or fragrant benefits? The right heart-shaped plant can bring beauty, fragrance, butterflies - even flavor - to your landscape all year long.

Here are five plants that truly give your home a little love.

💚 1. Aristolochias - bold leaves and wild flowers


If you want a conversation starter, Aristolochia is the answer. These vines don't just offer bold, oversized heart foliage and produce "alien-looking" blooms that defy garden norms.
· Garden Hack: Use it to create "living shade" on hot west-facing walls to naturally cool your home.
· Extra benefits: Many species are host plants for Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies, making them essential for pollinator gardens. They grow fast, create dense shade, and can cool down hot garden walls during summer. 👉Explore Aristolochias

💚 2. Dombeyas - winter flowers when little else blooms



Dombeyas bring heart-shaped foliage together with spectacular winter blooms. Their large clusters of pink flowers resemble hydrangeas and appear when many other plants are resting.

Extra benefits: They bloom in the cooler months, feeding bees when nectar sources are limited. These fast-growing shrubs create privacy quickly and fill the air with a light, sweet fragrance during flowering season. 👉Explore Dombeya

💚 3. Hoya kerrii - the living Valentine



Often sold as a single heart-shaped leaf in a pot, Hoya kerrii is known as the Sweetheart plant. But when mature, it becomes a climbing or trailing vine with thick, succulent foliage.

Wax Hearts Plant Facts

Botanical name: Hoya kerrii
Also known as: Wax Hearts, Sweetheart Hoya, Valentine Hoya, Heart leaf
USDA Zone: 9 - 11
Highligths Groundcover and low-growing 2ft plantSemi-shadeShadeFull sunWatering: Moderate. Water when top soil feels dryOrnamental foliageWhite, off-white flowersPlant attracts butterflies, hummingbirdsFragrant plant
Get personalized tips for your region


Extra benefits: It is extremely low maintenance, tolerates dry indoor air, and can live for many years. When happy, it produces clusters of star-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers. It is compact enough for desks and shelves, yet long-lived enough to become a true keepsake plant. 👉Explore Heart Hoya

💚 4. Philodendron - classic hearts, endless varieties



If you picture a heart-shaped leaf, you are probably imagining a Philodendron. From deep green to bright chartreuse like Golden Goddess, there is a variety for every style.

Extra benefits: Philodendrons adapt easily to indoor or outdoor growing in warm climates. They help improve indoor air quality, tolerate lower light, and require minimal care. In the garden, they thrive in shade and add a lush tropical feel without demanding constant attention. 👉Explore Philodendrons

💚 5. Piper - beautiful and edible



Many Piper species have attractive heart-shaped leaves, but they offer more than good looks. Some are edible and culturally significant.

Extra benefits: Piper betle and Piper sarmentosum leaves are used fresh in Southeast Asian cuisine, while Piper nigrum gives you real black pepper from your own vine. These plants grow well in warm, humid climates, thrive in partial shade, and combine ornamental appeal with practical harvest. 👉Explore Pipers

💚 Ready to add some 'love' to your landscape?



Heart-shaped foliage is charming, but the real value comes from what these plants give back - flowers in winter, butterflies in spring, edible leaves in summer, or easy indoor greenery all year.

Choose plants that not only look lovely but also work hard in your garden. That way, your landscape is not just pretty - it is alive, useful, and full of personality.

🛒 Discover tropical plants with benefits

📚 Learn more:


· How to bring butterflies in your garden with Ditchmans Pipe
· Five steps to everblooming Rose Hydrangea
· The best Valentine’s Day gift that actually lasts - Sweetheart Hoya
· The Marble Queen philodendron that thrives on neglect
· How to grow your own Pepper plants. Five most valuable 'Pipers'.

#Container_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits #Discover

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 6 May 2026

Why your plants need more than NPK

Why your plants need more than NPK

Why your plants need more than NPK



Most fertilizers focus on just three numbers - NPK. But that’s only part of the story. If your plants look okay but not amazing, or grow but don’t really thrive, they’re likely missing the smaller pieces that make a big difference.

☘️ Complete nutrition your plants actually use



Plants need more than just NPK. They also require a full range of microelements like iron, boron, magnesium, calcium, and others. These support photosynthesis, sugar movement, and internal plant processes.

Sunshine Boosters include a full spectrum of these nutrients in balanced amounts. This gives plants complete nutrition without needing extra products for basic care.

☘️ The "Potassium Pump" - how plants move water and energy



Potassium plays a central role in how plants move water and energy. You can think of plant cells as tiny rooms with doors that open and close. Potassium helps control these openings.

Where potassium goes, water follows. This movement fills plant cells, making them firm and strong. It also helps move energy through the plant, supporting fruit development and flowering.

With enough potassium, plants handle drought better, grow stronger, and produce better crops.

☘️ Calcium - the backbone of plant strength



Calcium plays a key role in building strong plant structure and keeping growth stable. It is a major part of cell walls, so it directly affects how firm and healthy the plant tissues are. When calcium is available, plants develop stronger stems, better roots, and more solid fruit with improved shelf life. It also helps regulate how nutrients move inside the plant and supports proper cell division, which is important for new growth, root tips, and developing fruit.

Calcium improves resistance to stress, including heat and disease, and helps prevent common problems like blossom end rot, weak growth points, and poor fruit quality. Because calcium does not move easily inside the plant, a steady and available supply is important throughout the growing cycle.

Calcium cannot be mixed with NPK dry fertilizers. It forms insoluble compounds with phosphates and sulfates, so it has to be dosed separately.

In Sunshine Boosters, Calcium is present along with additives - complex agents and pH regulators. This allows you to dose calcium, sulfates, trace elements and other additives in one solution without fear of fertilizer lockout.

👉 To be continued - next we’ll break down the 10 main Sunshine Boosters formulas and how to match them to your plants. 👉 More...

🛒
Get your plants real food

📚
Learn more:
What makes Sunshine Boosters different
This changes how you feed your plants
Sunshine Boosters: Complete Plant Nutrition System
Frequently Asked Questions: Plant Nutrition & Fertilizer
Green Magic + SUNSHINE Boosters: A Complete System for Strong Plant Growth
Spring Nutrition Strategy: Is Your Garden Starving?
How to keep your house plants beautiful all year by feeding them right
Why do you need Sunshine Boosters?
Which dry fertilizer to use - slow release or controlled release?
Green Magic effect: before and after
The SECRET growers never tell you: simple trick how to bring plants back to life and keep green
📱 What are Sunshine Boosters

#Discover #Fertilizers #How_to

🟢 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