Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 7 Feb 2026

How to grow an Avocado tree on your patio

Avocado tree fruiting

Avocado tree fruiting

Yes, you can grow an Avocado tree on your patio - here is how to do it right

  • If you would love to grow your own avocado but don’t have a big yard, good news - avocado trees can grow very well in containers. Compact or dwarf varieties, often called condo avocados, are especially suited for pots, patios, balconies, and even indoor growing near a sunny window.
Growing avocados in pots is also a smart choice in cooler climates, since you can move the tree indoors when temperatures drop. With the right variety and basic care, potted avocado trees are easy to manage.
  • Pick a compact avocado variety


    Choosing the right variety is the most important step. Standard avocado trees grow very large, but condo or compact varieties stay much smaller and adapt well to containers.
    Good choices for pots include:

· Wurtz (Little Cado) - a true dwarf, perfect for containers
  • · Fuerte - a semi-dwarf that stays manageable with pruning
  • · Joey - naturally compact and easy to keep smaller
Dwarf avocado trees usually grow 6 to 10 feet tall. Fruit size is normal, but yields are smaller than on large trees.
  • Choose the right pot


    Start with a pot about 12 inches wide (around 5 gallons). This size is easier to water correctly and helps prevent root rot. Avoid planting a small tree into a very large pot too soon.
    As the tree grows, move up gradually. A mature potted avocado will need an 18- to 24-inch container. Repot every couple of years when roots show through drainage holes.
    Always use a pot with excellent drainage.
  • Use well-draining soil


    Avocados love water but hate wet feet. Use a loose, fast-draining mix, such as Abundance Professional Soilless Mix. You can improve drainage by adding perlite or coarse sand. Avoid heavy garden soil.
    Water deeply, but not too often.
    Water thoroughly, then let the soil dry before watering again. Always check moisture first. In summer, watering may be needed once or twice a week; in cooler weather, much less.
    Overwatering is the fastest way to kill a potted avocado.
  • Give plenty of sun


    Avocado trees need at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun daily. Outdoors is best, but indoors place the tree near a bright south- or west-facing window. Grow lights can help if light is limited.
  • Fertilize and prune


    Feed during the growing season with a balanced fertilizer such as Green Magic (every 6 months) or liquid Sunshine Boosters (safe to use with every watering, year-around). Prune lightly to keep the tree compact and well-shaped.
  • Protect from cold


    Most Avocados are sensitive to hard freeze. When temperatures drop below 35F, move the pot indoors or into a protected space. Reduce watering in winter as growth slows.
    Cold hardy varieties can take cooler temperatures down to 18F once established. For example, Joey is both cold hardy and dwarf - perfect choice.
  • Final thoughts


    Growing an avocado tree in a pot is practical and rewarding. With good drainage, sun, careful watering, and the right variety, you can enjoy homegrown avocados even without a yard.
    Small space? No problem. Just think condo avocado. According to Southern Living, Lemons can be grown in pots - and so can Avocados!


✔️ Check out
Avocado Variety Guide interactive chart. Sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

🛒 Explore Avocado varieties and Dwarf Avocado

📖 Our Book: Avocado Variety Guide, Snack or Guacamole?

📚 Learn more:



🎥 What is a Dwarf Condo Avocado that fruits at 3 ft tall? 📱

#Food_Forest #Avocado

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 9 Mar 2026

Golden canistel cream: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Golden canistel cream

Golden canistel cream

Pouteria campechiana - Canistel, Eggfruit

Pouteria campechiana - Canistel, Eggfruit

🍴 Golden canistel cream: quick-n-fun exotic recipes


Golden Canistel Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe canistel (eggfruit)
  • 2 to 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 to 2 tsp honey

Instructions

  1. Scoop the ripe canistel flesh into a bowl.
  2. Add milk and honey.
  3. Mash until smooth and creamy.
  4. Warm gently in a small pan if desired.
  5. Serve warm like a thick tropical porridge.

🌿 About the plant:


Also called Eggfruit, canistel has bright yellow flesh that is dense and slightly dry when ripe.

🏡 In the garden:


Grows well in warm climates with good drainage. Compact growth makes it suitable for small yards.

🛒 Plant Canistel Egg Fruit tree - grows well in container too

📚 Learn more:


#Food_Forest #Recipes

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 21 Nov 2024

How this breath-taking flowering tree stays so compact

🌸 How this breath-taking flowering tree stays so compact


  • 🌸 Ceiba hybrid - Dwarf Pink Princess - is one of the #Nature_Wonders that takes your breath away!

  • 🌸 A compact marvel of nature that redefines beauty in small spaces, this exquisite hybrid of the Pink Silk Floss Tree (Ceiba speciosa) grows to a manageable height of just 8-12 feet, making it perfect for small yards or container gardening.

  • In bloom, the tree is a spectacle: nearly leafless, with its crown exploding into tens of thousands of pink flowers, creating a vibrant, colorful mass.

  • 🌸 Its spreading crown and profusion of blossoms make it a showstopper, proving that you don’t need a giant tree to make a big impact.


🛒 Order Pink Princess

#Trees

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 2 Jan 2020

Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Field Grown Marco

Marco loves growing plants and be involved in different projects outside. He is good at finding spots either on top, or inside some inappropriate objects. Yet simple boxes, that most cats find super comfy, do not interest him. Is has to be a plant container, saucer, or even a charcoal grill full of ash... He can sit in some weird places for hours like on top of a fence pole, or lay in the middle of a busy walking traffic while everybody have to step over or walk around him... We have quite a collection of Marco's special places and will be sharing with you!

Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.

Date: 5 Sep 2019

How to get Jasmines to flower

Q: On the picture, these are a few of the jasmine plants that I have from Top Tropicals. I have bought so many plants from you over the years, not just jasmine. I have several varieties of jasmine. They were all doing very well. However this year I didn't get a single flower. There are a lot of buds... But before the buds open they become brown and withered. I bought fertilizer from you. Fertilized the plants once a month like I always do. I water the plants once a week. I repotted the plants hoping that would take care of this problem. Some of the jasmine plants I pruned... the plants came back vigorous growth with a lot of buds... BUT it is the same problem! Please help.

A: One of the possible reasons why they have flower issues is - maybe they don't have enough sunlight. They need to be in full sun all day long for profuse blooming and proper flower forming. However since the buds are forming, there may be just enough light. In this case, dropping buds may be a sign of overwatering.

Important steps - how to make Jasmine Sambac flower:

1. Soil. Use only well-drained soil

2. Water. Keep plants on a dry side and never over water. If the top of the soil is still moist, do not water.

3. Sun. Keep in full sun all day long. The more sun, the more flowers.

4. Bloom booster. Use Flower booster fertilizers:
Pink N Good Daily Plant Food - Flower Booster
Fragrant Plant Special booster, this 90-day Smart-Release container plant food:
Plumeria Top Dress - Smart-Release Booster
Do not use fertilizers with high Nitrogen (1st number in NPK formula) - those will promote more leaves instead of flowers.

5. Micro-elements. Use Apply micro-elements, they will help the plant to develop healthy and long-lasting flowers:
SUNSHINE SuperFood - plant booster

Here is more information on growing Jasmine