Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 11 Jul 2024

How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around

Papaya fruit: Waimanalo, Sunrise, Maradol

Papaya fruit: Waimanalo, Sunrise, Maradol

Papaya tree

Papaya tree

🍊 How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around

  • 🟠 Many people include Papaya fruit in their daily diet because of its healing properties for digestive system. You can eat Papaya fresh as a tasty dessert, add to salads ripe or green, use fruit and leaf wraps in cooking - possibilities are endless.
  • 🟠 Buying papaya fruit from the store every day can become costly. So you can plant your own tree - Papayas are heavy producers. But like with many fruit trees, the question may arise:

What to do with so many fruit at once, and where to get the fruit when it's out of season?
  • 🟠 The answer is: plant several varieties. Different Papaya cultivars, similar to Mango and Avocado, have different crop seasons.
  • 🟠 If you want to enjoy fresh delicious Papaya fruit year around, plant several Papaya varieties in your garden that have different ripening times.
  • For example:
    Waimanalo - ripens from July to October and sporadically throughout the year.
    Sunrise - ripens from January through September and sporadically throughout the year.
    Maradol - ripens from August through March and sporadically throughout the year.
  • 🟠 Papaya tree doesn't take any room in your garden: similar to a palm tree, all its leaves/crown is up high, so you can plant as many trees as you want in a very limited space and still use the room under Papaya tree for other plants.


🛒 Limited time offer: Papaya collection - 3 trees for half price!

Shop Papaya varieties

📚 Learn more from previous posts:
The secret facts of Papaya's private life
Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties

#Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 8 Jul 2024

What is the best Avocado variety? Five most popular Avocado varieties

Avocado Brogdon

Avocado Brogdon

Avocado Hass

Avocado Hass

Avocado Fuerte

Avocado Fuerte

Avocado Oro Negro

Avocado Oro Negro

Avocado Winter Mexican

Avocado Winter Mexican

Five most popular Avocado varieties



"What is the best variety of Avocado?"
"Do you have the one with small black fruit and bumpy skin?"

"I have avocado with very large green fruit, what variety is it?"

These are frequently asked questions we get from our customers. This basic "classification" by black/green doesn't encompass all the wonderful qualities avocados have to offer. There are numerous hybrids in cultivation, and once you plant your first tree and taste the REAL fruit (not from the grocery store), you'll be eager to explore other varieties. While it's true that avocado fruit can vary in "butter" content, most superior varieties are equally delicious.

✅ We will guide you through Avocado varieties like we did with Mango varieties in earlier posts. First comes first -

🏆 The most popular Avocado varieties:



1. Brogdon - red-purple pear-shaped fruit, 7-15 oz. Skin is very thin, yellow buttery flesh. Fruit ripens in late summer-fall. Very cold hardy.

2. Hass - probably the most popular, but this tree prefers drier climate (Florida is humid, so we plant adaptable Florida Hass here). The fruit is dark-colored with a rough and bumpy skin, turns black when ripe.

3. Fuerte - a dwarf and a very cold hardy variety. Everybody's favorite "Condo Avocado": perfect for container culture and small yards. The mature tree in the ground is under 15 ft; 6-7 ft in containers.

4. Oro Negro - Oro Negro means "black gold" in Spanish, which is an incredibly appropriate name for this fruit. This Monroe hybrid (with big size fruit) is crossed with a Mexican type which would explain the black skin. The flesh is rich and buttery with a creamy texture.

5. Winter Mexican - one of most cold hardy varieties, Guatemalan x Mexican origin. Mature trees may withstand temperatures in the mid 20s. Oblong fruit, 12-18 oz, thick green skin. Very vigorous tree, bears heavily and regularly in December-January.

📚 Learn more: Avocado Variety Guide - check this out for interactive chart of Avocado varieties and sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

🛒 Shop Avocado Trees

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🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 22 Jun 2024

What is the best fruit in the world? How to grow your own Lychee tree

Lychee (Litchi chinensis)

Lychee (Litchi chinensis)

Lychee (Litchi chinensis)

Lychee (Litchi chinensis)

🍊 What is the best fruit in the world? How to grow your own Lychee tree.



Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is often called the best fruit in the world. You've eaten these no doubt in Chinese restaurants: fresh or sun-dried (Litchi Nuts) or canned in syrup. Growing a lychee tree is a rewarding way to enjoy this sweet and exotic fruit right at home!
  • 📍 The fruit has been grown in China for over 2,000 years and was once considered a luxury food for the wealthy. Lychee trees can produce fruit for more than 100 years.
  • 📍 Lychee fruit is a burst of sweet, juicy and fragrant goodness with every bite. Unique blend of sweet and floral notes, a taste of the tropics! It is delicious on its own or in desserts, drinks, and salads.
  • 📍 Packed with vitamin C, has high water content - keeps you refreshed and hydrated. It is a guilt-free snacking with minimal calories. Loaded with antioxidants.
  • 📍 The tree loves full sun and prefers well-drained, slightly acidic soil. It needs regular watering, especially during dry periods. keep the soil moist but not waterlogged.
  • 📍Space needed: it can grow quite tall and wide, give the tree plenty of space to spread out. Relatively resistant to pests!
  • 📍Slow Grower: although air-layered trees start fruiting right in a pot, it takes years for the tree to grow big (approx. 10 years for 20 ft tree).


❓ What other BEST fruit in the world do you know? Mango, Sugar Apple, Mangosteen... What's your favorite? Share in comments.

🛒 Shop Lychee varieties

#Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 20 Jun 2024

The most luscious Hospitality Fruit

Pineapple plant (Ananas comosus)

🍍 The most luscious Hospitality Fruit



💥 Pineapple plant (Ananas comosus) produces a delicious fruit treat and is a fascinating plant to grow.
  • 🔻 King of fruits. Pineapple is often referred to as the "king of fruits" (along with Durian and Mango). It is cherished for its sweet and tangy taste, refreshing qualities, culinary uses, and health benefits, including high vitamin C content and digestive enzymes.
  • 🔻 Bromelain for healthy guts: pineapples contain an enzyme called bromelain that can break down proteins and is often used as a meat tenderizer. It's great for digestion; eat 1 slice of pineapple after every meal to maintain healthy digestive system.
  • 🔻 Single fruit per plant: each pineapple plant produces just one pineapple per year.
  • 🔻 Growth time: It takes about 18-24 months for a pineapple to mature and be ready for harvest.
  • 🔻 Symbol of Hospitality: in many cultures, pineapples are a symbol of hospitality and welcome.
  • 🔻 Those are berries! A pineapple is formed from many individual single fruit (technically, berries), which fuse together around the core.
  • 🔻 Cultivation. Pineapples are easy to grow. They need only a little water to thrive. Take full sun, shade, semi-shade. For faster production, fertilize with SUNSHINE boosters Ananas - Pineapple and Bromeliad Booster. Perfect container plant, can be grown indoors as a houseplant.
  • 🔻 Propagation: pineapples can be grown from the crown of the fruit. If you like the variety of the fruit you just ate, just cut the top off and plant it in potting soil, it will root within a few weeks. Make sure to not overwater it. Many superior varieties are available in selection.


📚 Learn more: The most luscious Hospitality Fruit: Pineapple

🛒 Select Pineapple varieties

#Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 14 Oct 2024

New Animation Video: Grow Your Own Food

Q: Prices continue to skyrocket! How can we afford healthy food? I wish I could grow money, like that useless grass in the yard - it grows faster than we can mow it!

A: You don't have to grow money! Grow the fruit! Use your yard instead of being used by your yard. Start your own Food Forest today by planting the edible landscape. Grow your own food - we can help!

Plant a tree today and enjoy your fruit tomorrow!
Watch our new video:

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