The Best Pineapples

Q: What varieties of the Pineapple are the best for planting in Florida? When do they fruit? I have a small yard, with a room for one or two, but can I keep more in pots? I am excited to grow my own pineapples!

A: Pineapple is truly the King of fruits! One of the most delicious fruits in the world. They start flowering from January to March in Florida and yes, they happily grow in the ground as well as in pots. Heaviest fruiting is in Summer (May to September), and some staggered throughout the year.
Be careful with watering, keep in mind that like any bromeliad, Pineapple needs very little water and needs the soil to get dry between waterings. Use only acidic soil and acidic plant food.
Make sure to feed these plants on regular basis, especially if grown in pots. Pineapples are heavy feeders but are also very sensitive like all bromeliads, so be careful with traditional fertilizers, do not exceed recommended dosage. It is safe to use liquid amino-acod-based Sunshine Boosters Ananas fertilizer year round.

The mot popular pineapple varieties for home growers are:
Elite Gold
Royal Hawaiian - Royale
Sugar Loaf

Plant of the Month: Hibiscus El Capitolio

Stevie's Pick: what's in bloom?

Our exotic plant grower Steven Gowdy will spotlight the most interesting plants he discovers and recommends today while working in TopTropicals greenhouses.

OMG! These plants are awesome. The flowers are stunning, ruffled, brightly colored. These are very unique double flowers about 5" long, with ruffled petals, followed by a sort of a stamen, than more ruffled petals... Wow. These are the perfect plants - they can be grown in a container or in-ground, in full sun. They are drought and disease resistant, ever-blooming, can be pruned into a standard weeping tree, or pruned into a bush... It's a convenient, dream plant! Prune frequently, because it blooms on new wood.
Hibiscus El Capitolio grows best in zones 9 through 11. In colder climates leave it in a container outside in the summer months, but bring inside in the winter months.
Remember - ever-blooming! You prune and they will flower all year long. These are fabulous plants that will satisfy any first-time or experienced gardener: you just can't go wrong El Capitolio! They will have you growing happiness... That's true.

Stevie with Kristi and Jamie celebrating his Happy Birthday. Check out Stevie's painting "TopTropicals Theme" at the beginning of this newsletter!

Trimming and treating Adeniums in winter

Q: My desert rose below dropped leaves after I replanted it in a bigger pot. I noticed that one of the branches that had been pruned is black at the tip. Please let me know if the section of the branch that turned black needs to be cut. I also wasn't sure how often to water it since the leaves have all dropped. None of the other dessert roses have dropped their leaves but they are all younger plants. Any advice would be much appreciated.

A: Your plant looks healthy and vigorous overall. Dropping leaves after repotting, or shipping, especially at this time of the year, is normal in Adeniums. They are deciduous and stay leafless from Fall to Spring. Some individual specimens can go into dormancy sooner than others - all depends on conditions: temperature, light, exposure, etc. and individual plant's "clock".
The black spot on the cut branch may be a sign of a fungus as a result of excess water. You may carefully clean/rub it with a paper tower dipped in Hydrogen Peroxide (pharmacy grade). Then rinse with fresh water.
Keep the plant warm and in a dry spot. Once leaves are dropped, it doesn't need much water. Once a week watering is enough.

New video: Ground orchids.
All-summer colors for shady gardens

WATCH NEW VIDEO

Did you know orchids can be grown in the ground?
Orchids have a mystique that seems to set them apart from most other flowers... they are elegant and almost unreal in their perfection... The symmetry of the flowers has led to the orchid being a symbol of a perfect beauty.
But not every gardener has luck growing traditional orchids. Some complain about their special maintenance: "Mount them on a tree, do not overwater... and all that hassle just for once-a-year flower?" Sounds familiar?
Terrestrial orchids (a.k.a. ground orchids) grow in regular garden soil instead of in the air on tree branches. And they bloom almost year round!...

Ground orchids are available from our store.

Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!

Remember to get plant food for your orchids and Ground orchids!
In the photo: Sunshine-Home, plant booster for tender house plants and orchids.

Macaranga grandifolia - Elephant Ear Tree

The very quintessence of tropical foliage luxury

by Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc

Why is this wonderful little tree so unknown here in Florida? I can only guess it's because people don't see them, and therefor don't know about them, and that basically no nurseries grow them. Yet it's one of the most utterly spectacular foliage plants conceivable... Provided with an appropriately warm climate such as South Florida or elsewhere, there is no reason they should not be seen more often (for purposes of utter awe).

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Macaranga's genuinely grand foliage much more resembles the ears of actual elephants (esp. the Asian species) than do the leaves of the much more commonly known and grown "elephant ears" meaning certain Alocasia and Colocasia.