🌸 Transform your garden with the Chinaberry Tree (Melia azedarach) - a fast-growing, fragrant beauty that doubles in size in just one season!
🌸 Its lilac flowers and sweet vanilla-like scent will fill your garden with elegance, while its hardy nature ensures it thrives even in colder climates.
🌸 Enjoy lush, green foliage and a lovely shade canopy, all with minimal care. Plus, it's low-maintenance, pest-resistant, and has medicinal benefits!
Ready to add this aromatic gem to your landscape? Don't wait bring home the Chinaberry Tree today!
How to get Canistel tree to produce without dropping flowers and fruit
Q: My Canistel tree is 3 1/2 years old and is growing very well, see the
picture below. It gets hundreds of pea sized "berries" but then they fall off. No
canistel fruit. What's wrong?
A: You have such a nice looking tree, it is a shame you can't get
any fruit to ripen.
In our experience, Pouteria trees dropping fruit prematurely is a very common problem.
There may be one of the following reasons, or a combination of them:
- Cold winters may affect production, and while Canistel is generally
pretty hardy tropical plant that can easily withstand short periods of chill, the
fruit may never form properly if it had a cold winter.
- Lack of water. Canistel tree is pretty drought tolerant, but for the
proper production cycle it needs regular irrigation. Especially during hot
summer.
- The tree may be not strong enough; young trees drop fruit very often when
they don't have enough "fruiting energy" built up in their system.
Your tree looks well established and vigorous, however, flower/fruit drop
is often a sign of insufficient nutrients of particular kind, usually Boron
(B) and/or Molybdenum (Mo): either when a tree is too young and not strong
enough, or because of poor soils and lack of necessary elements.
Here is what can be done, considering you live in a warm, frost-free
climate.
1. Provide regular fertilizing program. We recommend liquid
fertilizers Sunshine Boosters that are safe to use with every watering and year
around. It is beneficial to switch plants from traditional "slow-release"
fertilizer to the liquid one because it makes a huge difference in plant growth
and flower/fruit quality and quantity. See also:
- Why liquid fertilizers are better than dry
- Article about benefits of liquid fertilizers.
2. Apply micro-element remedies that are very effective for
improving fruit production, especially when flower or fruit drop occurs:
SUNSHINE Honey - promotes more efficient blossoming and pollination, makes
flowers bigger and reduces bud drop. SUNSHINE SuperFood - improves plant vigor and quality and size of
flowers
These are all natural, eco-friendly supplements that work great for fruit
trees and other edibles.
Date: 22 Sep 2025
🐲 The taste you will never forget
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
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
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.
Guava varieties: Pink flesh (upper left quarter), White flesh and Cas
(upper right quarter), Red Cattley Guava (bottom left quarter) and Golden
Cattley (bottom right quarter).
Let’s talk Guava. Few fruits check as many boxes: flavor,
productivity, health, and adaptability. We’ve grown guava trees at Top
Tropicals for years here in Florida, and it never fails to surprise people
with how
easy it is — and how quickly it rewards you.
🌿 Health Benefits
We know the first question:"Why guava in addition to all the other
fruit trees I could plant?"Because guava is one of the healthiest tropical
fruits you can eat and grow — and it produces faster than almost
anything
else.
Vitamin C powerhouse — guava has four times more vitamin C than
oranges. One fruit covers your daily needs and then some.
Potassium and fiber — good for balancing blood pressure and
keeping your heart strong.
Antioxidants like lycopene and vitamin C — these keep your skin
glowing and help protect your cells from damage.
Dietary fiber — aids digestion and helps keep blood sugar
steady.
Guava is a true"food as medicine"tree you can plant right in your
backyard or in pot.
♥️ Our Favorite Varieties are Available Now
We currently have a DOZEN excellent guava varieties in stock selected by
our plant expert Tatiana Anderson — something special for every
garden. Our top picks are:
Pink Guavas
Barbie Pink
– Yellow pear-shaped fruit with thick pink flesh, sweet and juicy.
Cold
hardy for a tropical fruit. The best seller.
Hong Kong
– Large, round, smooth pink fruit. Sweet flavor, very few seeds, and
very
productive.
Tikal
– Our top pick. Fast-growing, disease-resistant, and produces the
sweetest
pink guavas with very few seeds.
White Guavas
Indonesian White
– Aromatic, classic white-fleshed guava with an excellent
tropical flavor.
Kilo White
– Giant fruit up to 2 lbs (1 kilo) each! Few seeds, creamy white
flesh,
and fruits even in containers.
Brazilian Araca
Pera – Rare hybrid used for Guava Wine in Brazil. Tart,
concentrated juice makes excellent wine, sorbet, or jelly. Learn more...
Pineapple Guava,
Guavasteen – Feijoa sellowiana. Strongly perfumed fruit, best
enjoyed when the pulp is mixed with sugar – like forest strawberries.
Cold-hardy, tolerates freeze, and doubles as a great windbreak. Learn more...
9 tough trees for hot, dry spots that actually thrive
☀️ 9 tough trees for hot, dry spots that actually thrive
Why that one brutal spot in your yard never works? There’s always that one place - blazing sun, sandy or rocky soil, dries out fast, and everything you plant there struggles. In Florida, Arizona, and California, this isn’t rare - it’s the norm. The good news? Some trees don’t just tolerate it - they prefer it. Once established, these picks handle heat, drought, and neglect far better than typical landscape plants. What makes these trees different? These are survivors. Many store water, have deep root systems, or evolved in dry climates. Translation - less watering, fewer losses, and a lot less frustration.
🔥 9 best trees for hot, dry spots
☀️ 1. Pony Tail Palm - Beaucarnea recurvata 📸 Not a true palm - it stores water in its showy, swollen trunk, making it incredibly drought tolerant and perfect for harsh, dry areas.
Ponytail Palm Plant Facts
Botanical name: Beaucarnea recurvata, Nolina recurvata Also known as: Ponytail Palm, Pony Tail, Bottle Palm, Nolina, Elephant-foot Tree
☀️ 2. Monkey Ear Tree - Enterolobium cyclocarpum A fast-growing shade tree with curious seed pods, surprisingly tough in heat and drought, with massive canopy benefits.
Monkey Ear Plant Facts
Botanical name: Enterolobium cyclocarpum Also known as: Monkey Ear, Ear Pod Tree, Elephant Ear Tree, Eartree, Guanacaste Tree, Arbol de Guanacaste
☀️ 3. Firebush - Hamelia patens Technically a large shrub/small tree - thrives in heat, blooms nonstop, attracts butterflies, and handles dry conditions once rooted in.
Fire Bush Plant Facts
Botanical name: Hamelia patens Also known as: Fire Bush, Firecracker Plant
☀️ 5. Sausage Tree - Kigelia pinnata 📸 A bold tropical look with bizarre flowers and fruit, with serious heat tolerance; once established, it handles dry spells better than expected.
Sausage Tree Plant Facts
Botanical name: Kigelia pinnata, Kigelia africana Also known as: Sausage Tree
☀️ 9. Tropical Almond - Terminalia catappa 📸 A classic coastal shade tree that thrives in heat, wind, and dry sandy soil once established. Its broad, layered canopy provides excellent shade, and the large leaves turn striking shades of red and orange before dropping - a rare bonus color show for hot-climate landscapes. Plus almond nuts as extra bonus!
Tropical Almond Plant Facts
Botanical name: Terminalia catappa Also known as: Tropical Almond, Badamier, Java Almond, Indian Almond, Malabar Almond, Singapore Almond, Ketapang, Huu Kwang, Pacific Almond
