Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 25 Jul 2025

Perfume in a pot: exotic Dwarf Chanel No 5 Tree

Cananga fruticosa - Dwarf Ylang-Ylang Tree, Chanel No 5 Tree

✨ Perfume in a pot: exotic Dwarf Chanel No 5 Tree

  • ⭐️ The Chanel No. 5 tree in a pot? Yep.
  • Cananga fruticosa - Dwarf Ylang-Ylang Tree, is the compact cousin of the famous perfume tree. It has the same elegant, drooping flowers that smell like the original Ylang-Ylang - the scent behind Chanel No. 5 - just in a smaller, easy-to-grow version.
  • ⭐️ It stays nicely shaped like a little tree, blooms year-round in warm weather, and does great in a container. Just give it bright light, and if the air is humid, you'll get that dreamy fragrance in full force.
  • ⭐️ A perfect plant for anyone who wants their space to smell amazing - naturally.


🛒 Grow your own Chanel No. 5

📚Learn more:
#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden #Trees
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Date: 30 Aug 2025

Rare Orchid Tree you may never find again and everyone wants

Bauhinia madagascariensis - Red Butterfly Orchid Tree

🌺 Rare Orchid Tree you may never find again and everyone wants
  • 🌺 Bauhinia madagascariensis, the Red Butterfly Orchid Tree, is one of the most dazzling flowering trees you can grow.
  • 🌺 Its scarlet blooms open like bright butterflies, each petal painted with a golden stripe at the base. When in full bloom, the tree looks alive with fluttering wings.
  • 🌺 It's fast-growing, can be kept as a small tree or a large bush, and thrives in full sun. A rare orchid tree species and a true collector’s prize. Grow it in a pot or in the ground.


🛒 The butterfly tree of Madagascar will bloom 365 days a year for you

📚 Learn more:


#Trees #Butterfly_Plants

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Date: 31 Aug 2025

🌿 The Jungle Cactus with a secret life

Collage  of  four  jungle  cactus  plants:  top  left  Epiphyllum  guatemalense 
 Monstrosa  (Curly  Locks  Orchid  Cactus),  top  right  Epiphyllum  oxypetalum 
 (Queen  of  the  Night),  bottom  left  Cryptocereus  anthonyanus  (Zig-Zag  Cactus),
    and  bottom  right  Disocactus  ackermanni  (Red  Orchid 
 Cactus).

Jungle cactus collage: top left Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa (Curly Locks Orchid Cactus), top right Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the Night), bottom left Cryptocereus anthonyanus (Zig-Zag Cactus), and bottom right Disocactus ackermanni (Red Orchid Cactus)

Most people picture cactus as desert plants: hot sun, sharp spines, dry sand. But that’s only half the story. There’s another branch of the family that lives in the shade of rainforests. These are the jungle cacti — epiphyte plants that climb trees, trail from branches, and throw out flowers so big and showy they look closer to orchids than to cactus blooms.

See one up close and it’s a surprise. The stems can be flat, zig-zagged, or even curly. Some trail like ferns, others pile into a shaggy basket. And when the flowers open — often at night — they’re wide, fragrant, and gone by morning. It’s no wonder gardeners like them from a first sight.

✔️ Jungle Cactus Q&A

Aren’t all cacti desert plants?

Not these. Jungle cacti are epiphytes and grow in rainforests, clinging to trees and catching rain. They never touch desert sand.

What kind of light do they need?

Outdoors, filtered sun under a tree works best. Indoors, give them bright but indirect light — east or north windows are usually safe. Direct summer sun can scorch the stems, whether inside or out.

How much water is safe?

They take more water than desert cactus but still hate wet feet. Outdoors, a rain shower is fine if the pot drains fast. Indoors, water when the top inch of soil feels dry. Always use a loose mix like Adenium mix so roots get some air.

Do they bloom indoors?

Yes. In fact, many bloom better inside where conditions are steady. They set buds when a little root-bound, and cooler nights help. Outdoors in frost-free zones, flowers come with seasonal shifts. Indoors, expect surprise buds after a cool spell by the window.

Best way to display them?

Hanging baskets show off trailing stems both inside and out. Shallow pots work well on shelves or ledges indoors. In warm climates, they can even be tied to a tree branch outside — exactly how they grow in the wild.

Extra note on indoor vs. outdoor care?

Indoors, watch for dry heated air in winter — they like a bit of humidity. A tray of pebbles and water under the pot helps. Outdoors, protect from heavy midday sun and bring them in if nights dip below the mid 30s F.

Jungle cacti are easy to keep and full of surprises. Whether trailing from a basket or blooming after dark, they prove that not every cactus belongs in the desert.

Read Garden Blog about Cacti

Add Jungle Cactus to your collection

Date: 30 Apr 2024

Its not a cherry blossom! What is this pink-flowered beauty? Its one of the most beautiful Florida trees

🌸 It's not a cherry blossom! What is this pink-flowered beauty? It's one of the most beautiful Florida trees...

Tabebuia impetiginosa
- Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, is a spectacular Winter-Spring bloomer!

  • ♦️ Nice landscape tree, compact and fits small yards.

  • ♦️Beautiful bright pink flowers with yellow throats, covering the tree before new leaves appear.

  • ♦️ Winter bloomer - great choice with snow birds who stay in Florida in winter and want to see some flowers.

  • ♦️ More tabebuia varieties exist with yellow, white, purple flowers.


❄️ Tabebuia is a cold hardy tropical, at least to upper 20's. Grows well in Central Florida.

🛒 Shop Tabebuias

#Nature_Wonders #Trees

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Date: 30 Sep 2025

Can you name all the fruits on this tray? One of them will stump you!

Papaya, Avocado, Egyptian guava and Cas guava, Barbados cherry, Peanut butter fruit

Can you name all the fruits on this tray? One of them will stump you!

  • 🥭 This morning I walked the garden and came back with a tray of fruits! That’s the joy of living in Florida with your own tropical garden: something new is always in season.
  • 🥭 On today’s tray: Papaya, Avocado, Egyptian guava and Cas guava, Barbados cherry… And this little red one? Peanut butter fruit!
  • 🥭 At Top Tropicals, you’ll find every tropical fruit tree you can imagine. What fruits are you harvesting from your garden right now?


🛒 Explore rare tropical fruit

📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #Discover

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