Date: 5 Jan 2026
Smokey: You get warm when you work. Plant now so roots are established before spring growth starts.
Sunshine: Alright. Lets see who stays warmer - you digging or me with coffee.
🌴 Why winter planting works in a warm climate
By our plant expert Tatiana Anderson
We are lucky to live in a warm climate. This is how I think about the seasons here. Winter is for roots. Spring is for growth. Summer is for managing heat and water.
So if we want plants that handle summer better, we plant them in the season that gives them the best start. Winter here is comfortable. The soil stays workable. The days are mild. And plants are not being stressed by heat. That is exactly why winter is the best time to plant in Florida and other warm areas.
If we use this season well, plants go into spring already settled instead of trying to catch up. This is what I like to plant now, and why.
🟢 Trees first. Anything that will be in the ground for years. Fruit trees, shade trees, flowering trees.
When we plant them in winter,
they can focus on roots before the spring growth surge starts. By the time
spring arrives, the tree is anchored and ready to grow on top.
Examples: mango, avocado, Eugenia
cherries, jackfruit,
sapodilla,
longan, lychee, canistel.
🟢 Shrubs next.
Shrubs establish faster than trees, but winter still gives
them an advantage. They settle in quietly before the spring flush and bloom
cycles begin. That usually means steadier growth and fewer problems
once heat returns.
Examples: gardenia,
jasmine, brunfelsia,
hibiscus, clerodendrums.
🟢
Vines are often overlooked. Vines want to grow fast when spring starts.
If the root system is not ready, you get weak growth and frustration.
Planting vines in winter gives them time to build a foundation first, so
spring growth has support.
Examples: Rangoon
creeper,
stephanotis, Petrea, Mexican
Flame Vine.
Date: 27 Jan 2026
🌸 Adenium, Coffee, and Donuts
Sunshine: So it is a team plant. Everyone blooms, nobody agrees.
Smokey: Yet it grows just fine.
Sunshine: That is the secret. Coffee and donuts.
🌸Featured Adeniums
Recommended by our Horticulturist, Tatiana Anderson
Deep magenta flowers with a velvety look and a darker, almost black edge. A bold, elegant adenium that stands out immediately.
Bright yellow and mauve swirls across layered petals create a warm, cheerful bloom that lives up to its name.
Clean white petals brushed with playful pink streaks. A reliable bloomer
with soft ruffled flowers.
Known for its three-color effect, shifting from yellow to pink to nearly white on the same plant.
Cheerful yellow petals dipped in cherry red with bold ruffled layers. Bright, playful, and impossible to miss.
Nearly black petals with a glowing red center. Dark, dramatic, and different.
Date: 1 Jul 2024
What is Nescafe Coffee made from?
Mucuna pruriens - Nescafe, Purple Jade Vine
💜 Earlier we mentioned Green Jade Vine and Yellow Jade Vine. This one is purple!
- Mucuna pruriens - Nescafe, Purple Jade Vine has unusual royal purple flowers. The dark violet blooms appear closely pushed together in grape like clusters, up to 1 ft long and 6"in diameter.
- The seeds known as mucuna beans or Nescafe and used as a coffee substitute.
- It has been used for generations in India as a medicinal plant.
- Very vigorous woody tree creeper - during warmer weather this vine can grow 2 feet a day!
- Related to red Jade vine (Mucuna bennettii).
🛒 Order Nescafe Vine
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Hedges_with_benefits
🏵 TopTropicals
Date: 12 Dec 2025
🎄 Holiday Plant Market:
Saturday, Dec 13, 2025, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM 🎉
Smokey: We invited people, so we need to be prepared for the crowd.
Sunshine: I am prepared. I saw yummy donuts on the flyer.
Smokey: Of course you did, genius. You are responsible for donuts
and coffee.
It is almost here. Our big end-of-season Plant Day. All year we grow the rare and unusual plants that will be featured at this event, and Saturday is the day they finally meet their new homes. The garden turns into a small holiday escape: fresh air, bright colors, music, snacks, and the PeopleCats greeting everyone like they have known you for years.
Meet PeopleCats crew in charge
Why you should come
It is December in Florida - warm breeze, sunshine, and perfect planting weather. While the rest of the country is scraping frost off windshields, you're choosing which banana tree to take home. Come enjoy a colorful Saturday surrounded by plants, music, snacks, and friendly PeopleCats. This is your holiday escape, your plant-hunting adventure, and your chance to bring home something amazing before the season ends.
Not Local?
Not everyone is lucky enough to live close by. For our online customers, here is 20% for online orders:
EVENT2025
Valid for online orders only. Minimum order $120 (excluding shipping and handling). Cannot be combined with any other discounts, coupon codes, automatic promotions, or special offers. Not valid on previous purchases. One use per customer. Code must be entered at checkout. Offer valid through the end of Sunday, 12/14/2025
Date: 20 Jan 2026
Smokey and Sunshine
Smokey: Yes.
Sunshine: Another article?
Smokey: No.
Sunshine: Advice?
Smokey: Also no.
Sunshine: Just plants?
Smokey: Just plants. New arrivals and top picks by our horticulturist
Sunshine: Perfect. I just enjoy the plants and coffee. Hope everyone reading does too.