Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date: 10 Dec 2025
Fred - the most inquisitive and smartest of all her tuxedo cats!
Cat Fred
Date: 1 Jan 2026
Mango trees with bamboo support
Staking young trees
Date: 5 Jan 2026
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: 11 Jan 2026
Fat orange cat on treadmill with tropical fruit that help lose weight naturally
Date: 13 Aug 2019
Q: I have ordered dozens of trees from you and have a question about Soursop. I have a Soursop in a container and ants and aphids are under new leaves. Do Soursop like little water? I water almost everyday living in southern Los Angeles it's been around 76-80F. I spray the aphids and ants off with a mist setting on my hose. They come back every day. They're only on new leaves...
A: First of all, you don't have to remove the ants iа they
don't bother you. Ants are good insects, they do not harm plants; most likely
they are attracted by a sweet sap - aphid by-product. Ants clean up a plant,
and they may even take care of some bad insects.
It is not difficult to get rid of aphids. Use a safe treatment: in a
small spray bottle, mix 1 cup of warm water, 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 2
tablespoons of any cooking oil (if you have Neem oil or Horticultural oil - even
better, but prepare, they are pretty stinky). Spray the leaves with this
solution to a dripping point. Repeat in a few days if needed. This simple remedy
will take care of the aphids.
Daily water may be ok for the plant during hot weather, as long as the
soil is not constantly moist. Let the surface of the soil get a little dry
between waterings.
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - for sweeter fruit
SUNSHINE SuperFood - microelement supplement
