Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 25 Sep 2022

Guava, the easiest container fruit tree

Guava  fruit  on  a  branch

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Guava is one of the most popular and well-known tropical fruit because it is so tasty, sweet, juicy and flavorful! Many people are familiar with it because of the large number of products made from this aromatic fruit. But very few people know that Guava tree culture is very easy and this plant can fruit in a pot right away. Guava tree start blooming and producing fruit as small as 1 gal pot size. It can be kept in compact shape, responds well to pruning, stays bushy and grows very fast. It is a perfect container fruit tree or a specimen for a tropical garden of any size.
Upon ripening, the fruit becomes soft and juicy. It may be eaten fresh, made into a juice or nectar contain fruit pulp, or made into preserves, jam, jelly, or paste. A distinctive, savory-fresh aroma of fruit is thermo-stable, thus survives processing. The guava is an excellent source of vitamins C and A.
The plant is relatively cold hardy. Our young trees, 3 months after being planted in the ground were exposed to a short period of freeze last winter (mid-20's) but they grew back without significant damage. Try to keep Guava cold-protected for the first winter, then it will be much hardier once established.
Guavas are fast growers and heavy feeders, and benefit from regular applications of fertilizer. Make sure to get some Sunshine Boosters fertilizer: Sunshine C-Cibus - Crop Booster, and feed them your round.

Guava  tree  fruiting  in  container

Guava  fruit

Date: 18 Sep 2022

The fruit of Heaven:
Phyllanthus acidus - Amlak, Otaheite Gooseberry

Phyllanthus  acidus  -  Amlak,  Otaheite  Gooseberry  in  a  pot

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This is a fun rare fruit tree to have if you like lemonade and believe in Vitamin C benefits! The tree is super easy to grow, relatively cold hardy and doesn't require any special care. It is a fast growing plant, however the mature tree is only about 20 ft so it will be well suited for any size garden, even container garden. As you can see, it happily fruits in a pot. Bright yellow fruit are beautiful and curious, they always make a conversation piece!

About Otaheite Gooseberry

Otaheite Gooseberry, or Amlak, is a rare tropical fruit tree from SE Asia and India, very close related to Phyllanthus emblica (Amla, Amlaki), however it is much cold hardy than Amla. Known as Amritphala in Sanskrit, which literally means "the fruit of heaven" or "nectar fruit". It is so called because it has many helth benefits. Amlak is one of the favorite fruit of Indian people who definitely know what is good for you! Fruit paste is a major ingredient of Chavyanprash, a popular Ayurvedic tonic. It is the richest source of vitamin C.
Fruits are borne in loose clusters, which hang from the tree trunk and main branches. Fruits are esteemed for jellies, preserves and pastries, and are great for making a delicious lemonade rich in vitamin C. There are no commercial plantings; trees grow only in home gardens.

You need to have one! Or two. We have only limited quantities.

Phyllanthus  acidus  -  Amlak,  Otaheite  Gooseberry,  mature  tree

Phyllanthus  acidus  -  Amlak,  Otaheite  Gooseberry,  lot  of  loose  fruit

Date: 4 Sep 2022

Avocado Black Prince

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Avocado variety - what's the taste?

Avocado  Black  Prince

We obtained Black Prince Avocado variety this year and at first didn't know much about it. Until we tried the first fruit! The fruit was large, oval, green and slightly pebbly. We were not sure if it would taste like some green avocados - watery and less buttery? The fruit turned black couple days after it was picked, ripened and softened. We were pleasantly surprised, Black Prince deserves its title! The fruit pulp is thick, and has a rich, nutty flavor. The little trees grew this year vigorously and didn't show any bug or deficiency problems. Superior variety for a backyard grower! Giving it 5 stars! *****
We have Black Prince Avocado in 3 gal pots, as well as in XX-Large size for local pick up - for those who want a large fruiting size tree, please contact our Garden Center to pre-order from our Growing Farm (B-Farm). It can be delivered and installed for you!

Why grow your own Avocado tree?

Why grow your own Avocado tree? This is why. Now we import 89% of the U.S. avocado from Mexico. How much of a difference we could make if we were all growing our own avocados? Support our own horticulture, help Avocado to become grown in the USA!

Avocado  Varieties

Date: 3 Jul 2022

New video: the sweetest Night Blooming Jasmine

Night blooming jasmine is a tropical garden favorite: the sweetest fragrance at night is intoxicating! It is one of the most famous and desirable fragrant plants. Flowers are pale yellow to white, open at night and stay extremely fragrant until sunrise. Aroma is sweet, pleasant and intoxicating. These flowers are widely used in India and other countries of South Asia for perfumery, medicinal applications and in religious ceremonies. Best location will be near driveway, window or entrance, where the magic fragrance can be appreciated.

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Night  Blooming  Jasmine

Date: 1 Jul 2022

New video: Cheena
Jackfruit x Chempedak Natural Hybrid - Jackedak

Jack-edak is a highly recommended variety grown in TopTropicals garden from a seedling of Cheena (Jackfruit x Chempedak) that fruited for us within 3 years from planting. The fruit (20-25"size) is probably the best we ever tasted! It is super sweet, crunchy and has a rich, pleasant, excellent flavor. It has very little latex which makes it easy to handle when cutting up. The tree produces at the very base of the trunk, so you can prune it as short as you want. Our tree survived light frosts as well as 48 hours of 3 ft flooding, with no damage! Cheena is a natural hybrid between Jackfruit and Chempedak. The tree has an open, low and spreading growth habit and can be maintained at a height and spread of 8 ft with annual pruning. Cheena is a consistent producer. The fruit are up to 25 lbs, long, narrow and uniform in size and shape. The skin is green, with blunt spines that yellow and open slightly upon maturity. Comes true from seed.

Cheena  -  Jackfruit  x  Chempedak  Natural  Hybrid  -  Jackedak

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