Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 10 Apr 2025

Pre-hurricane season tips: how to protect your trees from winds

Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree

Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree

Tabebuia caraiba - Yellow trumpet tree crooked with wind

Tabebuia caraiba - Yellow trumpet tree crooked with wind

🌪 Pre-hurricane season tips: how to protect your trees from winds



Some trees like mango have deep roots and handle wind well. Others - like our favorites Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree or Tabebuia caraiba - Yellow trumpet tree (in the photos) - need extra care. You've likely seen crooked Tabebuias in South Florida or lost a bushy Tulip Tree to strong winds. Their wide crowns act like sails in a storm.

💨 To help your trees withstand wind damage:

  • ✅ Stake young trees with strong support - use a tripod-style setup (three bamboo sticks or boards secured around the tree for balance from all sides)
  • ✅ Check and adjust supports every 6 months
  • ✅ Trim long or rubbing branches - they break first
  • ✅ Add extra support if a storm is coming (larger trees benefit from sturdy tripod-style bracing with boards)
  • ✅ Lighten bushy growth, less sail = more survival

💡 Some remove all leaves from plumeria before a hurricane - it works!
💡 We pruned our Tulip Tree and Ceiba - and they withstood Hurricane Milton while others fell
  • ✅ If a tree falls, stand it up ASAP and support it. Trim broken branches - they’ll remind you what needed pruning before, not after!
  • ✅ Trees protected young, grow strong for life.


🛒 Grab your beautiful Tulip Tree and Tabebuia Tree today - support them early for strength and beauty later!

📚 Learn more:


Everyone loves these tulips growing on a tree

#How_to #Trees #Discover

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 24 Jul 2023

Easy, stress-free plants
for Summer planting

Cat  with  Bananas

Q: With the rising temperatures, I'm concerned about shipping my plants safely. Can they withstand the heat during transit? Also, is it okay to plant them in the ground now, or should I wait for cooler Fall weather?

A: Your concern about shipping plants in hot weather is valid. For sensitive plants, we'll delay shipping until conditions are more favorable in your area. However, there are plenty of heat-tolerant tropical plants that handle shipping well with minimal stress. These plants adapt easily when planted during the hot summer months. Simply follow the included planting instructions, gradually acclimate them to full sun, and they should thrive.

Certain flowering tropical plants, such as Allamandas, Calliandras, Caesalpinias, Adeniums, and Clerodendrums, are excellent options for shipping and establishing during the summer. Flowering vines like Jasmines also adapt well. Consider using Sunshine Booster fertilizers to promote robust growth, they are safe to use right after planting.

Additionally, many fruit trees flourish in heat. Mangoes, Avocados, Pomegranates, Pineapples, Loquats, Eugenias - Tropical cherries, Bananas, Jackfruits, Dragon Fruit, and Olive trees are great choices for summer planting. Noni trees are hardy survivors and usually ship and grow well during the summer, in spite of their lush tropical leaves.

Feel free to check with us about the specific plant you plan to order for its suitability in summer shipping. We're here to take care of your green babies and address your year-round planting needs!

Pitaya  Yellow  Dragon  Fruit,  Selenicereus  megalanthus

Pitaya, Yellow Dragon Fruit, Selenicereus megalanthus

Cat  with  Bananas

Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans thrives and blooms in hot sun

Cat  with  Bananas

Kalanchoe synsepala Magnificent

Date: 23 Apr 2019

Fruit tree size and production

TopTropicals.com

Q: I am interested in a Strawberry Tree... does this tree produce fruit while still small or do I have to wait until it is large before it produces? Should I fertilize it so it produces sooner? I ask because my garden is not large and I prefer to keep my fruit growing trees in a smaller size. Also, how big is the fruit and does it have a seed?

A: Strawberry Tree, Muntingia Calabura, is one of those fascinating fruit trees that starts flowering and fruiting in small size. We have plants growing in 1 gal containers that already have flowers. This tree is nearly year-round producer providing warm conditions. It is a fast grower, although a compact tree when mature, and can be trimmed to desirable size without affecting production.
Muntingia fruit is one of our favorites. It is super sweet and juicy, and the seeds are tiny small, not bigger than the strawberry seeds, so you don't have to spit them out. The fruit size normally about 1/2 inch, but we have a tree in our garden that produces almost cherry-size fruit! See picture above. The secret is, good watering and using fruit booster - SUNSHINE honey micro-element supplement. We also fertilize our fruit trees using Fruit Festival and Mango-Food fertilizers.

Date: 17 May 2024

Are these kittens or puppies?

🐱🐶 Are these kittens or puppies?

Mango - the dog we rescued - happened to be a few weeks away from... bringing into the world these 8 cute pups!

Good night and sweet dreams about cute kittens and puppies🌜

📸 😺 👇 Share your cats and pups in comments!

🐾 #PeopleCats in our Garden:
PeopleCats.Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 22 Jun 2024

Pineapple Season started!
The most luscious Hospitality Fruit

Pineapples

Pineapple plant (Ananas comosus) produces a delicious fruit treat and is a fascinating plant to grow.

King of fruits. Pineapple is often referred to as the "king of fruits" (along with Durian and Mango). It is cherished for its sweet and tangy taste, refreshing qualities, culinary uses, and health benefits, including high vitamin C content and digestive enzymes.

Bromelain for healthy guts: pineapples contain an enzyme called bromelain that can break down proteins and is often used as a meat tenderizer. It's great for digestion; eat 1 slice of pineapple after every meal to maintain healthy digestive system.

Single fruit per plant: each pineapple plant produces just one pineapple per year.

Growth time: It takes about 18-24 months for a pineapple to mature and be ready for harvest.

Symbol of Hospitality: in many cultures, pineapples are a symbol of hospitality and welcome.

Those are berries! A pineapple is formed from many individual single fruit (technically, berries), which fuse together around the core.

Cultivation. Pineapples are easy to grow. They need very little water to thrive, and take full sun, shade, semi-shade. For faster production, fertilize with SUNSHINE boosters Ananas - Pineapple and Bromeliad Booster. Perfect container plant, Pineapple can be grown indoors as a houseplant. Many superior varieties are available in selection.

Learn more: The most luscious Hospitality Fruit - Pineapple.

Sunshine  Boosters  Ananas

Pineapple