Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 20 Feb 2026

Top Ten Fruit Tree Winners of Florida 2026 Record Freeze

Avocado tree with fruit

Avocado tree with fruit

Eugenia

Eugenia

Feijoa - Pineapple Guava

Feijoa - Pineapple Guava

Jaboticaba tree

Jaboticaba tree

Loquat tree

Loquat tree

Macadamia Nut tree

Macadamia Nut tree

Prunus sp - Peach

Prunus sp - Peach

Persimmon tree

Persimmon tree

Pomegranate tree with fruit

Pomegranate tree with fruit

Psidium littorale - Cattley Guava tree with fruit

Psidium littorale - Cattley Guava tree with fruit

🏆 Top Ten Fruit Tree Winners of Florida 2026 Record Freeze



These fruit trees had no damage after 3 nights of hard freeze (25F) with NO PROTECTION:

🛒 Explore cold tolerant tropical plants and cold hardy Avocados

📚 Learn more:


#Discover #How_to #Food_Forest

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 11 Mar 2026

📅 Do Not Miss: March 21 - Spring Equinox Plant Market

🍩 Saturday, March 21, 2026: 9 am - 4 pm

Smokey  the  tuxedo  cat  in  work  clothes  studies  the  Spring  Equinox  Plant 
 Market  poster  at  the  Top  Tropicals  nursery  entrance  while  Sunshine  the 
 ginger  tabby  cat  rides  a  bicycle  balancing  coffee  and 
 donuts.
Sunshine: Smokey, look at me! See what I can do on my bike? I'm practicing to give people what they like: coffee and donuts.

Smokey: You'd be perfect for a Gulf beach cafe. But gardeners don't come here for donuts.

Sunshine: Really? Then why do they come?

Smokey: Some gardeners lost plants to the freeze. Others want trees that will handle winter better. Cold-hardy avocados. Macadamia. Grumichama. And some just come for fun - to see the PeopleCats.

Sunshine: And my charm... and my donuts will make it more fun.

Read more about Smokey & Sunshine

Ft Myers Garden Center: 13890 Orange River, Ft Myers, FL
Sebring B-Farm : 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL

More Spring Equinox Plant Market details

🌞 Welcome to our Spring Equinox Plant Market, proudly hosted by the PeopleCats of Top Tropicals.

This one feels different.

After Florida’s record freeze, many gardens are brown, trimmed back, or missing a few old friends. We felt it too. And now - we rebuild.

The equinox marks equal day and night. More light ahead. New growth beginning.

And the PeopleCats are ready🐾.

  • 🐱King is back on gate duty - inspecting every vehicle for proper plant-hauling capacity.
  • 😺Paisley is rearranging freeze survivors and new arrivals like a design consultant.
  • 😼Snitch is supervising recovery efforts from a comfortable chair.
  • 😸Persephone is checking under tables for "hidden spring energy."
  • 😻Sushi and Loki are preparing for guided garden tours - recovery edition.

This is not just a plant market. This is the spring reset.

👍 Why You Should Come

It is finally warm in Florida. After several nights of hard freeze, some plants survived - and some didn’t. This event is your chance to see real freeze champions in person.

If you lost plants, you are not alone. If you are ready to plant smarter, this is your moment.

Walk the gardens. See proven winter survivors. Discover cold-hardy fruit trees and resilient ornamentals. Get practical advice about replanting after freeze. This is rebuilding - Florida style.

♥️ What Makes This Event Special

We are featuring:

  • Verified freeze survivors
  • Cold-hardy fruit trees
  • Tough flowering trees and shrubs
  • Replacement plants for damaged landscapes
  • Smart layering ideas for frost-resilient gardens
  • You will see which species handled 25F with wind and multiple nights of freeze - with no protection.

Real-world test. Real results.

Cold hardy fruit favorites include:

🌸 Cold hardy subtropical flowering trees including:

And many other cold hardy plants

🎉Event Highlights

  • 30% OFF online prices
  • FREE plants with purchase
  • $5-10 specials
  • Exciting raffle prizes

🌳Don't just mow - grow!

Start your food forest, beat rising prices, and plant a future your family will thank you for.

🌿 Friendly Reminder
Just a quick reminder before we go: Sunshine Boosters are still shipping free. If you were thinking about stocking up for the season, now is a great time to do it while the offer is still active.

🛒 Feed your plants

Date: 9 Mar 2026

Golden canistel cream: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Golden canistel cream

Golden canistel cream

Pouteria campechiana - Canistel, Eggfruit

Pouteria campechiana - Canistel, Eggfruit

🍴 Golden canistel cream: quick-n-fun exotic recipes


Golden Canistel Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe canistel (eggfruit)
  • 2 to 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 to 2 tsp honey

Instructions

  1. Scoop the ripe canistel flesh into a bowl.
  2. Add milk and honey.
  3. Mash until smooth and creamy.
  4. Warm gently in a small pan if desired.
  5. Serve warm like a thick tropical porridge.

🌿 About the plant:


Also called Eggfruit, canistel has bright yellow flesh that is dense and slightly dry when ripe.

🏡 In the garden:


Grows well in warm climates with good drainage. Compact growth makes it suitable for small yards.

🛒 Plant Canistel Egg Fruit tree - grows well in container too

📚 Learn more:

Plant Facts

Pouteria campechiana
Canistel, Eggfruit, Chesa
USDA Zone: 9-11
Large tree taller than 20 ftSmall tree 10-20 ftFull sunRegular waterEdible plant
  • Pouteria campechiana - Canistel, Eggfruit - in Plant Encyclopedia
  • This old-school tropical fruit is making a quiet comeback: Eggfruit - Canistel
  • Canistel breakfast mash: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • Health Benefits of Canistel Fruit
  • Pouteria campechiana - Canistel, the curious heart-shaped Egg Super-Fruit

  • #Food_Forest #Recipes

    🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

    Date: 27 Jan 2026

    Jackfruit golden hash: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

    Jackfruit golden hash in frying pan

    Jackfruit golden hash in frying pan

    Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) fruit

    Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) fruit

    🍴 Jackfruit golden hash: quick-n-fun exotic recipes



    Jackfruit Golden Hash

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup ripe jackfruit pods, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter
    • 1 pinch salt
    • Fresh lime juice (optional)

    Instructions

    1. Chop ripe jackfruit pods into small pieces.
    2. Heat coconut oil or butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
    3. Add the chopped jackfruit and pan-sear until the edges begin to caramelize.
    4. Toss with a tiny pinch of salt.
    5. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice and serve warm.


    🌿 About the plant:


    Jackfruit is the world’s largest tree-borne fruit, native to South and Southeast Asia. When ripe, its golden pods are sweet, fragrant, and naturally caramelize when cooked. It has been a staple food for centuries, used both ripe and unripe in desserts and savory dishes.

    🌱 In the garden:


    Jackfruit is a fast-growing tropical tree that thrives in warm climates with full sun and good drainage. It loves regular water and fertile soil, it's a heavy feeder. Best suited for USDA zones 9b-11, it can be grown in large containers when young and makes a bold, architectural fruit tree in the landscape. The fruit forms at the base of the tree, so trimming it under 7-8 ft makes it easier for cold protection.

    🛒 Plant your own Jackfruit tree

    📚 Learn more:

    Plant Facts

    Artocarpus heterophyllus, Artocarpus integrifolius
    Jackfruit, Jakfruit, Langka, Nangka, Jaca
    USDA Zone: 9-11
    Large tree taller than 20 ftFull sunRegular waterEdible plantSubtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short time
  • Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) in Plant Encyclopedia
  • Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes. Jackfruit Tree.
  • How to Grow Jackfruit: Practical Guide

    🎥 We Cut Open a 37 lb Jackfruit - You Won't Believe What's Inside!

    #Food_Forest #Recipes

    🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
  • Date: 15 Jan 2021

    Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

    New Boosters for the New Year!
    Sunshine Total Feed: Orchidasm and Citron

    How to grow everblooming orchids?

    Q: I ended up with a large collection of orchids that I was given as presents... They grow well but unfortunately after the showy blooms were gone, I don't see any more flowers, just green leaves. What do I need to do to make them bloom again? Should I fertilize them with Azalea bloom booster?

    A: Orchids culture is different from garden ornamental plants. First big difference, they are epiphytes, growing in a loose bark medium rather than soil, and benefit from daily mist. Second difference is a type of fertilizer. You can not use a regular garden fertilizer on orchids, because they are very sensitive to salts. Orchids need special, acidic type of fertilizer, very mild in action.
    Luckily, Sunshine Boosters formulas are exactly what orchids need! They are amino-acid based, have very mild formulas, and do not create nutrient lock up (building up salts is one of the biggest enemies of tender orchids).
    A new Sunshine Boosters Orchidasm TotalFeed is scientifically balanced orchid food that contains all necessary nutrients, including micro-elements, for healthy, happy, vigorous orchids. It can be used as often as daily with every foliage spray. From our testing experience, after using Orchidasm Booster, orchids not only got happy and thriving - they also bloom more often - up to several times a year, shooting new flower spikes one after another! (while normal blooming cycle for most orchids is once a year). It gets even better - the flower display lasts twice longer!
    To enjoy these beautiful flowers year around - treat them with Love, give them some Orchidasm!

    See more information with pictures in Sunshine Boosters Orchid Blog

    Secrets of a healthy Citrus tree

    Q: We planted several citrus trees in our yard - Meyer Lemon, Grapefruit and Blood Orange. The trees came from the store full of flowers and even had a few fruit, but a year after planting - no more flowers! The old leaves are green, but new growth doesn't look healthy, leaves are yellowish and have spots, maybe eaten by bugs (?), and how do we get them to fruit?

    A: Citrus plants are not the easiest trees to grow; they are susceptible to various diseases, pests, and deficiencies, especially in areas with high humidity/rainfall like Florida. Fungi, viruses, leaf minors, chlorosis - this is not a complete list of citrus common problems. In commercial groves, these conditions are kept under control by using harsh chemicals on solid schedule.
    For home gardeners, growing citrus trees may become a challenge. Many people don't want to use harsh chemicals on their edibles; and those who do, may not always have time to apply treatments on a professional schedule. So as much as we all love a fresh juicy orange, growing your own may become quite a pain!
    Sunshine Citron TotalFeed is your simple, eco-safe solution to a healthy looking, productive citrus tree with organic fruit! Amino-acid based formula provides all necessary elements to strengthen the tree and make it resistant to possible problems.
    Did you know that treatment of leaf chlorosis (yellow leaves with dark green veins), commonly treated with iron supplements, in fact requires a complex combination of nutrients - both balanced NPK and micro-elements?
    Use Sunshine Citron in combination with Sunshine GreenLeaf and Sunshine SuperFood and never see yellow chlorotic leaves again!
    Apply Sunshine Epi on regular basis (every 2 weeks) and help your tree boost its immune system and stay virus-free.
    Add Sunshine Honey, and you will have large, juicy fruit that are much sweeter and more flavorful than those from the store! All these boosters are compatible with each other, and perfectly natural. Eat your fruit safely and enjoy...

    Read more about treating citrus tree defficiencies in Sunshine Boosters Citrus Blog.