Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 15 Aug 2024

How to grow fragrant Cashmere Bouquet

Clerodendrum philippinum - Cashmere Bouquet, Scent Malli

💮 How to grow fragrant Cashmere Bouquet



💐
Clerodendrum philippinum - Cashmere Bouquet, Scent Malli - is one of the most popular Indian fragrant flowers.

💐 Fast growing bush with lush tropical foliage and very fragrant white flowers, carnation-like, coming in big clusters.

💐 Shade tolerant, great for shade gardens and as an indoor plant to enjoy tropical fragrance year around.

💐 This plant is fast growing in right conditions and can spread runners. Plant it in isolated corner or in keep in a pot unless you want to have a large size hedge in no time just from one plant within couple seasons...

📚 Learn more about Clerodendrums

🛒 Order Cashmere Bouquet

#Hedges_with_benefits #Perfume_Plants #Shade_Garden

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Date: 3 May 2025

How to add Music to your garden

Clerodendrum incisum - Musical Note, Morning Kiss

🎶 How to add Music to your garden

Clerodendrum incisum, also known as Musical Note or Morning Kiss, is a compact, low-maintenance plant with unusual, showy flowers that resemble musical notes, giving it its name.

♪ It thrives in both full sun and shade, tolerates some drought, and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, making it perfect for wildlife-friendly gardens. With blooms bursting everywhere, this plant creates a beautiful carpet of musical-note-shaped flowers around its base, offering a true symphony for your garden.

ℹ️ The unopened flowers resemble musical notes, giving the plant its name.

🛒 Get Musical Notes for your garden

📚 Learn more about Music Notes:


· Why it is called Musical Notes
· Musical Note hits its peak

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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Date: 10 Jun 2025

Bleeding Heart Vine surprised everyone this year!

Bleeding Heart Vine - Clerodendrum thomsoniae

💞 Bleeding Heart Vine surprised everyone this year!



❣️ Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) is not just a winter bloomer! Despite the common belief that it blooms only in winter, this beauty actually flowers year-round in warm climates, putting on a continuous display of red and white "hearts". It bloomed in winter, then in spring, and now - it's a summertime - it is still full of flowers!

❣️ The "bleeding heart" look comes from the striking contrast between the white calyx and the deep red flower inside - like a heart bursting with color.

❣️ It's a vigorous vine, perfect for trellises, arbors, or containers. It can even be trained as a shrub!

❣️ Grows best in bright filtered light or partial sun, and appreciates regular watering - but it's not fussy.

❣️ Pollinator magnet! The blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies, adding motion and life to your garden.

❣️ Tough and tropical - i'’s hardy, low maintenance, and stays evergreen in frost-free areas.

❣️ It's not shy, not seasonal, and definitely not boring!

📚 Learn more from previous posts:


💋When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts
💋Bleeding Heart Vine

🛒Get your own Bleeding Heart

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #Fun_Facts #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden

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Date: 15 Jan 2024

Florida Starter Garden in Winter

Odontonema  Firespike

Photo above: Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree

Q: We just moved to Florida and our yard is currently just plain grass. I want to add some beautiful tropical plants, but I'm not sure where to start. Can you suggest easy-to-care-for plants that look nice in winter, preferably with flowers? Considering it's Winter time and some trees look dormant... But I can't wait to start my tropical garden!

A: Florida residents are blessed to have mild winters, and many tropical and subtropical plants enjoy this climate year around. Just be mindful of your location's specific conditions (sun-shade, wet-dry, cold sensitive or hardy). Here are some recommendations for easy-to-grow, evergreen plants that love Florida and look great even in winter. They'll establish well during cooler months, add a splash of color to your garden with their flowers, and even treat you with fruit!

Winter flowers - will bloom now!

Clerodendrum Winter Starburst
Clerodendrum Blue Butterfly
Eranthemum Blue Sage
Odontonema Firespike
Pavonia - Brazilian Candles

Odontonema  Firespike

Photo above: Odontonema cuspidatum - Firespike

Fragrant Garden

Banana Magnolia
Jasminum sambac Little Duke Supreme
Vietnamese Gardenia
Nyctanthes - Parijat
Ylang Ylang vine

Gardenia  (Kailarsenia)  vietnamensis  -  Vietnamese  Gardenia

Photo above: Gardenia vietnamensis - Vietnamese Gardenia

Curious unusual trees

Hong Kong Orchid Tree
Candle Tree

Parmentiera  edulis  -  Candle  Tree,  Guahalote

Photo above: Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Easy fruit

Noni Tree
Yellow Dragon Fruit Palora
Coffee Tree

Morinda  citrifolia  -  Noni  Tree

Photo above: Morinda citrifolia - Noni Tree

Great looking now:
for Shade and Indoor Garden

Calathea zebrina - Zebra Plant
Black Bat Head Lily
White Bat Head Lily
Medinilla
Vanilla Orchid
Reed Ground Orchid
Calathea Fuzzy Pheasant
Colocasia Mojito
Syngonium

Tacca  nivea  -  White  Bat  Head  Lily

Photo above: Tacca nivea - White Bat Head Lily

Date: 2 Jul 2023

Three colors of flowers
for 4th of July

Blue,  Red  and  White  flowers  for  4th  of  July

Q: Our anniversary is on the 4th of July. Do you have anything that might be a good gift? Maybe something flowering that has red, white and blue flowers... I know that is a lot to ask but maybe you have an idea?

A: We appreciate your intriguing question and extend our heartfelt congratulations on your approaching anniversary. Numerous tropical plants lend themselves beautifully to a captivating blend of red, blue, and white hues. Here are our top recommendations for the most delightful combination:

White: Jasmine sambac fragrant bush (var. Arabian Nights is our favorite, it's a free-bloomer and easy to grow)

Blue: Clitoria Vine, it is fast growing controllable vine, everbloomer. There is also a White variety of Clitoria, you can plant them together!

Red: Gloxinia, a smaller perennial that perfectly fits into this combination of three.

More flowers for white-blue-red colors:

White: Gardenias, Jasmines, Almond Bush, Brunfelsia, Clerodendrum Bridal Veil, fragrant Cashmere Bouquet, White Brazilian Plume Flower, Montanoa - Tree Chrysanthemum

Blue: Blue Sage Lead Flower, Blue Butterfly Clerodendrum, Weeping Blue Ginger, Duranta, Thunbergia erecta - Kings Mantle, and its white variety Alba, Blue Sky vine

Red: Cat Tail Acalypha, Dwarf Poinciana, Red Bottlebrush, Pavonia multiflora - Brazilian Candles (it's actually red-and-blue), Red Button Ginger - French Kiss, Brazilian plume, Firespike , Scarlet Flame Passion Flower, Quisqualis (has white and red flowers on the same plant).

Quisqualis  Indica  -  Rangoon  Creeper

Quisqualis Indica - Rangoon Creeper. Spectacular bloom, flowers change color from white to pink to red. Sweet fragrance. Very fast growing, perfect for covering a fence or pagoda.