Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 5 Jul 2024

Like the sweet, deep colors of tropical flowers, the fruits of the earth inspire and enrich our lives

Exotic tropical fruit on a tray

Exotic tropical fruit on a tray

💻 "Like the sweet, deep colors of tropical flowers, the fruits of the earth inspire and enrich our lives." - Homer

📸 Bael Fruit, Mangosteen, Sapodilla, Rambutan, Mango, Maprang - from Thailand fruit market

🛒 Shop rare tropical fruit trees

#Edible_Forest #Quotes

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 3 Jul 2024

Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?

Annona squamosa - Sugar apple, Red fruit Kampong Mauve

Annona squamosa - Sugar apple, Red fruit Kampong Mauve

Annona squamosa - Sugar apple, Green fruit Thai Lessard

Annona squamosa - Sugar apple, Green fruit Thai Lessard

🍏 Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?



Annona squamosa - Sugar apple - is considered by many as the most delicious tropical fruit. We introduced the Annona trees earlier.
  • ✳️ Very small, compact tree, perfect for container or small yard, see photos from our Tropical Fruit Tree contest Winner.
  • ✳️ Starts fruiting within 3 year from seed!
  • ✳️ Easy to grow and undemanding
  • ✳️ The fruit is sheer deliciousness, pulp resembling custard.


🛒 Order Sugar Apple

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 7 Aug 2024

Does Red Passion flower produce edible fruit?

Passiflora coccinea - Red Passion Flower

💃 Does Red Passion flower produce edible fruit?

  • ♥️ Passiflora coccinea, or Red Passion Flower, is a spectacular, passion-red variety!
  • ♥️ It is tropical, evergreen vine from South America known for its stunning scarlet-red flowers and edible passion fruit. Yes, the fruit are edible, but they are very rarely seen.
  • ♥️ It thrives in full sun or part shade with fertile, well-drained soils and can grow up to 10-12 feet long.
  • ♥️ This easy-to-grow plant is perfect for trellises, walls, and containers. Minimal pruning is needed, and it blooms primarily in summer and fall.
  • ♥️ Attracting butterflies and hummingbirds 🐝


💻 Do you grow Passion vines? Share yours in comments👇

📚 From previous post: The truth about Passion flower and Passion fruit.

🛒 Shop Passiflora plants

#Food_Forest #Butterfly_Plants

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 10 Aug 2024

How to make exotic Passion Fruit Champagne Slush

Passion Fruit Champagne Slush

Passion Fruit Champagne Slush

🍾 How to make exotic Passion Fruit Champagne Slush
  • Halve passion fruits crosswise and scoop out pulp with seeds into a bowl.
  • Sprinkle sugar over the pulp. Let sit at room temperature for an hour.
  • Stir in lime juice and boiling-hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour through a fine sieve, pressing on solids, then discard the seeds.
  • Freeze in ice cube tray.
  • Once frozen, add 1 cube per champagne flute, then slowly add the champagne.


Makes 6 cocktails:
  • ✔️ 10 passion fruits
  • ✔️ 1/2 cup sugar
  • ✔️ 1 tbsp lime juice
  • ✔️ 1/4 cup boiling hot water
  • ✔️ 1 chilled bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine


📚 From previous posts:
The truth about Passion flower and Passion fruit

🛒 Grow your own Passion fruit

#Recipes #Food_Forest

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 29 May 2024

What can be better than a Cherry? Cherry juice!

Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra)

Barbados Cherry juice

Barbados Cherry juice

🍒 What can be better than a Cherry? Cherry juice!
  • 🍷 We discovered that Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra) we introduced earlier makes an excellent fresh-squeezed juice!
  • 🍷 Barbados Cherry is a vigorous grower that starts producing right away, and by the second year you have so much fruit that you don't know what to do with it - you can eat only so much fruit out of hand!
  • 🍷 Here is our Top Tropicals Signature Recipe -


🍒Barbados Cherry Juice:

1. Collect berries and rinse them with cold water
2. In a bowl, press the fruit with a potato musher, spoon or cup, and drain the fresh juice into a cup - put the juice aside.
3. Add a few spoons of sugar to the mush (optional), push-mush some more to extract more juice.
4. Add to the remaining mushed pulp some hot boiled water, stir, and let sit for a couple of hours.
5. Drain the liquid through a colander (you may add a little extra water in the process of extracting more tasty pulp out) and add to the fresh juice you made earlier. 6. Refrigerate for an hour, then serve in a clear glass to enjoy the color.

🎀 The Barbados Cherry juice made this way tastes very similar to Guava juice. It is very aromatic and tasty, and has a beautiful Baby-pink color!

❤️ Enjoy and stay healthy!

🍊 Remember Barbados Cherry fruit contains 65 times more of vitamin C than an orange
!

📚 Learn more about Barbados Cherry

🛒 Order Barbados Cherry Tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes

🏵 TopTropicals