Date: 31 Aug 2025
Happy Labor Day!
Labor Day cats Smokey & Sunny enjoy BBQ in fruit
garden
Labor Day is a good reminder that gardening is work, but it is the kind of work that gives back. Digging, hauling, trimming, watering — it all counts as labor, and it all makes life better. Take a little time this weekend to enjoy what has already grown, even if the next project is waiting right around the corner.
Celebrate the holiday with blooms and savings — 15% off orders $100+ this Labor Day, excluding S&H. Expires Exp. 09-03-2025
LABORDAY25
Date: 28 Sep 2025
Guava: The Healthiest Fruit You Can Grow
Guava varieties: Pink flesh (upper left quarter), White flesh and Cas (upper right quarter), Red Cattley Guava (bottom left quarter) and Golden Cattley (bottom right quarter).
Let’s talk Guava. Few fruits check as many boxes: flavor, productivity, health, and adaptability. We’ve grown guava trees at Top Tropicals for years here in Florida, and it never fails to surprise people with how easy it is — and how quickly it rewards you.
🌿 Health Benefits
We know the first question:"Why guava in addition to all the other fruit trees I could plant?"Because guava is one of the healthiest tropical fruits you can eat and grow — and it produces faster than almost anything else.
- Vitamin C powerhouse — guava has four times more vitamin C than oranges. One fruit covers your daily needs and then some.
- Potassium and fiber — good for balancing blood pressure and keeping your heart strong.
- Antioxidants like lycopene and vitamin C — these keep your skin glowing and help protect your cells from damage.
- Dietary fiber — aids digestion and helps keep blood sugar steady.
- Guava is a true"food as medicine"tree you can plant right in your backyard or in pot.
♥️ Our Favorite Varieties are Available Now
We currently have a DOZEN excellent guava varieties in stock selected by our plant expert Tatiana Anderson — something special for every garden. Our top picks are:
Pink Guavas
- Barbie Pink – Yellow pear-shaped fruit with thick pink flesh, sweet and juicy. Cold hardy for a tropical fruit. The best seller.
- Hong Kong – Large, round, smooth pink fruit. Sweet flavor, very few seeds, and very productive.
- Tikal – Our top pick. Fast-growing, disease-resistant, and produces the sweetest pink guavas with very few seeds.
White Guavas
- Indonesian White – Aromatic, classic white-fleshed guava with an excellent tropical flavor.
- Kilo White – Giant fruit up to 2 lbs (1 kilo) each! Few seeds, creamy white flesh, and fruits even in containers.
Compact/Dwarf
Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow
- Dwarf Hawaiian Rainbow – Stays under 6 ft, perfect for patios and pots, yet produces full-sized fruit.
Specialty Varieties
Cas Guava with zero sugar for Costa Rican Agua de Cas drink
- Cas Guava – Bold, tangy, almost zero sugar. The traditional Costa Rican Agua de Cas drink comes from this fruit. Cold hardy.
- Hawaiian Gold, Yellow Strawberry Guava – The sweetest Strawberry Guava, golden fruit, great for fresh eating and drinks.
- Brazilian Araca Pera – Rare hybrid used for Guava Wine in Brazil. Tart, concentrated juice makes excellent wine, sorbet, or jelly. Learn more...
- Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen – Feijoa sellowiana. Strongly perfumed fruit, best enjoyed when the pulp is mixed with sugar – like forest strawberries. Cold-hardy, tolerates freeze, and doubles as a great windbreak. Learn more...
Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen – Feijoa sellowiana
Every one of these thrives here in Florida or in warm climate. Some are better in pots, some as landscape trees, but all produce generously.
🎥 Watch short videos about Guava:
💲 Special Offer – 20% off Guava Fruit Plants!
Get 20% OFF already discounted Guava plants with code
GUAVA2025
Min order $100. Excluding S/H, valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.
Hurry, offer expires October 02, 2025!
Date: 7 Oct 2025
🌸 Caring for Winter-Blooming Trees
Tips from Top Tropicals Plant Expert - Tatiana Anderson
When northern gardens fade into gray, our tropicals wake up. Winter is color season here - and even if you live up north, you can still enjoy these same flowering trees indoors or on a sunny patio.
From the fiery Royal Poinciana to the golden Tabebuia and violet Jacaranda, these eight trees prove that winter can bloom anywhere
How to Care for Winter-Flowering Trees
We're often asked, at Top Tropicals, “Can I really grow tropical trees in winter?” Yes — with the right light and care, you can. Here’s what works best both outdoors and indoors, according to our expert, Tatiana Anderson.
🌡️ Fall Planting Guide
Let’s talk about timing, because that’s the part most people get nervous about. Everyone asks: “Isn’t it too cool to plant now?” — and the answer is no! Fall and early winter are actually the best months for tropicals in Zones 9 to 11.
Here’s why: the air has cooled off, but the soil is still warm. Roots love that combination. They quietly spread underground while the rest of the plant takes a break. By spring, those roots are ready to feed a burst of new growth — and that’s when you’ll see the first big flush of flowers.
Pick a sunny spot that gets plenty of light — six to eight hours if you can. Loosen the soil and mix in compost or pine bark so it drains well. Dig a hole about twice as wide as the pot and just as deep. Set the plant level with the ground, backfill, and water it deeply to settle everything in. Then add mulch — two or three inches is plenty — but keep it away from the trunk so it can breathe.
Tatiana’s tip: “Fall planting builds roots while everyone else is resting. By spring, your tree wakes up ready to grow.”
🌳 Outdoor Care (Warm Climates Zones 9–11)
Now, let’s talk about what happens after planting — because real gardening starts once the plant is yours. Tropical trees thrive on routine: steady sunlight, deep watering, and just a bit of attention.
Water them about once a week when the weather is mild, more often if it’s dry or windy. Always check the soil first — if it feels dry two inches down, go ahead and water. Mulch helps more than most people realize — it keeps roots cool in summer and warm in winter, and it saves you from watering as often.
Now, for those of you in Zone 9, here’s the truth: your trees can take a chill, but they don’t love surprises. A quick night in the upper 20s F won’t hurt mature plants, but young ones appreciate a little help — a frost cloth or being planted at the south side.
And don’t underestimate the wind. Cold, dry gusts can burn leaves faster than frost. Use fences, hedges, or taller shrubs as windbreaks, and take advantage of microclimates — those warm pockets next to the house, brick patios, or corners that get extra afternoon sun.
Tatiana’s tip: “A tropical garden in Zone 9 isn’t about fighting nature — it’s about cooperating with it. Find the warm corners, protect from the cold wind, and your trees will thank you with flowers all winter.”
🏚️ Indoor & Patio Care (Cooler Climates)
For our northern friends — yes, you can grow tropicals indoors! You just need good light, warm air, and a little attention.
Pick a large pot, with drainage holes and a light tropical soil mix. Place it in a bright window — south or southwest if you can — or under grow lights for about 12–14 hours a day. Keep temperatures between 65 and 85 F, and water when the top inch of soil dries out.
Misting helps keep leaves clean and adds humidity. Rotate the pot every couple of weeks so all sides get sun. In summer, move your plant outdoors gradually so it can enjoy real sunlight — then bring it back in before nights drop below 40 F.
Tatiana’s tip: “Don’t be afraid of growing trees in pots. They adapt beautifully — just select the right trees and pay attention to their needs.”
✔️ Learn more: Secrets of Winter planting - tropical planting breaks the rules.
🎥 Watch short videos about Winter Bloomers:
💲 Special Offer – 20% off Winter Bloomers!
Get 20% OFF winter bloomers with code
BLOOM2025
Min order $100. Excluding S/H, valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.
Hurry, offer expires October 13, 2025!
Date: 1 Jan 2019
Top Tropicals New Year Resolutions
We take this opportunity to extend our grateful thanks to all visitors and friends of our garden and website. The entire Top Tropicals team wishing you a Happy New Year with Happy New Plants!
In 2019, Top Tropicals plans include (but are not limited to):
- improved design of the website, online store and shopping cart
- many new introductions of rare flowering plants including Red Jade
Vine, lots of new Adeniums
- rare fruit trees, including Mangosteen, Nutmeg, Clove and more
- extended selection of rare tropical seeds
- many new videos of rare tropical plants
- free and discounted shipping
Stay informed with our Newsletter updates!
New Year Resolutions for Gardeners in 2019
January is the month to plan and dream about your yard and garden. Grow
your garden a few steps at a time each year: pick a few resolutions for 2019
and plan accordingly. Next year, a few more, and so on until you build the
garden of your dreams.
This winter, resolve to:
- Hang a bird feeder.
- Order seeds of some rare plants so you can have an early start.
- Prune a tree into an espalier - it's a perfect time before Spring.
- Ask your grandparents what they grew in their gardens.
- Build a raised bed for succulents.
- If you live in a warm climate, plant a fruit tree or two.
- Start a compost pile.
- Plant a palm tree.
- Try some plant boosters to improve your plants hardiness.
- Chose Flowering trees, shrubs and vines suitable for areas in your garden that still have room...
- Install a rain barrel.
- Eat outside as often as possible.
- Show a child how to plant a tree.
- Provide a water source for bees and butterflies. They are not only
cool, but also pollinators that will help to set fruit and seeds!
- Call TopTropicals for garden advise - what to plant, where to plant,
and how not to kill it!
- Plant a berry-bearing tree or shrubs to feed the birds. Mulberry, Blackberry, Tropicals Cherries - are always good choices. They are 15% OFF now
Date: 28 Dec 2018
FEATURED BUTTERFLY PLANT:
Duranta variegata - Variegated Sky Flower
Variegated Sky Flower is grown for its summer flowers and ornamental fruit. This evergreen fast-growing shrub spreads and arches to 10 feet tall and wide and is great for live hedges and covering fences and corners. In the summer, cascading clusters of blue tubular flowers appear followed by wonderfully contrasting orange-yellow berries. This variegated form has creamy-yellow margins around the one inch long serrated leaves. In mild climates, this plant can be in flower nearly year round with flowers and fruit appearing at the same time. It does best in full sun with frequent deep watering and is hardy to about 20-25F. A good choice for espaliers, as a small tree or large bush; all forms benefit from frequent selective pruning. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies. Great for providing a color contrast in the landscape, and is especially well-suited as a bright-colored background or screening. Prune back in late winter to encourage a more compact shape and strong flush of fresh spring foliage. Requires moderate watering in a well-drained soil.
