Date: 1 May 2025
🌸 Plumeria Power: The Signature Scent of the Tropics
Q: What is the most fragrant variety of Plumeria? Are some colors more fragrant than others? How do you keep Plumeria blooming?
A: From Kristi, TopTropicals Flower Expert: At Top Tropicals, we used to think yellow Plumeria was the most fragrant. That was until we discovered multi-colored hybrids and stunning "rainbow" varieties! These rare beauties are prized not just for their sweet, strong fragrance but also for their dazzling mix of tropical colors.
We just received new arrivals of stunning new Plumeria varieties - but quantities are limited, so don't wait! Choose your favorite colors and bring home the irresistible scent of the tropics.
Plumerias are famous for their rich colors and unforgettable fragrance. With just a few simple steps, you can grow your own blooming tree and enjoy flowers just like in the pictures.
5 simple rules how to grow a fragrant Plumeria
1. Use well-drained soil. Choose a potting mix rich in perlite, bark, and coconut fiber. We recommend Sunshine Abundance professional soil mix for best results.
2. Choose the right container. Use a pot just slightly larger than the root ball to prevent water-logging. Plumeria prefers dry conditions - water only when the soil is slightly dry.
3. Give it full sun. Plumeria needs plenty of light to bloom. If grown indoors, place it in the brightest spot and bring it outside for sunbathing whenever possible.
4. Let it rest in winter. Plumeria drops its leaves and goes dormant during the cooler months. When this happens, reduce watering to a minimum and let the plant rest until new growth begins.
5. Feed it to bloom. Plumeria is a heavy feeder and needs fertilizer to flower well. Use a plant food high in phosphorus, like Sunsine Megaflor Bloom Booster liquid fertilizer. It's safe to use with every watering, all year round.
New Video of Exotic Plumeria Hybrids
Check out different varieties of Plumerias in full bloom. Just look at these colors in this short video !
Date: 4 Sep 2025
📅 Do not miss: September 6 - Fall Plant Market!
Saturday, September 6, 2025: 9 am - 4 pm
Fall is just around the corner, but Florida is still full of sunshine and
growing energy!
It’s one of the best times to plant - cooler days are coming, but
there are still months of warmth ahead for your garden to thrive. Our
nursery is bursting with big, healthy plants that grew all summer long -
loaded with blooms, fruit, and lush foliage, ready to shine in your
yard.
Come stroll the gardens with our PeopleCats,
enjoy the most beautiful season for planting, and let us help you find the
perfect picks for your space. Bring your friends and family for a weekend of
fun, color, and fresh ideas - this is your moment to plant, grow, and
enjoy!
Event Highlights:
30% OFF online prices
FREE plant with any purchase (including Guava)
Gift bags for first 25 customers with $50+ order
Special deals on select plants
Exciting raffle prizes
Green Magic fertilizer FREE samples
The LAST PERFORMANCE of the Famous Hand Pan Lady! (She is moving from
Florida)
See her previous performance at Top Tropicals - here
and here.
Event discounts valid at both locations:
Ft
Myers Garden Center: 13890 Orange River, Ft Myers, FL
Sebring
B-Farm: 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL
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: 15 Aug 2018
Care for a Baobab Bonsai
Q: How to grow Baobab bonsai properly? How long does it take to shape a nice little bonsai tree?
A: Baobab,
or Adansonia digitata, is a unique addition to a bonsai collection. Native
to Africa, it has an unusual structure and appearance. Some legends say that
the tree was cast down from the heavens and landed upside down, where it
began to grow. This story is no doubt a result of its appearance in the
winter, when the upper branches of the tree look more like roots than treetops.
The Baobab has some specific needs, but if you pay careful attention to its
requirements, this tree is not difficult to grow and makes an excellent
bonsai specimen.
1. Keep Baobab warm, it is sensitive to freeze.
2. Place Baobab in a bright, sunny window. Baobabs need at least six
hours of full sunlight per day, so a window with a western or southern exposure
is best. If your house doesn't get enough light, supplement natural light
with artificial grow lights. See article Indoor lighting for
tropical plants.
3. Water Baobab regularly during the growing season whenever the soil
is dry. Never water the tree when it is dormant (dropped leaves).
4. Feed Baobab a good-quality fertilizer about once a month. Apply
micro-element solution SUPERFOOD once a month, as well as SUNSHINE-BC plant booster for Bonsai and Caudex plants.
5. Prune the branches of your Baobab bonsai as often as they need it to
give the tree the shape you desire, pruning or pinching off branches that
are growing at odd angles or are too long. Trim early in the spring before new
growth appears.
6. Repot the baobab bonsai every year in Spring. Remove it from pot and
trim the roots back by one-third of their length, completely removing any
that are damaged or dead. Place it in a container that is twice the size of the
root ball and fill the pot with a well-drained soil like Adenium Mix.
It is believed that it takes forever to form a nice shaped tree, up to a few years. However if you provide warmth and bright light, branches grow very quickly, and an experienced bonsai hobbyist can make a unique specimen within 2-3 years. And then, the tree will stay with you for 5000 years - it can be passed from generation to generation!
Check
out this plant... with FREE shipping to all states!
Se also Baobab Bonsai Kit and save more!
Date: 25 Jul 2018
Looking for the rarest plant? This is the one!
Stifftia chrysantha - Pompom, Rabo-de-Cutia
Looking for the rarest plant? This is the one!
Stifftia chrysantha is an exotic, rare flowering small tree with
spectacular flowers, endemic to the vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil
called Cerrado. It grows into a bushy, attractive tree between 8 and 15 ft tall
and starts flowering within 1.5 - 2.5 years from seed. It is a very rewarding
plant that blooms 9 months out of the year, starting in Winter with great
intensity during July-September, with each flower staying on the plant for
several weeks. Seeds ripen from September through November.
The tree belongs to Aster family (Compositae) and has nothing to do
with Powderpuffs which are from Bean (Fabaceae) family. The flower has 30 to 40
green, imbricated scales with short hairs, and actinomorphic corollas are
orange below and darker above. After flowering, the inflorescence blows apart,
which would scatter seeds. The dried center remaining is very attractive, like
a small dried flower, and lasts for many months.
Stifftia can be grown in full sun to partial shade and is relatively
cold tolerant, can take short cold spells.
The plant doesn't like wet feet
and heavy/soggy soils; requires very well drained, acidic soil. We strongly
recommend to use our professional soilless mix. Let soil
slightly dry between waterings. It can be grown in full sun to partial shade and is
relatively cold tolerant, can take short cold spells. If grown in a pot, try
to keep the container shaded because roots don't like to be overheated. The
plant needs monthly applications of slow
release fertilizer as well as extra iron - use micro-nutrients to
keep leaves green and healthy.
See more pictures of this beauty.