Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 12 Dec 2021

Golden Sugar Apple and Jackedak Cheena
50% OFF and MORE!

We've combined the exotic fruit of this rare Annona from Costa Rica - Golden Sugar Apple with the sweet, crunchy and excellent flavor of the Jackedak Cheena. Both rare and unique plants can be yours at considerable savings, but don't delay as there are limited quantities in stock.

Rare Fruit Collection:
two Jackfruit-textured rare fruit!

For this Easy Sunday we have priced these at incredible savings:
The Golden Sugar Apple regularly $39, is on Easy Sunday sale for only $19
The Jackedak Cheena, regularly $49, is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $24 .
Combine the two for your own Rare Fruit Collection and save even more, only $39 for the set!

Jackedak Cheena

Artocarpus x integer (Jackfruit x Chempedak) - Jackedak Cheena has been grown in TopTropicals garden from a seedling and fruited within 3 years from planting. The fruit is the best we ever tasted! It is super sweet, crunchy, with a rich, excellent flavor, with very little latex which makes it easy to handle when cutting up. Our tree survived light frosts as well as 48 hours of 3 ft flooding, with no damage! Cheena is a natural hybrid between Jackfruit and Chempedak with low and spreading growth habit, can be maintained at 8 ft with annual pruning.

Picture of 3 y.o. Cheena at Top Tropicals garden, loaded with fruit:

Golden Sugar Apple

The Golden Sugar Apple or Pineapple Annona originally was brought to us by our customer from Costa Rica. We believe it to be a natural hybrid between A. muricata and A. glabra. It is a very ornamental small tree similar in growth habit to A. muricata, A. montana or Rollinia. Fast growing, forms nice bushy specimen. Fruit is very large, up to 1 lb, golden to orange when ripe, with strong Pineapple scent, and resembling Jackfruit in texture, with pineapple, papaya, apricot and melon overtones. The tree tolerates flooding and is cold hardy at least to upper 20's. Very interesting for rare fruit collectors as much more hardy and water tolerant alternative to its sensitive relatives Soursop and Rollinia.

Picture of 3 y.o. tree full of fruit:

Remember, the Easy Sunday special has been extended through Wednesday, December 15th. Limited availability, hurry up! All orders over $75 (excluding S&H) are eligible for 20% off!

For 20% off - use code YEAREND20

Min. order $75 (excluding S&H). Good through December 15th

Enjoy your Holiday Tropical Fruit!

Photo above: Jim is Holiday decorating with super-sweet tropical fruit balls - Pom-Poms!

Date: 16 Oct 2025

Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

🍴 Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes


  • 🔴Cook Grumichama cherries with sugar and lime juice.
  • 🔴A deep red jam with a cherry-meets-blackberry flavor.

Grumichama Jam: Quick-n-Fun Exotic Recipes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh Grumichama cherries (Eugenia brasiliensis)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp lime juice

Instructions

  1. Remove seeds from Grumichama cherries.
  2. Place fruit in a saucepan with sugar and lime juice.
  3. Simmer over low heat until thick and glossy, stirring often.
  4. Pour into sterilized jars and let cool before sealing.



🛒 Plant Grumichama tree (Eugenia brasiliensis)

📚 Learn more:


#Food_Forest #Recipes

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Date: 26 Oct 2025

Plant a fruit tree - and breathe easier: fruit might be the surprising key to healthier lungs

Plant a fruit tree - and breathe easier: fruit might be the surprising key to healthier lungs

🍒 Plant a fruit tree - and breathe easier: fruit might be the surprising key to healthier lungs


  • 🥭 Fresh fruit doesn’t just taste good - it can literally help you breathe better!

  • 🥭 A new study presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress found that women who ate at least four portions of fruit a day had slower declines in lung function compared to those who ate less. Researchers believe antioxidants in fruit may help protect the lungs from the damaging effects of air pollution.

  • 🥭 Air pollution is everywhere, and more than 90% of people worldwide are exposed to levels above safe limits. But the good news is, your diet can make a difference. Fruits are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that help your body fight off the oxidative stress caused by tiny airborne particles.

  • 🥭 The study showed that women who ate plenty of fruit had stronger lungs despite being exposed to fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) from cars and industry. The difference wasn’t small either - their lung capacity dropped significantly less over time than in those with low fruit intake.

  • 🥭 So planting fruit trees isn’t just about homegrown flavor or saving a trip to the store. It’s about protecting your health in a polluted world. Whether it’s mangoes, avocados, guavas, or starfruit, every harvest brings you cleaner nutrition and a cleaner breath of life.


🛒 Grow fruit - grow your health

📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 31 Oct 2025

Tacca wants to be a cat! And everyone loves cats!

Tacca wants to be a cat! And everyone loves cats! Tacca wants to be a cat! And everyone loves cats! Tacca wants to be a cat! And everyone loves cats!

🐈 Tacca wants to be a cat! And everyone loves cats!



That’s probably the real evolutionary secret no botanist will admit! Those whiskers? Pure marketing genius from nature.
Cats had it figured out first — look mysterious, add long elegant whiskers, and everyone falls in love.
Tacca just took notes and said, “Alright, I can work with that!

So now we have a tropical plant that looks half orchid, half bat, and just enough cat to make people stop, smile, and want one for their collection!

  • Tacca is also called the Bat Lily or Devil Flower. This tropical wonder grows bat-shaped wings and foot-long whiskers. The black form (Tacca chantrieri) looks straight out of a gothic dream, while the white one (Tacca nivea) is ghost-like and elegant.

  • Some of our plants are blooming right now in the nursery — true Halloween magic! Blooms are delicate and may not travel, but the plants are strong and will flower again soon in your care.

  • Tacca colors: Black, White, Green:

Tacca nivea - White Tacca
Tacca chantrieri - Black Tacca
Tacca leontopetaloides - Green Tacca

📚 Learn more:



🛒 Add Taccas - Bat Lilies to your collection

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 30 Oct 2025

Jaboticaba wine: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora)

Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora)

Jaboticaba wine

Jaboticaba wine

A homemade tropical wine with rich berry flavor and a hint of earthiness. This traditional Brazilian recipe turns fresh Jaboticaba fruit into a deep purple wine with a unique aroma and flavor somewhere between grape and plum. Easy to make, fun to share!

🍴 Jaboticaba wine: quick-n-fun exotic recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 lb fresh ripe Jaboticaba fruits (Myrciaria cauliflora)
  • 2 to 3 cups granulated sugar per gallon of pulp
  • 1 gallon non-chlorinated water
  • 1 tsp wine yeast (optional)
  • 1 cinnamon stick or a few cloves (optional)
  • Clean glass fermenting jar or food-grade bucket with loose cover

Instructions

  1. Wash and lightly crush Jaboticaba fruits. Do not remove skins; they add flavor and color.
  2. Mix crushed fruit with sugar and enough water to make about one gallon of pulp. Stir until sugar dissolves.
  3. Cover loosely and leave in a warm place (70-80F). Stir once or twice daily. Fermentation begins within 1-2 days.
  4. Let ferment 5-10 days, stirring daily. When bubbling slows, strain through cheesecloth into a clean jug.
  5. Seal loosely with an airlock or vented cap. Rest 2-4 weeks in a cool, dark spot (60-70F).
  6. Carefully pour clear wine into bottles, leaving sediment behind. Cork and let age a few more weeks.
  7. Chill before serving. Enjoy responsibly!

Tips

  • Reduce sugar to 1.5 cups per gallon for a drier wine.
  • Add more sugar after first fermentation for a sweeter dessert wine.
  • Add a spoon of honey for a floral note.
  • Save the skins to make Jaboticaba syrup or jam.

Grow your own exotic Jaboticaba fruit

📚
Learn more:
#Food_Forest #Recipes
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