Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 4 May 2024

How to find a plant name? Try Plant ID from TopTropicals - we know them all!

How to find a plant name? Try Plant ID from TopTropicals - we know them all!
How to find a plant name? Try Plant ID from TopTropicals - we know them all!

📷 Submit a picture of your mystery plant in comments to this post and we will put the name to it!

Lost in the jungle of unknown flora? Fear not! At TopTropicals, we're your guides through Nature's mysteries. Share a snapshot, and we'll unveil the identity of that mysterious plant in your garden.

  • 🔹 Captured a cool looking flower but don't know what it is?
  • 🔹 Own a rare plant but lost a tag?
  • 🔹 Simply want to be "know-it-all" and impress others with your plant knowledge?


We can help! At TopTropicals we know all the Tropicals.

In the photos above: Citoria ternatea, Strongylodon macrobotrys, Aetanthus nodosus, Cananga fruticosa, Butea monosperma.

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🏵 TopTropicals - We Grow Happiness

Date: 23 May 2024

The Magic of 3 top tropical trees
from the legends of Caribbean

Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana:
Three happy colors of the Tropics

paintings  of  3  top  tropical  trees  -  Royal  Poinciana,  Yellow  Poinciana,  and 
 


Jacaranda

While traveling through the vibrant and diverse Caribbean, we acquired three exquisite local paintings. Two of these are masterfully rendered on jacaranda wood plates, and the third is beautifully crafted on a calabash. These stunning pieces of art celebrate the three most spectacular and revered flowering trees of the Tropics: Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana.

These trees are not only visually stunning but also deeply embedded in Caribbean culture, legends, and folk remedies.

The Yellow Poinciana, with its bright golden blossoms, is often associated with joy and sunlight, symbolizing the warmth of the Caribbean spirit.
The Jacaranda, known for its striking lavender-blue flowers, is a symbol of wisdom and rebirth, often blooming in a breathtaking display that signals the change of seasons.
The Royal Poinciana, with its fiery red and orange flowers, is a symbol of passion and energy, often referred to as the "Flamboyant" tree due to its bold and dramatic appearance.

These trees hold a special place in the hearts of the Caribbean people. They are featured in numerous local stories and songs, and their flowers and leaves are used in traditional remedies and rituals. Owning these paintings feels like possessing a piece of the Caribbean's soul and its natural beauty.

Now, we are fortunate to have not only the paintings but also the actual trees. Watching them grow and bloom in our garden brings a piece of the Caribbean to our home, a constant reminder of our travels and the vibrant culture we experienced. These trees and their representations in art are a testament to the region's rich heritage and its enduring connection to nature.

Get them now while we have them. No need to go too far into Caribbean!

Peltophorum  africanum  -  Golden  Flamboyant,  Yellow  Poinciana

Peltophorum africanum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana. An excellent garden shade tree, beautiful in flower. This variety starts flowering at young age, in 3 gal pot.

Jacaranda  mimosifolia  (acutifolia)

Jacaranda mimosifolia - Hypnotizing bluish-purple, trumpet-like flowers create the magical image of the tree. Incredible, long-lasting purple blooms. When the trumpet-shaped blooms finally fall, they form a lilac carpet beneath the awe-inspiring Jacaranda for luxuriant curb appeal...

Royal  poinciana,  Flamboyant  tree,  Delonix  regia

Royal poinciana, Flamboyant tree, Delonix regia - "One of the most spectacular flowering trees in the USA, and probably among the top 10 on this planet. In full bloom, it is like a regal elephant caparisoned in red and yellow brilliance." (Larry M. Schokman, The Kampong, National Tropical Botanic Garden)

Date: 30 Jul 2024

How many buttons in this ballistic mattress???

Dorstenia bahiensis - Mattress Button Plant

🐾 How many buttons in this ballistic mattress???



🔘 Dorstenia bahiensis - Mattress Button Plant: this plant is a real Nature's Wonder! The fun part is the "mattress" where the seed "buttons" grow.

🚀 The plant has strange looking receptacles. At maturity, seeds shoot ballistically from the mature flower/fruit heads, and they germinate readily whenever the land on soil or other moist substrate.

🛒 Order Mattress Button Plant

#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Nature_Wonders


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Date: 27 Jul 2024

Why Swiss Cheese Plant is so holy?

Monstera x adansonii - Baby Swiss Cheese Plant

Why Swiss Cheese Plant is so holy?

  • ☘️ Monstera x adansonii - Baby Swiss Cheese Plant, or Window Leaf Philodendron that we mentioned earlier, is rare collectible, beautiful hybrid from Columbia.
  • ☘️ Leathery, "holy" foliage makes it an interesting indoor specimen. Leaves have oval holes!
  • ☘️ The small nature and easy care make it a wonderful addition to any rare plant collection.


📚 Philodendrons: from the Magic Rainforest to your home

🛒 Order Swiss Cheese Plant

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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Date: 22 Jul 2024

What are the best butterfly attracting plants for a Southern garden?

Asclepias - Milkweed, butterfly attractor

What are the best butterfly attracting plants for a Southern garden? 5 best butterfly attractors.



If you love butterflies and if you enjoy having nature around your home, then plant a butterfly garden. Caterpillars, which transform into butterflies, require special kinds of plants to feed upon. Below are the top five winners that butterflies appreciate the most. Besides, remember That all yellow flowers are attractive to butterflies, for example Cassias. Butterflies like the Sun and everything that looks like the Sun! 🌞

🏆 5 best butterfly attractors:

1. Calotropis gigantea - Giant milkweed, Arka
2. Odontonema cuspidatum - Firespike
3. Plumbago - blue, white and red
4. Rondeletia leucophylla - Panama Rose
5. Asclepias - Milkweed

💻 Learn more:



🎥 ABC-7: Butterfly plants at Top Tropicals
The Milkweed and the Monarch, how to raise your own
Musings of a butterfly gardener about the milkweed bug
Plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds

🛒 Shop butterfly plants

#Butterfly_Plants

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