Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 2 Feb 2026

Eight favorite plants of romance, affection, and emotional connection

Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerrii)

Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerrii)

Jasminum sambac

Jasminum sambac

Plumeria (Frangipani)

Plumeria (Frangipani)

Clerodendrum thomsoniae, Bleeding Heart Vine

Clerodendrum thomsoniae, Bleeding Heart Vine

💕 Eight favorite plants of romance, affection, and emotional connection



These plants communicate love visually and emotionally. They are associated with beauty, admiration, devotion, and long-lasting relationships.

    • 💖 1. Anthurium


    With its unmistakable heart-shaped spathes, anthurium is one of the strongest visual symbols of love. In Latin America, it represents hospitality, passion, and enduring affection, making it a natural Valentine plant.

👉 Anthurium gift

    • 💖 2. Orchids


    In many Asian cultures, orchids symbolize refined love, fertility, and deep emotional connection. They are associated with elegance, respect, and long-term devotion rather than fleeting romance or infatuation.

👉 Orchid gift

    • 💖 3. Valentine’s Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerrii)


    Hoya kerrii is known for its thick, heart-shaped leaves, making it one of the clearest visual symbols of love. This long-lived vine represents loyalty and lasting commitment, and is found in several varieties with different leaf variegation patterns: regular green leaf, variegated Moonlight (gold on green) and Sunshine (white-and green).

👉 Sweetheart Hoya gift

    • 💖 4. Plumeria (Frangipani)


    In Polynesia and Southeast Asia, plumeria represents love, beauty, and new beginnings. In Hawaii, its flowers are a classic part of leis and have become an enduring symbol of romance, affection, and island love.

👉 Plumeria gift

    • 💖 5. Jasminum sambac


    Jasmine Sambac is strongly associated with romance, devotion, and spiritual love. In Hawaii it is used in leis, while in the Philippines, this so-called Sampaguita jasmine symbolizes purity, fidelity, and deep affection and is woven into garlands for lovers, weddings, and sacred ceremonies.

👉 Jasmine Sambac gifts

    • 💖 6. Hibiscus


    Hibiscus symbolizes delicate beauty, attraction, and the fleeting intensity of passion. In many tropical cultures, it is associated with feminine energy and romantic expression.

👉 Hibiscus gift

    • 💖 7. Clerodendrum Bleeding Heart


    Clerodendrum thomsoniae, called the Bleeding Heart Vine, is known for its red, heart-like flowers held inside white lantern-shaped bracts. It has long been associated with love, emotional vulnerability, and deep personal bonds, making it a natural fit for Valentine symbolism.

👉 Bleeding Heart gift

💖 8. Stephanotis (Madagascar jasmine)


Traditionally associated with marital happiness and fidelity, Stephanotis has long been used in wedding garlands and bouquets in tropical regions.

🛒 Explore gift plants
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#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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Date: 25 Apr 2024

How to keep weeds away?

Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

☘️ How to keep weeds away?



"Give a weed an inch and it’ll take a yard...."

Hot season started, and so did the weed season!

💚 Ways to keep your yard weed-free without use of herbicide:

  1. Mulch, mulch, mulch
  2. Cover the area with cardboard (still getting those Amazon boxes?) and put mulch, mulch, mulch on top.
  3. Plant dense ground cover plants! Weeds will lose competition for food and light.


🎥 Did you know that Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) makes not only a trellis/fence solution, but also a dense fragrant ground cover? It's not demanding, fast growing, drought tolerant plant, takes full sun or shade. Sweet, deliciously fragrant flowers is a pleasant bonus!

🛒Get your fragrant ground cover

#How_to #Perfume_Plants

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness

Date: 5 Aug 2022

Planting in August

Top Tropicals Garden Calendar

Philly's garden calendar

August is the hottest month in most places, and tropical/subtropical areas are not the exception. In Florida we have some hot August days in upper 90's. Is it still OK to plant during hot weather? Yes, and here are some guidelines for you:

1. Hot metabolism.
Many tropical plants grow faster at high temperatures. Select heat-resistant species for August planting (below are just a few suggestions).

2. Water adequately.
Water thoroughly your newly planted tree. Water daily (lightly) with a hose for at least a week, don't rely on sprinklers. Then reduce watering to every other day and gradually switch to sprinkler system if you have it. Do not overwater: non-established plants don't like combination of heat+wet.

3. Mulch well.
Keep mulch 1" away from the trunk to avoid rot.

4. Shading.
Protect the young tree from hot sun with a shade cloth or a sheet if leaves get wilted, for 1-3 days, then remove it, let the plant adjust to bright light.

Shop heat resistant plants

Trachelospermum jasminoides - Confederate Jasmine

Photo above: Trachelospermum jasminoides - Confederate Jasmine, the toughest jasmine that can take extreme heat and drought.

Date: 20 May 2020

How to prevent Jasmine flower drop

Q: My jasmine buds turn purple to brown and drop before it blooms. What should I do to get the jasmines to bloom fully. Appreciate your help & suggestions.

A: At this time of the year in Florida, jasmines may drop flowers because of the sudden hot weather. The plants didn't have a chance yet to change their metabolism to summer type. The high temperatures promoted early bloom, but the plant is not strong enough to support the flowers. It needs extra food. To improve flower quality and reduce bud drop, we recommend these supplements:
SUNSHINE Pikake - Fragrant Plant Booster
Sunshine Honey
and Sunshine Superfood

Date: 10 Feb 2019

Lovely Madagascar Jasmine (Stephanotis)

TopTropicals.com

By Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc

Question: Could you recommend an easy to grow flowering vine for a large trellis? Something with a sweet fragrance?

Answer: Personally, I have to consider the "Madagascar Jasmine" (Stephanotis) as being one of my favorite flowering vines. I used to grow one as a windowsill-plant in Indiana when I was just a kid. Even indoors in the far north, (wrapping itself around a small home-made bamboo trellis), it somehow managed to reliably flower off and on all year long, even in mid-winter... Continue reading...

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