Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 31 Dec 2024

Happy New 2025: The Year of the Green Wood Snake!

Happy New 2025: The Year of the Green Wood Snake!

🎆 Happy New 2025: The Year of the Green Wood Snake!



🙏 Happy New Year to our dear customers and gardening friends! Thank you for staying with us throughout 2024 and for sharing our passion for tropical plants.

  • 🎆 Here's to new plants, rejuvenated gardens, and ever-present beauty.

  • 🎆 Stay happy and healthy, cherish your plants and pets, and continue to journey with us into a flourishing 2025!


🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 2 Jan 2025

Seven most popular low-growing plants
for small gardens

Alpinia  purpurata  -  Dwarf  Red  Cone  Ginger

Photo above: Alpinia purpurata - Dwarf Red Cone Ginger - is a medium-growing, compact option for your garden, offering vibrant red flowers with minimal space needed. Its tropical appeal and tolerance for partial shade make it perfect for adding color without overwhelming your garden. Grows up to 4-5 ft.

Easy plants that can stay compact and short!

Q: I am looking for a few compact plants that I don't need to trim all the time. Can you recommend some low-growing pretty shrub to plant along my driveway (sun) and under an oak tree (shade)?

A: Here are a few most popular showy shrubs for you that can stay compact and require minimal if any pruning or maintenance!

Osmoxylon  lineare  (variegated)  -  Miagos  bush,  Golden  Feather

Osmoxylon lineare - variegated Miagos bush, Golden Feather - is a compact and striking shrub perfect for adding an exotic touch to a small garden or indoor space. Its hardiness and low-maintenance nature, combined with its tolerance for various light conditions, make it an ideal choice for a small, visually appealing addition to your garden. Full sun or light shade.

Capsicum  annuum  x  chinense  -  Biquinho  Pepper

Capsicum annuum x chinense - Biquinho Pepper - amazing showy pepper, both ornamental and useful! Vibrant, compact plant that combines ornamental beauty with culinary use. Its small, bright fruits offer a burst of fruity, habanero-like flavor, making it a unique addition to any garden or kitchen, with little to no heat. Full sun: the more sun - the more peppers!

Lippia  dulcis  -  Aztec  Sweet  Herb,  Sweetleaf

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf - not only showy, but also scented leaves and useful herb right at your doorstep! This fragrant, compact elegant plant adds both beauty and function to your garden. Its sweet-tasting leaves are perfect for snacking or enhancing fruit salads, while also serving as a natural remedy for colds and coughs.

Justicia  carnea  Alba  -  White  Brazilian  Plume  Flower

Justicia carnea Alba - White Brazilian Plume Flower is a compact, tropical beauty that thrives in full to partial sun and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Its stunning white flowers and lush green foliage make it a perfect choice for adding a tropical touch to your garden, and its relatively cold hardy!

Pedilanthus  tithymaloides  -  Devils  Backbone

Pedilanthus tithymaloides - Devils Backbone - thrives in toughest spots! Hardy, low-maintenance plant, offering striking pink flowers and showy, unique ziz-zag foliage. Easy care requirements, full sun and minimal watering.

Ground  Orchids

Ground orchids are a fantastic choice for exotic flower beds and colorful borders, growing just 2-3 feet tall and blooming year-round. They offer a wide selection of colors and bloom year-round. Sun or shade, they thrive in both! And yes, they grow in regular garden soil, which is why they are also called Terrestrial Orchids.

Shop small perennials

Date: 22 May 2024

Did you know that you can eat and drink Hibiscus plants?

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica

🌺 Did you know that you can eat and drink Hibiscus plants?



Who doesn't adore hibiscus flowers? But guess what? Some hibiscus species are not only gorgeous but also surprisingly practical. They can jazz up your garden and your dinner plate!

Hibiscus cannabinus - Salad Hibiscus - flowers and leaves used in tasty healthy salads and teas.

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle - flowers and used for famous beverage "Agua de Flor de Jamaica" and Karkade Tea.

Hibiscus acetosella - Cranberry hibiscus - cranberry-colored flowers and leaves are also tasty and healthy in salads and teas.

Grow your edible flower landscape in no time!

📚 Learn more, with recipes: Most useful Hibiscus plants
🎥 YouTube video:

🛒
Shop Edible Hibiscus

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Recipes

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 12 May 2024

How to get rid of pests on Hibiscus?

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, pink

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, pink

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, pink

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, pink

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, orange

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, orange

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, orange

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, orange

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, red

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, red

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, pink

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower, pink

🌺 How to get rid of pests on Hibiscus?

Hibiscus flowers are beautiful but the plants are also... tasty! So they can face a variety of pests, including:
  • · Aphids: small insects cluster on new growth, sucking sap from the plant and causing distortion or yellowing of leaves.
  • · Whiteflies: look like tiny moths and can be found on the undersides of leaves, sucking plant juices.
  • · Spider Mites: can form webs on the undersides of leaves and cause discoloration and stippling.
  • · Thrips: slender insects that feed on flower buds and young leaves, causing them to become distorted and discolored.
  • · Scales: small, immobile bumps on stems and leaves, sucking sap and weakening the plant.


Treatment methods:
  1. Pruning: Remove heavily infested parts of the plant and dispose of them properly to prevent the spread of pests.

Exotic fancy hibiscus flower 2 Natural Predators: Introduce beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, or wasps, which prey on common garden pests.
3 Horticultural Oils: Neem oil or insecticidal soap can be effective against soft-bodied pests like aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites. Sunshine Nobug is a perfect organic solution that contains oil and soap.
4 Water Spray: Regularly spraying your hibiscus with a strong stream of water can help dislodge pests like aphids and whiteflies from the plant.
5 Systemic Insecticides: These are chemicals absorbed by the plant, making it toxic to insects feeding on it. However, use them cautiously and follow the instructions to minimize harm to beneficial insects and the environment.

❗️Always monitor your hibiscus plants closely for signs of pest infestation, and take prompt action to prevent damage. Regular maintenance, such as proper watering and fertilizing, can also help keep plants healthy and more resistant to pests 🕷🐛

#How_to #Fertilizers

🏵 @TopTropicals

Date: 25 Apr 2024

Three tropical plants that help you to stay young

Longevity Spinach - Gynura

Longevity Spinach - Gynura

Amlak, Otaheite Gooseberry fruit

Amlak, Otaheite Gooseberry fruit

Noni fruit

Noni fruit

🌱 Three tropical plants that help you to stay young.
  1. Longevity Spinach - as the name suggests, this is one of the superfoods, and it lowers cholesterol. The leaves and young shoot tips can be used fresh in salads, steamed, used in stir fry, stews, and soups. Just add them at the very end. Recipes here
  2. Amlak, or Otaheite Gooseberry - fruit is a major ingredient of Chavyanprash, a popular Ayurvedic tonic. It is the richest source of vitamin C. Makes a perfect lemonade.
  3. Noni - a world-famous medicinal fruit. The noni juice works on a cellular level and rejuvenates nearly every system in the body. Large leaves, very tropical look, quick to fruit... This is a perfect tree for container and indoors. PDF: Noni's health benefits (Tropical Treasures Magazine).


⚕️ Discover more medicinal plants

#Food_Forest #Remedies

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