Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 18 Jun 2026

Smokey,  Sunshine,  and  their  mini-me  kittens  arrive  at  the  Top  Tropicals
    Father's  Day  Plant  Market.
Smokey: The best Father's Day gift is a plant.
Sunshine: Because it grows?
Smokey: Because every garden is a promise to the future.
Sunshine: Then we'd better choose carefully. We brought our future with us.

Father's Day Belongs in the Garden

Some gifts are forgotten by next month.

A plant is different.

A fruit tree planted today may provide fruit for decades. A flowering tree may bloom every spring long after the holiday is over. The best gardens aren't built in a single afternoon - they're built one season at a time, one generation at a time.

This Father's Day weekend, come spend the day the way it was meant to be spent: outdoors, unhurried, surrounded by growing things.

Top Tropicals is hosting our Summer Solstice Plant Market, and this is one of the best times of the year to visit the nursery. The longest days of summer bring out the flowers, the fragrance, and the fruit. Thousands of plants at their peak, in the kind of Florida light that makes everything look like it belongs on a postcard.

📅 Saturday, June 20, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
📍 13890 Orange River Blvd, Ft Myers, FL 33905
Phone: 239-689-5745, 866-897-7957
📍 9100 McRoy Rd, Sebring, FL 33875
Phone: 863-401-4004, 866-897-7957

You'll find rare fruit trees, flowering trees, fragrant plants, and collector varieties rarely available elsewhere. There will be event specials, raffle prizes, free plants with qualifying purchases, tropical music, and cold drinks. And somewhere in the shade, King, Snitch, and the rest of the PeopleCats will be doing what they always do - making themselves at home and pretending to supervise.

But the real reason to come isn't the event. It's the reminder.

Whether you're planting your first fruit tree or adding one more chapter to a garden that's been growing for years, Father's Day is a good day to remember what we're really building. Not just a yard. Something that keeps giving long after the I love you, Dad card is forgotten.

Plant something today.

Every garden is a promise to the future.

👉SEE FULL FATHER'S DAY EVENT DETAILS

Date: 22 Sep 2025

When do I get the fruit from my Dragon Fruit?

Dragon fruit varieties

🍉 When do I get the fruit from my Dragon Fruit?



🌵Dragon Fruit (Pitaya) is one of the most rewarding exotic fruits to grow. Sweet pulp, striking looks, and plenty of health benefits make it a favorite. You'll see it in three main types: white-fleshed (Hylocereus undatus), red-fleshed (Hylocereus costaricensis), and yellow-skinned (Hylocereus, or Selenicereus megalanthus).

🌵Don't want to wait years for fruit? Here’s the good news: unlike many tropical trees that test your patience, dragon fruit is a fast-fruiting, easy-going cactus. With the right care, you can harvest in just 1-2 years from a cutting - or even the same season if you plant a well-established specimen.

🌵 How to get Dragon Fruit faster



Give it strong support - trellis, fence, or post. This cactus loves to climb.
Full sun and good drainage - sandy or well-draining soil works best.
Smart watering - water deeply in hot weather, then let the soil dry. Dragon fruit loves water during active summer growth, but remember it's still a cactus - don’t keep soil soggy.
Pollination matters - flowers open at night. Some varieties are self-fertile, but planting a few different types boosts fruit set. This is why it helps to keep several varieties close together.
Feed well - use organic liquid fertilizers like Sunshine Boosters C-Cibus with every watering, or Green Magic controlled-release fertilizer every 6 months.

With these steps, dragon fruit quickly rewards you with flowers, followed by colorful, delicious fruit. Few exotics are this easy - or this fast!

🛒 Start your fast-growing Dragon Fruit production


📚 Learn more:


· Pitaya vs Dragon fruit - what is the difference and how to grow it. Varieties.
· The secret to abundant dragon fruit harvests
· How to grow Dragon Fruit from a cutting - Quick Guide
· How to grow Dragon Fruit 📱
· Planting your own Dragon Fruit plantation
· Do-It-Yourself Support Structure for Dragon Fruit
· Grow Your Own Exotic Dragon Fruit Garden
· Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: Dragon fruit
· What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like?
· Why you need to grow your own dragon fruit
· Do red, white and yellow Dragon fruit taste differently?
· What to do with a lot of Dragon Fruit

#Food_Forest #How_to #Dragon_Fruit

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 20 Sep 2025

Banana cinnamon fritters: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes

Banana cinnamon fritters

Banana cinnamon fritters

🍴 Banana cinnamon fritters: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes 🍌



🟡Dip banana slices in a light batter, fry quickly, then dust with cinnamon sugar.
🟡Sweet street-food style snack!

Banana Cinnamon Fritters recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup water (or milk)
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • Oil for frying
  • Extra cinnamon sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. Slice bananas into thick rounds.
  2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and water to form a light batter.
  3. Dip banana slices in batter and fry in hot oil until golden brown.
  4. Remove and drain on paper towels.
  5. Dust with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

🛒 For home grown ingredients you will need:
Banana trees
Cinnamon tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Bananas

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 21 Nov 2024

How this breath-taking flowering tree stays so compact

🌸 How this breath-taking flowering tree stays so compact



🌸 Ceiba hybrid - Dwarf Pink Princess - is one of the #Nature_Wonders that takes your breath away!

🌸 A compact marvel of nature that redefines beauty in small spaces, this exquisite hybrid of the Pink Silk Floss Tree (Ceiba speciosa) grows to a manageable height of just 8-12 feet, making it perfect for small yards or container gardening.

In bloom, the tree is a spectacle: nearly leafless, with its crown exploding into tens of thousands of pink flowers, creating a vibrant, colorful mass.

🌸 Its spreading crown and profusion of blossoms make it a showstopper, proving that you don’t need a giant tree to make a big impact.

🛒 Order Pink Princess

#Trees

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 27 Jun 2025

Tulips growing on a tree!

🌷 Tulips growing on a tree!



🌷 Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree - is in bloom at Top Tropicals Garden several times a year. We have both red and yellow varieties. Yellow is very rare! See more photos of Yellow Tulip Tree on our website and in the next post.

📚 Learn more:


Why everyone loves these tulips growing on a tree

🛒 Grow your tulips on a tree

#Nature_Wonders #Trees

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals