Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 21 Jun 2025

What avocado can you eat with the skin? Cold hardy Avocado Joey

Avocado Joey

What avocado you can eat with the skin? Cold hardy Avocado Joey

🟢Prime picks for serious gardeners! Cold-hardy, creamy, and compact - Joey is a must-have for growers in cooler zones!

🟢Joey avocado is a cold-hardy, Type  B avocado with creamy, nutty flavor and purple-black skin. The fruit has smooth, thin, purple-black skin and rich, buttery, somewhat sweet flesh with a nutty flavor - perfect for slicing. The skin is so thin - you can eat it with skin!

🟢Discovered by Joey Ricers in Uvalde, Texas, Joey is a compact egg-shaped avocado that thrives even in cooler climates (surviving the teens to 20s F) and ripens from August to October. It survived temperatures around 10F near San Antonio, Texas (Zone 8b). Once established, the tree can take temperatures down to 15F for short period of time without significant damage.

🟢Growing into a dense, upright tree reaching 10-25 ft, it's self-pollinating but pairs well with a Type  A variety to boost yield

🟢Heavy bearer, Joey is a top choice for cooler subtropical regions and container gardens alike.

🛒  Shop Cold Hardy Avocados

📚 Learn more:


· Can I Grow Avocado Outside the Tropics?
· Avocado Variety Guide
· Posts about #Avocado

#Food_Forest #Avocado

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 12 Jul 2025

Avocado that laughs at frost: Mexicola Grande for cooler climates

Avocado Mexicola Grande

Avocado that laughs at frost: Mexicola Grande for cooler climates



🟢Avocado Mexicola Grande is one of the best cold-hardy avocados you can grow. It can tolerate temperatures down to the low 20sF, making it ideal for gardeners in zones 8b-10 who want a dependable avocado.

🟢Medium-sized tree, grows to about 15-20 feet tall, but you can keep it smaller with pruning.

🟢Glossy black fruit, thin-skinned, smooth, and shiny black when ripe - easy to peel and eat fresh.

🟢Anise-scented leaves: its foliage has a mild anise aroma when crushed, which is unique to Mexican-type avocados.

🟢Creamy and rich: the fruit has a high oil content and a buttery flavor, excellent for guacamole or toast.

🟢Early producer: often fruits earlier in the season compared to other varieties.

🟢 A great addition if you're looking for a productive, flavorful avocado that can handle cooler temps!

🛒  Shop Cold Hardy Avocados

📚 Learn more:


· Avocado can you eat with the skin: cold hardy Joey
· Can I Grow Avocado Outside the Tropics?
· Avocado Variety Guide
· Posts about #Avocado

#Food_Forest #Avocado

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 27 Jul 2025

🍈 Morinda citrifolia - Noni: A Plant with Purpose

Young woman with a potted Noni tree, close-up of Noni fruit growing on the branch, and a ripe Noni fruit with its distinct bumpy skin.

What are the benefits of growing a Noni tree?

Noni isn't just ornamental - it earns its place. This small tropical tree is packed with potential, from fruiting fast to delivering real, time-tested benefits.

  • Begins fruiting within a year
  • Flowers and fruits nearly non-stop if grown in proper conditions
  • Grows well in containers, indoors or out
  • Used to support immunity, joints, digestion, and more
  • Leaves and fruit are both used in traditional remedies
How to Grow Noni Tree

In Zone 10 and warmer, Noni grows beautifully outdoors in full to part sun. It thrives in poor soil, tolerates salt, and bounces back from drought. Just keep it warm and lightly fertilized for year-round flowering and fruiting.

For indoor growers, Noni adapts well to containers. Place it near a bright window or under grow lights. It can tolerate lower light, though fruiting may slow. Keep soil moist but not soggy. Leaves may drop if it gets too cold or too dry - warmth is key. In deep shade, the foliage becomes lush, dark, and ornamental.

Pro tip: Start with a 3 gal or larger plant for faster fruit production.

Shop Noni Trees

How to Make Fresh Noni Juice

A glass with noni juice next to a ripe Noni fruit with its distinct bumpy skin and noni leaves

Got fruit on your Noni tree? Here's how to turn it into something powerful.

Step-by-Step Guide:

  • Wash the ripe fruit thoroughly
  • Cut into small chunks
  • Blend until smooth
  • Strain (optional) through mesh or cheesecloth
  • Add apple or blueberry juice to soften the flavor
  • Store in clean glass jars and refrigerate
Why bother growing Noni?

Fresh Noni juice supports:

  • Joint and bone strength
  • Energy and endurance
  • Immune balance and metabolism
  • Healthy gums and blood pressure regulation
  • Weight management and nutrient absorption
This isn't just juice. It's tradition in a glass - and it came from your own plant.

Grow your own noni juice

Date: 30 Jul 2025

Why tipping mango trees makes them fruiting machines (DIY Garden Tip)

🥭 Why tipping mango trees makes them fruiting machines (DIY Garden Tip)



📱

🌳 Want more mangoes from your backyard tree?
In this step-by-step guide, Ed from Top Tropicals in Fort Myers, Florida, shows how to tip mango trees to boost branching, improve structure, and increase fruit production. Whether you're growing Valencia Pride, Orange Sherbet, or Glen mangoes - this method works!

✔️ You'll learn:



When and how to tip branches
What tools to use (and how to clean them)
Real before-and-after results from trees in our Florida garden
Tips for shaping young trees for long-term success

🛒 Get your own mango trees

🌱 More garden tips and tropical fruit care

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 8 Aug 2025

Why your gut is begging for papaya

Papaya fruit and trees (Carica papaya)

🍊 Why your gut is begging for papaya



🌴Papaya (Carica papaya) is more than just a tasty tropical fruit - it's a natural remedy for your gut. Thanks to an enzyme called papain, it helps with digestion, bloating, and even supports immune health with high levels of vitamin C and A.

🌴But here's what makes papaya a must-have in every garden: it's fast, space-saving, and super productive. Many trees start fruiting within a year!

🌴Dwarf varieties only reach 6-8 feet but still give you full-sized fruit that's easy to harvest.

🌴Grow it in the ground or in a container - it thrives in sun, handles light freezes, and even stands strong in high winds.

🌴Low effort, high reward. Sweet fruit, strong plant. What more do you need?

📚 Learn more from previous posts:


🟡more about #Papaya
🟡 How to grow tons of fruit in limited space - it's incredible!
🟡 How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around
🟡 Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties
🟡 Carefree Garden: practical Guide to Growing Papaya.

🛒 Your gut will thank you - plant Papaya

#Food_Forest #Papaya

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
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