Date: 24 Jun 2018
Elephant Foot, Turtle Shell - back in stock!
Dioscorea
elephantipes.
Dioscorea is a curious plant
with tuber above ground level covered with layers of corky
bark, resembling a caudex. It is a slow growing, very
unusual succulent. Tuber contains saponins, originally
cooked and eaten as a famine food by the Hottentots.
Caudex that grows up to 6' in nature, resembling an
elephant's foot and looks as if it is segmented into
geometric patterns (smaller plants look like tortoises)
and looks dead but is actually a living tuber. A plant
with 18"caudex can be almost 100 years old! The plant
grows into a vine with attractive heart-shaped leaves and
small yellow flowers. Culture is relatively easy. The
vines may die back and regrow several times a year,
depending on the particular plant and your region. The
plant doesn't send down deep roots, so plant in a shallow
pot about 1" larger than the diameter than the caudex. Potting soil should be very
porous/loose so that there is easy drainage. Water
well around the edges. Keep in a warm area and wait for
the first shoots of the vine to appear. Water regularly
from that point on. The plant should not be kept damp as
with other tropical plants. Allow it to dry before
watering again. Many books will say that they are winter
growers, because they are native to the southern
hemisphere. In fact, they grow in all seasons! Let the
plant be your guide. You cannot force them to grow, and
over watering will simply cause them to rot.
Elephant Foot is a collectors item, but remarkably easy to
grow. It will be with you for years with no effort. It is
a wonderful conversation piece! See more info about Dioscorea
elephantipes.
We have limited stock, while supply lasts, hurry up!
*** 4-6"caudex *** 6-8" caudex *** 10-12"caudex *** Seeds. Don't forget special TopTropicals Adenium Soilless Mix
Date: 19 Jan 2022
Avocado Q & A
Sensation: Avocado 2.5 y.o seedling just bloomed!
Ed's Avocado seedling blooming at age 2.5 years old... Go figure!
Q: Can I plant a seed from a store bought avocado and expect it to bear fruit?
A: Avocados grown from seed do not always come true, meaning being the same as the avocado that produced the seed being planted. Also, avocados grown from
seed will take upwards of 8 years to flower and bear fruit unless grown by Ed Jones and his witchcraft. Ed Jones, the Avocado Guy... Yes,
he is also the Mango Guy, and the Booster Guy... We don't know how he does it. He grows the most beautiful fruit trees, many of them from seed and they all
seem to flower within two years! (See his blogs about his Star Fruit, Olive trees, and video about Shaping Mango Trees). All we know for sure, he uses
Sunshine Boosters for all his plant experiments.
As far as Avocado
, we recommend a grafted variety, where a scion, or branch tip, of a known cultivar is grafted to good rootstock. These trees will usually flower right away and bear good amount of fruit within a couple
of years of being planted in the ground.
It's a good chance now to get a good grafted Avocado on our special Happy Value Sale
Date: 13 May 2022
New Video:
Golden Sugar Apple - Pineapple Annona
In this video we talk about a rare hybrid of Annona - Golden Sugar
Apple. This rare Annona is a species originally brought to us from Costa Rica. We
believe it to be a natural hybrid between A. muricata and A. glabra...
Fast growing, it forms a nice bushy specimen. It has a large, up to 1 lb
fruit, green when unripe, turning dark yellow to orange on ripening. The pulp
is golden to orange when ripe, with a strong Pineapple scent, and resembling
Jackfruit in texture. Flavor is like the custard apple but with pineapple,
papaya, apricot and melon overtones. Note that some people dislike the taste,
others find it good...
The tree tolerates flooding. It is also cold hardy! The plant would be very
interesting for rare fruit collectors as it offers a large, exotic fruit of
unusual color and taste, and appears to be much more hardy and water tolerant
than similar looking but sensitive A. muricata, A. montana and Rollinia.
Subscribe to our Channel:
Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!
Date: 12 Jul 2022
The Milkweed and the Monarch, how to raise your own
by Ed Jones, the Booster Guy
...How to attract butterflies in your garden? What plants do butterflies
love? How to grow those plants when butterfly larvae keep eating them?...
Many gardeners ask these questions and butterfly attracting plants always
have been very popular. But did you know that you could actually turn your
garden into a little butterfly farm?...
Find out from Ed and Juvonda's butterfly mini-farm experience!
CONTINUE READING >
See full list of butterfly attractors
Date: 21 Oct 2025
Cassia vs Bauhinia: which is better as an everblooming container tree?
Cassia vs Bauhinia: which is better as an everblooming container tree?
- 🌸 Cassia (Senna) trees are very popular flowering trees - fast growing, free-flowering, relatively cold hardy, and they love the summer heat. Cassias come in several colors: yellow, orange, pink, red, and rainbow. Rainbow varieties (which are hybrids between yellow and pink cassias) are the most popular thanks to their multicolor blooms with swirls of yellow, pink, red, and orange. But while Rainbow Cassia is a spectacular flowering tree for southern gardens, is it a good choice for a container when you want color on your patio or pool deck?
- 🌸 Some yellow-flowering cassias make attractive bushes that bloom most of the year and stay compact, so they can be grown as container specimens: Cassia didymobotrya- Popcorn Cassia
- 🌸 When it comes to Rainbow or pink cassias such as Cassia javanica - Apple Blossom Tree or Cassia grandis- Red Cassia and other species and hybrids (Cassia marginata - Rainbow Shower Tree, Cassia roxburghii - Ceylon Senna, Cassia x nodosa - Pink Shower), these are usually more vigorous trees that may take several years to bloom. Their flowering season lasts from a few weeks to a couple of months. These trees grow moderately fast but typically need to reach about 10 feet before they start flowering.
- 🌸 So, the answer is: if you want rich, deep color year-round from a container tree, go with Bauhinias - Orchid Trees. Most varieties grow well in pots, stay compact, and reach blooming maturity within just one season. The following varieties are everblooming and can produce flowers for up to 10 months of the year:
Senna alata - Empress Candles
Cassia fistula - Golden Shower (a compact size winter blooming tree)
- Bauhinia madagascariensis - Red Dwarf Orchid Tree. Blooms from winter through fall, up to 10 months a year. The most cold-hardy of all.
- Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree. A large tree in the ground, but compact in pots if trimmed. Grafted trees flower right away. Winter bloomer, cold hardy to light frost.
- Bauhinia tomentosa - Yellow Orchid Tree. Flowers from Winter through Summer, cold hardy to light frost.
- Bauhiniamonandra - Napoleon's Plume Orchid Tree. Almost everblooming with the longest flowering period (less cold hardy than the first three).
- Bauhinia acuminata - Dwarf White Orchid Tree. Blooms from summer through winter (also less cold hardy than the first three).
🛒 Explore Cassia trees and Bauhinias (Orchid Trees)
📚 Learn more:
- ✦ How to add color to your yard with Cassias
- ✦ Rainbow Cassias and Why they are called "Rainbow"
- ✦ Napoleons Plume - Orchid Tree that blooms in a pot
- ✦ Bauhinia madagascariensis, or Red Butterfly Orchid Tree that NEVER Stops Blooming
- ✦ Rare Red Orchid Tree you may never find again but everyone wants
- ✦ Bauhinia acuminata, Dwarf Orchid tree - white and elegant
- ✦ 5 small tropical trees that bloom all summer or year around
- ✦ How to grow Orchid Trees in pots
#Container_Garden #Trees #How_to
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals