Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date:
Top 5 favorite Mango varieties
and Top 10 Condo Mango trees
How to chose the right variety of a Mango tree?
Q: The most Frequently Asked Question about fruit trees: What is your favorite Mango variety? Which mango varieties are the best? Help me to make a choice!
A: As we mentioned on our Introduction to Mango Varieties page, there are thousands of named mango cultivars available. Similar to the classification of avocados (see our Avocado Variety Guide), mango trees can be selected based on your specific needs. These needs can include tree size and growth habit, disease resistance and hardiness, and most importantly, fruit characteristics such as taste, texture, size, color, storage ability, juice and sugar content.
We are currently working on a comprehensive Mango Variety Guide and will be sharing it
with you soon. In the meantime, below are a few tips on selecting the right mango tree.
NOTE: all of the Mango varieties we offer are FIBERLESS!
Top 5 Favorite Mango we just love!
1. Alphonso - the best Indian cultivar in terms of sweetness and
flavor. One of the rarest varieties and sought after - sweet large juice fruit. Coconut-like flavor.
2. Maha Chinook - Many
consider it the best mango had ever tasted. Very rare mango variety from Singapore. This variety is semi-dwarf and great for pot culture. Nam Doc Mai close relative.
3.
Fralan - Super reliable producer and hardy tree. Green fruit, sweet and
juicy. Fralan means "Thunder" - as the fruit cracks when peeled.
4. Fruit Cocktail -
Flavor is an amazing palette of different fruit, with citrus, pineapple, and guava notes.
5. Nam Doc Mai - It's not just us, everyone loves this Mango!
The most popular variety: semi-dwarf and great for pot culture. Eaten green or ripe, a Thailand favorite. It is hands down the most sought after of the Asian mangoes and for good
reason.
Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango
1.
Mallika - condo mango native to India. Among the best of the new generation of Indian dessert mangos. Intensely sweet, rich and highly aromatic flavor with hints of citrus and melon.
2. Ice Cream - far and away the most popular of the "condo mangoes." Flavored like the name. The tree can easily be maintained at a height of just six feet (!) making it ideal for container growing.
3. Julie - the most popular variety in Jamaica and many other Caribbean islands because of
its rich, sweet, coconut/pineapple-like flavor. It is a dwarf cultivar, great for containers, but keep in mind it's very cold sensitive, don't plant it in the ground if you get freeze in winter.
4. Okrung - Thai compact cultivar,
fruit eaten while green. The fruit is traditionally served in Thailand in combination with sticky rice. One of the most popular varieties in Thailand. The fruit is very sweet, with the highest sugar content.
5. Pickering - great for pot culture. It has a bushy, compact growth habit, and can be maintained in a container at just six feet (!). The fruit has a firm
flesh with a fantastic coconut/mango flavor.
6. Nam Doc Mai - The most popular variety for pot culture, we already mentioned in our favorites above.
7. Cogshall - an ultra compact grower. Suitable for container growing on a balcony, or planting in a suburban backyard. It can easily be maintained at just eight feet tall, and it will still produce a good size crop year after year. The fruit is very colorful and has a mild, sweet flavor. It is also fungus resistant.
8. Carrie - the flavor
is by far the most outstanding. It has absolutely no fiber and extremely rich in flavor, sweet, aromatic and a pure pleasure to eat. You will savor every mouthful! Its compact size makes it an excellent dooryard tree.
9. Diamond - It has a great taste very similar to Nam Doc Mai. Very compact, of a dwarf habit, great as condo mango.
10. Keitt - the best all-around late mango. It is very productive, good-flavored, and disease resistant. It also has a very long and late season. The compact tree is semi dwarf that bears 4-5 pound goliath fruit!
Photo above: Pim Seng Mun mango tree is a reliable and heavy producer.
Top 5 recommended vigorous growers and reliable producers
1. Glenn - Excellent eating quality, consistent production, and effortless to grow.
2. Pim Seng Mun - extremely productive mango.
3. Sweet Tart - New patented variety - exclusive offer.
4. Fruit Punch - Multi fruit flavor, delicious!
5. Orange
Sherbet - One of the best new varieties for backyard growing. Flavor is sweet citrus-orange and less lemony than Lemon Meringue mango. The tree is moderately vigorous.
Top 5 exotic varieties for rare fruit collection
Now that you have decided to collect them all but have limited space, these are the top 5 of the most interesting rare cultivars:
1. Kar Lon Long -
rare and unusual, native to India. Fruits that can weigh up to 5 lbs each! The unique flavor that has been described as being a cross between a mango and a pineapple.
2. Mun Kun Si - similar to Nam Doc Mai but much bigger. Rare variety, very popular
among Thai and Vietnamese people. The fruit are extremely sweet, fiberless and somewhat crunchy ("Mun" means crunchy). Very late producer, fruit may still be on a tree as late as January.
3. Pina Colada - very sweet, has rich flavor with a hint of coconut and pineapple.
4. Ugly Betty - awesome mango, great sweet flavor, while the fruit is real ugly! Slightly mis-shaped at the top - hence the name.
5. Giselle - from Zill's breeding program and was a seedling of a mango called Tower. It was described as a juice mango and is named after Gary's wife.
Photo above: preparing mango seeds for planting - growing seedlings for future grafting.
Need more ideas for compact and showy flowering trees? Try Rainbow Cassias
Rainbow cassia - Cassia Marginata.
- ♦️ Some hybrid cassias have spectacular color combinations and are called Rainbow Cassias.
- ♦️ We mentioned earlier some sunny, yellow-flowering cassias: Senna surattensis (Cassia glauca) - Scrambled Egg Bush, and Cassia siamea - Kassod Tree.
- ♦️ Other cassias can be pink or with multi-color flower combination, so-called Rainbow cassias (which are hybrids between yellow and pink cassias):
- ♦️ Cassia trees are compact, fast growing, tolerant to drought and poor soils, free-flowering and relatively cold hardy. Always a great choice!
Cassia grandis - Red Cassia
Cassia javanica - Apple Blossom Tree
Cassia marginata - Rainbow Shower Tree
Cassia roxburghii - Ceylon Senna
Cassia x nodosa - Pink Shower, Appleblossom.
❓ What cassias do you have in your garden? Share photos in comments👇
🎥 Rainbow cassia - Cassia Marginata.
🛒 Shop showy Cassia trees
#Butterfly_Plants #Trees
🏵 TopTropicals
Why some cassias are called Rainbow?
Rainbow cassia - Cassia Marginata
Cassias, besides yellow, can be pink, red, or with a multi-color flower combination.
Rainbow cassias are hybrids between yellow and pink or red cassias.
Some of the most showy cassias are:
Cassia grandis - Red Cassia
Cassia javanica - Apple Blossom Tree
Cassia marginata - Rainbow Shower Tree
Cassia roxburghii - Ceylon Senna
Cassia x nodosa - Pink Shower, Appleblossom.
♦️ Cassia trees are compact, fast growing, tolerant to drought and poor soils, free-flowering and relatively cold hardy. Always a great choice!
❓ What cassias do you have in your garden?
Share photos in comments👇
📚 More about cassias from previous posts:
How to add color to your yard
Rainbow Cassias
🎥 Rainbow cassia - Cassia Marginata.
🛒 Shop showy Cassia trees
#Butterfly_Plants #Trees
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
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:
- 🌸 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:
Cassia didymobotrya- Popcorn Cassia
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
Date:
Guava Tree Plant Care
Tips from Top Tropicals Plant Expert - Tatiana Anderson
Where to Plant Outdoors
Guavas love full sun — aim for 6–8 hours of direct light. They’re adaptable to many soils but do best in well-drained, organic-enriched mixes. Plant them in a spot where you can water easily; guavas are thirsty trees during fruiting.
Container & Indoor Growing
Don’t have space or live in a cooler climate? Guavas thrive in large pots. Use well-drained potting mix. LINK TO OUR SOIL Keep them on a sunny patio during warm months and bring them indoors when nights dip below freezing. Compact varieties like Dwarf Hawaiian Rainbow or Tikal are especially good for pots.
Winter Care
Mature guavas can handle a light frost (down into the high 20s F), but young plants need protection. If planted outdoors, cover them with frost cloth on cold nights. Container guavas can be wheeled into a garage, greenhouse, or bright indoor window until the weather warms.
Watering and Fertilizing
Water deeply once or twice a week, more often in hot weather or when fruit is developing. They don’t like soggy soil, but they won’t complain about short floods either. Fertilize 3–4 times a year during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree fertilizer. Guavas especially love potassium and phosphorus for strong flowering and heavy crops. We recommend liquid crop booster Sunshine C-Cibus and balanced controlled release fertilizer Green Magic.
Pruning
Prune after fruiting to keep them compact and open up airflow. Remove crossing or dead branches. In containers, trim back vigorous shoots regularly to manage size and encourage more fruiting wood.
Pests and Problems
Guavas are generally tough and pest-resistant. The main thing to watch for in humid or rainy climates is mealybugs - those cottony white clusters on leaves or stems. They're easy to manage with neem oil or a quick spray of horticultural soap.
Fruit time
Guavas fruit young - often within a year or two.
Pollination
Guavas are self-pollinating, so you'll get fruit even with a single tree. Planting more than one tree, however, often boosts harvests and gives you a longer fruiting season.
If you've ever wanted instant gratification from a fruit tree, guava is it.
🍴 Guava Recipes
With all that fruit, the next question is always: "What do I do with it?" Here are our favorites:
Cas Guava: Make Agua de Cas
Boil halved Cas Guava fruits with sugar, simmer, strain, and bottle. Dilute with water when serving. The concentrate keeps for months in the fridge.
Check out the recipe.-
Hawaiian Gold: Make Drinks
Perfect for Mojitos or Margaritas. Sweet, tangy juice pairs beautifully with lime and mint. Learn more
-
Araca Pera: Guava Wine
Famous in Brazil, where the fruit is turned into a vibrant rosу wine. Locals say it’s the taste of summer in a glass — and yes, you can make it at home too. Learn more...
-
Quick snack: Guava Grilled Cheese
Spread guava paste or fresh mashed fruit with cheese, grill until golden. Sweet and savory heaven. Learn more...
-
Simple Guava Juice
Blend ripe guavas with water, ice, and a little sugar if you like. Instant refreshment.
✅Ready to Grow? Whether you want fresh juice, sweet fruit, or even your own guava wine, we’ve got the best varieties in stock right now. Your future self, sipping guava juice on a hot summer afternoon, will thank you.
Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: whats the taste of that Mango variety?
Mango Rainbow tasting table
We've had another mango tasting table and asked participants to describe the taste in a few words. And this is what we got:
- 🟠 Haden - mild, melting, classic heavenly mango flavor,dark yellow flesh, almost fiberless.
- 🟠 Ugly Betty - opposite to the name, the taste is excellent , juicy, melting, sweet.
- 🟠 Cotton Candy - true candy, fiberless, sweet, melting.
- 🟠 Madame Fransis - dark orange pulp, slightly fibrous, robust, meaty like a steak, good with cognac. A little pulpy but unique flavor.
- 🟠 Diamond - bright yellow, fiberless, sugary, juicy, no pulp at all, classic mango taste, good with ice cream, "wow" taste!
- 🟠 Pickering - zesty, waterfall: all the flavors come at once, eat with White wine and/or a cake. Oval fruit somewhat flat, very large for a dwarf tree!
- 🟠 Baptiste - hint of citrus, melts in your mouth, dark orange flesh, crisp, eat with Red wine and cheese.
- 🟠 Florigon - creamy, buttery, spicy. Eat with Ice cream!
- 🟠 Tommy Atkins - has a bit zing to it, perfect consistency, perfect taste. Super colorful, crimson red to purple skin!
- 🟠 Nam Doc Mai - gold standard! Perfect every day.
- 🟠 Carry - tastes even better than all others, smooth buttery, lite!
❔ What Mango varieties have you tried this year?
Share in comments 👇
📝 Previous post: Mango Rainbow Tasting Table
🛒 Shop Mango varieties
#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date:
New Video:
Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow
Psidium guajava "Nana"
Put a little Aloha in your garden... A guava that will bring a taste of the Islands!
This is a very small version of the favorite aromatic Guava - Nana. It grows only up to 5-6 ft tall with a short trunk and a branching, bushy habit. It is perfect for those who have limited space. It can be grown in a pot and fruits heavily. Provided with warm conditions, the tree can bear fruit almost year around. The fruit is round, about 2", pretty good size for a dwarf tree. The flesh is sweet, aromatic, and
varies from white to yellow to pink.
Subscribe to our Channel:
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Date:
Easy Sunday Morning Deals: Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow
Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...
..."A ' ohe loa i ka hana a ke aloha.
Distance is ignored by love..."
- Toni Polancy -
It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals Garden with savings of
50% and MORE!
Put a little Aloha in your garden....
Two Exotics from Paradise
It may be cold where you are, so take a trip with us to the Hawaiian Islands. Tropical breezes,
soothing ocean waves and an unbeatable selection of tropical plant treasures...
This week we bring the Aloha to you. A guava that will bring a taste of the
Islands and a spectacular variety of Majestic Taro.
Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow
- Ready to fruit this year! -
This is a very small version of the favorite aromatic Guava - Hawaiian Rainbow Nana. It grows only up to 5-6 ft tall, perfect for limited space. It can be grown in a pot and fruits heavily almost year around. The flesh is sweet, aromatic, and varies from white to yellow to pink.
Colocasia Diamond Head
- Large Developed plants! -
Diamond Head is a spectacular variety of Taro is named after the volcanic cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu - both the cone and plant are black and lustrous! Mature plants form a well-behaved clump and reach 3 to 4 feet tall, with leaves up to 2 feet wide! A must for black plant fanatics. Grows more compact that other Colocasias and no two leaves are the same!
Colocasia Diamond Head,
regularly $42.95,
is on Easy Sunday sale for only $21.48
Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow, regularly $52.95,
is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $26.48.
Combine the two for maximum Aloha and save even more:
only $42.95 for both - one plant comes FREE!
Remember, the Easy Sunday Deal expires on Monday January 17th.
Date:
🌳 Why Large Grafted Trees Are Better
These are not seedlings — they’re grafted trees, which means you get the true variety with known flavor, quality, and performance. Large grafted trees give you a real head start:
- Already mature with a strong root system.
- Handle transplanting and weather shifts with ease.
- Can bloom and fruit in the first or second season.
No guessing, no waiting years — you’ll get the exact fruit you want, sooner.
-
👉 Learn more: How long does it take for a mango tree to bear
fruit?
For Indoor and Patio Growers
No space for a full orchard? You can still grow your own tropical paradise! Our large grafted Condo Mango trees adapt beautifully to big containers on patios, balconies, and sunrooms. They stay compact, flower sooner, and can fruit even in pots when given good light and warmth.
-
👉 Learn more: What are the Condo Mangos?
Bring the tropics indoors — move your tree outside for summer sun, then back inside before frost. It’s the perfect way to enjoy homegrown fruit wherever you live.
Give your garden a smart start this season. Large grafted Mango trees are ready — but only for a short time before winter.
👉 Plant now, harvest sooner, and enjoy the true variety!
Plant Care Tips by Top Tropicals Plant
Expert Tatiana AndersonLarge grafted Mango trees are easy to establish.
- Soil: Well-drained, rich mix — avoid heavy clay.
- Water: Deeply once or twice a week after the tree is established; keep soil evenly moist during the first few weeks after planting.
- Light: Full sun or bright patio spot.
- Feeding: Use balanced fertilizer Sunshine Boosters Mango Tango with every watering and Green Magic controlled release fertilizer every 6 months for steady growth.
- Protection: Cover on cold nights for the first winter.
- 👉 Learn more: How to take care of a mango tree in winter.
Plant once, care lightly, and your tree will reward you with fast growth and early fruit.
🌳 Big Trees, Local Pickup Only
For our local gardeners, we have something special. Extra-large 15- and 25-gallon Mango trees. These are full, mature specimens that simply can’t be shipped, but they’re perfect for local pickup or delivery.
Instant Impact and Faster Fruit
These trees already have strong trunks, big root systems, and start blooming next Spring. Plant one in your yard and it instantly looks like it’s been there for years.
Delivery and Installation
We offer local delivery and professional installation for large trees in the nearby area. Our team can bring the tree to your garden, position it correctly, and help with planting and setup.
👉 Contact us to arrange delivery and installation for your 15- or 25-gallon tree.
Limited Availability: Quantities are small, and these big trees go fast — once sold, they won’t be available again until next growing season.
"Large grafted trees give you a head start — they’re stronger, settle in faster, and can reward you with fruit the very next season," says Tatiana Anderson
🎥 Watch Short Videos:
Mango Rainbow tasting table: varieties you should try
Kent Mango
- Kent Mango variety is native to Florida. It is originated in Coconut Grove, in 1945 from a Haden seed.
- Kent has an excellent flavor, large size, and very little fiber. Considered by many to be one of the best tasting Florida mangoes and one of the most beautiful, truly rainbow colored fruit!
- Eat before fruit gets too ripe.
- The most rewarding attribute is a bountiful late season crop.
❔ What Mango varieties do you have in your garden?
Share in comments 👇
📚 Previous Mango Rainbow Tasting Table: 1 • 2 • 3 •
🛒 Shop Mango varieties
#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow
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