Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

Butterfly Haven or a Heaven on Earth? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Butterfly Haven or a Heaven on Earth?

Butterfly on Bougainvillea flowers

Butterfly Haven or a Heaven on Earth?

❓Q: What should I plant in my yard to create a butterfly haven? I love butterflies and want to create a unique butterfly paradise, but I'm looking for something exotic and unusual - nothing like the typical Milkweed or Pentas that everyone recommends. What can you suggest to make my yard stand out from the usual native landscape while still attracting butterflies? I have plenty of space and want something diverse and showy!

‼️ A: In previous posts we introduced many #Butterfly_Plants including Five best butterfly attractors.
In next post you will see the most spectacular tropical and subtropical plants perfect for Southern gardens so you can create a dynamic and colorful butterfly haven. These options are unique, eclectic, and exotic - your flowers will not only be butterfly magnets but will also turn heads with their striking beauty! 👇

🛒 Transform your yard into a Butterfly Haven with exotic plants

#Butterfly_Plants

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Date:

What is the best flowering shrub for a shady spot? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the best flowering shrub for a shady spot?

Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra

Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra

Aphelandra squarrosa - White Zebra Plant

Aphelandra squarrosa - White Zebra Plant

Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen

Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen

Aphelandra x panamensis - Scarlet Candle

Aphelandra x panamensis - Scarlet Candle

💐 What is the best flowering shrub for a shady spot?
  • 🚩 Aphelandra is hands down one of the best solutions for a shade garden where you want to see more colors. It is a great addition to a collectible tropical butterfly garden, can grow into 4-5" tall bushy specimen. Tolerates both sun and shade.
  • 🚩Aphelandras have beautiful lush foliage and showy, long terminal inflorescences throughout the warm season.
  • 🚩These flowers are loved by hummingbirds.
  • 🚩Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra. Yellow flowers emerge out of long orange stalks in the fall time. Pretty and unusual!
  • 🚩Aphelandra squarrosa Dania (Snow White) - White Zebra Plant. It is also one of the best house plants, not only pretty because of its white-veined "Zebra" foliage, but also for the apical inflorescence with its beautiful yellow bracts.
  • 🚩Aphelandra sinclairiana - Panama Queen, has extremely tropical look and fragrant flowers of unusual color combination: orange and pink.
  • 🚩Aphelandra x panamensis - Scarlet Candle - a rare hybrid with bright red flowers


📚 Learn more from previous posts:
Panama Queen
How to grow Zebra in container?

🛒 Shop Aphelandras

#Butterfly_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Shade_Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

The Drama you want in your garden: dazzling Medinilla! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The Drama you want in your garden: dazzling Medinilla!

Medinilla plant

Medinilla plant

Medinilla plant

Medinilla plant

Medinilla plant orange

Medinilla plant orange

Medinilla plant

Medinilla plant

🌺 The Drama you want in your garden: dazzling Medinilla!
  • 🎀 Show-Stopping Blooms: The Medinilla plant is known for its spectacular, dramatic clusters of pink, pendulous flowers that cascade like floral chandeliers - perfect for turning heads!
  • 🎀 Tropical Flair: With its lush, leathery leaves and exotic appearance, the medinilla adds a touch of the tropics to any indoor or outdoor space.
  • 🎀 Conversation Starter: Its unique and eye-catching flowers make the Medinilla a true centerpiece, sparking admiration and conversation among garden visitors.
  • 🎀 Low Maintenance: Despite its luxurious look, the Medinilla is surprisingly easy to care for, thriving in indirect light (loves shade!) and only moderate watering.
  • 🎀 Pollinator's Delight: The vibrant blooms attract a variety of pollinators, making your garden not only more beautiful but also more buzzing with life 🐞🐝
  • 🎀 Year-Round Beauty: Unlike many plants that only shine for a season, the Medinilla can bloom multiple times a year.


🛒 Shop Medinilla plants

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

Why Yellow Aphelandra looks red? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why Yellow Aphelandra looks red?

Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra

💥 Why Yellow Aphelandra looks red?

👒 Aphelandra hartwegiana - Yellow Aphelandra - is getting ready to bloom! Soon it will be shooting its curious yellow flowers out of these "candles"... Stay with us to see it bloom!

📚 Learn more about Aphelandras from previous posts:

🛒 Shop Aphelandras

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden

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Date:

What is the most excusive tropical Christmas flower? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the most excusive tropical Christmas flower?

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

🎄 What is the most excusive tropical Christmas flower?
  • 🎅 A festive showstopper, Ruellia colorata, known as Colorama, is a rare and vibrant addition to exotic container plant collection. Its brilliant scarlet bracts color up for Christmas and stay bright carmine for several months.
  • 🎅 Native to Brazil, this small plant grows 2-4 feet tall, displaying brilliant scarlet bracts and crimson flowers that stay bright for months, adding a touch of holiday cheer.
  • 🎅 One of Colorama's most striking features is its photoperiodic response: the top leaves turn crimson red around Christmas time due to changes in daylight length, much like the beloved Poinsettia. After winter, these leaves return to green, keeping the plant lively and versatile year-round.

    • Photoperiodism is the process where plants respond to the length of day and night, triggering changes such as leaf coloration or flowering.
  • 🎅 Its blooms are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds, making it a favorite for wildlife enthusiasts.
  • 🎅 Colorama thrives in shady to semi-shady spots and requires regular watering to stay lush and healthy. It's perfect for USDA zones 9-11 but can also be grown in colder regions if protected from frost. For winter care in cooler climates, move it indoors or to a warm area to keep this stunning beauty happy and blooming.
  • 🎅 When grown in pots, ensure good drainage, use rich organic soil, and place the plant in a bright location.
  • 🎅 Prune twice a year to maintain its compact, bushy shape, and fertilize with a flowering fertilizer once established.


🛒 Get your own Exclusive Christmas Colorama

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Butterfly_Plants

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Date:

Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers

Barleria cristata Lavender Lace (Striped Philippine Violet)

⭐️ Does Barleria Lavender Lace really have striped flowers
  • 🔮 Looking for an easy, compact, beautiful shrub that takes both sun and shade? Barleria cristata Lavender Lace (Striped Philippine Violet) is a rare and stunning variety perfect for fall and winter blooms.
  • 🔮 Striking lavender-and-white-striped trumpet-shaped blooms appear in clusters from Fall through Winter. They are truly striped! 👀
  • 🔮 Grows to about 3 feet tall, perfect as a garden hedge or shaped into neat geometrical forms with minimal pruning.
  • 🔮 Needs some sun for profuse flowering and occasional pruning to encourage bushy growth.
  • 🔮 Can handle cooler temperatures, making it a reliable fall and winter bloomer.


🛒 Plant Lavender Lace

#Container_Garden #Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden

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How Cardinals Guard runs red carpet for Christmas. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How Cardinals Guard runs red carpet for Christmas

Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea)

Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea)

Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea)

Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea)

Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea)

Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea)

🚩 How Cardinals Guard runs red carpet for Christmas⛔️👍
  • 💖 If your garden needs a pop of color, Cardinals Guard (Pachystachys coccinea) is ready to take the spotlight! With its bold, scarlet-red blooms perched atop green cones, this evergreen perennial looks like it's wearing a crown.
  • 💖 Striking Christmas-red flowers emerge from a green cone. Blooms most of the year.
  • 💖 Adds vibrant color and a festive, tropical feel to any space.
  • 💖 Upright, multi-stemmed growth with lush foliage.
  • 💖 Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
  • 💖 Care: Morning sun and afternoon shade (semi-shade preferred). Trim stems to prevent legginess and encourage fresh growth. Perfect for Southern gardens and large containers.


🛒 Plant Cardinals Guard

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits

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Date:

What is the most spectacular Clerodendrum? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the most spectacular Clerodendrum?

Clerodendrum speciosissimum - Java Glorybower Mary Jane

✨ What is the most spectacular Clerodendrum?
  • 🌸 Clerodendrums are tropical favorites, easy to grow, and bloom year-round. Thriving in sun or shade, they're perfect for home gardens. Many bloom in winter, brightening dark days - even on a windowsill!
  • 🌸 One of our favorites is Clerodendrum speciosissimum - Java Glorybower Mary Jane. This fast growing bush blooms with bright coral flowers, virtually year around!


🎥 Clerodendrum speciosissimum - Java Glorybower Mary Jane

📚 More about Clerodendrums in previous posts:

🛒 Shop Clerodendrums

#Butterfly_Plants #Container_Garden #Perfume_Plants #Shade_Garden #Hedges_with_benefits

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Date:

Need a low growing show stopper that blooms like a winter fire? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Need a low growing show stopper that blooms like a winter fire?

Gloxinia sylvatica - Bolivian Sunset

🔥 Need a low growing show stopper that blooms like a winter fire?
  • 🔥 Spectacular show! Gloxinia sylvatica - Bolivian Sunset - is a very low-growing, an eye-catching, easy-care plant that delights with vibrant fire-red blooms.
  • 🔥 This fall-to-early-winter bloomer spreads quickly from rhizomes, forming a thick ground cover.
  • 🔥 Though it may die back in spring, it bounces right back once the rainy season arrives. As a bonus, you can share its beauty by gifting flowering starts from your own garden during the holidays!
  • 🔥 Whether you keep it as a houseplant or grow it outdoors in dappled shade with plenty of water, its dense leaves and flowers create a spectacular show.


🛒 Plant spectacular Bolivian Sunset

#Butterfly_Plants #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae)

💔 When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts
  • ❣️ Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) is named for its red and white flowers that look like dangling hearts.
  • ❣️ Native to tropical West Africa, this climber thrives in bright light and can be grown as a houseplant or trained on a trellis.
  • ❣️ It shows off its most spectacular blooms in winter, but with enough light, it'll happily flower year-round.


📚 More about Clerodendrums in previous posts:

🛒Get your own Bleeding Heart

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #Fun_Facts #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden

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