Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 22 Dec 2025

Center of the world tree that stops traffic in Florida - now fits in a pot

Ceiba Dwarf Pink Princess

🗿 Center of the world tree that stops traffic in Florida - now fits in a pot

🎥 Ceiba Dwarf Pink Princess
  • 🌸 If you’ve ever visited Florida in winter, you’ve probably seen those unbelievable pink trees in full bloom - that’s a Ceiba (Chorisia) speciosa, also known as the Kapok or Pink Silk Floss tree, famous for its hibiscus-like flowers and fluffy silk pods.
  • 🌸 The problem? The classic Ceiba can grow 40 feet tall.

    • This one doesn’t! Ceiba hybrid Dwarf Pink Princess stays compact - about 8-12 feet in the ground and even smaller in a pot.
    And unlike seed-grown trees, this one blooms right away because it’s grafted! No long wait.
  • 🌸 In winter, it drops most of its leaves and explodes into thousands of soft pink flowers. Same wow factor. Just a fraction of the size.

    • Perfect for small yards, patios, balconies, or anyone who wants a show-stopping winter tree without committing to a giant.
  • 🌸 #Fun_facts: the ancient Maya believed the Ceiba was the sacred tree at the center of the world, connecting earth to the sky.
  • 🌸 So yes… You can officially say you’re growing the center of the world in your backyard.


🛒 Plant it now - it fits any garden

📚 Learn more:

#Trees #Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden

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Date: 21 Dec 2025

Everyone wants Red Jade vine - this is the one that lives! How to grow Red Jade outside the Tropics

Camptosema grandiflorum - Dwarf Red Jade Vine, Cuitelo, or Rooster's Crest

❤️‍ Everyone wants Red Jade vine - this is the one that lives! How to grow Red Jade outside the Tropics.
  • 🔥 Camptosema grandiflorum (grandiflora) - Dwarf Red Jade Vine, Cuitelo, or Rooster's Crest - this Brazilian superstar brings cascading chains of bright red blooms.
  • 🔥 Love the stunning, fiery blooms of the famous Red Jade Vine (Mucuna benettii) but live outside the tropics? Its cousin - Dwarf Red Jade Vine - delivers the same jaw-dropping, flame-red flower chains as the famous tropical Red Jade vines - but without the extreme fuss.
  • 🔥 This vine is native to Brazil, where it grows at higher elevations. That is the secret. It is noticeably more cold tolerant than Mucuna benettii and can handle short dips to around 28F with little or no damage. It is also more forgiving with watering and can tolerate brief dry spells once established.
  • 🔥 Bloom time is late fall through winter, exactly when most gardens slow down. The flowers are long, heavy, and hang best from a pergola, arbor, or fence where they can cascade freely. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds find it fast.
  • 🔥 Despite the word "dwarf," this is a vigorous vine. It grows quickly, needs strong support, and rewards good care with a massive display. Give it sun to light shade, water when the soil feels slightly dry, avoid soggy roots, and prune after flowering. Mulch helps keep roots cool.
  • 🔥 It can even be grown in a large container with solid support.
  • 🔥 If you have ever wanted the iconic Red Jade look but live in a place with real winters or surprise cold nights - this is the smarter choice.


🛒 Plant the Red Jade Vine that grows outside the Tropics

📚 Learn more:

#Nature_Wonders #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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Date: 10 Dec 2025

The secret New Deal Franklin Roosevelt never told you about

Schlumbergera x New Deal - Thanksgiving-to-Easter blooming Cactus

🌸 The secret New Deal Franklin Roosevelt never told you about
  • 🌸 Schlumbergera x New Deal is not your regular Christmas cactus. Big blooms, long history. This heirloom flowers from Thanksgiving to Easter and descends from a plant first sold on the very day Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected.

    • This variety actually vanished from the trade for decades. Its first known appearance was at a rare plant sale at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on November 8, 1932 - the exact day Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency and launched the famous New Deal. The name stuck, and so did the legend!
  • 🌸 What makes New Deal so special? The blooms are huge - about an inch larger than standard holiday cactus flowers - and come in brilliant violet-pink and white. And the timing is even better. It sends up a full flush around Thanksgiving and Christmas, then wakes up again with a second wave closer to Easter. That’s why some people call it a Thanksgiving cactus, others call it a Christmas cactus, and many insist it’s an Easter cactus. The truth? It’s all three.
  • 🌸 Despite its pedigree, New Deal is surprisingly easy to grow. It thrives in normal houseplant conditions, stays compact, and rewards even casual care with heavy, reliable blooming.
  • 🌸 The plants available today come from true descendant cuttings of an original 1932 specimen that is still alive. This makes New Deal one of the rarest, most authentic holiday cactus cultivars you can own - a living slice of history and one of the most generous bloomers of the entire holiday season.


🛒 Get the New Deal: the Thanksgiving-to-Easter bloomer

📚 Learn more:

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

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Date: 1 Dec 2025

The giant star shaped bloom you wont believe is real

⭐️ The giant star shaped bloom you wont believe is real

  • ⭐️ Stapelia gigantea, the Starfish Flower, is one of those plants you notice from across the yard and immediately walk over to investigate. The blooms are huge - often close to a foot across - and look exactly like soft, fuzzy starfish dropped right onto the plant. Pale yellow petals with fine maroon lines give it that wild, otherworldly look.

  • ⭐️ Yes, it has a scent - just enough to fool flies, which is exactly what the plant wants. They’re the pollinators, and this flower knows how to get their attention. For us humans, the real show is the size, shape, and texture. It’s a living prop straight out of a sci-fi movie.

  • ⭐️ Even without flowers, the plant itself looks cool: thick, 4-angled succulent stems that sprawl and stack into a low, sculptural mound. In the ground it can spread a couple feet wide, and in a pot it becomes the ultimate conversation piece. And despite looking like a cactus, it’s actually in the Milkweed family. When it’s happy and sets seed, the pods open to release silky little parachutes floating away on the breeze.

  • ⭐️ Strange, bold, and absolutely unforgettable - this is one plant nobody walks past without asking about it.


🛒 Get your own Zulu plant

📱

YouTube short videos:
📚 Learn more:
Stapelia gigantea in Plant Encyclopedia

#Nature_Wonders #Container_Garden
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Date: 27 Nov 2025

An heirloom holiday cactus lost for decades: Thanksgiving-to-Easter bloomer

Schlumbergera x New Deal

Schlumbergera x New Deal

🌸 An heirloom holiday cactus lost for decades: Thanksgiving-to-Easter bloomer
  • 🌸 Schlumbergera x New Deal is not your regular Christmas cactus. This is a true heirloom, a variety that vanished from the trade for decades and originally appeared at a rare plant sale at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden back on November 8, 1932 - the same day F.D.R. won the presidency and launched the famous New Deal. The name stuck, and so did the plant’s reputation!
  • 🌸 What makes New Deal special? First, the flowers. They are big - about an inch larger than standard holiday cactus blooms – and show up in brilliant violet-pink and white. Second, this variety blooms twice a year, which is why people call it a Thanksgiving-to-Easter cactus. It usually opens a full flush around Thanksgiving and Christmas, then surprises you with a second wave toward spring.
  • 🌸 Despite its pedigree, New Deal is easy to grow. It handles normal houseplant conditions, stays compact, and rewards even casual care with heavy blooming.
  • 🌸 The plants available today come from 3rd-generation cuttings of an original specimen that's still alive, making this one of the rarest and most authentic holiday cactus cultivars you can add to your collection. A living piece of history - and one of the most generous bloomers for the holiday season!


🛒 Get your own vintage Christmas cactus with a history

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
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