Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 24 Nov 2020

Fall Garden Festival @ TopTropicals

- Amazing Momentos -

The biggest Garden Event in TopTropicals history just happened! (and bigger event yet to come!)
Fall Garden Festival on Saturday 11/21/20 was a blast! We had so many amazing vendors with cool, sunny, happy products.
We would like to thank everyone who brought their arts, crafts, and their LOVE to our gardens, and to all the guests who really enjoyed the show! As always, Pros and Congas live jazz set a tropical tune to the day. Please come again to our future events and share your talents with the World!

Special thanks to our vendors:

Izzy Baquerizo - Graphic Artist (Fort Myers)
Tony Campo Gallery
Homegrown - tropical oils, creams and blends by Rebekah Bunting
Sara's Stowers Jewelry - Resin and Clay Jewelry (Naples)
Kelsey's Treasure - Macrame & Wire Jewelry (Fort Myers)
Cinthya Celeste - with her Moonlight Gypsy Tarot Card Readings
Twain's Tye Dye @asmrdotcommunity @twains.tyedye (Spark Twain)
Elijam Adams - Hoop Flow (St. Petersburg, FL)
Someuglyrugs
See all participants with links to their businesses

See more photos of the event >>

Moonlight Gypsy Tarot Card Readings

Sara's Stowers Jewelry - Resin and Clay Jewelry (Naples)

Rebekah Bunting with Homegrown - tropical oils, creams and blends

Kelsey's Treasure - Macrame & Wire Jewelry (Fort Myers)

King - the Star of the Show

Date: 19 Nov 2020

Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

Feeding Indoor Plants

Q: I am moving all my potted plants indoors as weather is cooling down. I still have Sunshine Boosters that I got from you in Summer. Do I need to continue fertilizing and how often, or should I wait until Spring?

A: Indoor plants add a vibrant warmth to your home, and can even improve the air quality. But most importantly, indoor plants give you access to year-round gardening. While majority of house plants are easy to maintain, they still require proper care to thrive.
Too many gardeners overlook the importance of fertilizing plants indoors. However, proper feeding is essential to grow healthy, vibrant plants. With outdoor plants nature sends rain and a plant will send new roots to find food, an indoor plant is limited to only what you will give it. That is why it is essential to feed your plants a healthy nutritious meal even indoors.
Many granular and slow-releasing fertilizers will recommend that you only feed your plants occasionally, but this is not the healthiest for plants, since they need to "snack" every day to satisfy their daily nutrient needs. When you feed a plant a large meal rarely, it cannot absorb the nutrients effectively, leftovers creating build up in soil (it's called "locked up nutrients") and that is why we specifically designed our fertilizers to be a light, daily nutritious meal for your plants - Sunshine Home for houseplants...

Date: 19 Nov 2020

Chorisia speciosa - Exotic Pink Silk Floss Tree

by Onika Amell, tropical plant expert

When I stumbled upon my first Pink Silk Floss tree at the Naples Botanical Garden in Florida, it stopped me in my tracks. It was in full bloom and one of the most beautiful flowering trees I had ever laid my eyes upon. This tree has so much wow factor. Not only are the flowers of this native from the Amazon Rain Forest in South America spectacular, but the trunk, seeds and attractive, umbrella-like crown makes it exceptionally unique and interesting. This tree will stand out in any garden....

CONTINUE READING >>

Date: 6 Nov 2020

The truth about Sensational Monstera Thai Constellation

"Nothing's making sense anymore. It's gotten out of control"

Painting above: "Thai Constellation Monstera deliciosa" with acrylic paint on textured background by Audrey Ehlinger - participant of the 2020 Tropical Plant Art Contest

Variegated Monstera... Now that this Sensational plant deserves even its own works of art, it is time to admit: this beauty is probably one of the most surprising phenomena in the history of rare plant industry.

Many plant collectors noticed the craziness around this unusual variegated cultivar of Monstera deliciosa - Thai Constellatio. Top Tropicals was the first plant nursery that originally introduced this variety into the US tropical plant market a few years ago. Since then, popularity of this plant went above and beyond any expectations. Everybody wants this plant! Yet it is nearly impossible to propagate, with the only somewhat successful method as Tissue Culture. Besides, in order to create a viable batch, one must use cells from the stem only. Considering this plant grows about 2 inches a year (in favorable conditions), this leaves us with very limited propagation material... Who can sacrifice their unique mature plant for a knife of a propagator? Let us know if you have any extra you can share ;)

No wonder very quickly Thai Constellation had become a commodity plant, or even better - an asset compared by some people to a real estate bubble... Some collectors sell cuttings for $2,000 each. People pay up to $250 per leaf of this plant... Crazy? Maybe. But being rare plant collectors, we all know the feeling! Check out this article:

It's Better Than The Stock Market: A Massive Bubble Is Forming In The Rare Plant Market...

Thai Constellation available for sale:

The good news is - we have a few plants. They are in 4" pots. Small, but well-established. The price is not cheap. It is what it is - this is what it costs us to obtain these plants from Thailand. This is the last batch for a long while, no more available even at this price, since the growers can't find enough propagation material to satisfy the market. Next batch expected from tissue culture is probably 2022. We have over 400 customers on wish list for this plant.If you really NEED IT, order right now!

3-years old Monstera Thai Constelation from Top Tropicals personal collection

Date: 6 Nov 2020

Tropical Plant Art Contest:
we counted all the votes!

Painting above: 3rd place: "Tropical Florida" by Linda Hedary

"WOW! So many great works! Our followers certainly have a GREAT collective talent! Makes me so proud!" - a quote from TopTropicals Art Jury member, artist Mark Hooten.

Now that the whole country in in competition mode, gardeners are no exception! Every painting is a work of art and it was hard for the Jury to make the decision. We counted in all the votes that came in by the deadline ;)
Finally, we are happy to announce the winners of the Plant Art Contest!. Visit our 2020 Tropical Plant Art Contest Page on our website and see all participant entries, winners and their prizes!

See all Winners! >>

All winners will be contacted by us via email or Facebook within a few days for their prizes. If you haven't heard from us by 11/9/20, please contact us with the subject "Tropical Plant Art Contest" and your shipping information. You may also simply reply to this email, just make sure to set the proper subject.
A few entries came late, pass deadline/voting, keep up with the great artwork and don't miss the next contest submission!

Thank you to all the amazing plant lovers who shared your artwork and talents with us. So much creativity and beauty for everyone to enjoy! Happy painting, and stay updated - new contest will be coming soon!

Painting above: "Hibiscus Wish" by Santhoshi Kavali

Painting above: "Mussaenda Marmelade" - Watercolor by Sally Gawler (Audience Appreciation Prize)

Painting above: "Purple Passion" by Joan Maier. Joan's painting "Butterfly" is the 1st place winner (see Contest page)