Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

What is our favorite flowering shrub? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is our favorite flowering shrub?

Ball of Fire - Combretum constrictum

🔥 What is our favorite flowering shrub?

🔥 Ball of Fire! Combretum constrictum is very showy beautiful vining shrub with powderpuff fire-red flowers. It is easy to grow and undemanding and booms almost year round; attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

📚 Learn more from previous post:
Watch out - Ball of Fire!

🛒 Order your Ball of Fire

#Butterfly_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like?

Dragon fruit flowers

🐲 What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like?
  • Dragon fruit flowers are large, bright, and truly eye-catching. They have long, pale petals that spread out like a star, with a creamy white or yellowish center.
  • The flowers open at night, giving them a magical, moonlit vibe, and their size makes them look almost otherworldly.
  • When they bloom, they can be up to a foot wide, and they give off a sweet, subtle fragrance. It's like seeing a flower from a fairy tale!


📚 More about Dragon Fruit from previous posts:

🛒 Plant a Dragon fruit

#Food_Forest #Hedges_with_benefits #Dragon_Fruit

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Everyone wants this vine: Blue Sky is in full bloom now! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Everyone wants this vine: Blue Sky is in full bloom now!

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower

Everyone wants this vine: Blue Sky is in full bloom now!

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower - is a super-fast growing climber that will cover your fence in just one season!

📚 Learn more about Thunbergias from previous posts:
Perfect everblooming hedge for shade
Blue Sky in just one season and forever
Clock Vine

🛒 Shop Thunbergia vines

#Hedges_with_benefits

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Why is it called King's Mantle. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why is it called Kings Mantle

King's Mantle - Thunbergia erecta

Why is it called King's Mantle
  • ✨ Looking for a hedge that blooms non-stop, even in the shade? King's Mantle - Thunbergia erecta - is ever-blooming superstar is the perfect flowering bush or hedge for those tricky shady spots in your garden.
  • ✨ Unlike its climbing cousins, this Thunbergia prefers to sprawl as a shrub, making it easier to manage.
  • ✨ With its fast-growing, bushy habit, it's ideal for mixed beds or creating a medium-to-low hedge that stays dense and beautiful year-round.
  • ✨ The flowers? Think of morning glories, with stunning purple or white petals and sunny yellow throats. And if you're feeling adventurous, try the 'Lavender Ice' variety with royal, lavender-variegated flowers for a unique twist. The name King's Mantle is well-deserved!
  • ✨Not just a pretty face, King’s Mantle also boasts small, dark green leaves that make the flowers pop even more.
  • ✨ It's a pruning enthusiast's dream - cut it back, and it'll reward you with even more blooms!
  • ✨ Whether you plant it in sun or partial shade, King's Mantle will thrive in well-drained soil, delivering a burst of color all year long.


📚 Learn more from previous post:
Perfect everblooming hedge for shade

🛒 Shop King's Mantle

#Hedges_with_benefits

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The solution to eliminate weeds finally found! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The solution to eliminate weeds finally found!

Senna (Cassia) alata - Empress Candle, Candelabra Plant

🌞 The solution to eliminate weeds finally found! Yet it has beautiful sunny flowers!
  • 🟡 Imagine a plant that grows fast, stays in bloom almost year-round, and covers your garden with lush, vibrant greenery with sunny, candle-like flowers. That's the Senna (Cassia) alata – Empress Candle, Candelabra Plant.
  • 🟡 This garden wonder lights up your space with golden, candle-like flowers, while its huge leaves provide cool shade and keep weeds at bay! Weeds 🌱 just don't have a chance to grow under its canopy!
  • 🟡 In just one or two seasons, it can grow up to 10 feet wide and 6-8 feet tall, creating a natural masterpiece of beauty.
  • 🟡 Butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees flock to its bright yellow flowers, which are followed by intriguing, rattling seed pods 🐝
  • 🟡 The Empress Candle isn't just a plant - it's a stunning, must-have addition that transforms any garden into a living work of art.


🎥 Watch the video in the next post 👇

🛒 Shop Empress Candle

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #Nature_Wonders

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Why so many gardeners this year planted Native American Persimmon. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why so many gardeners this year planted Native American Persimmon

American Persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana), fruit on the branch

American Persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana), fruit on the branch

American Persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana), fruit

American Persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana), fruit

🙃 Why so many gardeners this year planted Native American Persimmon

🍯 The American Persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana) is a hardy, low-maintenance tree known for its delicious, sweet fruit that ripens in the fall. This small to medium-sized tree is perfect for gardens, attracting wildlife while providing a nutritious harvest.
  • 🍊Native to North America, known for its sweet, flavorful fruit.
  • 🍊Small to medium-sized tree, easy to grow in various soil types.
  • 🍊Fruits are rich in vitamins and antioxidants, ripening in fall.
  • 🍊Great for wildlife, as birds and animals love the fruit.
  • 🍊Cold-hardy and drought-tolerant, making it a resilient choice for gardens.


📚 Learn more from previous post:
Persimmon: cold hardy, dramatic fruit tree with a sweet fruit

🛒 Order American Persimmon

#Food_Forest #Hedges_with_benefits

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What is Barbados Gooseberry? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is Barbados Gooseberry?

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry, flowers

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry, flowers

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry, fruit

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry, fruit

What is Barbados Gooseberry?

Perescia aculeata - Barbados Gooseberry, is a very interesting, unusual addition for any self-sustaining landscape due to its fast-growing nature and unique combination of cactus and leafy vine, with beautiful flowers and showy edible fruit.

Low-maintenance plant, it is perfect for covering walls or fences, adds greenery and a productive food source, making it both practical and visually appealing.
  • ⏺A unique cactus with real leaves, unlike most cacti. Needs very little water.
  • ⏺Fast-growing vine that can cover fences or walls quickly.
  • ⏺When in bloom, the vine is covered with beautiful white flowers, followed by bright orange, edible, tangy fruits.
  • ⏺Great for adding greenery and a food source to your garden.


🛒 Plant Barbados Gooseberry

#Food_Forest #Hedges_with_benefits

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What is the easiest and toughest plant for covering both fence and ground? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the easiest and toughest plant for covering both fence and ground?

Trachelospermum jasminoides - Confederate Jasmine

💥 What is the easiest and toughest plant for covering both fence and ground?
  • 💮 Trachelospermum jasminoides - Confederate Jasmine: this charming plant is a triple threat - beautiful, fragrant, and versatile!
  • 💮 With its sweetly scented flowers and bright leaves (variegated in some varieties), it's perfect for covering fences, trellises, or even as a ground cover.
  • 💮 It blooms profusely from winter through spring, adding vibrant color and scent to your garden.
  • 💮 It's incredibly easygoing: drought-tolerant, fast-growing, and happy in both sun and shade. Whether you want a lush hanging basket or a fragrant garden showstopper, this jasmine is a no-brainer!


🛒 Order Confederate Jasmine

#Hedges_with_benefits #Perfume_Plants

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What is the best undemanding yet interesting plant for dry, hot area. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the best undemanding yet interesting plant for dry, hot area

Pedilanthus tithymaloides â€" Devils Backbone, Jacobs Ladder

⚡️ What is the best undemanding yet interesting plant for dry, hot area
  • 🌿 Pedilanthus tithymaloides – better known as Devils Backbone or Jacobs Ladder – is a fun, quirky plant with zig-zagging stems that definitely catch the eye! Despite its name, it's anything but evil, it's just a name that adds intrigue.
  • 🌿 Its curious structure looks like nature decided to make an origami plant! Its cute pink blooms add to the charm.
  • 🌿 Whether you’re into drought-tolerant landscaping/xeriscaping or need an easy-going houseplant, this one fits the bill. Plus, it's a survivor, tolerating dry conditions with style.
  • 🌿 Perfect for those who like a bit of plant personality.


📸 More photos in the next post👇

🛒 Get your own Devils Backbone

#Container_Garden #Nature_Wonders #Hedges_with_benefits

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What is the Jasmine Oil made of? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the Jasmine Oil made of?

✨ What is the Jasmine Oil made of?

  • 🌞 French Perfume Jasmine, or Poets jasmine (Jasminum officinale) is the most popular jasmine in the world as it is the source of the original Jasmine essential oil.

  • 🌞 There are two varieties - with single flower (Jasminum x grandiflorum - it has larger size flower and is more rare) and double flower ( Jasminum officinale Flore Pleno). They are very hard to tell apart when not in bloom as the leaves look the same, but the flowers differ (see video).

  • 🌞 Essential oil of this jasmine is one of the most important components in perfumery.

  • 🌞 Grown in the perfume fields of Southern France.

  • 🌞 Semi-evergreen to deciduous vine with lots of fragrant white flowers in spring, summer, and fall.

  • 🌞 Drought tolerant and hardy, it has good tolerance to a wide range of temperatures and is easily maintained in pots.

  • 🌞 Jasmine associates nicely with climbing roses, honeysuckle or clematis, but it looks superb grown on its own.


🎥 The difference between the double and single flower varieties.

🛒 Shop French Perfume Jasmine

#Hedges_with_benefits #Perfume_Plants

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