Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 16 Jul 2025

Never be bored

Jim II and Kiwi the cats

🏃‍♂️ Never be bored

"Never be bored, and you will never be boring." - Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

🐈📸 Jim II and Kiwi the cats entertaining themselves on a new cat tree at TopTropicals Arizona office. We have 7 rescued cats there... Plus 14 in Ft Myers and 12 in Sebring locations. Total of 33 and growing!

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Date: 16 Jul 2025

Who is stealing my fruit?! How to protect mango fruit from critters

How to protect mango fruit from critters

🐰 Who’s stealing my fruit?! How to protect mango fruit from critters.
  • It's Mango season! But somehow, the mangoes are disappearing. Looks familiar? Squirrels, bunnies, birds, rats, raccoons… They all love the fruit. But sharing? Not so much. You’re lucky to get their leftovers!
  • Here’s what we do to protect our mangoes and avocados - and it works! We use fruit protection bags. They are made of a strong mesh netting with easy drawstrings - keep out bugs, birds, and every other freeloading critter! Just slip it over the fruit and tighten both ends. They’re inexpensive, about 15 cents each, worth every penny! 💰


🐁🐿 Save your fruit - and maybe even have some left to share!

🛒 Don't own a mango tree yet? Plant one now to enjoy fruit tomorrow!

📚 Learn more:
How to protect fruit in your garden from greedy competitors
Penelope, the Squirrel Cat

#How_to #Food_Forest #Mango_Rainbow #Mango

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Date: 15 Jul 2025

To the new beginnings!

Philemon the cat discovering a new shenanigans

Philemon the cat discovering a new shenanigans

🍷 To the new beginnings!

"Celebrate endings - for they precede new beginnings." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

🐈📸 Philemon discovering a new beginnings shenanigans at TopTropicals Rescued PeopleCats.Garden

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Date: 15 Jul 2025

Why everyones falling for the Hog Plum - the tropical fruit tree that does it all!

Hog Plum tree (Spondias purpurea)

🍅 Why everyone's falling for the Hog Plum - the tropical fruit tree that does it all!
  • ♦️The Hog Plum tree (Spondias purpurea), that you saw blooming in March, set the fruit by May and now in July - it's finally ripening at TopTropicals garden, and wow, what a crop!
  • ♦️Also known as Jocote, Spanish Plum, or Purple Mombin, this fast-growing tropical tree is a superstar in the garden. It explodes with bright flowers right on bare branches in spring, then follows up with juicy, plum-like fruits that smell amazing and taste even better.
  • ♦️The fruits are super versatile - eat them fresh, cook them down with sugar, pickle them green, or even make a spread like apple butter. You can even cook the young leaves for a tangy side dish.
  • ♦️It grows fast, fruits early, and does great in all kinds of soil. Want a living fence that feeds you? This is it.
  • ♦️And it's not just tasty - Hog Plum is packed with vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. It’s refreshing, great for digestion, and may even help with blood pressure and blood sugar.
  • ♦️ If mango is king, Hog Plum is definitely next in line!


🛒 Sweet fruit, right this way!

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest

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Date: 15 Jul 2025

🔥 Featured: 7-Gal Royal Poinciana

Delonix regia

Bigger Tree, Bolder Start

Our 7-gal Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) is the real deal. Carefully trimmed for strong branching, and ready to burst with tropical growth. Unlike smaller 3-gal plants, this tree already has a well-developed root system, woody trunk, and structural shape. It's ready to anchor your landscape or patio with presence.

While we trim it for safe shipping, this does not set the tree back — in fact, it encourages new lateral growth and canopy development. You’ll see fast recovery and faster flowering in the seasons ahead.

This tree is perfect for:

  • Creating instant tropical curb appeal
  • Adding shade and structure in a small space
  • Getting a head start on future blooms — it matures faster than small plants

Even if you're not in Florida, this 7-gal size brings the bold look of the Tropics — and yes, we'll ship it to you!

Order Royal Poinciana
Royal poinciana flower close up

Date: 15 Jul 2025

🌱 Bigger Trees, Bigger Benefits

Fruiting Mango and Avocado Tree Installed

Why Choose a 15 or 25-Gal Tree?

These are not starter trees — they’re mature, fruiting specimens that give you a head start in your garden or orchard. You’ll enjoy faster harvests, fuller canopies, and a more immediate impact on your landscape.

Top Reasons to Choose a Bigger Tree:

  • Already fruiting – enjoy your own mangos or avocados right away
  • Pre-trained and shaped for strong structure and balanced growth
  • Instant results in the yard – no years of waiting
  • Thicker trunks and stronger roots make transplanting easier

We make it easy for Florida gardeners:

  • Pickup available at two South Florida locations
  • Local delivery and installation services offered – just ask!
See installation and delivery details
Read More Garden Tips

Date: 15 Jul 2025

Did you know that cannonballs grow on a tree? The Marvelous Cannonball Tree

Did you know that cannonballs grow on a tree? The Marvelous Cannonball Tree.

📱

#Nature_Wonders #Trees

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Date: 14 Jul 2025

Contentment

Contentment

Date: 14 Jul 2025

All for one and one for all

Gutalin (a.k.a. Google the Cat), Jacques and Klaksa at TopTropicals

🐈 All for one and one for all

"All for one and one for all!" - Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers

🐈📸 Gutalin (a.k.a. Google the Cat), Jacques and Klaksa at TopTropicals

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Date: 14 Jul 2025

The fastest vine to cover a fence - everyone asks about it

Thunbergia laurifolia - Blue Sky vine

💙 The fastest vine to cover a fence - everyone asks about it
  • 🔵 If you need a beautiful vine to cover your fence quickly - plant Thunbergia laurifolia, Thunbergia grandiflora - Blue Sky vine, Blue Trumpet Vine, Scrambling sky flower.
  • 🔵 This vigorous tropical climber explodes with 3-inch trumpet-shaped blossoms in a shade of blue so vivid, it looks unreal. In just one season, it can cover a fence, trellis, or arbor with lush green foliage and long cascading chains of flowers.
  • 🔵 Once established, it blooms heavily from fall through spring, creating a waterfall of sky blue that feels cool and soothing even in the heat. It's not just a pretty face either - its fast growth makes it ideal for quickly creating privacy, shade, or a living screen.
  • 🔵 Thrives in heat and humidity, low-maintenance once established
  • 🔵 Dramatic focal point, pollinator magnet, and conversation piece! And if blue isn't your color, the rare white version, Thunbergia grandiflora Alba, offers the same performance in pure ivory tones.


🛒 Get the vine everyone asks about

📚 Learn more:
▫️How to have the Blue Sky in just one season and forever

#Hedges_with_benefits
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