Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Pitaya vs Dragon fruit - what is the difference and how to grow it?
🌵 Pitaya vs Dragon fruit - what is the difference and how to grow it?
🍉 Dragon fruit varieties
Varieties: Cosmic Charlie, Edgar's Baby, Halleys Comet, Natural Mystic, Physical Graffiti, Purple Haze, Tricia, Voodoo Child, Zamorano
🟡⚪️ Yellow skin, white flesh (Hylocereus, or Selenicereus megalanthus) - Smaller fruit, but the sweetest of all. Crisp, juicy, and tropical with notes of pineapple or honey.
Varieties: Amarilla (Kirin), Colimbiana, Godlen Dragon, Palora, Thai Gold (Hawaiian)
Each type looks stunning and tastes slightly different, but all are easy to grow once you give them sun, support, and patience.
🛒 Explore and collect Dragon Fruit varieties
📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #How_to #Dragon_Fruit
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🍉 Pitaya and Dragon Fruit are the same plant!
🍉 How to grow Dragon Fruit
Both names refer to climbing cacti in the genus Hylocereus. The word pitaya is more common in Latin America, while dragon fruit is the name used in Asia and English-speaking countries. They come in different types: white-fleshed (Hylocereus undatus), red-fleshed (Hylocereus costaricensis), and yellow-skinned (Hylocereus, or Selenicereus megalanthus). All share the same growth habit and care needs. Pitaya or dragon fruit - whichever name you use, it's one of the easiest exotic fruits to grow at home.
- ▫️Get a desired variety or start from a cutting - let the cut end dry for a few days before planting to prevent rot.
- ▫️Plant in well-draining soil with lots of sun.
- ▫️Give it a strong support to climb on - it's a vining cactus.
- ▫️Water deeply but let the soil dry between waterings.
- ▫️Flowers open at night and need pollination - some types are self-fertile, others need cross-pollination.
- ▫️With care, you can enjoy fruit in 1-2 years. Remember to ferilize!
🍉 Dragon fruit varieties
🔴 ⚪️ Red skin, white flesh (Hylocereus undatus) - The most popular type, and the biggest fruit. Mildly sweet, refreshing, and often compared to a kiwi crossed with a pear.
🔴🔴 Red skin, red flesh (Hylocereus costaricensis) - Sweeter, juicier, and more intense in flavor. The deep red juice can stain, but it’s loaded with antioxidants.
🔴🟣 Red flesh, purple/magenta flesh (Hylocereus x costaricensis) - Hybrids, usually between red and white varieties.
Varieties: David Bowie, Delight, Hana, Lake Atitlan, Seoul Kitchen, Vietnamese Jaina, Hana
Varieties: American Beauty, Bloody Mary, Eureka Red, Costa Rican Sunset, Mac Edwin, Halleys Comet, Mac Edwin, Makisupa, Mega Red, Physical Graffiti, Sweet Red
Varieties: Cosmic Charlie, Edgar's Baby, Halleys Comet, Natural Mystic, Physical Graffiti, Purple Haze, Tricia, Voodoo Child, Zamorano
🟡⚪️ Yellow skin, white flesh (Hylocereus, or Selenicereus megalanthus) - Smaller fruit, but the sweetest of all. Crisp, juicy, and tropical with notes of pineapple or honey.
Varieties: Amarilla (Kirin), Colimbiana, Godlen Dragon, Palora, Thai Gold (Hawaiian)
Each type looks stunning and tastes slightly different, but all are easy to grow once you give them sun, support, and patience.
🛒 Explore and collect Dragon Fruit varieties
📚 Learn more:
- · How to grow Dragon Fruit from a cutting - Quick Guide
- · How to grow Dragon Fruit 📱
- · Planting your own Dragon Fruit plantation
- · Do-It-Yourself Support Structure for Dragon Fruit
- · Grow Your Own Exotic Dragon Fruit Garden
- · Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: Dragon fruit
- · What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like?
- · Why you need to grow your own dragon fruit
- · Do red, white and yellow Dragon fruit taste differently?
- · What to do with a lot of Dragon Fruit
#Food_Forest #How_to #Dragon_Fruit
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How to grow ground orchids
💮 How to grow ground orchids
📱
📚Learn more:
#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #How_to
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📚Learn more:
- 🟡 Why is it called Nun Orchid
- 🟡 When Bamboo blooms with orchid flowers
- 🟡 Ground orchids: all-summer colors
- 🟡 Why do we love Ground Orchids
- 🟡 Epidendrum radicans - Orange Reed Ground Orchid, Sunrise
- 🟡 Terrestrial orchids
- 🟡 What orchids can be grown in the ground?
#Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #How_to
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How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence
Fragrant plants - plumerias and jasmines
🏡 How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence
🍖 Your fence could smell better than your neighbor’s grill!
Here are some of the best plants you can use to make your own fragrant fence:
🛒 Explore fragrant plants
#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #How_to
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🍖 Your fence could smell better than your neighbor’s grill!
- 📌Got a plain or ugly fence? Just cover it up! We did just that and created a Perfume Fence.
- 📌First, we planted Hawaiian Plumeria trees along the fence line. Then we added vining jasmines to climb the wire fence and smother it in flowers. Each jasmine has its own fragrance - some sweet, some rich, some spicy - and together they make the whole fence smell incredible!
- 📌Soon the wire won’t even show - just a living wall of blossoms and perfume drifting through the garden.
Here are some of the best plants you can use to make your own fragrant fence:
🛒 Explore fragrant plants
#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #How_to
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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.
🐁🐿 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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- 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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How to re-pot a plant properly?
Re-potting a plant quick guide
How to re-pot a plant properly?
❗️Make sure the plant sits at the same level as before - this is the key!
🛒 Shop top-quality supplies:
📚 Learn more:
How to Plant a Tree - A Fun Guide
#How_to
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- ✔️ Take a pot a few inches bigger - just enough for the root ball.
- ✔️ Add some well-drained potting mix at the bottom.
❗️Make sure the plant sits at the same level as before - this is the key!
- ✔️ Add a good fertilizer at the bottom. We use professional Green Magic - controlled release.
- ✔️ Turn the plant upside down and gently remove it from the old pot. Loosen up roots if root bound. Set it on top of the soil and check the level again.
- ✔️ Add more fertilizer around the sides and fill in with soil, pressing around the edges.
- ✔️ Check the level one more time.
- ✔️ Water thoroughly - and you are done! Happy growing!
🛒 Shop top-quality supplies:
- ▫️ Potting soil Abundance - professional soilless potting mix
- ▫️ Green Magic - controlled release fettilizer
📚 Learn more:
How to Plant a Tree - A Fun Guide
#How_to
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How to grow Dragon Fruit from a cutting - Quick Guide
Dragon fruit, Pitaya - Hylocereus sp.
🌵 How to grow Dragon Fruit from a cutting - Quick Guide
Roots usually form in 2-4 weeks. New growth means it's taking off! This is the time to Ferilize it!
🛒Shop Dragon Fruit plants and cuttings
📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #How_to #Dragon_Fruit
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- 🐉 Get a healthy cutting
- 🐉 Prepare the soil
- 🐉 Plant the cutting
- 🐉 Support it
- 🐉 Water lightly
- 🐉 Give it sun and warmth
- 🐉 Watch it grow!
Use a 6-10 inch long stem cutting from a mature dragon fruit plant. Let the cut end dry in the shade for 2-5 days so it forms a callus. This also helps prevent rot and fungus.
Use well-draining soil - well drained potting mix, Adenium mix, or cactus mix is ideal. Dragon fruit hates wet feet!
Stick the callused end about 2-3 inches deep into the soil. Make sure it's planted upright (the way it grew on the parent plant).
Add a trellis or post. Dragon fruit is a climbing cactus and needs something to grow on.
Water once after planting, then wait until the soil dries before watering again. Overwatering can rot the cutting.
Place in bright, indirect sunlight while it roots. Once established, it can handle full sun.
Roots usually form in 2-4 weeks. New growth means it's taking off! This is the time to Ferilize it!
🛒Shop Dragon Fruit plants and cuttings
📚 Learn more:
- · How to grow Dragon Fruit 📱
- · Planting your own Dragon Fruit plantation
- · Do-It-Yourself Support Structure for Dragon Fruit
- · Grow Your Own Exotic Dragon Fruit Garden
- · Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: Dragon fruit
- · What does Dragon Fruit Flower look like?
- · Why you need to grow your own dragon fruit
- · Do red, white and yellow Dragon fruit taste differently?
- · What to do with a lot of Dragon Fruit
#Food_Forest #How_to #Dragon_Fruit
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Bug off! Simple and safe ways to clean your plants
Simple and safe way to clean plants
🕷 Bug off! Simple and safe way to clean your plants
▫️1 cup warm water
🛒 Stay bug-free with SUNSHINE NoBug - Natural Plant Protector
📚 Learn more:
️How to get rid of pests on Hibiscus?
#How_to
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- 🕷 Got pests? Try this quick, organic fix:
▫️1 cup warm water
- ▫️1 tsp cooking oil
- ▫️A few drops of dish soap
Mix it up and wipe leaves with a soft cloth or paper towel. Works great for aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, and whiteflies.
- 🕷For sucking insects like scale, you may need a stronger solution, like a systemic insecticide from local garden center. Try products containing Imidacloprid (also safe and found in flea shampoos).
- 🕷Got sooty mold on leaves? Wipe with household hydrogen peroxide, then rinse.
- 🕷 SUNSHINE NoBug - Natural Plant Protector works for all kinds of bugs! Fast. Easy. No bugs!
🛒 Stay bug-free with SUNSHINE NoBug - Natural Plant Protector
📚 Learn more:
️How to get rid of pests on Hibiscus?
#How_to
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How to grow tropical fruit outside the Tropics
How to grow tropical fruit outside the Tropics
👨 Can you grow tropical fruit in colder climates? Absolutely! The key is growing them in containers so you can move them indoors during cold weather. With the right plant selection, a bit of motivation, good plant food, and a little love, you can enjoy a delicious harvest of exotic fruit - enough to treat your family and even share with friends. Here's everything you need to start your own Tropical Fruit Garden in containers.
🏆 Top tropical fruits and expert tips for growing in containers
🛒 Shop top picks for your container tropical garden:
Condo Mango
Cold hardy Avocado
🍒 Tropical Cherries - Eugenias
⭐️ Carambola (Start Fruit)
🍉 Guava
🍈 Annona
🍍 Pineapple
🌶 Herbs and spices - tropical edibles right away
🕙 Fast-fruiting trees
🍊 Shop all fruit trees
Supplies and Boosters
#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover
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👨 Can you grow tropical fruit in colder climates? Absolutely! The key is growing them in containers so you can move them indoors during cold weather. With the right plant selection, a bit of motivation, good plant food, and a little love, you can enjoy a delicious harvest of exotic fruit - enough to treat your family and even share with friends. Here's everything you need to start your own Tropical Fruit Garden in containers.
🏆 Top tropical fruits and expert tips for growing in containers
📌 Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango, great for container culture- 📌 What are the Condo Mangos - a practical guide
- 📌 How to grow cold-hardy avocados
- 📌 Avocado everyone should have: dwarf Condo Avocado
- 📌 What is the best Avocado variety?
- 📌 The best tropical fruit tree for container: Annona.
- 📌 How to grow your own Carambola
- 📌 Tropical Cherries: Eugenias
- 📌 Peanut Butter Tree and Blackberry Jam Tree produce right away
- 📌 How to grow a Guava Tree: practical guide
- 📌 Coffee as the best Gift plant
- 📌 Top 10 fast-fruiting trees
- 📌 Three must-have fruit for every tropical garden
- 📌 What Fertilizer to Use Now and How?
- 📌 How to make plants green quickly: Green Magic - the fertilizer that truly works
🛒 Shop top picks for your container tropical garden:
Condo Mango
Cold hardy Avocado
🍒 Tropical Cherries - Eugenias
⭐️ Carambola (Start Fruit)
🍉 Guava
🍈 Annona
🍍 Pineapple
🌶 Herbs and spices - tropical edibles right away
🕙 Fast-fruiting trees
🍊 Shop all fruit trees
Supplies and Boosters
#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
How to grow tropical fruit outside the Tropics
How to grow tropical fruit outside the Tropics
👨 Can you grow tropical fruit in colder climates? Absolutely! The key is growing them in containers so you can move them indoors during cold weather. With the right plant selection, a bit of motivation, good plant food, and a little love, you can enjoy a delicious harvest of exotic fruit - enough to treat your family and even share with friends. Here's everything you need to start your own Tropical Fruit Garden in containers.
🏆 Top tropical fruits and expert tips for growing in containers
🛒 Shop top picks for your container tropical garden:
Condo Mango
Cold hardy Avocado
🍒 Tropical Cherries - Eugenias
⭐️ Carambola (Start Fruit)
🍉 Guava
🍈 Annona
🍍 Pineapple
🌶 Herbs and spices - tropical edibles right away
🕙 Fast-fruiting trees
🍊 Shop all fruit trees
Supplies and Boosters
#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
👨 Can you grow tropical fruit in colder climates? Absolutely! The key is growing them in containers so you can move them indoors during cold weather. With the right plant selection, a bit of motivation, good plant food, and a little love, you can enjoy a delicious harvest of exotic fruit - enough to treat your family and even share with friends. Here's everything you need to start your own Tropical Fruit Garden in containers.
🏆 Top tropical fruits and expert tips for growing in containers
- 📌 Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango, great for container culture
- 📌 What are the Condo Mangos - a practical guide
- 📌 How to grow cold-hardy avocados
- 📌 Avocado everyone should have: dwarf Condo Avocado
- 📌 What is the best Avocado variety?
- 📌 The best tropical fruit tree for container: Annona.
- 📌 How to grow your own Carambola
- 📌 Tropical Cherries: Eugenias
- 📌 Peanut Butter Tree and Blackberry Jam Tree produce right away
- 📌 How to grow a Guava Tree: practical guide
- 📌 Coffee as the best Gift plant
- 📌 Top 10 fast-fruiting trees
- 📌 Three must-have fruit for every tropical garden
- 📌 What Fertilizer to Use Now and How?
- 📌 How to make plants green quickly: Green Magic - the fertilizer that truly works
🛒 Shop top picks for your container tropical garden:
Condo Mango
Cold hardy Avocado
🍒 Tropical Cherries - Eugenias
⭐️ Carambola (Start Fruit)
🍉 Guava
🍈 Annona
🍍 Pineapple
🌶 Herbs and spices - tropical edibles right away
🕙 Fast-fruiting trees
🍊 Shop all fruit trees
Supplies and Boosters
#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Napoleons Plume - Orchid Tree that blooms in a pot
Bauhinia monandra - Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree in bloom
🌸 Napoleons Plume - Orchid Tree that blooms in a pot
🛒 Shop Orchid Trees
📚 Learn more about Orchid trees:
#Container_Garden #How_to #Trees
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- Bauhinia monandra - Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree - is a breathtaking tropical tree with flowers that truly resemble delicate orchids, and leaves folding like butterfly wings. It is one of he most impressive varieties of orchid trees.
- Each blossom starts off pale yellow and transforms to soft pink by the next day, with the center petal beautifully streaked in magenta - a unique color shift that makes the tree look like it's blooming in multiple shades at once. When in bloom, it's covered in these showy flowers, creating a dazzling display.
- Despite its exotic look, this tree is surprisingly well-suited for containers. It can be easily kept trimmed and compact, with seedlings often blooming when just 2 feet tall. While it's sensitive to cold, growing it in a container makes it easy to move indoors during chilly weather. This makes Bauhinia monandra the perfect choice for gardeners who want a tropical tree that delivers nonstop visual impact in a manageable size.
- How to enjoy the orchid flowers and butterfly foliage of Bauhinia right on your patio or balcony? Choose the right variety. More bauhinia species suitable for containers: B. galpinii, B. madagascariensis, B. monandra, B. alba (candida), B. acuminata, B. bidentata, B. blakeana, B. grandidieri and many others.
🛒 Shop Orchid Trees
📚 Learn more about Orchid trees:
- ▫️How to grow Orchid Trees in pots
- ▫️Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings
- ▫️Why Bauhinias are called Orchid Trees: orchid flowers with butterfly wings...
- ▫️Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree
- ▫️Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia
#Container_Garden #How_to #Trees
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