Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Avocado leaf tea: island secret for a calm heart and blood pressure. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Avocado leaf tea: island secret for a calm heart and blood pressure

Avocado leaf tea: island secret for a calm heart and blood pressure Avocado leaf tea: island secret for a calm heart and blood pressure
Avocado leaf tea: island secret for a calm heart and blood pressure

  • 🍃 You see that Avocado tree in your yard? Don't just love it for the fruit - the leaves carry magic too! Old folks in the tropics will tell you - never throw away the avocado leaves. They’ve been used for generations to brew a tea that helps steady the heart and ease high blood pressure.

  • 🍃 When life gets busy and your heart starts beating too fast, this tea helps it find its rhythm again. The leaf holds flavonoids and quercetin - fancy words for what nature been doing all along: keeping the blood flowing smooth and the body at peace. Folks say it also helps with digestion and keeps the liver happy.

  • 🍃 Avocado leaf tea

    Ingredients

    • 3 to 4 fresh avocado leaves
    • 2 cups water
    • Optional: honey, lemon, or cinnamon stick

    Instructions

    1. Rinse the avocado leaves well.
    2. Place them in a small pot with 2 cups of water.
    3. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
    4. Strain the tea and add honey, lemon, or cinnamon if desired.
    5. Sip slowly and enjoy the calm, earthy flavor.

  • 🍃 They say it helps the belly, calms the mind, and keeps the liver strong. Maybe that’s science, maybe it’s just island truth - but it surely does the body good! Some call it bush medicine, others just call it good sense. Either way, it’s a simple garden remedy that’s been soothing hearts long before pills and prescriptions came around.


🛒 Plant an Avocado tree and help your body stay healthy

📚 Learn more:
Tropical fruit and plants that help keep blood pressure in balance, Part 1, and Part 2.

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover #How_to

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Stop watering your Monstera on a schedule - here is what it really wants! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Stop watering your Monstera on a schedule - here is what it really wants!

Stop watering your Monstera on a schedule - here is what it really wants!
💦Stop watering your Monstera on a schedule - here is what it really wants!

  • ☘️ Monstera might look like a big diva, but it's actually one of the easiest houseplants to keep happy, according to the gardening experts from Southern Living.

  • ☘️ The trick is not sticking to a strict watering schedule, but checking the soil. Water only when the top couple inches feel dry - usually every week or two in warm months and less in winter. Give it a good soak until water drains out the bottom, then let it dry again.

  • ☘️ Too much water is worse than too little – soggy soil means root rot. Signs of overwatering include yellow or droopy leaves, dark spots, or gnats buzzing around. Underwatering looks similar, but the soil will be bone dry. When in doubt, check the dirt!

  • ☘️ You can water from the top or let the pot sit in a shallow tray to soak from the bottom – just don’t let it sit in water. Bright, indirect light and a well-draining pot are your best friends. Keep that balance, and your Monstera will thrive for decades.


📸 In the photo: Rhaphidophora tetrasperma - Mini Monstera, Dwarf Monstera Ginny, a rare collectible for plant enthusiasts.

🛒 Shop Monstera plants

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #How_to

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Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot!

Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot! Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot!
Yes, you can grow a tropical fruit tree in a pot!

  • 🍒 If you dream of picking fresh tropical fruit - Mango, Avocado, exotiс Annona and more - but only have a patio, balcony, or small yard, you’re not out of luck. Many tropical fruit trees grow perfectly well in large containers. The key is choosing the right variety, pot, and care routine.

  • 🍒 Pick a compact tree type

    • Start with a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety. Regular tropical trees can grow huge, but container-sized cultivars stay under 8–10 feet and are much easier to manage. For example, Condo varieties of Mango like Pickering or Ice Cream stay small and still produce full-sized fruit. The same goes for Dwarf Avocados like Wurtz (also called Little Cado) and Sugar apples. Blackberry Jam fruit tree (Randia formosa) and Peanut Butter Fruit tree (Bunchosia argentea) are also excellent choices.

  • 🍒 Choose the right pot

    • Begin with a 5-gallon container and move up as the tree grows. A mature plant will be happy in a 20–25-gallon pot. Drainage is critical - roots will rot if the pot stays soggy. Use a sturdy plastic, ceramic, or wooden container with multiple holes in the bottom.

  • 🍒 Soil and watering

    • These trees all like loose, well-draining soil. Mix potting soil with perlite or pine bark for better aeration. Water deeply but not too often - let the top few inches dry before watering again. Overwatering is the quickest way to kill a potted tropical.

  • 🍒 Light and feeding

    • Full sun is a must - aim for at least 6 hours daily. Fertilize during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree or slow-release fertilizer like Green Magic or liquid Sunshine Boosters. Many tropicals appreciate an extra boost of micronutrients like iron and magnesium to keep their leaves green.

  • 🍒 Cold protection and pruning

If you live where winters get chilly, move the pot indoors or into a greenhouse before frost. Prune lightly in spring to keep shape and airflow. Container trees can fruit heavily if given light, warmth, and consistent care.

At the end of the day, container culture lets you grow the tropics anywhere - from a city balcony to a backyard deck.

➡ Next: The best tropical fruit trees for containers...

📸 Growing and fruiting Soursop in apartment (PDF download)

🛒 Explore tropical fruit trees

#Food_Forest #How_to #Discover

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Plant for birds: feast for wildlife and people from a tiny vine! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Plant for birds: feast for wildlife and people from a tiny vine!

Passiflora suberosa - Corkystem Passion Vine

Plant for birds: feast for wildlife and people from a tiny vine!
  • Passiflora suberosa - Corkystem Passion Flower: did you know this Florida native passion vine is more than just a butterfly host? Birds love it too - they’ll happily snack on the little fruits and sing you thank-you songs all day long!
  • And yes, the fruit is edible for people as well! The berries are small, but they make a fun and exotic treat.
  • The plants has a tiny flower and a tiny fruit – both only about half an inch – but together they create a mighty native habitat.
  • It's a triple win: butterflies, birds, and people can all enjoy something from this charming little plant. Plus, it’s the larval host for Gulf Fritillary, Zebra Longwing, and Julia butterflies, and its tiny greenish flowers provide nectar all year long. Fast-growing, easy, and full of life – a real gem for any Florida garden.
  • This vine is delicate and compact, perfect for a medium trellis or climbing a small tree. Unlike the big, aggressive passion vines that can cover a whole fence, this one stays manageable.
  • This Passion vine is not just charming and wildlife-friendly, it’s also tough as nails. Cold hardy and easy to grow, this native vine takes whatever Florida throws at it – heavy rains, long droughts and heat, poor sandy soils, even total neglect – and still thrives. A perfect choice if you want beauty, wildlife, and resilience all in one little plant.


🛒 Plant this small and tough vine with food and wildlife benefits

📚 Learn more:

#Food_Forest #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #How_to

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How do we ship plants? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How do we ship plants?

James Coconuts managing Shipping Department at TopTropicals

James Coconuts managing Shipping Department at TopTropicals

Plants packed in boxes and ready to go

Plants packed in boxes and ready to go

Plant packing conveyer

Plant packing conveyer

Mittens is a new Shipping hire

Mittens is a new Shipping hire

🚚 How do we ship plants?

🚚 How do we ship plants?

📦 More pictures of packing plants for the previous videos:

📸 In the pictures:
  • · James Coconuts managing Shipping Department at TopTropicals
  • · Plants packed in boxes and ready to go
  • · Plant packing conveyer
  • · Mittens is a new Shipping hire


🛒 Shop plants online

📚 Learn more:

#How_to

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How do we ship plants, Part 3: it's Christmas - unwrapping is fun? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How do we ship plants, Part 3: its Christmas - unwrapping is fun?

How do we ship plants, Part 3: it's Christmas - unwrapping is fun?

🚚 How do we ship plants, Part 3: it's Christmas - unwrapping is fun?

How to take care of your mail order plant (potted plant)

When your plant arrives, carefully remove it from the box and water it right away.
  • ▫️Place it in bright light but out of direct sun for the first few days so it can recover from shipping.
  • ▫️Keep the soil evenly moist, not soggy.
  • ▫️After about a week, gradually introduce it to more sun or move it to its permanent spot.
  • ▫️Read detailed instructions.


🌴 How to plant your mail order plant in the ground
  • ▫️Don't put a new plant straight from the box into the ground!
  • ▫️First, pot it up and let it recover and grow strong for a few weeks.
  • ▫️Once it's well established, choose a sunny, well-drained spot outdoors.
  • ▫️Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot, place the plant at the same depth, and backfill with good, rich soil.
  • ▫️Water thoroughly to settle the roots and add mulch around the base, keeping it away from the stem.
  • ▫️Keep watering regularly until the plant takes off.
  • ▫️Read detailed instructions.


🎥 Part 3 shows you how to unpack a plant. Happy Gardening!

🛒 Shop plants online

📚 Learn more:

#How_to

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10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf youve never cooked before! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf youve never cooked before!

Bo La Lot recipe with Vietnamese pepper Lalot (Piper sarmentosum)

🍴 10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf you’ve never cooked before!
  • 🌮 Forget boring tacos - this wrap will blow your mind! In Vietnam they call it Bo La Lot - beef wrapped in peppery Lalot leaves.
  • 🌮 It started as grape leaf wraps in the Middle East, but in tropical Asia grapes don’t grow, so people swapped to Lalot. Way more flavor than grape leaves!
  • 🌮 Grilled beef, garlic, onion, lemongrass - all can be tucked into these shiny green leaves. Smoky, juicy, and so good you’ll wonder why you didn't try it sooner! It's better than grape leaf wraps, because it has so much flavor!
  • 🌮 Most large leaf pepper plants will work for this recipe - Vietnamese pepper Lalot (Piper sarmentosum), Betel Leaf (Piper betle), or even large leaves of the traditional Black Pepper plant (Piper nigrum).


🌯 BO LA LOT RECIPE

✔️ Ingredients
  • · 1 pound ground beef or turkey
  • · 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass (optional)
  • · 1 tbsp spice powder
  • · 1 tbsp curry powder
  • · 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
  • · 1 tbsp oyster sauce or fish sauce (optional)
  • · 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • · 1 tbsp finely minced shallots
  • · 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • · 2 tsp sugar or honey
  • · 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • · 1/2 tbsp salt
  • · 10-15 fresh Lalot leaves

  • 👉 Directions

  • · Preheat the grill.
  • · Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
  • · Wrap about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each betel leaf.
  • · Spear 3 to 4 betel leaf wraps onto a skewer and grill until the meat is thoroughly cooked.
  • · Be sure to eat immediately.


🛒 Grow Leaf Pappers for tasty, peppery recipes

📚 Learn more:
📱 Growing Lalot Pepper

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Container_Garden #How_to

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How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box

How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box.

🚚 How do we ship plants? Part 2: packing in the box.
  • 📦 In the previous video (Part 1: prepare the plant), we showed you how to prepare a plant for shipping.

    • Now comes the most important step - boxing it up!
  • 📦 We’ll show you how to place the plant in the box, keep it snug and secure, and make sure i'’s ready for a safe trip from our nursery to your door.
  • 📦 Watch out for shipping confirmation email to avoid your package sitting on a hot porch or freezing doorstep.


🎥 Part 2 shows you how to pack a plant.

❗️Stay tuned - the final step is coming in Part 3!

🛒 Shop plants online

📚 Learn more:
Shipping information page

#How_to

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How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant

How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant.

🚚 How do we ship plants? Part 1: prepare the plant.
  • 📦 We hear it all the time: "You guys ship plants? Wow! How do you ship a plant? It's... live!"
  • 📦 Well, we've been doing it for almost 25 years now - that's a quarter of a century! Top Tropicals was one of the first nurseries to figure out plant shipping, long before Amazon and all the big online platforms where today you can order just about anything.
  • 📦 After so many years, our Team worked it to perfection. Want to see how it's done?
  • 📦 Like they say, it's better to see once than hear a hundred times. In this video, we'll show you the tricks that keep plants safe on their journey from our nursery to your doorstep.


🎥 Part 1 covers how we prepare the plant before it goes into the box.

❗️Stay tuned for the next step in our upcoming video!

🛒 Shop plants online

📚 Learn more:
Shipping information page

#How_to

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Green Magic effect: before and after. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Green Magic effect: before and after

Green Magic effect: before and after Green Magic effect: before and after Green Magic effect: before and after
🌳 Green Magic effect: before and after

Green Magic test results: before and after application.
Are you still thinking? Try it out! (Sample here)

#Fertilizers #How_to
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