NEW ARRIVALS

Silver Dragon, Grey Dragon. Extremely rare and valuable collectible, this is a dwarf alocasia hybrid with silver gray leaves with a unique silvery-green color, slightly purlish underneath and light veins. As the leaves mature, they start to harden and develop a veiny texture, giving them the appearance of, as the name suggests, dragon scales. This is an unusual dwarf aroid from the jewel alocasias group that stays a reasonable size. Since this plant thrives in high humidity, it is a wonderful choice for a bathroom or a kitchen.
One of the rarest varieties of Alocasia you will find.

Panama Queen - a very rare plant with extremely tropical look, fragrant flowers of unusual color combination: orange and pink.

The Story says: "Catalina is an amazing avocado floated across from Cuba, 60 years ago just before Fidel Castro took over the Island Nation. Wise Cubans jumped into the ocean to escape the Castro regime and tossed in some favorite scions for us to enjoy here in the States. We owe a great debt to poor old Don Miguel Cruz de la Santa Maria Espinoza Sanchez Alvarez Jr. who sadly was lost at sea. His amazing scion wood, wrapped in cellophane and aluminum foil floated over, washing a shore on Miami Beach. His shiny little package was miraculously picked up on the shoreline and immediately grafted and cared for by keen eyed avocado lovers in Miami". So be sure to think about this story every time you eat a Catalina!
Catalina is a very nice mid-season pear shaped fruit that is especially rich and creamy. It is extremely popular variety in South Florida in the Cuban Community.
See avocado varieties chart.

Avocado Poncho. Very cold hardy variety. Produces medium to large green fruit. It survived temperatures around 10F near San Antonio, Texas (Zone 8b). Can take temperatures down to 15F for short period of time without significant damage.
See about successful growing in cold climate.

Winter Mexican variety is one of most cold hardy varieties, Guatemalan x Mexican origin. Mature trees may withstand temperatures in the mid 20s. Oblong fruit, 12 to 18 Oz, thick green skin, medium seed. Tree bears in December-January. Very vigorous tree, bears heavily and regularly.
See avocado varieties chart.

Grand Nain (often misspelled "Gran Nain") is one of the most productive and widely grown dessert bananas in the world. A member of the Cavendish group, it is prized for its vigorous growth, heavy yields, and delicious sweet fruit that resembles the familiar supermarket banana. Grand Nain is the true Chiquita banana, the main product of Chiquita Brands International. Tree is 8' when mature and produces large bunches of bananas.
Compared to Dwarf Cavendish, Grand Nain typically grows taller and stronger, producing larger bunches and higher yields. The plants develop broad, lush green leaves that create an attractive tropical appearance in the landscape while also providing edible fruit.
The fruit is medium to large, with creamy white flesh and a sweet, classic banana flavor. Bunches can be impressive in size under favorable growing conditions, making Grand Nain a popular choice for home gardeners and commercial growers alike.
Grand Nain thrives in warm climates and performs best in full sun with regular watering and fertile, well-drained soil. It can be grown in the ground or in large containers where space is limited. Mature Height: 8-12 ft.
A vigorous, reliable, and highly productive banana, Grand Nain is an excellent choice for gardeners who want a classic tropical look combined with abundant harvests of sweet, homegrown bananas.

Giant milkweed, Giant Calotrope - Lilac colored flowers can be seen all through the year, great butterfly attractor. A tough and hardy plant, drought tolerant, good for hot sites.

Cinnamon is a very popular culinary spice and is also used in candy, gum, incense, toothpaste and perfumes. The oil is used in medicine as a carminative, antiseptic and astringent and source of cinnamon extract. Leaves are very fragrant and used as tea.
Read more about Cinnamon.

Winter Starburst, Fireworks. Large bush or small tree with showy dark green leaves with purple underneath; spectacular winter blooms. Flowers are slightly fragrant. Fast growing.

A showstopping deep burgundy shrub with a rosy burgundy central vein. Huge foliage makes this a great plant for partial-sun gardens.

Cordyline fruticosa Red Sister, or the Ti Plant, is a popular tropical shrub known for its vibrant, strap-like leaves in shades of pink, burgundy, and deep red, thriving as an easy-care houseplant or outdoor accent in warm climates. Red Sister offers tropical flair, air purification, and deer resistance, making it great for containers, borders, or as a striking indoor focal point. Easy to grow, tolerates poor soils, has low water needs. Sun or shade.

Cordyline fruticosa Sherbert is a vibrant tropical plant, also known as the Ti Plant, prized for its sword-like leaves featuring streaks of green, pink, magenta, and cream, adding bright color indoors or outdoors, and offering air-purifying qualities and good luck symbolism. Easy to grow, tolerates poor soils, has low water needs. Sun or shade.

Red Button Ginger, French Kiss. Spectacular red ginger, with bright red button-like flower cones almost year-round. The yellow flowers that emerge from the red cones are edible. The plant can withstand a light frost for short periods of time but will stop blooming.

Australian Tree fern - one of the most tropical looking plants. Adds "Hawaii" spirit to your garden. It puts on growth very quickly. The fronds typically will reach about 8' long on a mature specimen, but, as with most tree ferns, they will be significantly stunted if kept in a pot. It will grow well in dappled (but not deep) shade, but also does well in some sun, even in hot climates, as long as the moisture supply is adequate. It also does relatively well in exposed, windy situations.
Read more:
Australian Tree Fern - a botanical marvel

Red Torch Ginger. Its leafstalks are tall, growing from underground rhizomes. The torches itself, about 3 ft, also emerge from the ground on a long stalk. The flowerheads are eaten raw in Malaysia, before the bracts begin to open. The Torch ginger likes full sun or light shade and rich, well drained soil, with plenty of water and protection from strong winds.

Governors plum, Madagascar Plum, Batoko palm - is a tropical or subtropical small shrubby tree. It is cultivated in tropical regions as a hedge plant and for its deep red acid fruits resembling small plums. The fruits are about one inch wide and can be eaten fresh or made into preserves. They are sweet and sour, with a texture and flavor similar to a plum. Fruits mature after one to two months from flowering.
The tree is easy to grow, self-fertile and doesn't require much care, not fussy about soil and very forgiving if you forget to water it.
Seeds germinate readily, but it takes a while until the seedling is ready to be transplanted into a big pot or in the ground, a few months.

Also called "First Love" (sometimes misspelled as YAshioka), this cultivar is one of the darkest green of all gardenias, it has a 3 to 5 inch bloom so perfect, it looks artificial. It was developed by Tadaoki Yoshioka while he lived in Hawaii, and he later brought it to Florida when he moved to Ft. Lauderdale with his family in 1954. The gardenia was named after his daughter, Aimee (Aimee Hironaka), who died in a plane crash in Dallas on August 2, 1985 (Delta Flight 191). Aimee gardenia grows openly and upright and blooms twice a year and slightly later than others. Flower Size 3 - 5".
See picture of flower,
page about gardenias, their cultivation and varieties.
See picture of actual plant for sale (1-2013).

Also called "First Love" (sometimes misspelled as YAshioka), this cultivar is one of the darkest green of all gardenias, it has a 3 to 5 inch bloom so perfect, it looks artificial. It was developed by Tadaoki Yoshioka while he lived in Hawaii, and he later brought it to Florida when he moved to Ft. Lauderdale with his family in 1954. The gardenia was named after his daughter, Aimee (Aimee Hironaka), who died in a plane crash in Dallas on August 2, 1985 (Delta Flight 191).
Aimee gardenia grows openly and upright and blooms twice a year and slightly later than others. Flower Size 3 - 5".
See picture of flower,
page about gardenias, their cultivation and varieties.
See picture of actual plant for sale (1-2013).

Gives fruit within 3-5 years from seed! This dwarf Jaboticaba Red Hybrid - Precoce - is a fast-fruiting cross between Plinia Cauliflora and Plinia Aureana, commonly known as the Brazilian Grape Tree or Jaboticabeira. Unlike other varieties, this hybrid begins to bear fruit within just 3-5 years from seed as opposed to 5-10 for the regular Jaboticaba, making it a favorite among plant lovers looking for quicker yields. Its adaptability makes it ideal for cultivation in both fruit plant gardens and tropical plant settings. The tree thrives in containers, making it an excellent choice for exotic gardens with limited space. This is a great option for someone who doesn't live in a tropical location and needs to grow in a container and/or someone who wants to see fruit a lot sooner. Mature trees in large containers in South Florida never grow past 5 feet tall. Dwarf Jaboticaba is very rarely offered for sale.

Angel Hair Jasmine. Bushy dense vining shrub with star-like white fragrant flowers and soft velvet leaves. Very fast growing, great for hedges.

Arabian Tea jasmine. This variety is vining and fast growing; tolerates shade.
Called pikake in Hawaii, this is the plant used to flavor the jasmine tea and making perfumes. Perfect houseplant, takes both sun or shade, Jasminum Sambac is a beautiful fragrant everbloomer for your home and garden. Maid of Orleans has single flowers of rich fragrance on woody vining shrubs with wide oval dark green leaves; considered the the easiest to bloom indoors, since it can tolerate shady conditions. It is the famous "Jasminum sambac Multiplex" in French perfume; traditionally the Chinese use this form to make aromatic jasmine tea. This variety has vining habit, and unless trimmed, can shoot several feet long branches.Collect the flowers for your morning jasmine tea!

Orange Plume Flower - large plant, blooming size. Very tropical looking, large glossy leaves and showy flowers. The plant is relatively cold hardy and takes light freeze with no damage.

The largest of the lychee fruits achieving golf ball size, with a small seed and late season crop. The tree is dwarf, reaching a height of 10 feet, great for container growing. Emperor has small aborted seeds and large flesh and is considered a premium collectors variety.